I never really watched Enterprise that much. Just a few episodes here and there and back in '07 when I saw it on cable I even thought it was silly that Scott Bakula was in command of a Starfleet ship...
Then a few weeks ago I decided to watch the show from beginning to end starting with Broken Bow… Wow, was I wrong. So glad I watched it now. I'm sure you guys see a lot of newbie posts like this but I just wanted to say that I nearly marathon-ed it through the entire 4 seasons and by the end (the end meaning Terra Prime, I refuse to watch TATV) the scene between T'Pol and Trip really floored me. I love sci-fi and I love Star Trek. I love how intellectual it can be. One of my favorite TNG episodes is a very thoughtful, 'Trek at its best' episode: Who Watches the Watchers. Episode like that make me appreciate science fiction for how revealing it can be about human nature and our place in the universe. It's really the standard that I've always held Trek to. But the final scene in Terra Prime where Trip and T'Pol grieve over the child they barely knew stands out as one of the most personally touching moments in Trek that I've ever seen and changed everything for me. That moment is up there with the TNG episode "Inner Light" and TOS episode "City on the Edge of Forever". In fact, for a person my age, 30, that one scene at the end of Terra Prime might be the rawest and most emotionally honest scene in anything I've ever seen come from Trek. At least since the Motion Picture when Spock finally understood how important emotions are to a species' understanding of itself and existence. I didn't expect to like Enterprise because I heard, amongst other criticisms, that it was too pulpy and not intellectual enough and it took me years to actually watch it because of that. Other than to say its heart and intensity completely won me over I can't really quantify why I find it so endearing. It's usually not nearly as intellectual as TNG but having seen the whole series now I don't care. It was great fun and by the end it was very emotionally satisfying. In a way, an argument can be made that Archer's approach is different than Kirk and especially Picard's because humanity is learning for the first time to stand on its own two feet. The raw, pulpy emotion of the show in this case is appropriate. In TOS and TNG humanity basically runs the show and is confident in its ability to lead the way, so a more intellectual approach makes more sense.
I might be in the minority, but I think that at least on a thematic level, the final scene in Terra Prime is such a perfect ending to the series that at least thematically you don't need another season. From the beginning Enterprise was about humanity's role in the galactic community, their relationship to Vulcans and the distrust there was between the two species. It was about overcoming preconceived notions and learning to see the good in the values of others. The final shot of Trip and T'pol clasping hands accomplishes all of this in a single moment to me. Two people who could barely stand each other, almost feared each other to a degree, are now not only romantically linked but have shared in each other's lives and cultures enough that they are psychically bonded. It's the perfect representation of the deep level of affection and understanding that can occur between cultures, races and species.
T'Pol had a fantastic journey on board the Enterprise. The ship was a crucible in which she was forced to examine her worldview. From Pa'nar syndrome to Trellium-D addiction, to her growing need for Trip's honesty about his own emotions, T'Pol was humbled and forever changed. When Trip mentions that the baby doesn't have a name and she suggests Elizabeth it is a symbol of the complete metamorphosis she has gone through. In that moment we see the woman that Old T'Pol was in E2, a caring, patient and emotionally balanced Vulcan. The less experienced and less mature T'Pol would probably have demanded a Vulcan name, but after everything she and Trip have shared since the Xindi threat she understands his need to honor his sister's memory and she willingly makes that sacrifice. For Trip this gives him some measure of closure concerning his sister's death, but the most tragic aspect of this is that he'll ultimately have to face the death of another Elizabeth in his life... and yet the important thing is that at the very least, the emotional and psychic connection he shares with T'Pol will go a long way to filling the void left by these deaths. In the bigger picture, had the baby survived she would look like a Vulcan and have a human name. This is the essence of the show. The bond between these two characters resolves the human fear of trusting other species and the reluctance between Vulcans and Humans to truly unite in common cause. An argument can be made that Archer's journey to eventually make possible the founding of the Federation is truly the essence of the show but I think it's the backdrop to a much more personal story and in the end that story belongs to Trip and T'Pol.
