T Pol
Sub-Commander T'Pol is a fictional character played by Jolene Blalock in Star Trek: Enterprise. She is a Vulcan who serves as the science officer aboard the Starship Enterprise. Born in 2088, T'Pol is the first Vulcan officer to ever serve a prolonged term on a human vessel. She was stationed aboard the Enterprise (NX-01) at the insistence of the Vulcan High Command in April 2151. In a time when most Vulcans viewed humans with arrogant disdain, and some humans distrust Vulcans, T'Pol has remained aboard Enterprise despite several attempts by her superiors to recall her to Vulcan. T'Pol's decision to remain aboard Enterprise has brought considerable scrutiny upon her from her superiors, and increasing support for her from her captain.
T'Pol is considerably more emotional than most other Vulcans. This is in part due to circumstances that befall her (see below) but her mother states that T'Pol's emotions have always resided close to the surface.
Originally viewed by her crewmates with resentment and suspicion, T'Pol has been forced to earn the trust of fellow officers. The character of T'Pol has developed from that of a "broken record" spouting the dogma of the Vulcan Science Council to that of a questioning scientific mind. Though she does not openly defy or reject the rulings of the Vulcan Science Council, her experiences on Enterprise have proven to her that they can be wrong.
T'Pol serves as an icon of Vulcan integrity. Her willingness to question the stale, self-serving decisions of her superiors, and her respect for Captain Archer position her at the fulcrum of human/Vulcan relations.
Approximately 16 years before joining the crew of Enterprise, T'Pol was an agent for Vulcan's intelligence service. During a mission to apprehend a pair of rogue Vulcans, she was forced to shoot and kill one of them. This act caused her to suffer a form of nervous breakdown which led to her undergoing a procedure that erased all memory of the incident. This "memory cap" inadvertently came off when she was briefly reactivated as an agent during 2152 in order to capture the last of the rogue Vulcans, and she experienced an emotional collapse. Captain Archer helped her through the experience, an act that cemented the bond of trust between them. Given the option to once again suppress her memory of killing, she chose to live with it instead. (episode, "The Seventh")
T'Pol has Pan'aar Syndrome, an incurable condition caused by a mind-meld that was forced upon her by another Vulcan (during a form of date rape). This condition, which has parallels with HIV, is kept in check with medication. The episode in which T'Pol's condition was revealed ("Stigma") revealed that she is incapable of performing mind melds herself.
In 2153, T'Pol resigns her commission to the Vulcan High Command to accompany the crew of Enterprise into the Delphic Expanse to find the Xindi, a mysterious race accused of killing seven million humans on Earth.
While aboard the Vulcan ship Seleya, T'Pol experienced the side-effects of Trellium-D, losing control of her emotions. Later, for three months before the Enterprise reached Azati Prime, T'Pol secretly injected herself with small amounts of Trellium-D that she liquidated, as though it were a narcotic. After a devastating Xindi attack near Azati Prime, T'Pol confessed to Dr. Phlox. In Harbinger, perhaps due to the effects of the substance, T'Pol entered into a taboo-breaking sexual relationship with chief engineer Charles Tucker which she later tried to dismiss as an experiment. An encounter with an older version of herself, in E-Squared, from more than a century in the future revealed to her that she married the Earthling.
A complex (and somewhat contradictory) character, T'Pol has also grown very close to Capt. Jonathan Archer, to the point of entering a deep depression on two occasions during the Xindi mission when she believes he has been killed (the first occasion may or may not have contributed to the Enterprise's near destruction at Azati Prime). In one alternate timeline (depicted in "Twilight"), T'Pol devotes her life to caring for Archer when parasites rob him of his short-term memory and it is made clear that she loves him. In the current timeline (particularly in the first two seasons of the series) there have been signs that their relationship has the potential to become more than simply that between a captain and science officer, however this now appears to have been preempted by Archer's dedication to complete the Xindi mission, and T'Pol's blossoming relationship with Tucker.
Near the end of the Xindi mission, T'Pol confesses to Archer and Tucker that she is considering enlisting in Starfleet. (Some fans have suggested that this violates Trek canon which many feel suggests that Mr. Spock was the first Vulcan in Starfleet. However, in fact, there is actually no reference anywhere in Star Trek canon to suggest that Spock was the first Vulcan in Starfleet, though there are suggestions he was the first to attend Starfleet Academy, which T'Pol does not do.)
