Date: Monday, November 11, 2002 12:52 PM
From: "Al Smith" <invalid@address.com>
> Finally, some real drama! I think I might actually keep watching
> Enterprise. T'Pol apparently had a secret, past, covert profession with
> unfinished business. This past issue had now caught up with her and had
> to be dealt with.
This adds a lot of complexity to her character. I see T'Pol's
great age, relative to the humans aboard Enterprise, as an asset,
since it means she must have done all sorts of jobs in the past
that they know nothing about, and had numerous professional and
personal relationships that could come back to haunt her. This
week we learned that she was a kind of secret agent for the
Vulcans. At least that helps explain her knowledge of Vulcan
martial arts in "Mauraders."
Date: Mon, 11 Nov 2002 19:12:39
From: Gerson K Saito <saito@br.ibm.com>
Menos had to "learn" how to behave on an emotion-full society to be an
effective spy/agent, and it can be argued that after a few years the
emotions are part of him , that's why the Vulcan Authorities want to send
him to rehab. So I see no flaws in the character in this particular
instance.
Date: Mon, 11 Nov 2002 12:49:36 -0800
From: rperry <rperry@uvic.ca>
You mention "The Menos character, although a credible villain, was definitely
very uncharacteristic for one who was supposed to be a Vulcan. Way too much
"human" traits." But, I think this is a real strength of "Enterprise" - the
characters don't fall neatly into the "perfect" stereotypes of their race like
they do in TNG, D-9 and Voyager.
The humans are a lot closer to "us" - they are cocky, sexist (30% of the crew
are women! amongst other examples), racist (constant distrust of t'pol and
always referring to her ears, cultural habits, and holding her accountable for
her race), and violent action "heroes" (i remember an episode where they all
sit around a torpedo toasting one another).
I think this is a real asset to this series because it allows for some
interesting critiques and parallels to our present day society.
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2002 04:11:23
From: <23skidooSPAMbGONE@lycos.com>
> The scenes with Menos were quite interesting. He really unraveled T'Pol
> almost to the point of an emotional break down. Talk about someone who
> can really get under your skin - " I know what you did 30 years ago".
> The Menos character, although a credible villain, was definitely very
> uncharacteristic for one who was supposed to be a Vulcan. Way too much
> "human" traits. Maybe the radiation from spent warp coils over the
> years had gotten to him. This killing stuff and Vulcan turn bad was
> uncharacteristic for Vulcans, especially the Vulcan
> infiltration/interference stuff. However, the story was told well
> enough to overlook this matter.
>
Menos mentions the training he had to prepare for this deep cover. I
must presume this included "re-emotionalizing" him as well. That, or he
just said to hell with the Vulcan emotional "immune system" (to borrow
Archer's phrase), just like the renegade Vulcans in "Fusion."
> This event certainly has resulted in a stronger character relationship
> between Archer and T'Pol. Perhaps this will server well on a future
> crisis adventure. We all have past issues to work with. Some deal with
> it and move forward, other suppress and forget. Which game do you want
> to play?
>
We haven't seen the end of this. I think a future episode will see
Archer having to trust T'Pol in some deep matter. Or, something will
occur that will shatter this bond of trust, forcing them to begin
again. I look forward to seeing how this plays.
>
> 3) Even in a cold outfit, T'Pol still looks "hot"!
>
She also looks TINY. I know Jolene Blalock isn't an Amazon, but she is
really made out to look tiny and vulnerable in this episode. Note the
scene in the pub where Archer grabs her by the shoulders just before
she confesses to him. I think this works to the benefit of the story,
actually.