Malcolm Reed, played by Dominic Keating, is a fictional character on the
television series Star Trek: Enterprise.

Reed is British, and is, at different times, the tactical officer and
armory officer aboard the starship Enterprise. He holds the rank of
Lieutenant. However, in the episode "Twilight" , the alternate timeline
Reed holds the rank of Captain - he is in the process of taking over the
USS Intrepid.

Character overview

Reed's parents are Stuart and Mary, and he has a sister, Madeline. They
appeared on-screen in the episode "Silent Enemy" while communicating
with Enterprise. In addition to his parents and sister, other relatives
also known are an Uncle Archie and two spinster aunts.

Reed's great-uncle was in the British Royal Navy on Earth, but was
killed in action while chief engineer of the HMS Clement (a submarine
that struck a mine, a left over from an unmentioned war). Reed has a
strong appreciation for his uncle, not only because of the heroics of
this relative, but because they both share a common condition:
aquaphobia, or the fear of drowning. He is one of the few men in his
family who did not join the Royal Navy, a fact which led to some
friction with his father, who is also a Royal Navy veteran. Reed is also
an Eagle Scout, obtaining 28 Merit Badges, two more than his commanding
officer, Jonathan Archer.

Reed is allergic to dust mites, oak pollen, tropical grasses, and
various plant enzymes, including bromelin, which, ironically, is found
in pineapple, his favorite food. He is also prone to space sickness in
some circumstances.

Reed has an almost suicidal sense of self-sacrifice, and can also be
consumed at times with regret over paths not followed in his love life;
he and Charles Tucker III have at least one ex-girlfriend in common. In
one alternate timeline seen during the Xindi mission in which Enterprise
becomes a generational ship unable to return to Earth, Reed dies without
leaving any heirs, having been unable to find a mate. The episode
"Shuttlepod One" revealed that Reed has a crush on T'Pol, but this was
never expanded upon further.

The episode "Divergence" revealed that in 2149, Reed, then an Ensign,
had been recruited as an operative for a mysterious offshoot of
Starfleet Intelligence, which in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine would be
identified as Section 31. He believed he had left Section 31 behind when
he was posted aboard Enterprise in 2151; however, in 2154, he was
reactivated as an agent during a mission to recover Phlox, who had been
kidnapped by a group of Klingons trying to stop a genetically engineered
virus running rampant in the Empire. Part of his mission involved
sabotaging a piece of evidence that might have assisted Enterprise in
tracking down the Klingons faster. For this, Reed was temporarily
relieved of duty and incarcerated in the brig by Archer, although Archer
later reinstated Reed after determining that he had been placed in what
Archer called "an impossible situation" by his Section 31 superior,
Harris.

Following the Klingon mission, Reed demanded that Harris never
communicate with him again. Harris, however, replied that Reed had
committed himself to a cause he could never simply walk away from.
Indeed, Reed would later re-establish contact with Harris under orders
from Archer during the Terra Prime incident. This storyline confirmed
fan speculation dating back to the earliest days of the series that Reed
might have been somehow involved in the formation of Section 31.

Mirror Universe

An alternate version of Reed appears in the two-part episode "In a
Mirror, Darkly", which takes place in the Mirror Universe. Little is
known about this version of Reed, except that he is a major in the MACO
corps (the regular universe's version of Reed was, for a time,
considered for such a role by the show's writers), and is the head of
all MACOs on the ISS Enterprise.

Reed invented the Agony booth, which is used to torture prisoners. After
transferring to the USS Defiant, which had drifted into the Mirror
Universe, he leads a team to attempt capture of a Gorn stowaway on the
ship. Reed's team is killed when the Gorn detonates a bomb in their
path. Badly injured, all Reed says is, "I've failed you, captain,"
showing he still had a suicidal sense of self-sacrifice in the Mirror
Universe. Dr. Phlox later said that Reed had a 50/50 chance of
recovering, but that he didn't think anyone would really mind if Reed
died. It is not revealed whether Reed survives.

History of character development

    * In light of Star Trek's long history of representing characters of
      all races, colors, and creeds, fans have petitioned Paramount for
      years to finally include a gay or bisexual person as a regular
      character. In the development stage of Enterprise, it was reported
      that producers originally intended for one of the main characters
      to be the first openly gay character on Star Trek. Many
      speculate[citation needed], for different reasons, that Malcolm
      Reed was the most likely candidate. Any such plans were abandoned
      as early backstory clearly stated Reed's preference (as well as
      everyone else's) as heterosexual. Actor Dominic Keating, for his
      part, stated at a science fiction convention that the possibility
      that his character would be gay was discussed, and rejected,
      although it is unclear what was the context of this discussion and
      who made the final decision. While no character has yet been
      openly gay, George Takei, the actor who played Hikaru Sulu on the
      original series made a public announcement that he was gay.[1]