Having said all that I really can't see T'Pol going back to being a first officer on a starship. I think her spiritual and emotional journey has been far too profound to continue to be the skeptical scientist she's always been. Not that being skeptical is a bad thing. It's the only way science advances. T'Pol's problem was that she was too close minded in the other direction. Most of the way she saw reality was through the eyes of an establishment that wasn't skeptical enough of the 'truths' they held dear. T'Pol's unwillingness to accept that time travel might in fact be possible is a clear example of this. Her only defense of the viewpoint was that someone else once decided it was impossible. That's an argument from authority and flies in the face of true scientific inquiry. A truly skeptical scientist would regard all options. As Spock likes to say, there are always possibilities. I think after having watched her people overturn their own leaders in an attempt to restore the true Vulcan way and seeing her child die before her eyes her focus in life would be on something more meaningful and spiritually fulfilling. I see her becoming involved in an effort to bring understanding to the species in an effort to unite the galaxy. In Terra Prime's final scene she sits in her quarters, not meditating, simply thinking, grieving. She's dressed in traditional Vulcan clothes and I think the symbolism is clear. She doesn't fit in the environment of a starship anymore, at least not the way she used to. She has reached a new plateau in her new understanding of what it means to be Vulcan as well as human.
I know from reading this board that a lot of people though the Trip/T'Pol romance was lame. I like what they did in the 3rd season. It was fun to watch them come to realization that they were attracted to one another. The scenes were filled with sexual tension and the chemistry was obvious. I think where it hit a snag was after the "Home" episode in season 4. Once it became like a sitcom romance I think it dragged the importance of their bond down a lot. But I think the ending justifies it all because ultimately their relationship is about more than just the audience wanting them to get together.
So for me a 5th season would dishonor the emotional and thematic heights the show reached at the end. Seeing Trip and T'Pol back on the ship, having adventures, being on-again, off-again would have destroyed that sublime moment in her quarters where, as Manny Coto said, "A true understanding has developed between the two characters," That's the heart of the show for me and though it would have been fun to see at least 3 more seasons of alien Nazis and hidden Romulans I don't think the show could ever again have achieved what it did in those final moments.
Then a few weeks ago I decided to watch the show from beginning to end starting with Broken Bow… Wow, was I wrong. So glad I watched it now. I'm sure you guys see a lot of newbie posts like this but I just wanted to say that I nearly marathon-ed it through the entire 4 seasons and by the end (the end meaning Terra Prime, I refuse to watch TATV) the scene between T'Pol and Trip really floored me. I love sci-fi and I love Star Trek. I love how intellectual it can be. One of my favorite TNG episodes is a very thoughtful, 'Trek at its best' episode: Who Watches the Watchers. Episode like that make me appreciate science fiction for how revealing it can be about human nature and our place in the universe. It's really the standard that I've always held Trek to. But the final scene in Terra Prime where Trip and T'Pol grieve over the child they barely knew stands out as one of the most personally touching moments in Trek that I've ever seen and changed everything for me. That moment is up there with the TNG episode "Inner Light" and TOS episode "City on the Edge of Forever". In fact, for a person my age, 30, that one scene at the end of Terra Prime might be the rawest and most emotionally honest scene in anything I've ever seen come from Trek. At least since the Motion Picture when Spock finally understood how important emotions are to a species' understanding of itself and existence. I didn't expect to like Enterprise because I heard, amongst other criticisms, that it was too pulpy and not intellectual enough and it took me years to actually watch it because of that. Other than to say its heart and intensity completely won me over I can't really quantify why I find it so endearing. It's usually not nearly as intellectual as TNG but having seen the whole series now I don't care. It was great fun and by the end it was very emotionally satisfying. In a way, an argument can be made that Archer's approach is different than Kirk and especially Picard's because humanity is learning for the first time to stand on its own two feet. The raw, pulpy emotion of the show in this case is appropriate. In TOS and TNG humanity basically runs the show and is confident in its ability to lead the way, so a more intellectual approach makes more sense.
