Tpol-Archer

I'm making my way through the series, about half way through season three, and I'm pretty reluctant to buy into the relationship between Tpol and Trip. Sure Trip suffered a loss, so he can't sleep and thus he spends alot of time with Tpol, who uses it to "experiment" with human fraternization, and Sim only increased the sexual/romantic tension between them, blah blah blah...

But really, I think Tpol only settled for Trip. I forgot which episode, but in season 2 I think Tpol hinted that she felt something for Archer, as Archer was "diagnosed" to be having sexual tensions with Tpol, but Tpol admitted that it was a good thing there "wasn't" any, since their differing ranks would create conflict. Also in Twilight, it truly felt that Tpol's caring for Archer went beyond friendship and payback... Really, I think there should have been an Archer-Tpol relationship, though I could see how difficult it would be to maintain being that Archer is the captain of the entire ship... but if there was more creative effort in the writing staff, I'm sure they could've pulled it off...

But whatever. Your thoughts here please....

 

*has bad memories of 'shipper wars*



So, from a objective, non-shipper viewpoint, my take:

Season One: Producers were going with TnT
Season Two: Producers wanted traingle in the triumvirate (say that 5 times fast!) and suggested TnA
Season Three: Producers went with TnT
Season Four: Producers wanted to add drama to TnT, so much angst a la Koss, K'Shira and so on.

To each their own indeed!

 

I think T'Pol/Archer makes more sense, For one thing, She was a Vulcan, Trip was a young, sometimes immature human. At least Archer was Mature and responsible which seems more what a vulcan would want. Also Surely he would be nearer to her age.

 

I believe she would end up with Trip because of her flaws. She can toy with Trip far more than Archer and that gives her the illusion of control. Trip is a more emotionally vulnerable person than Archer and for a Vulcan losing the plot that is a safer place to be. Archer is a great man but an exacting one. T'Pol would be answerable to him in more ways than one. Trip's a gentleman and T'Pol is safer with that--the construct of gender politics protects her. Trip is both attracted to and cares about T'Pol's vulnerabilities. As the captain Archer is more likely to be suspcicious of them, he relies on T'Pol's Vulcan strengths and doesn't wish to see them slipping.

Archer would be the man to motivate and inspire her. However when it comes to relationships T'Pol is not looking for that, she is looking for an indulgence.

 

It was "A Night in Sickbay."
I always interpreted T'Pol's remark as giving Archer "The Brush..."

It's hard for me to see why T'Pol would "settle" for Tucker if she wanted Archer. For the first three seasons, she was not a member of Star Fleet (even though she functioned as first officer on the NX-01).

She was not a subordinate to Archer in the conventional sense. He had no role in determining whether she should be promoted, disciplined, transferred, etc.

So what stopped her from getting involved with him?

 

Man, those guys were always suggesting T'n'A.

I voted for Hoshi.

 

archer was mature?you have seen night in sickbay right?

 

I was going to vote for Reed, but your argument has swayed me. Those neuro-pressure scenes would actually have been worthwhile if it was Hoshi that needed "healing".

 

Archer 'mature and responsible'?

Hmmm...(I would think towards the end of the 4th season he became a bit responsible and mature. After all, he was taking on yet another huge role as President of the Federation, and I would think he would have become a bit more wiser than what we saw of him beforehand).

Now, here is a thought:

Canonically, Trip 'has passed'...(sorry Trip fans)...

I don't think we heard what she--T'Pol-- does, or where she goes afterward (the series, that is); and I'm not sure if the novels pick up the Archer/Hernandez relationship....

Personally, I think Archer would have benefited from T'Pol's 'logic' in running things...i.e. the Federation. (Of course, there is a Vulcan/Human baby there as well from T'Pol's previous relationship).

 

The only way TPol and Archer would work is if T'Pol was only going to stay on the ship for one season and then move on. Archer made sure from the beginning that she understood that she served under him and her allegiance was with the ship she served on. A relationship would have to lead to her leaving the ship.

 

Trip of course.
T'pol - Archer would be the more logical pairing, but if T'pol was looking for logic she would have stayed with Koss.
She remained on the Enterprise because she was a strange Vulcan, she was curious, she wanted to break some rules and she even did dangerous things to achieve that. So she turned to the only person she could open up and who had a heart big enough to accept her inconsistencies. And she was physically attracted to from the very first episode.

 

Archer. I think Trip would be the guy chosen if she had self-esteem issues and needed someone who didn't fundamentally understand her.

 

I voted other as in "nobody." I don't buy the idea that a woman needs a relationship to make her interesting. I think T'Pol's journey was fascinating all by herself, and she didn't need to be attached to a man. She's a great stand-alone character who had enough on her plate in trying to bridge the chasm between Vulcans' view of humans and humans' view of Vulcans.

Having said that, I think that the Archer-T'Pol relationship was like a dad and mom - they were caretakers of the crew. Early on, I envisioned the Enterprise like a really long road trip with your folks.
Archer (dad): Hey guys, let's drive 100 miles out of our way to see the biggest ball of string in the world! No, really, it'll be FUN!!
crew (kids): Mom!
T'Pol (mom): Sigh. I'll see what I can do.

Then at other times, they are making the hard decisions, keeping the welfare of the crew in mind, confiding and supporting each other. I could see them together later on in life, as longtime companions who trust each other and understand what the other has been through.

Trip-T'Pol is what they mean when they say that you need to get your heart broken in order to write a good country song. That one relationship that's new, intense, and totally wrong and wonderful while it lasts.

But during the mission? Nobody.

 

Awww, and here...we...go

(Mods are gonna have a field day... )

 

Hmmm, maybe; but if we look at our other Vulcan characters (Spock, Tuvok), it was always brought to their attention of having healthy relationships.

Even though they believed they were being 'logical'...'calm'...'unemotional'...they grew when they were taking in and understanding human emotions.

I wanted to say something else, but it escapes me....

You can even argue that Archer and crew had enough on their plate trying to prevent the destruction of Earth...as well as try to map out different planets, and meet new lifeforms (and yes, new civilizations)...

It's not about making T'Pol interesting because she is attached to a man, but allowing the character another point of view (in this case, where she had a relationship with a human); creating another avenue to grow.

 

T'Pol/Archer.

I'm actually surprised that the producers didn't go this route.

When you look at good TV series (e.g. Moonlighting and Cheers), it's a ratings winner when there's constant and unresolved sexual tension between the lead male and female actors. Voyager hinted at this, but didn't go near far enough.

You know they like each other and you're tuning in to the show every week hoping they'll hook up, but there's always something that separates them. In T'Pol/Archer, you could have had two people who clearly loved each other but were blocked by the command structure as well as the cultural dissimilarities.

But no...they decided to play it safe. Not surprisingly.

 

I voted Trip, because I believe my favorite character deserved a top-class squeeze...
But when it comes to T'pol, I would have, in fact, loved seeing her in a same-sex relationship (no, this is not just some boyish fantasy). It would have been controversial and therefore interesting. It would have given us a slightly different perspective on Vulcans.

 

Sorry, I can't help if I find some of the things I read amusing.