the delphic expanse

This is the discussion thread for S1E15, Shadows of P'Jem! All Delphic Expanse rules of engagement apply.

Teleplay Written by: Mike Sussman and Phyllis Strong
Directed by: Michael Vejar
Rewatch chat is scheduled for Thursday, May 5th at 8pm EST (12:00 am Friday, April 28th GMT).

The thing I remember most clearly about this episode, for obvious reasons, is the big chemistry test they did with Archer/T'Pol, what with them tied together and rolling around for most of the episode. That remains cute, but there are better things in the episode. I had forgotten (or didn't notice) how competent and in control Trip is as acting Captain - and the great moment where he plays dumb hick with the douche Vulcans. Trip does that a couple of times, and it always works really well. This of course, provides me another reason to be irked with the B-plot of the Seventh, since the Trip we see here is perfectly capable of making command decisions.

I still can't remember, however, if there was a reason given why he went with Malcolm on the rescue. Anyone remember? I loved the scenes with Malcolm and Trip had with the Andorians - and of course Shran is fantastic, even though he is really just bitchy and pout-y in his few scenes.

There's an actual real sadness when T'Pol thinks she's being recalled in disgrace, and JB plays it very subtle. Her and Phlox's scene is great.

And while I get the reason for Douche Vulcans, I still can't believe that they Vulcans would totally scapegoat T'Pol for the destruction of P'Jem since they were violating the treaty and were totally busted. She followed the orders of her captain to hand over the data, and she did. It seems like overkill, even knowing about the corruption of the VHC.

I loved the dynamic between Archer and T'Pol in this episode. My only complaint is that I wish there was more sexual tension. The real delight is the small moments between them. When he orders her to eat. When she presents herself as captain (for his protection). The way he truly has learned to trust and care about her is rightfully pissed off that she's taking the fall for his actions. *sigh*

Honeybee wrote:I still can't remember, however, if there was a reason given why he went with Malcolm on the rescue. Anyone remember?

Like it matters?

*sigh* I think Trip would have wanted to go - at this point he's very close to Jon, and he's developing a closeness with T'Pol. I think he'd do everything in his power to help them. Interesting that he and Malcolm seem to be getting along great, though there is friction in the coming Shuttlepod One.

Mistress Euclid wrote:Interesting that he and Malcolm seem to be getting along great, though there is friction in the coming Shuttlepod One.

Speaking of -- I can NOT wait to get your take on that one!

I will keep an open mind, being firmly in the Archer/Tu camp - but I do adore Trip and Malcolm's friendship! I even dabbled with Tucker/T'Pol/Reed in a fic that I should polish and post! But that's for next week. This week, I'm still cooing over the adorable Archer/T'Pol in this episode. Again, less over the moon about the innuendo (If you're going to have Archer and T'Pol tied together, why not have Tucker do it? Just sayin!) but about the caring they both show to one another here.

This is the episode that turned this ardent TnT fan into an Archer/T'Pol 'shipper for a about a year. I agree completely with you about the caring they show for one another, Mistress Euclid. Jon spent most of the season so far griping at her, acting like he doesn't trust her, and blaming her for the actions of all Vulcans everywhere. It seems at times like he truly regrets asking her to stay. But then very slowly we see them making forward progress, like when he takes T'Pol (and just T'Pol) aside for advice ("Silent Enemy" and "Dear Doctor" come to mind). I think this is the episode where Jon truly internalizes the fact that T'Pol is NOT just a Vulcan liaison assigned to his ship; she is HIS first officer. If there's one thing we know about Archer, it's that he takes care of his people.

In my opinion, this episode changes everything between them. T'Pol was ready to go quietly back to Vulcan, but Jon wasn't about to let that happen. He showed her that he was willing to fight to keep her there, that he truly wanted her there. To a lesser extent, she realizes the others want her there, too, when Phlox has that conversation with her about how she's become a real part of the crew and mentions they're going to have a party for her.

Honeybee wrote:I had forgotten (or didn't notice) how competent and in control Trip is as acting Captain - and the great moment where he plays dumb hick with the douche Vulcans. Trip does that a couple of times, and it always works really well. This of course, provides me another reason to be irked with the B-plot of the Seventh, since the Trip we see here is perfectly capable of making command decisions.

Yes! I'd forgotten how great Trip was here, too. I think his performance in "The Seventh" overshadowed this episode in a lot of people's minds. This is much more in line with the Trip as acting captain we get in season four.

Honeybee wrote:And while I get the reason for Douche Vulcans, I still can't believe that they Vulcans would totally scapegoat T'Pol for the destruction of P'Jem since they were violating the treaty and were totally busted. She followed the orders of her captain to hand over the data, and she did. It seems like overkill, even knowing about the corruption of the VHC.

I don't think any Vulcans who knew the full story actually blamed T'Pol for what happened. I saw it more as punishment than anything else. They probably thought she should have known better. She was with the Ministry of Security for a while, so perhaps she should have anticipated that there might truly be a surveillance station there and do what she could to keep things contained. I have long wondered if Koss's family had anything to do with her recall. She insulted them pretty badly by choosing to stay on a human vessel, so perhaps Koss's father put pressure on someone to pin it on T'Pol. (Actually, for all we know, Koss's father could be the top guy in charge of the spy station!) I have also wondered in the past if T'Les hadn't tried to exert some influence to get her wayward daughter home. After all, we don't know what would have happened to T'Pol once she got back to Vulcan. She may have received a little slap on the wrist and then be given duties on Vulcan where they could keep a close eye on her to make sure she wasn't getting too emotional or free-thinking.

Though my recollections of S4 are a bit hazy, remember that canon-wise we're only three or so years from T'Les being caught up in whatever she was caught up in (and kicked off her position? If I'm remembering?). I'd think she was sowing those seeds by now. I wouldn't have put it past Koss's family to be doing anything about this by now. Plus... Vulcans were never keen on T'Pol remaining on the NX in the first place, possibly in response to P'Jem.

If only TPTB would have had such forethought and integrated things like this the way we fans do.

I find it interesting that only after a gap, the Vulcans decided to act upon P'Jem.

It is also interesting that Trip went on the rescue mission with Reed. I've always thought that he simply thought it as a responsibility being the senior officer.