monkee reviews 'Fusion'
First Impressions: [monkee sings] Feelings...nothing more than feelings...tryin' to forget my...feelings of...invigoration...
Ahem. Sorry. Seriously, though, this was a good Vulcan episode
V'tosh Ka'tur – Vulcans without Logic: Enterprise encounters a small Vulcan transport vessel in need of assistance with repairs. They quickly discover that these aren't the type of Vulcans they're familiar with. They are a small group who, for the last eight years, have opted not to abandon logic, but rather to accept, control, and integrate their emotions. This is what they believe Surak actually intended. T'Pol initially dismisses their efforts. "You and your colleagues have chosen a reckless path," she tells one of them. "History has shown that Vulcans who attempt to embrace their emotions often revert to their primal natures." Eventually, however, she becomes curious enough to do some experimenting of her own.
I've often wished that Trek would explore this topic. Since the days of the mysterious Mr. Spock, I've wondered about Vulcans. How can they suppress their emotions? As a human, that's nearly impossible for me to really understand. Do Vulcan babies smile? Surely they must. Do their parents smile back? How can they not? The issue has been addressed obliquely in many episodes, and we did meet another band of emotional Vulcans in Star Trek V (although...hmmm...the kindest thing I can think of to say is that STV was more about finding God/Xanadu than the Vulcans), but this is the first time they've looked at the subject directly.
They did a pretty good job with it, too, although I'd like to see some follow-up. Can Vulcans successfully master their emotions without repressing them? The evidence would suggest that they can't, since, aside from Sybok's cult, we've not seen any in the future generations. Still, you never know. Perhaps the experimentation continued, and we just weren't privy to it. And where do the Romulans fit in to all of this, anyway? They allegedly broke away from the Vulcans thousands of years ago, when the Vulcans embraced logic. The Romulans are an impulsive, passionate people, but they aren't self-destructing, or anything.
Certainly a good case can be made for both sides of the logic vs. emotion question in this episode. Let's take a look at the two Vulcans we get to know best.
Tolaris: Tolaris, a young, intense Vulcan, takes an unusual interest in T'Pol right from the start, because, as he says, the time she's spent with humans has drawn her emotions close to the surface. He strongly encourages her – even manipulates her – into exploring her own emotions. T'Pol is intrigued by Tolaris, and, we discover later, is also predisposed to want to do this because of an emotional incident that she experienced once, on earth. At his suggestion, she skips her nightly centering meditation, and has a vivid, emotional, erotic dream that disturbs her deeply. She's determined to cease her experimentation, but Tolaris draws the memory of her terran emotional experience out, and tells her "You can feel that way again, T'Pol. It isn't difficult, and it's nothing to be afraid of."
She agrees to undergo an ancient and long-abandoned Vulcan ritual called a 'mind meld' with him, and unfortunately, he turns out to be wrong on both counts – it's difficult AND something to be afraid of, at least for her. He is so excited by her emotions that he loses control completely. She asks him to break the link, and she means it, but he is too far-gone and refuses. She has to forcibly break the meld and push him away, and she winds up in sickbay, nearly suffering serious neurologic damage.
Tolaris and T'Pol's mind meld is the most disturbing thing I've seen on Trek for a while. I'll credit Jolene Blalock and guest star Enrique Murciano's performances for that. T'Pol's genuine fear and desperation, and Tolaris' trembling and creepy intensity made the scene seem violent and real. Anyone witnessing Tolaris' loss of control here, and with Archer the next day, would have to agree with T'Pol's earlier assertion that what these Vulcans are doing is dangerous.
Or maybe not, because on the other hand, there's Kov.
Kov: It's too bad T'Pol didn't take up with Kov instead. She would have had a far more positive experience with this group of Vulcans if she had. Kov and Trip Tucker work together to repair the Vulcan ship, and form a real friendship in the process, as well as a cultural exchange that goes deeper than the light-hearted (and very amusing) banter about football and sex. In the episode's B-story, Archer learns via Admiral Forrest and Ambassador Soval, that Kov's estranged father is dying and wants to make peace with his son. Archer is unsuccessful in persuading Kov to do it, but Trip, in one of the episode's finest scenes, is able to get through to his new friend.
Kov has a sense of humor, and a good feel for friendship. His father's illness could have sent him into an emotional tailspin, but instead he is flexible, learns a little something, and comes out whole and...well, happy.
So what gives? Are Vulcan emotions something dangerous to be suppressed at all costs, or not? I think the answer is simple – Leonard Nimoy said in a recent interview, "Vulcans are a race of people. They're all going to be different." Kov has had more success at integrating his emotions than Tolaris has. Maybe it's Tolaris' age, or personality, or maybe, as Counselor Troi would say, he's just nuts! In the end, I suppose, each individual Vulcan just has to find out what works for them. Maybe T'Pol will want to explore this a little later, although I hope she heeds Phlox's advice next time and takes it slow. I'd like to see more of the V'tosh Ka'tur on Enterprise, and I also wish there were some way that we could see what became of them in later centuries.
Vulcans among Humans: Tolaris does make one accurate observation – T'Pol has been influenced in many ways by serving with humans. She has developed a sense of humor, for example, a concept that eludes most Vulcans. It's the same subtle, sarcastic sense of humor that we saw in Spock and Tuvok. Interesting. It's what makes those Vulcan characters so generally likeable, at least to me.
Hot Vulcan Sex: Sigh. Let's take a look at the credits. Yep – 'Story by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga.' Well, there's a big surprise! Ah, well – at least they've gotten it out of their systems, for now. Maybe we'll even be spared an out-of-the-blue T'Pol relationship with some unlikely shipmate in the series finale. Actually, the big T'Pol-has-sex scene could have been handled a whole lot worse. It almost made sense here, within a dream sequence involving the memory of an emotional reaction to music.
