Trek Talk Tuesday #6: Vulcan and Vulcan't

In this second installment on the Vulcans, I want to give some of my thoughts on the two Vulcan characters I'm most familiar with - Mr. Spock and T'Pol. Spock is iconic, so he needs no introduction but T'Pol is a major Vulcan character in the Star Trek Prequel Show, Enterprise. I love much of what goes on in the first season and a half of Enterprise, so my opinions on T'Pol do not reflect my opinions on the show as a whole.

First, let's talk about Spock. Spock is easily the most iconic character in Star Trek and one of the most well known in all of science-fiction for that matter. Catchphrases abound, from "highly illogical" to "live long and prosper." Spock has a very measured temperament and presence. When you think of a logical Vulcan, you think of Spock. And yet, he balances his logical nature with genuineness. At the end of The Wrath of Khan, also known as the best Star Trek movie ever made, when Kirk says "Of all the souls I have ever met, his [Spock's] was the most human" he is alluding to the humanity of Spock's logic. He is not simply a machine devoid of feelings, he has merely mastered his emotions to allow reason to triumph. And in the case of Wrath of Khan, his dedication to logic allowed him to overcome any self-love to demonstrate self-less love by sacrificing himself (until some idiots decided to completely undo that majestic moment with a weird time travel thing, but go figure studios can never let money-making characters actually die, am I right Marvel?)

I think some of my favorite moments though with Spock are his "learning" experiences with humans. Spock is a scientist and he learns by observation and deduction. He does not judge humans, he instead seeks to understand them better and to teach them by example if he can. None of is this explicitly said in the show, it's just how I perceive Spock's interactions with the human crew. Often he will comment on how fascinating the human behavior is, not in a condescending or "Vulcans are better" way, although he does often seem skeptical of humans. And quite interestingly enough, Spock is often wrong, which keeps him humble to an extent. He accepts his mistakes with dignity and moves on.

On the other hand, you have T'Pol. T'Pol is a very tense character, to say the least. She is very resentful at the beginning at her assignment with the stinky humans on board the Enterprise. The difference is obvious in her facial actions. Spock is always neutral - he neither smiles nor glowers, he occasionally frowns in deep thought or raises a questioning eyebrow. But T'Pol is usually wearing pouting expression. Even her attempts at smiling are angry.

T'Pol is intended to represent early Vulcan and Human interactions I imagine, of an era when Vulcans and Humans were still learning to get along. But the problem is her attitude toward Humans is not especially Vulcan in the context. A Vulcan would still maintain logic and reason. The irony is they want her to be more human I suppose - viewers can relate to resentment, right? - but Spock, again, is more captivating to human watchers because he is likable. I sometimes feel that writers and directors forget this truth: you can stuff a character full of "relatable" aspects but if they are unlikeable, your audience will not care. In fact, the infamous "Mary Sue" character type is just as unlikable as they are unrelatable.

So T'Pol is a stuck up, resentful character. When she criticizes, she does not sound like a logical being - she is clearly talking through emotions she strives to hide. She does not create the same impact as Spock, or at least the same positive impact as Spock.

Well, that's all I have for today.  What do you think about Spock and/or T'Pol? Let me know in the comments! Next week, I'll end the Vulcan series with a quick look at the Romulans.