Star Trek: Enterprise turning the Vulcans into villains was a controversial move, but it worked because of T’Pol (Jolene Blalock) in Enterprise season 1, episode 7, “The Andorian Incident.” Enterprise is a prequel to the rest of Star Trek, but it’s set 88 years after humans and Vulcans formally met each other in Star Trek: First Contact. Enterprise broke the belief that the relationship between Earth and Vulcan was smooth sailing after Dr. Zephram Cochrane’s (James Cromwell) historic First Contact in 2063.
In Star Trek: Enterprise season 1, episode 7, “The Andorian Incident,” Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) decides to visit the Vulcan monastery on P’Jem. T’Pol can’t dissuade Archer from disturbing this private Vulcan sanctuary, and their sightseeing immediately goes awry when the Enterprise crew is taken hostage by Andorians led by Shran (Jeffrey Combs). The Andorians believe that the Vulcans built a secret listening station in order to spy on nearby Andoria, The Vulcans maintain no such installation exists, but they are proven to be liars. Archer, T’Pol, Commander Trip Tucker (Connor Trinneer), and Shran find a massive Vulcan installation in the catacombs of P’Jem, and they have indeed been illegally monitoring the Andorians. Archer allows Shran to bring this proof back to Andoria.
T’Pol Sold What Vulcans As Villains In Enterprise Means
The Vulcans’ treachery may have been a hard pill to swallow for longtime Star Trek fans used to them being humanity’s staunch allies, but the crucial element that made this turn work in Enterprise was T’Pol herself. T’Pol was a loyal Vulcan who initially disliked her assignment to Enterprise and working with Captain Archer and his reckless human crew. T’Pol towed the Vulcan party line that J’Pem was merely a monastery, and she had no idea of its true purpose. When T’Pol saw the secret listening station, she didn’t say a word, but Jolene Blalock’s performance told the story. T’Pol was shocked, disturbed, and deeply disappointed in the Vulcan High Council. T’Pol immediately backed Archer’s decision to give Shran proof of the Vulcans’ villainy.
Enterprise took a big gamble by portraying the Vulcans as duplicitous in the 22nd century, but it makes for a more interesting story than the Vulcans merely being humanity’s cheerleaders as they made the leap to become galactic explorers. The insidious Vulcans gave them a storyline and a means to change, which begins to happen in Star Trek: Enterprise season 4 with the introduction of the younger T’Pau (Kara Zediker), who overthrew the corrupt Vulcan High Council and its leader, Administrator V’Las (Robert Foxworth). The Vulcans changing in Enterprise‘s era gives a greater significance to the role Vulcans like Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Sarek (Mark Lenard) play in Star Trek: The Original Series.
T’Pol Became Loyal To Starfleet Instead Of Vulcan
For T’Pol, “The Andorian Incident” was a major turning point, although it may not have been clear at the time. T’Pol underwent a radical transformation throughout Star Trek: Enterprise and her realization of the Vulcans’ falsehood on P’Jem was the first step toward T’Pol shifting her allegiance to Captain Archer and Starfleet. As Enterprise continued, other Vulcans T’Pol met would attempt to manipulate, control, and harm her, further alienating T’Pol from her own people. In Star Trek: Enterprise season 4, T’Pol and Captain Archer played major roles in helping T’Pau start a revolution on Vulcan that would bring back the teachings of Surak and purge the corruption from the Vulcan High Council.
Later in Star Trek: Enterprise season 1, P’Jem is destroyed by the Andorians, and Shran would return to become both an antagonist and an ally of Captain Archer. But T’Pol’s growth as a character who had to reconcile what it means to be Vulcan for herself began in Enterprise season 1’s “The Andorian Incident.” As a Vulcan, T’Pol couldn’t outwardly express how crushed she was to learn the Vulcans were villains, but it was all there in Jolene Blalock’s eyes and body language when she saw the listening station on P’Jem. The betrayal T’Pol felt mirrored that of the fans as well, which ultimately made Star Trek: Enterprise‘s macro story about the Vulcans work.
