Although emotions are everywhere, in all of us, they are at the same time nowhere to be found, since everything you can put a finger on and call an emotion will be different for any other person experiencing the same state. And yet, the names of emotions seem to be self-explanatory and self-evident. Star Trek stories are never realistic, in the sense that they unroll in a world of big ideas, delivered theatrically and without the bounds of present reality. Star Trek can ask big questions and although the answers are not always thorough, I have found that of all the popular television, Star Trek is the only show where these "big questions" are centered upon so much at all.
One of the ways Star Trek does this is by having an alien race to stand for a metaphor or a symbol of one single human trait, flaw or a characteristic. The Volcans embody the rational part of us. Very often, this is portrayed as a flaw, the Volcans being arrogant and silly with their over-reliance on logic. This episode is special in that it portrays the Volcans' reliance on the suppression of all emotion and on logic as a vulnerability or disability. It also shows an interesting aspect of emotional exchanges in real human societies, that is, that emotions can be used in barter. If a person is drawn to a particular state, but depends on others to allow her to experience it, that person is susceptible to being used by people who see that they can use her need for a particular emotion to control her. This way, the emotion (be it fear, anger, lust, or security) becomes a sort of substance, like a drug, and the person who is drawn to it and must take it from others can be seen as an addict. This episode portrays this dynamic very well, along with the shame that a person who normally relies on her reason and composure to guide her in life feels when they own up to their addiction and / or find themselves incapable of resisting the need for a fix any more.
Unfortunately, this episode is not perfect, in my opinion, and this is mostly due to how Enrique Murciano plays his Volcan character Tolaris. I simply can't see how his portrayal can be read as a coherent character. My reaction to the character can be caused by an emotional response, however - I find the character disturbing. However, in general, almost every line he speaks has the same intonation pattern. He also somehow has a smile on his face most of the time. Something in this character just didn't totally "click" for me, especially that he was one of the leads. These emotional Volcans had great potential, and I feel that the episode did not explore the potential of those characters deep enough. Anyhow, this episode is certainly worth watching, one of the top episodes of the series, in my opinion. All the regulars do a great job, as usual, with Scott Bacula once again proving he is perfect as this kind of captain. Of course, Jolene Blalock's T'Pol is impeccable, as always. Really recommend this.
