by gammara » Wed Oct 24, 2012 2:32 am
I don't see it as a war, and I find the question interesting. I'll also say I really am not a shipper. I really, in general, don't care about ships. I don't need to see romance and I really hate contrived romances. Archer/T'Pol to me seemed above the silliness of many on television where it's about two hot bods getting it on. Archer/T'Pol seemed to have depth and dimension.
And just to be clear, like someone before mentioned, I really think Archer would've explored something after the mission was over. And I don't think Archer would get in the way if he knew T'Pol and Trip had something going. (I'm not convinced he knew, by the way. I got out of the Trip heading to the Columbia that Archer was a little bewildered at why.)
I'll answer your question as thoroughly as possible, and I hope you don't get upset or see these as digs.
Equality is important to love.
I really think T'Pol and Archer are equals, both mentally and emotionally. They're close to the same age, too.
T'Pol trusts Archer a lot
When T'Pol received a token from her mother with a map, she made a beeline to Archer's office to talk with him about it. She confides in him over her mentor's fall from grace and needed protection, she confides in him after her mental rape, and she confides in him about the seven she had to hunt down on Vulcan. Archer is her confidante.
T'Pol doesn't just mourn Archer once and smell his clothes, she mourns him many times over when he's hurt or in trouble
Every time Archer manages to get himself in a jam, T'Pol mourns him. And she seems to pick Archer over Trip.
* Emotionally asking him not to go in Azati Prime, and then petting his smelly quadraped and barking at Trip to get the hell out of the Ready Room (Vulcanly of course)
* Staying with Archer in Twilight instead of staying aboard Enterprise
* Deciding to stay and go into the Expanse (she said that to Soval it was to help Archer)
* Putting her relationship with her mother at risk (the same one she decided to marry Koss for) in the Vulcan arc
Phlox told us T'Pol did drugs to get into a relationship with Trip
I don't want to believe T'Pol is the sort of being who decides to delve into drugs just to create a relationship. And I don't think Trip would let her. Phlox wouldn't just shake his head when T'Pol said she took drugs to improve her relations with the crew (where Phlox points out Trip specifically). That seems horribly out of character for all of them.
Archer puts himself out for T'Pol more than just a captain would
Archer has put his reputation on the line for her to keep her aboard Enterprise like when she has Pa'Naar syndrome or saved T'Pol causing his permanent memory loss (like Twilight). When T'Pol asks him to protect V'Lar, he does so really without much information.
Archer overcomes deep-seated beliefs because of T'Pol
Archer always blamed the Vulcans for his father's death, not that they murdered his father, but by association; Vulcans prevented his father from achieving his dreams and he died without seeing it happen. To Archer, I wonder if that's almost as bad as if they actually killed him. Not only does he begin to trust the Vulcans, he agrees to help the father of her people in the Vulcan arc, hosting his katra. Talk about a change of heart.
Phlox told us Archer is attracted to T'Pol
Phlox rightly diagnosed that he's attracted to the Vulcan under his command in A Night in Sickbay. Archer admits it to himself after a revealing dream and some embarrassing Freudian slips.
Archer trusts T'Pol more than Trip, even
When Archer has to reveal information about time travelers, chase after the Xindi in Carpenter Street, and more ... he asks T'Pol to come with him. Not his buddy of more than 10 years, Trip. Nor does he ask his armory officer, a guy who has tactical experience.
I guess it was a long-winded answer. I would say there's elements of all three of your suppositions. And there's more. For me, I simply never bought that T'Pol and Trip were in love. There was physicality between them, but none of what's above. In television, I don't want to be told: hey, they got it on so they like each other. Instead, I want to see over the course of time two people who become inexplicably interwoven into each other's lives.
More over, I don't like the idea of Trip being in love with T'Pol who seems indifferent to him. That seems cruel, even for a Vulcan; Spock had a hard time with Nurse Chapel - he was never ambivalent. And Trip had several girlfriends during the show.
In the end, I'm very happy with the way things wound up between T'Pol and Archer and that it's canon.
Aquarius, you asked how A/T'Pers would deal with Trip. I think that's hard. I have to admit part of why I think TATV was okay is that in a way, it's now easy; Trip has been removed and everyone can still like and accept Trip without causing him hurt. Like I wrote above, I really don't think Archer, if he knew, would do anything about the way he feels about T'Pol. If he didn't know and like in Extinct his inhibitions were lowered, I think he'd be on her like white on rice ... and he was. I also don't think T'Pol is very experienced in her emotions. I doubt she really understands how she feels about Archer. And I can't really see her initiating anything with him; I think it would have to come from him.