I'm not funny
eK but I'll read with glee.
Okay part 3 of "T'Pol's issues that screwed everything up" So now that she decides to stay on board
Enterprise you'd think that she'd be trusted now,
especially by a certain human engineer we all know and love, alas we still have a few more hurdles to cross before that happens...
T'POL: Prepare to leave orbit on my order.
TUCKER: Belay that! Keep this ship right where it is.
T'POL: I don't have to reiterate that I outrank you, Mister Tucker. Ensign.
CREWMAN [OC]: Engineering.
TUCKER: Billy, stand by to vent the nacelles on my order.
CREWMAN [OC]: Yes, sir.
TUCKER: We're not going anywhere.
T'POL: I didn't say leave orbit, I said prepare to leave orbit. I have no intention of abandoning the Captain, dead or alive.
But happily it's the last major such incident of this nature. She gains the man's trust
Finally! and of course there's that cute moment with the wig. You could say this is when things start going on a very positive path for her. But the fact that it took so long, was obviously a strain.
And just when things are looking up with no major personality conflicts and awkward interspeices moments we come too...
A Night In Sickbay!
NOT! Okay how awkward could this be to our girl. After months and months of dealing with distrust, some mockery, and snide remarks... After months of having her ideas challenged and ignored, she's at a place where she thinks she's got the crew's confidence, and some respect from her Captain and what happens...
Only the most awkward teenage boys pick up lines ever! And that wasn't even the worst part, her Captain isn't listening to what he has to do to fix a major diplomatic incident
and get the part the ship needs. So now she's got a two-fold problem, one she's got to get the Captain to do his job, two she's got to be wondering
Does the Captain respect my abilities and sacrifices for this crew, or is he just hoping I will mate with him? Now I know TPTB were playing, but it was horribly awkward and
both actors played it that way. T'Pol couldn't have been more determined to nip this in the bud if she had tatooed no on her face.
Still, as bad as it was, things get much worse. P'Jem comes back to bite hard. To his credit, Archer's privately taking credit for the mess. It really is too bad that it would be VERY BAD for earth and Starfleet if he took blame publically. But this is where T'Pol's self-worth, issues come into play. Her people view her as the destroyer of P'Jem, and to her way of looking at things they're right!
I didn't stop them from going down to the monestary, I didn't deter the captain from his course of action, Thousands of years of Vulcan history, relics and sacred teachings destroyed because on my actions.And the kicker is, that is
her sacred site, these are her relics, the masters buried there are the revered men of
her people,
she reveres them. This is a part of her heritage, and also her personal history. It was the place she went when she was at her weakest point up to that time. From her POV The monks saved her. If anyone had died I shutter to think what would have happened to her. There was definitely a crushing weight of guilt there.
But again there's that Dang conflict of right and wrong. The obseravation station was illegal, her people have broken a treaty that her idol brokered. Everything these humans resent Vulcans for, is blatently out in the open. The hypocracy and lies the dishonor, flys in the face of everything she was devoting her life to in the Diplomatic sphere. And as guilty as she believes herself to be she's also been betreyed. By the people who have condemned her saying that she's straying from the proper path. How can she support the system, but how can she leave it?
Let's not get into the awkward moments of being tied up, they're not all that important. What
is important, is that for all their issues, Archer wants her to stay. For all the stress and conflicts, on
Enterprise she's starting to believe she was being accepted. And beyond anything else, she craves acceptence.
But I really like how she saves Sopek. This is the essence of her character,
No matter how awful anyone is to her, if she sees them in danger, or something unjust happening she will take action. Even if it kills her! Some people find that self-destructive. I find it quite inspiring. She is truly an unselfish woman.
So YEY she's saved, now everything will be okay right? 2 words...
V'tosh Kat'ur! If there was any episode that clearly shows how much she struggles to find a place that accepts her, this is it! Every lesson she has every been taught, every instinct she has, is telling her to
STAY AWAY! But these are her people, outcasts, she's drawn to them because she knows what it's like to be not quite right. Tavin is actually a reasonable man, he presents his arguments in an articulate way, they aren't "condemning" logic, knowing the VHC she was probably expecting some Vulcans like those on the
Seleya. She's not getting that.
Adding to the internal pressure, everyone on the ship is really digging these people. All the conflicts she deals with don't exist for them. Trip is having a grand old time with Kov, Archer is chummy with Tavin. There's no stress, everyone is accepting of everyone! They're even accepting of
her this despite the fact that she's trashed them from the first bite of chicken marsala. It's enticing. Finally Archer weighs in...
