Did T'Pol NEED the Trellium D?

[WarpGirl]

OK I'm not trying to get into the whole was it right or wrong that she did it. I have no death wish. However I see lots of stories where it's inferred that without the TD she could have never "accessed" her emotions and therefore never would have had a romantic relationship with Trip. I'm sorry but I do not understand this theory at all. Given that we know Vulcans have had relationships with other speices (some far more emotionally driven than humans) I cry foul! Another thing is that in order to control their emotions Vulcans need to be aware of them and have access to them. Tuvok says this, Spock says this, Sarek says this. OK so why the need for TD in T'Pol's case? Is she defective or something? Also if T'Pol couldn't access her emotions without the TD why did she need to meditate at all. Meditation is how a Vulcan processes the emotions they experience and are bombarded with. They need access to them to do that.

So what do you all think right or wrong did T'Pol NEED the trellium?

[crystalswolf]

Personally, I saw it as her opportunity to experience the emotions without having to control them. Her Vulcan upbringing is so much a part of her that she feels compelled to control them whenever they surface as they are taught to do. But with TD, she couldn't control them even if she tried.

Not to mention that her mother's comment about her emotions always being at the surface probably required more training which only adds to all of this.

Would she have acted on her emotions w/o it? I think so. But I think it would have taken longer, perhaps years.

[Alelou]

I think Trellium-D gave T'Pol the courage or foolhardiness or excuse to act on emotional impulses she would otherwise have felt were wrong and tried to suppress. (And I'm sorry, but they were wrong for an officer in a chain of command in a wartime situation, never mind how illogically matched they were in terms of genetics and lifespan.)

However, I'm not saying she wouldn't have done anything without the Trellium-D. If the writers made anything clear about T'Pol, it's that she doesn't always color inside the lines and that her emotions were close to the surface by Vulcan standards.

However, I do believe that since she did take it she would then blame her actions on it. It's easier than admitting to herself that she's really that impulsive and illogical. If she hadn't had Trellium-D, she probably would have blamed Panar. The other Vulcans in love with Humans in Star Trek usually give us some bullshit 'logic' reason, like Sarek did in the movie, before push comes to shove and they have to admit it was just love.

[pdsldl]

I never thought she needed the TD to experience her emotions. She used it to let herself feel the emotions she was having for Trip much like many use alcohol or drugs to release their inhibitions and self consciousness when in difficult, usually social or romantic situations. She experimented with letting go with Tolaris I think because some part of her really wanted to be able to feel without the risk of releasing the strong emotions Vulcans repress. That attempt came back to bite her in the posterior but the scientist/risk taker made her keep trying to find a way. It wasn't rational or logical, but when is it ever those things that drive one towards someone you love, when it's the real thing?

[Silverbullet]

I was never sure if T-Pol was on TD when she Seduced Trip. She told Phlox she had been on it for a few months. Cannot remember how lng. Problem is, in the series it is hard to tell how much time was supposed to have elapsed between episodes.

I would have thought her experience from being on the Vulcan ship with all of those vulcan Zombies would have scared Hell out of her and stopped her from experimenting even if she knew the TD could release her emotional control. I belived That T-Pol was too logical for that.

Of course, the damned writers were determined to make her a druggie.

BTW, since she was a civilian at that time she would not have been in the Chain of Comand. She could play footsie with Trip without violating regs.

[Alelou]

BTW, since she was a civilian at that time she would not have been in the Chain of Comand. She could play footsie with Trip without violating regs.

Sure, if you want to play at technicalities instead of recognizing the reality of her role on that ship.

C'est la guerre. People aren't perfect, perhaps especially healthy young people in the prime of their life who could die at any moment.

[WarpGirl]

OK my prime issue with this whole thing is the idea that the TD somehow made her aware of the emotions she has and allowed her to feel them. This is not true, Vulcans have always been aware of their emotions and actually felt them. All the TD did was cause her to express them in a different way. One which was detrimental to her well being. I really, really, hate the idea that the way this whole thing is presented gives T'Pol a way out of taking any responsibility as an adult of any speices. And while I agree with dear Alelou about almost everything she said I don't see Sarek's "logical reasons" as bull. I also don't think T'Pol was "wrong" to want anything but she wasn't that brilliant at getting it.

And I also don't beilieve real love is irrational. My guy and I are proof of that. Ok so he's not rational I'm enough for us both.

[Pegmumm]

Nah... she didn't need it beyond helping her to tolerate a bad situation not because of her feelings for Trip but her fear of dying at any moment. I think it was an adjunct to her grief over the total futility of the situation. Given she already had P'nar's syndrome which could have been blamed for the whole emotion control thing. She showed this side with Tolaris, her mother's comment about her emotions, Soval's constant comments.

She wanted to experience them... and did numerous times sans trellium.
I don't think the drug use changed what she would have done otherwise. Her attachment to Trip came from the neuropressure and her desire for a mate, not some drug induced haze. At least that's the way I view it.

Trellium gave her something to blame her lack of control on instead of taking responsibility for her actions.

peg

[WarpGirl]

That is precisely why I hate the whole thing. But the idea that the whole thing was "blessing" in disguise disgusts me. I think the tortures and mental rapes she endured played a part of why she was so vaunerable to the addiction is very important. Not to mention the fact that the anomalies were taking their toll physically and psychologically on everyone. Vulcans believe in the power of the mind and she was under constant strain in a million different ways. But I don't see how the TD helped her cope with any of it.

[Asso]

It's strange: is it me the only one who loves Trellium D affair?

[WarpGirl]

Well whether you like it or not isn't really the question. The question is whether you think she needed it to be with Trip. To me that cheapens the whole relationship. That and the fact that no other Vulcan needed it to marry a non-Vulcan. Heck Vulcans have married Romulans without it. So why would T'Pol need it?

[Asso]

Well whether you like it or not isn't really the question.

I beg your pardon?

[Alelou]

I didn't know you were a fan of the Trellium-D storyline, Asso. I figured you'd think T'Pol didn't need anything to make her want to make a move on Trip pretty much from day one.

I think it's an interesting question. Would T'Pol have jumped Trip without it?

So far I think most of us are saying yes, but it would have taken longer, or she would have had to come up with another excuse for her behavior. (Denial, thy name is T'Pol.)

[WarpGirl]

Well you can like the TD story without thinking T'Pol needed it to love Trip. Amen Alelou! That's what I meant.

[Dinah]

She didn't "need" it to be with Trip, but I think it probably enhanced the experience. With Tolaris, she was curious and that ended badly. That experience would certainly make her wary. I'm not sure that T'Pol didn't become addicted as soon as she spent time on the Seleya. I don't think she went looking for the addiction; I think the addiction came to her. But probably against her better judgment, she realized that she could relate to Trip in a way she never could before. With Amanda lurking around, T'Pol wanted to claim her man. How better that to give him what she thinks he wants -- a Human-style relationship. Trellium D allowed her to express herself in a ways that would normally make her most uncomforable because she had been suppressing those emotions for over sixty years. The next day, it's no wonder she gave him the whole "exploration" excuse. The traditional Vulcan in her must have been appalled, guilty and ashamed. Maybe this revelation was the reason she didn't backslide when it came to kicking the habit. She realized that if she was going to have any sort of relationship with Trip, this wasn't the way.