In case you skip it...

In this episode, a spatial anomaly results in most of the crew displaying obsessive behavior. It takes a frustratingly long time for them to figure out what’s happening and they are quite unlikable in the meantime, making for an episode that is difficult to enjoy.

But one good thing does come of it. As part of an obsession with tightening up security on the ship, Reed creates the “tactical alert” - the apparent predecessor to the “red alert” seen in other series.

It can be activated manually or automatically (such as by an impact to the hull) and triggers immediate polarization of the hull plating and charging of the weapons, without having to wait for these actions to be ordered by the captain.

After the crew returns to normal, Archer recognizes that unlike most things the crew has been obsessing over, the tactical alert is actually useful and adopts it as standard procedure.