T’Pol and Trip didn’t work for Jolene Blalock

Jolene Blalock didn’t think a relationship would work

There are myriad fans of Star Trek: Enterprise who fell in love with the romance between T’Pol, the straight-laced Vulcan, and Commander Charles “Trip” Tucker, III, the chief engineer with the southern twang. Unfortunately, Jolene Blalock, who portrayed T’Pol, wasn’t one of those fans.

In an interview given during Season 3 of the series, Blalock admitted that she didn’t see a connection between T’Pol and Trip. She thought T’Pol being a Vulcan would preclude her from having a relationship, especially with someone as “emotional” as Trip.

"They write it, I do it. I don’t see it, personally. T’Pol’s a Vulcan — how could she have a relationship? And he’s so emotional. My goodness, he’s like a nut case. So how are this nut case and this person who has her stuff together going to find common ground? Maybe that’s the basis."

But T’Pol didn’t have her stuff together, after all, especially after getting addicted to trellium-d. She wanted to experience emotions, and she ended up damaging herself irreparably. There was nothing typical about T’Pol just as there was nothing regular about Trip. And that’s one reason why they worked together.

Jolene Blalock might not have seen the chemistry fans saw

But what Blalock didn’t see in a relationship between a Vulcan and Trip was what every fan could see. Chemistry. And finding that between two characters isn’t always easy. Blalock and Connor Trinneer, who played Trip, were electric together. Though writers might not have intended a romance between the couple from the beginning, they knew a romance between Captain Archer and T’Pol couldn’t work because he was her commanding officer. And there is bound to be a romance on every Star Trek series. Although none were long-lasting on The Original Series.

T’Pol and Trip clashed because they were polar opposites. She was supposed to be the level-headed Vulcan, and he was this energetic, always riled up southern guy. It just didn’t seem like they would work together. But they did. And while Blalock couldn’t see the pair together back in the third season of Enterprise, the undeniable attraction was there in season one.