ARCHER: It seems to me like, you've been busy avoiding them. I can understand that you might not approve of what they're trying to do, but for all we know they're onto something.
T'POL: That's unlikely.
ARCHER: Is it? Eight years. That's a pretty good track record.
T'POL: Just because they smile and eat chicken doesn't mean they've learned to master their emotions.
ARCHER: Maybe I'm just relieved to finally meet some Vulcans who aren't giving me a hard time. Then again, if they have found this balance.
T'POL: They're not the first ones to attempt this, Captain. Others have tried to reintegrate their emotions. They all failed. What they're doing is dangerous.
ARCHER: Unless my instincts are way off, they don't seem very dangerous to me. But I could be wrong. I can't order you to spend time with them, but I would encourage you to keep an open mind.
There is a very strong unspoken message here.
If you don't at least try to keep an open mind, you're like all the Vulcans who give us a hard time. If you really trust me, then trust me to know these people won't hurt you.It's a challenge, a challenge to prove that she's grown into the mindset on the mission, and the crew. She can't back down. If she does, it puts her being accepted by the people she lives with in jepordy. If she doesn't do this she's still the VHC officer on ship, not a member of the crew.
And what a perfect opening for our resident psychopath...
TOLARIS: How long have you lived among humans?
T'POL: I spent two years at the Vulcan consulate on Earth and seven months on Enterprise.
TOLARIS: That's a long time away from home. Living here has obviously affected you in ways that you don't realise.
T'POL: You may be right. On occasion, I also drink chamomile tea.
TOLARIS: And you have a sense of humour. A concept that most Vulcans can't seem to grasp.
T'POL: You're easily amused.
TOLARIS: There's that humour again. I'm curious, why do you stay here?
T'POL: Captain Archer needs a Science Officer.
TOLARIS: Is that the only reason? Maybe you're more attached to these people than you'd care to admit.
T'POL: What makes you say that?
TOLARIS: Your emotions are much closer to the surface than other Vulcans. They're easier to read.
T'POL: I have yet to mediate this evening. Perhaps that's what you're sensing.
TOLARIS: This may surprise you, but we still meditate. The balance between emotion and logic requires constant discipline.
T'POL: So you've said. You and your colleagues have chosen a reckless path.
TOLARIS: Have we?
T'POL: History's shown that Vulcans who attempt to embrace their emotions often revert to their primal nature.
TOLARIS: That's a myth. Propaganda from five thousand years ago. Our primal nature, T'Pol, is not as dangerous as you think. Commander Tucker suggests that I try something called pizza. Would you care to join me?
It's completely unfair how outmatched she is here. He's the perfect balance of rebel and articulate and rational. He pushes just enough to get her to admit that she has been assimilating to life with humans, and challenges her very subtley. Which brings us back to another personality trait that causes our girl a mess of trouble...
Girl cannot say no to a dare! Seriously, whenever someone says "Oh no you can't" she goes and does it! It's good for somethings, rotten in others.
The kicker with the psychopath is that he says something completely true!
T'POL: (spotting a statue in an alcove) It's curious that people who reject Surak's teachings would display his likeness.
TOLARIS: We don't reject his teachings. We simply disagree with how they're interpreted. Have you read his original text? He never intended for us to purge our emotions. He wanted us to master them,
Oh the best serial predators are invisible until they strike!
I gotta say the actor and the writers did an outstanding job here. Poor girl didn't stand a chance.
So she agrees to stop her meditation has some very wild dreams, but she's not a crazy animal. So far nothing bad has happened. And of course she gets approval. Approval is
good. And one thing you have to remember that Vulcans have always been telepathic, it's been a part of her daily life from the womb. While she might not have a clue what a "mind-meld" is, she does know that it would be
unthinkable to harm another person in such a way, it goes against the very fabric of her existence.
She's let herself trust her Captain and a member of her people, despite her training and extincts hoping to be accepted by both this group of Vulcans, and the humans. And that is the
real tragedy of her rape. Just try to think of the damage this does to her self worth. She went against her training, indulged in the weakness she was warned against her entire life, and she was brutalized. She listened to the humans and they were wrong. And now because of P'Jem she's cut off from familiar help. Of course she doesn't they wouldn't help her anyway. All she knows is that she's on a ship where nobody can truly appreciate her position. They already led her astray. She's alone.
UG! Enough, let's discuss.