T'Pol, who holds the record for the longest time a Vulcan has spent serving with humans (the previous record was two weeks, compared to T'Pol's now serving for more than three years), has demonstrated her ability to adapt. Originally, she required a form of medication in order to tolerate the odors given off by humans and Capt. Archer's pet dog Porthos (due to Vulcans having a sensitive sense of smell). Eventually, she stopped using the medication. She has also demonstrated a sophisticated sense of humor. And, in a case of "when in Rome, do as the Romans do," she has also begun eating some types of foods (fruit, popcorn) with her hands, breaking a long-standing Vulcan taboo in the process. (This last has never been explained fully on screen, however it is strongly implied by her frequent mention of having adapted to living with humans).
T'Pol's age was kept a closely guarded secret until the end of the third season when she revealed that she is 65 years old.
T'Pol was engaged to marry a Vulcan named Koss prior to the start of Enterprise's mission, but elected to delay her marriage indefinitely (due in part to a cultural requirement that would have forced her to stay on Vulcan for a year after the marriage). The fourth season episode "Home" saw T'Pol having to deal with the consequences of her decision, when she chooses to marry Koss in order to save the reputation of her mother. This decision is made more difficult by her growing feelings for Tucker, though she appears to be unaware that he has fallen in love with her. Soon after her marriage, she chooses to join Starfleet as a commissioned officer, having negotiated her way out of the customary one-year residence on Vulcan that newlywed Vulcan females must undertake. These events coincide with an apparent decline in her health; during her visit to Vulcan she appears gaunt and sunken-cheeked; she states that she has been ill, though it is not stated explicitly whether she is referring to her Trellium-D addiction or her Pan'aar Syndrome. (Some fans have expressed concern that this appearance might reflect the real-life health of actress Jolene Blalock, though so far there doesn't seem to be any indication that this is the case.)
In May 2154, T'Pol assumed duties as a Starfleet officer, with the rank of Commander. However, she does not wear a standard Starfleet uniform, therefore it is suggested that her relationship with the organization is a unique one.
Family
Little has been revealed of T'Pol's family until recently. Her father (who has yet to be identified by name) is deceased, while her mother, T'Les, recently resigned from the Vulcan Science Academy. She has no siblings. In "Home" she married Koss, a fellow Vulcan.
In the alternate timeline seen in "E2", T'Pol marries Charles Tucker and they have a son, Lorian, who becomes the captain of Enterprise. The fate of Lorian following the restoration of the timeline is not known (the writers having left a door open for a later return by the popular character). In this same episode, T'Pol met an older version of herself (of age approximately 180 years). The fate of "Old T'Pol" is also unknown.
There has been fanon speculation that T'Pol and Archer's relationship in the alternate timeline of the episode "Twilight" constitutes a common law marriage, but this was never explored.
There has also been additional speculation that Ambassador Soval might be somehow related to T'Pol, but again the series has yet to confirm this. Likewise, fan speculation that T'Pol is somehow related to Sarek, the father of Mr. Spock is also just that, for now. However, this is possible based upon Sarek's stated age in Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Whether this will be the path the creative staff of the series takes remains to be seen.
Controversy
As with Seven of Nine, critics see T'Pol as an attempt by Rick Berman and Paramount to shift the demographic of the show to make it appealing mainly to younger males. They point to the fact that T'Pol normally wears a form fitting jumpsuit, along with the fact that she has been seen in several revealing poses as evidence of this (ignoring the fact that such attire has been commonplace in Star Trek history going back to the original series in 1966, and that T'Pol's outfits became rather conservative in the third season). However, many other fans feel that T'Pol has grown to become the heart and soul of the series, and its single most interesting character.
External Links
- T'Pol (http://www.memory-alpha.org/en/index.php/T%27Pol) at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek AskFactMaster.ComAskFactMaster.Com
- StarTrek.com: T'Pol (http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/ENT/character/1122645.html)
Categories: Fictional aliens | Star Trek characters