Enterprise Flashback: Fusion

An often-cited shortcoming of Star Trek is that it portrays alien cultures as monolothic, despite it being obvious from human culture that such uniformity -- even in a utopian future -- is unlikely. One Enterprise episode that breaks from this norm is "Fusion."

Enterprise encounters a ship crewed by a Vulcan splinter group who embrace and express emotion. While T'Pol initially regards their beliefs as dangerous, she is ultimately persuaded by one Vulcan, Tolaris, to explore her own emotions. But Tolaris is soon revealed to be every bit as dangerous as Vulcan orthodoxy might suggest.

Episodes like "Fusion" are generally conceived to tell a story more than "world build," but it is interesting to see a different kind of Vulcan here. Their captain -- played by actor Robert Pine (father of eventual Captain Kirk actor Chris Pine) is a fun introduction to the differences: a smiling, personable Vulcan who actually wins Archer over and then comes over for dinner (to eat meat!). Yet he's actually a surprisingly minor character in this installment.

The episode is more focused on the unlikely friendship between Trip and Kov. Kov is an odd character, a bit of a Vulcan nerd (and yes, when you see this guy, you'll feel they aren't all nerds) who -- because he's on Enterprise, of course -- is rather obsessed with sex. Fortunately, the story doesn't dwell on these aspects for long; ultimately, this subplot is about regret and the other strong emotions surrounding estrangement from a parent, and the death of the parent. It's surprisingly weighty stuff, starting out from such a light place, but it's actually a nice little story, in large part thanks to guest actor John Harrington Bland.

The main storyline of the episode surrounds T'Pol's relationship with Tolaris. For a while, it seems like we're watching the Vulcan version of a rom-com, complete with a flirtatious meet-cute and T'Pol trying to reckon with the unfamiliar feelings she's experiencing. Then, it seems like we're getting an episode about Vulcan abilities that Trek fans take for granted: T'Pol (and most Vulcans), we learn, does not know how to "mind meld." Tolaris is the Vulcan hippie, of a sort, who can teach her.

Yet just as the Kov storyline starts light and turns heavier, the Tolaris/T'Pol storyline is headed to a darker place too -- a mental assault on T'Pol that is clearly coded as a sexual assault. The Next Generation made an episode with similar content, but Enterprise's take (to my surprise) feels more sophisticated. We see every step of Tolaris winning -- and then abusing -- T'Pol's trust. She lets herself be vulnerable in a way she rarely allows, and unfortunately pays this horrible price. But the story does not "victim blame"; we're always with T'Pol, and the episode is ultimately crystal clear in painting Tolaris as a monster.

Still, this is relatively early in the run of Enterprise, and Jolene Blalock has a long way to go as an actress. She's certainly not as nuanced as Leonard Nimoy -- or even as Tim Russ -- in playing a Vulcan. While this script is stronger than other recent Enterprise episodes, I think Blalock is not yet up to the task of carrying an episode mostly on her shoulders. (Or, at least, not one this heavy.) I appreciate the emotional weight of this story more than I truly feel it.

Other observations:

• Much is made of Archer's childhood astronomy book in the opening of this episode, including a custom prop shown prominently on screen. The book's author, Laura Danly, was named for the curator of the Griffith Observatory at the time.

• Trip mentions at one point that one-third of the crew of Enteprise are women. Really? Only a third?

The proverbial reach of "Fusion" might exceed its grasp a little, but I'd still call it a decent episode. I give it a B.