I might be in the minority, but I think that at least on a thematic level, the final scene in Terra Prime is such a perfect ending to the series that at least thematically you don't need another season. From the beginning Enterprise was about humanity's role in the galactic community, their relationship to Vulcans and the distrust there was between the two species. It was about overcoming preconceived notions and learning to see the good in the values of others. The final shot of Trip and T'pol clasping hands accomplishes all of this in a single moment to me. Two people who could barely stand each other, almost feared each other to a degree, are now not only romantically linked but have shared in each other's lives and cultures enough that they are psychically bonded. It's the perfect representation of the deep level of affection and understanding that can occur between cultures, races and species.
T'Pol had a fantastic journey on board the Enterprise. The ship was a crucible in which she was forced to examine her worldview. From Pa'nar syndrome to Trellium-D addiction, to her growing need for Trip's honesty about his own emotions, T'Pol was humbled and forever changed. When Trip mentions that the baby doesn't have a name and she suggests Elizabeth it is a symbol of the complete metamorphosis she has gone through. In that moment we see the woman that Old T'Pol was in E2, a caring, patient and emotionally balanced Vulcan. The less experienced and less mature T'Pol would probably have demanded a Vulcan name, but after everything she and Trip have shared since the Xindi threat she understands his need to honor his sister's memory and she willingly makes that sacrifice. For Trip this gives him some measure of closure concerning his sister's death, but the most tragic aspect of this is that he'll ultimately have to face the death of another Elizabeth in his life... and yet the important thing is that at the very least, the emotional and psychic connection he shares with T'Pol will go a long way to filling the void left by these deaths. In the bigger picture, had the baby survived she would look like a Vulcan and have a human name. This is the essence of the show. The bond between these two characters resolves the human fear of trusting other species and the reluctance between Vulcans and Humans to truly unite in common cause. An argument can be made that Archer's journey to eventually make possible the founding of the Federation is truly the essence of the show but I think it's the backdrop to a much more personal story and in the end that story belongs to Trip and T'Pol.
Having said all that I really can't see T'Pol going back to being a first officer on a starship. I think her spiritual and emotional journey has been far too profound to continue to be the skeptical scientist she's always been. Not that being skeptical is a bad thing. It's the only way science advances. T'Pol's problem was that she was too close minded in the other direction. Most of the way she saw reality was through the eyes of an establishment that wasn't skeptical enough of the 'truths' they held dear. T'Pol's unwillingness to accept that time travel might in fact be possible is a clear example of this. Her only defense of the viewpoint was that someone else once decided it was impossible. That's an argument from authority and flies in the face of true scientific inquiry. A truly skeptical scientist would regard all options. As Spock likes to say, there are always possibilities. I think after having watched her people overturn their own leaders in an attempt to restore the true Vulcan way and seeing her child die before her eyes her focus in life would be on something more meaningful and spiritually fulfilling. I see her becoming involved in an effort to bring understanding to the species in an effort to unite the galaxy. In Terra Prime's final scene she sits in her quarters, not meditating, simply thinking, grieving. She's dressed in traditional Vulcan clothes and I think the symbolism is clear. She doesn't fit in the environment of a starship anymore, at least not the way she used to. She has reached a new plateau in her new understanding of what it means to be Vulcan as well as human.
I know from reading this board that a lot of people though the Trip/T'Pol romance was lame. I like what they did in the 3rd season. It was fun to watch them come to realization that they were attracted to one another. The scenes were filled with sexual tension and the chemistry was obvious. I think where it hit a snag was after the "Home" episode in season 4. Once it became like a sitcom romance I think it dragged the importance of their bond down a lot. But I think the ending justifies it all because ultimately their relationship is about more than just the audience wanting them to get together.
So for me a 5th season would dishonor the emotional and thematic heights the show reached at the end. Seeing Trip and T'Pol back on the ship, having adventures, being on-again, off-again would have destroyed that sublime moment in her quarters where, as Manny Coto said, "A true understanding has developed between the two characters," That's the heart of the show for me and though it would have been fun to see at least 3 more seasons of alien Nazis and hidden Romulans I don't think the show could ever again have achieved what it did in those final moments.
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