And hey, one woman's nightmare...Why can't *I* have dreams like that? Do I dream about walking steamy city streets and having passionate encounters with hot Vulcan men? Alas, no. *I* have to have weird dreams about losing my children in crowded places and dark lakes. It's not fair, I tell you!
Unanswered Questions: While we're on the subject of hot Vulcan sex, we STILL know absolutely nothing about the sexuality of Vulcan females. I know some of the novels have addressed this, but they aren't considered canon. Kov confirms for us, once again, in a conversation with Trip (and it's getting harder and harder to believe that all of this is going to remain a mystery in the time of Kirk and Spock, by the way) that Vulcan men are driven to mate once every seven years. What about the women, though? If T'Pring was in pon farr in 'Amok Time,' it was certainly a milder case than Spock's was. Are they driven to mate at all? Do they have better control over these urges than Vulcan men do? Inquiring minds want to know these things! It would have been interesting to see a female Vulcan with the V'tosh Ka'turs. Well, I'll be patient. They still have six plus years to address this with T'Pol.
Shallow Observation: Tolaris was one gorgeous hunk of Vulcan. Well, he was!
A Less Shallow Observation: Enrique Murciano did an excellent job. Watch Tolaris' face when T'Pol gets to the part of her memory where she admits she felt something. He reminded me of the creepy dark thought addicts in Voyager's 'Random Thoughts.' Great job.
Mind Melds: I've seen a lot of griping on bulletin boards about this, and I really don't understand what all of the fuss is about. I guess people just don't like it when modern Trek steps on the toes of the original series, and everyone who's anyone knows that Spock introduced the mind meld in the TOS episode 'Dagger of the Mind.' Things like this just don't bother me, especially when there is a logical explanation for them. Spock himself said the procedure was an intensely personal one. I can understand why the Vulcans could have conveniently forgotten about it for a thousand years or so, once they decided to follow the path of logic. This is not your everyday, run-of-the-mill telepathy, after all – it's becoming completely ONE with someone else's mind! It's got to be disturbing for them. Anyway, perhaps this group of Vulcans will introduce it into Vulcan society again, or maybe it's the sort of thing that not every Vulcan knows about. I'm willing to play along.
Character Development: In addition to learning more about Vulcan emotions this week, we also learn more about T'Pol. Turns out she's a bit of a rebel! She was curious and adventurous enough to break protocol and leave the Vulcan compound late one night back on earth to do some exploring. T'Pol is more open-minded than most of the other Vulcans of this era, and that makes her the perfect 'observer' on Enterprise, even if her superiors don't appreciate that yet. We also get a nice back-story from Trip's elementary school days. He really excels in these first contact type situations, due to his inherent openness.
And damn but that little dance demonstration was adorable!
Character interactions: Nice interactions this week between Archer and T'Pol and Archer and Trip. I'm really starting to look forward to scenes between any combination of the 'big three' (Archer, T'Pol, and Tucker). They're no Kirk, Spock and McCoy yet, but they have potential. I also enjoyed the T'Pol and Phlox scene in sickbay.
'Shipper Watch: Tucker speculates that Archer may actually be jealous about all the time T'Pol is spending with Tolaris, but it really didn't strike me that way. He simply seemed concerned about someone he's starting to consider a friend as well as a member of his crew. I loved their conversation over the meditation candle at the end. Nice.
Archer Watch: His biases show through yet again – he LIKES these Vulcans because they behave more like humans and 'strongly encourages' T'Pol to spend more time with them, perhaps hoping she'll see the error of her ways. He learns better, though, in the end. I wondered how he could be stupid enough to confront Tolaris the way he did – why he didn't simply have armed security boot him off the ship. Now I see that he was trying to make a point with Tolaris, and show him that he was not in control of his emotions at all. He just underestimated the Vulcan's wrath and strength, which is understandable. He was just lucky, though, that he was able to get his hands on that phase pistol. It could have been ugly!
Best Lines:
"Is it true you mate year round with any of them you chose?" (Kov, to Trip)
"Just because they smile and eat chicken doesn't mean they've learned to master their emotions." (T'Pol, to Archer)
"We don't reject Surak's teachings, we simply disagree with how they've been interpreted." (Tolaris, to T'Pol)
"They're not trying to kill the quarterback!" (Trip, to Kov)
"The last time I spoke to my father, he said I brought shame to fifteen generations of my family." "He's dying, Kov." (Kov and Archer)
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous." (Trip, to Archer)
"Do Vulcans dance?" "Only when it's part of some tedious ceremony." (Trip and Kov)
"You ASSAULTED a member of my crew!" (Archer, to Tolaris)
"If I'd known I was going to get thrown across the room that hard, I might have tried a different approach." (Archer, to Tolaris)
"You do this every night?" "Every night." "I think I finally understand why." (Archer, T'Pol, and Archer)
Best Line:
"You probably don't know this, but regret is one of the strongest emotions, and one of the saddest. I have a feeling you haven't had a brush with it yet, but sounds to me like you're pretty close. And it's something you might want to avoid." (Trip, to Kov)
Rating: 9/10. The best Vulcan episode since Voyager's 'Meld,' and wonderful character development for T'Pol.
Next Week: Is it March already? How did that happen? Looks like February sweeps are over, then. I suppose we'll have a run of repeats. See you when new episodes return!
Back to monkee's Enterprise reviews
Go to monkee's Enterprise stories
Number: