Fusion (2)

DVD, Enterprise S1 (Fusion) (2)

As if it wasn't enough for them to turn the Vulcans into conniving, volatile emotion bombs they had to add to their crimes against the race by doing this episode in which we meet an outcast group of logic-less specimens whom T'Pol becomes dangerously drawn to for being the perfect mix of both Vulcan and human attitudes to living with free emotion, her own private and secret fascination with such an indulgence. I remembered it as being a bit extreme, what with fat Vulcans, meat-eating Vulcans, emotionally open Vulcans and explicit bedroom scenes as T'Pol gets drawn in. What I got wasn't quite as bad as I remembered, but when I say remembered, it's only from the last time I went through the series on DVD as this was one of a tiny handful of episodes I didn't see on the first run. This means I have no nostalgic attachment, and like the best Vulcans can look at it in a cool, detached manner, not blighted by those pesky warm emotions. It's not as bad as I expected, the Vulcans, while extreme, are not numerous, and their excesses are still relatively restrained - let's just say they're not going to put ordinary Klingon or Ferengi behaviour to shame, it's just that they are open to new experiences and enjoy feeling feelings, tasting tastes, indoctrinating new blood… Okay, so Tolaris, the bad boy villain of the piece is the exception to the group. Or is he? We see so little of the other members that he might be representative, we just don't know.

It's not a great episode and is perhaps Berman and Braga's first foot wrong in the season since previous low point 'Breaking The Ice' wasn't credited to them. But it isn't the terrible, dull story I had in memory. Not that it's much better, but I've since seen much bad Trek in the form of 'Discovery' (first bash on it as late as the second paragraph - things must be improving!), so the many Trek-like details and attitudes that prevail in 'Enterprise' help me to see it for what it is: a somewhat derivative melding of a couple of Trek sub-genres, with a hopeful ending on the one hand, and an unresolved one on the other. The two story tropes I'm thinking of are the ones where a group of ambassadors come to cause trouble on the Enterprise/ DS9/ Voyager, and the 'fun' that ensues as their handlers (our characters), try to keep their appetites and moods in check without creating a serious diplomatic incident and/or lose their jobs (I think of Bashir, Worf and Neelix most commonly). The other one is when the ship or station plays host to a travelling group of telepaths who proceed to cause havoc with one or more of the crew to varying degrees of criminality or terror (see such examples as 'Violations,' 'Remember,' 'Random Thoughts' to name a few). Add them both together and you get, wait for it, a fusion of ideas. Ideas that don't necessarily go together, but a creative turmoil can work sometimes. It doesn't in this case, I'm not sure why, but it probably stems in large part from my aversion to Vulcans being wrongly portrayed.

That being said, neither Tolaris, nor Kov, nor Captain 'pass the chicken, please' Tavin are monstrously and heinously out of whack with Vulcan mores, at least from a human standpoint. Obviously compared with most Vulcans they are blazing a trail away from Surak at warp speed, though interestingly they beg to differ on that point, instead believing they're the ones who have interpreted Surak correctly and that what he really meant was they should integrate and master their emotions, not suppress them. I'm not familiar with the ancient texts so I can't say who's right on the matter, but I know what kind of Vulcans I like and the ones in 'Enterprise,' almost all of them, aren't it. T'Pol has grown on me over the years, though I still find her acerbity, icy barbs and losing control too easily to be a touch too over the top for my tastes, Tuvok fulfilling that perfect Vulcan poise and attitude that I require. T'Pol is the closest to a traditional Vulcan on the series and any deviation away from that ideal can be explained away, in her case, as fascination with humanity, and perhaps through this episode that interest is revealed as only a borderline acceptable step nearer an even more personal compelling toward emotions themselves. That's something T'Pol won't even admit to herself, I get the impression, so the cover of curiosity in humans just happened to fit with her subconscious quest to explore her own inner emotions.

This is all very 'modern' in the sense that Vulcans, most anyway, were well contented with the methods used to quell their unconquerable passions and weren't straining against the leash all the time, as those in this series seem to be - the ones most furiously defending Vulcan propriety and tradition, namely Soval, are the ones most volatile, barely able to keep their disgust, rage and horror in check as we see too often when the Ambassador shows his snooty face. He's not in this one, so doesn't get the chance to sneer his complete contempt for the lost brothers that have chosen a dangerous path away from their society, serenely sailing through space exploring themselves like some prototype 'TNG' crew. But Soval does have a part to play in the episode as he has relayed a message to Admiral Forrest to relay to Jonathan Archer to relay to Kov, the portly Vulcan with a Dad prob. That Soval agrees to this indicates that the outsiders aren't complete outcasts (unless Dad is extremely important), that was my own word for them, but I don't remember hearing they were banned, they simply chose to leave. There's an underlying indication that the veiled talk of Those Who Left is a reference to the Romulans, but whether that's an on the nose 'in-joke' about the ultimate reactants to Surak's message, or them coming to mind just a sign of Trekker knowledge in my brain, I'm not sure, because I can't remember if the Vulcans knew Romulans came from them when they were first seen in 'TOS.' I can't remember whether the Vulcan leader in Season 4, conspiring with the Romulans, was doing it for the sake of reunification or was himself of Romulan extraction.

So much is unspoken in Vulcan and Romulan history, or seldom recalled, especially to a non-native audience, but the lessons of history that the Romulans represent would be ideal to keep in mind when such groups leave the Vulcan way. That's the thing, though: you could take these Vulcans as a sign either way on whether it was right for Vulcans to follow Surak's teaching or not. The conventional wisdom is that this is what saved the race from annihilating each other, and I'd go along with that - it led to the formation of the Romulan Star Empire when dissenters left, a powerful and dangerous threat to the galaxy, but no longer on Vulcan. It prevented the Vulcans rampantly riding roughshod over other worlds, taking what they wished, leaving a trail of destruction behind them. It gave the foundations of the Federation a chance to build, since their influence far and wide, though careful and slow, was the pioneer for what humans would instigate and create in the Federation. Even in 'Enterprise' the Vulcans are shown to be cautious and appear to cultivate the galaxy, as opposed to other races such as the Klingons who only care about conquering and enslaving. At the same time the Romulans aren't inherently evil, just their extreme emotions that they share from Vulcan ancestry, are turned to war and eventually extreme isolation and distrust of the wider galaxy. But if we hadn't had the Romulans, their power in the Alpha Quadrant wouldn't have tipped the scales ever so slightly against the Dominion in the greatest war our part of space had ever seen since the Romulan/ Earth War that was still to come at this point in 'Enterprise' (and will be forever bemoaned as missing!).

Are the writers of this episode saying that traditional teachings are the right way to go, at least in the context of the Vulcans? I'm not one hundred percent certain that was the message because of the one thing that is introduced here: the mind meld. This would go on to be an integral part of Vulcan life, a unique ability to communicate with even the most non-humanoid of species and how many threats were countered over the years thanks to this communication? It's a great tool of drama in its own right, but it's more important what it achieved through being used by people such as Spock or Tuvok. Yet here it's seen as a violation, an illicit exploration of the inner world of the mind, drawing back the veils of restraint and control that define Vulcan behaviour. In this case it's weighted towards the evil because the mind T'Pol allows in is itself chaotic and dangerous. Rape is a hard and emotive word to use in such a case, not something to be bandied about loosely, and if we say that this is the case, then surely we have to allow Spock's forced meld on Valeris in 'Star Trek VI' is also an act of the same magnitude of mental anguish. I prefer to call it torture rather than rape, but again it could be classified differently in different circumstances. It doesn't sit well that Spock could be classed as a rapist, but he was certainly torturing the necessary information out of Valeris' unwilling mind. In Tolaris' case, however, there is clearly a selfish motive to his action, not to mention the charged imagery T'Pol experiences, albeit from her own subconscious, though again, perhaps Tolaris, knowing curiosity would compel her to sleep without first meditating, was using his wilder telepathic skills to interfere with her dreams, and his lack of knowledge about what happened was all an act?

I think we have to look on this 'first' mind meld as a different conception of what the meld later became for Vulcans, this encounter led by Tolaris' attraction and the lack of restraint he advocates. Ironically this shows that casting off inhibition and self-control actually enslaves because he no longer has power over his own passions leading him to unacceptable behaviour in public: he picks up his host, Captain Archer, when goaded, and flings him across the room in a rage when T'Pol is to be denied him, which ends the amicable alliance between the two ships most abruptly. Again, the difference is that between a finely honed mind of self-denial and control as opposed to one of indulgence and hedonism as seen here, and the consequences of which spread further into the series as the violent meld and its sudden breaking is later found to have caused T'Pol some kind of imbalance in her brain that threatens her life. This deviation from Surak's teachings, but also embracing it in a different way, shows how dangerous it can be to interpret things wrongly. Vulcan society in general hasn't got everything right in the way the rulers act, and they all seem to be less controlled than later Vulcans, which proves that banning such practices as the meld is equally as bad as misusing it because it was part of their culture and vital for such a telepathic race's wellbeing. This is all fascinating to think about, and it's only when you take the series as a whole, with all the changes coming in through Season 4 that began to smooth Vulcan society into what we know, that you understand what happened and what needed to happen to get Vulcan to be the way we remember in other Trek.

Again, I have to go back to what the intentions of the writers were? They show what became an essential tool for the Vulcans, the mind meld, in a negative light, and yet it comes from this group who are outsiders that have gone away from Surak. They claim not to have abandoned logic, yet they do abandon many of the traditions of their people, such as avoiding meat. It's complicated to read what's being presented here. Are they saying that traditional Vulcans should be more open-minded because otherwise they'll never discover the full teachings of Surak, which would include mind-melding as part of their life. At the same time are they saying the ones that abandoned tradition are wrong because they've misappropriated the meld and misused it? Its wrongful use leads to trouble for T'Pol in future, but they can't be saying that the meld itself is to blame, just how it was used. Though this main story of the episode is immense food for thought and thoroughly enjoyable to dissect, it's not that involving for most of its running time. I call it very modern because T'Pol is into trying out feelings and loosening control, and for one who has lived for so many decades it's surprising how easy she is to manipulate, either by Archer encouraging her to interact with the Vulcan crew or by Tolaris piquing her curiosity about dreams. He may not have known it stemmed as much from personal curiosity, a subversive interest in emotional freedom, but when he framed it as a scientific experiment he knew that would push her to try it, he stumbled upon the thing that would get her to the point he wanted her to reach.

In Trek produced this century we've seen practically all Vulcans in an emotional position, whether it be the ones from the Kelvin Timeline, especially Mr. Spock, that version of which had chosen to embrace his human and emotional side to the detriment of the character, to the unpleasant ones he comes up against that were clearly modelled on those of 'Enterprise,' to those seen in 'DSC,' which continue that model though it claims to be part of the Prime Universe which we know by then had changed towards the Vulcans we saw in 'TOS.' It's a pattern away from restraint, self-control and sticking to tradition that is very much of our time now where everyone is encouraged they can be or do whatever they want - that may be inspiring if applied to ambitions and achievements, personal, professional, physical, mental, but it also means that spirit of freedom extends to doing whatever you want in any sense, and in human behaviour that usually means indulgence, inertia and taking what you want in whatever form that means. Writers writing in that mindset are clearly not going to write traditional Vulcans or portray the fact that they differ in this way from 'human' ways as a positive, which is why we get such poor versions of the race as standard. Because now it's more important to let your feelings out so we have to apply that to the Vulcans, too. There's always been something of a bias against the pointy-eared chaps because in many ways, except the one of wholeness, balancing emotions with everything else, they are superior: strength, senses, mentally, they excel in all areas, which is why they presented a difficulty for the humanist universe of Trek where humans needed to be the best.

Tuvok was often being teased about his caution or whatever, or irritating those who wanted a bit more relaxation of the letter of the law, but he often had the last metaphorical laugh when he was frequently correct, and his methods, tied to scientific modes of calculation or exploration were proved to be in the right. And just as following rules and traditions has gradually become less popular for the mainstream, so has keeping yourself under control which brings us back to the way Vulcans are shown to behave in Trek from 'Enterprise' on, and so it's no surprise that T'Pol should be so easily manipulated by someone who has the Vulcan background but also holds the knowledge of what it's like to let go, tantalising her to the point where she agrees to get involved and proving once again that holding back on what desires point you toward is the way to stay safe, so there are moral messages here, even if you have to really give it some thought to get to them. And the writers show that, at least in the Vulcan case, they do need to hold back and not let loose because they have such strong emotions, as Archer finds out when he tries his own experiment and gets launched across the Ready Room (close quarters to take on a Vulcan within, but it probably narrowed everything to that point of burning anger by the space being so claustrophobic - the space in which you exist has some bearing on moods and feelings, for sure), much as when Kirk goaded Spock in 'This Side of Paradise' to achieve an end.

Apart from this exciting conclusion and for introducing the mind meld into continuity, this story isn't very attractive to me for the aforementioned reasons about T'Pol unprofessionally giving in to personal wishes. In contrast, the B-story featuring Trip making friends with the jolly Kov, the first overweight Vulcan we've ever been shown, I'm pretty sure, is on the face of it a light addition to bulk up the running time, but becomes the highlight of the episode. The episode works best when you forget that these people are Vulcans, especially Kov, who behaves and sounds nothing like one of his race would and I can fully understand why a traditional Vulcan Father would have called him a disgrace. He probably didn't expect Kov to refuse to speak to him forever after as a result, not understanding how far he'd gone in his life of ignoring the Vulcan way (he even considers rituals and ceremonies to be boring!). On 'DS9' we generally saw Vulcans who were atypical for the species and on 'Enterprise' that continued exponentially with virtually all Vulcans different to what we'd expect, though few quite as un-Vulcan as Trip's newfound friend. But as I say, when you put aside the Vulcan-ness, or lack of it, this turns into a strong story about unforgiveness, with Archer enlisting Trip to try and get him to speak to his Father, who's dying, and best of all, like traditional Trek, it ends on a happy note with Kov having done what was needed and feeling all the better for it.

It must have taken a lot for Kov's Dad to deign to contact his son through a human ship, laying bare the family problems to those considered inferior, but he'd probably already suffered much disgrace himself for his association with such a son and couldn't be much further embarrassed. We know how stiff Vulcans can be when the right and proper way is eschewed, as shown by the rigidity T'Pol displays in obeying the High Command and just accepting they can recall her, although I suspect they only granted her a stay of execution on her Enterprise posting to continue to hold it over Starfleet's head as a last resort, if no other string could be pulled. She doesn't wish disgrace to fall on her family and their society is very much about duty and not diverting from it. With good reason for the troubled past they had, but even pillars of the community such as Sarek were shown not to speak to family members who deviated, as in Spock. While 'DSC' has muddied the waters and turned Sarek into a Bad Dad, the family only held together by the Great Woman Amanda as she's become in that series, nothing further needed to be added to that story in relation to this. It was a precedent that this follows, family loyalty and cutting off those who would oppose the correct way, which is fully understandable for the set, specific society that Vulcans live in, keeping themselves clean from other races' 'worldly' ways, and something I much admire about them in terms of their intractability and unwillingness to compromise. Still, it was good to see Kov unbending and being accepted to some degree, even if he was still in the wrong.

