Subcommander T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) made history in Star Trek: Enterprise and ultimately played a vital role in the events that led to the founding of the United Federation of Planets. Set hundreds of years before the events of Star Trek: The Original Series, Enterprise follows Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and his crew as they explore the galaxy in Earth's first warp-capable starship, the Enterprise NX-01. After the Vulcans made first contact with Earth in 2063, they did not immediately give humanity access to their most advanced technology, fearing that humans were not ready for it.
When Captain Archer took off for the stars, Vulcan High Command provided helpful star maps but assigned T'Pol to the Enterprise to keep an eye on the crew. Although Vulcan and Earth eventually became strong allies, their relationship was initially controversial. Some humans believed that the Vulcans were stopping them, as they observed Earth's warp drive experiments without offering much assistance. Although the Vulcans closely followed humanity's early space travels, they also provided assistance when needed. Still, T'Pol later sided with Captain Archer and the Enterprise crew, leaving the Vulcan High Council and eventually joining Starfleet.
T'Pol's life before Star Trek: Enterprise (2088 - 2151)
T'Pol was in her 60s when she joined the crew of the Enterprise
T'Pol was born around 2088 on the planet Vulcan to her mother T'Les (Joanna Cassidy) and an unnamed father. As a child, T'Pol was linked to a Vulcan named Koss (Michael Reilly Burke), and the two were expected to marry as adults. At the time of Star Trek: EnterpriseT'Pol would bring a long history of varied experiences to Captain Archer's mission.
In 2149, T'Pol moved to Earth and began serving as an ambassador and aide to Ambassador Soval.
More than a decade before joining the crew of the Enterprise, T'Pol worked as an agent for the Vulcan intelligence agency known as the Ministry of Security which involved contacting the Klingon Empire and locating rogue Vulcan agents. However, when she was forced to kill one of the rogue agents, she resigned from the Ministry of Security and underwent a procedure to erase the incident from her memory. At some point, T'Pol also worked with the Ministry of Information, as well as the Vulcan military, during which time she was involved in the Tomed Incident.
T'Pol later served aboard the ship Seleya as deputy scientific officer under the command of Captain Voris, answering to the Scientific Council of the Vulcan High Command. In 2149, T'Pol moved to Earth and began acting as an ambassador and aide to Ambassador Soval (Gary Graham). Soval then chose T'Pol to act as the Vulcan representative on Captain Archer's first mission, and she decided to remain on board as scientific officer.
T'Pol served in Captain Archer's company NX-01 for 10 years (2151 - 2161)
Star Trek: Enterprise only covers the first 4 years of Archer's journey
After a Klingon named Klaang crash-landed in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, Captain Archer convinced Starfleet Admiral Maxwell Forrest (Vaughn Armstrong) to allow the Enterprise to return the Klingon to Qo'noS. The Vulcans insisted that T'Pol accompany Archer on this mission, but many of the Enterprise crew initially feared that she was a spy. After she proved herself during the mission, however, Archer convinced her to stay on board and she became his first officer. T'Pol became a vital member of the Enterprise crew, and her knowledge and past experiences saved the day on several occasions.
Although T'Pol rarely showed overt emotions, she enjoyed learning about human culture and chose to remain on the Enterprise despite suggestions from her family and Vulcan High Command. When she was ordered to return to Vulcan in 2153, T'Pol resigned her commission in High Command and accompanied the Enterprise into the Delphic Expansion. to look for Xindi. T'Pol later overcame a Trellium-D addiction, but the substance permanently affected her ability to control her emotions. T'Pol officially accepted a Starfleet commission following the Xindi mission and was given the rank of Commander in 2154.
T'Pol had a romance with Trip Tucker
T'Pol and Trip have a complicated relationship
Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker (Connor Trinneer) served as chief engineer aboard Enterprise NX-01, and was initially suspicious of T'Pol, believing she was spying for the Vulcans. Trip and T'Pol are very different, but they slowly grow closer Star Trek: Enterprise. After the Xindi attacked Earth in 2153, which resulted in the death of Trip's sister, the engineer had trouble sleeping. T'Pol began to help him using Vulcan neuropressurea type of intimate massage that brought the two even closer together. At one point, Trip accompanied T'Pol to Vulcan, where she was coerced into marrying Koss.
Even T'Pol's mother realized that Trip was in love with T'Pol, but he only expressed his feelings after her marriage to Koss was annulled. T'Pol, however, began to seek a more Vulcan lifestyle, which further confused her feelings for Trip. In 2155, T'Pol discovered that a terrorist organization known as Terra Prime had stolen her and Trip's DNA to create a baby named Elizabeth. Tragically, Elizabeth did not survive due to complications related to her genetic engineering, and Trip and T'Pol ended their romance some time after their daughter's death.
T'Pol returned in Star Trek: Lower Decks (with a twist)
An Alternate Universe T'Pol serves as first officer on Anaximander
T'Pol then made a surprising return in the penultimate episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5. The animated comedy show contrasts with other Star Trek properties, focusing on the support crew of one of Starfleet's most inconsequential ships. In its final season on Paramount+ Lower decks found the USS Cerritos investigating a series of quantum fissures that have appeared throughout the galaxy. Lower decks Season 5, Episode 9, 'Fissure Quest,' Reveals That Section 31 assigned Captain William Boimler (Jack Quaid) and a crew of "interdimensional castaways" to find the case of these divergences.
Among these castaways were several icons Star Trek legacy characters, including T'Pol. Jolene Blalock returned to voice this alternate version of T'Pol, who was married to Trip for 63 years. This T'Pol also served as first officer aboard the Anaximander, alongside Curzon Dax, Garak (Andrew Robinson), a holographic Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig), and several Harry Kims (Garrett Wang).
Thanks in large part to Blalock's line delivery, this version of T'Pol felt like the same beloved character from Star Trek: Enterprise.
T'Pol played a key role in discovering the cause of quantum wormholes and saving the multiverse from destruction. After marrying Trip, T'Pol developed a better understanding of human emotions, but still felt undeniably like T'Pol. Thanks in large part to Blalock's line delivery, this version of T'Pol felt like the same beloved character from Star Trek: Enterprise.