T'Pol's story is much less resolved, troubled by the events, though there's no indication she regrets getting involved in Tolaris' ways, but then she doesn't know yet she's been 'infected' or injured by letting things slip in her dalliance with emotion. Trip says regret is one of the strongest emotions and he doesn't think Kov has experienced that yet, but I felt that might have been the wrong thing to say since his group was interested in experimenting with emotions and so that might have made him curious, but it was alright in the end, and even with T'Pol's disquiet, the episode concludes on some kind of positive note nonetheless, the music and atmosphere really making me think of 'Voyager' which had so many lovely endings to episodes. It wasn't quite the all-emotion Vulcan extremes that might be expected from the premise, but maybe that was apparent from the way the teaser ended with Archer surprised to find a Vulcan pleased to meet him rather than The Laughing Vulcan throwing back his head and guffawing as 'Star Trek V' opened, Sybok likely one of the adherents to this new way of thinking, though his beliefs became much more specific about finding a certain place in the galaxy. I can't help but think that had 'Enterprise' been full of traditional emotionless Vulcans, rather than the ones that are constantly riled just beneath the surface, this episode would have had a much greater impact, just as 'Star Trek V' did, and would have been a much better episode for it. But they made their Vulcans and we've had to put up with this portrayal in Trek ever since, sadly.

In visual terms the episode stands out with its beautiful rendition of both the Vulcan ship with Enterprise, the connecting tunnel almost like the two vessels holding hands, and the glowing blue nebula, which Archer had always wanted to see and which forms the backdrop for a joint mapping mission with these Vulcans, an excuse to stay in proximity long enough for the drama to happen. The nebula itself gives rise to the comforting reminder that books will survive to the 22nd Century (even though we'd already seen them well into the 24th), as Archer still has one he was given at eight years old - even at that age he saw himself becoming Admiral. Only a few more years to go, Captain! Misconceptions about humans and Vulcans each have about the other come to light in Trip's conversations with Kov, which was fun. I found it the height of irony that humans have this reputation for being barbarians through things like American Football which Kov thought was about attempting to kill the Quarterback, while Trip reassures him it's not a fight to the death, yet the more advanced Vulcans do have fights to the death surrounding their marriage rituals! Of course that doesn't get discussed because Kov has no interest in traditions, and also perhaps because it is such a private aspect of the culture they don't discuss with outsiders, a taboo so ingrained it might not even be broken by this group.

Late night at the Mess Hall was a nice scene, giving that insight into T'Pol as being separate from her human crew since she requires less sleep and probably values the chance for isolation outside of her Quarters. I'd recently been wondering how long she'd been on Earth for and we learn here she'd spent two years at the Vulcan Consulate on Earth, once venturing out disguised with a head scarf on to see what human recreation was like, yet another indication of her fascination for all things human and what they represent, and also telling that she almost never left the compound in her time there as it was against protocol. Her late night companion may have been a terror, but one good little thing comes out of Tolaris' appearance, and that was he mentions working in Shi'Kahr, which was the capital city of Vulcan later seen in Season 4, thus making a little bit of 'The Animated Series' canon, which I always appreciate since the animation itself isn't. When T'Pol follows Tolaris' instructions for a dream-filled night, I half expected the inhabitants of her dreams to start speaking for The Prophets so reminiscent were they of similar scenes in 'DS9,' though I'm pretty sure Rob Hedden had never directed Trek before. Someone that had been involved before was Robert Pine, seen here as Captain Tavin: he'd previously been in 'Voyager' ('The Chute'), but is more interesting for his connections, being the Father of Chris Pine, the alternate Captain Kirk of the Kelvin Timeline. Lastly of note is the attention to detail they even put in on episode titles: this was originally to be called 'Equilibrium,' perhaps a more apposite title, but it was realised that 'DS9' had already used that up so it was changed and to this day no two episodes of any series have ever been exactly the same. Good!

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