Episode Report Card Keckler: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Blue Swayed Crews
By Keckler | Season 3 | Episode 13 | Aired on 01.20.2004
Engineering. I'm going to be very careful about recapping the eye contact in this scene, because there's been a lot of speculation and reading into things on the forums and while I see some, I certainly don't see all. T'Pol walks in and approaches Trip as he says -- his attention on some part of the engine -- "I haven't seen you in awhile." She steps up next to him, looking around at the engine part he's working on. That seems natural and not an avoidance of his gaze, since she'd be taking stock of what he's doing. "As long as you're here, maybe you can give me a hand," Trip says. She glances at him as he says this, as one would do when expecting more information. From my seat on the couch, it's not a stare -- it's not imparting any sort of repressed feelings of passion. And I did rewind four times to scrutinize in case I was blinking during important bits. Trip shows T'Pol what he needs her to do. She does it. He sticks a blue flashlight in his mouth and checks the polarity with another instrument. "You know, I thought you might be avoiding me," Trip says, giving her a sidelong glance. A glance that she meets, not avoids. Keeping her eyes on her work, T'Pol comments, "Three neuro-pressure sessions a week is hardly avoiding you." "Yeah," Trip grins around the flashlight. Still not moving her eyes much from her work, since that could be dangerous, but slightly moving her head in deference to addressing him, T'Pol says that Quantum wants an update on the repairs. Trip gives her a rundown. "How long until we have warp?" she asks, looking directly at him. "I would say at least two days but, uh, the blue guys [here he looks up at an Andorian helping out somewhere] really know their stuff," Trip responds. Now, I will say that T'Pol watches him intently here, and then when he says, "We should be up and running in about twelve hours," she looks down. However, I put that all down to the fact that (a) she doesn't trust the Andorians and is interested in learning what Trip has to say about them, and (b) she is disappointed to learn that the Andorians have actually been helpful since it goes against what her personal expectations are for the "blue guys." When she looks down, Trip asks if there's something wrong. "No, keep me informed of your progress," she says with a bit of fidgetiness and leaves. Trip pauses before nonchalantly going back to work.
In the Armory, Reed fixes stuff with Andorianna. They argue over whether Andorianna is just there to hand Reed tools. He says "spanner," because he's British. "Is there anything else I can get you -- some coffee perhaps?" Andorianna asks. "That would be lovely," Reed answers. Andorianna starts to storm back to her ship, thanking Reed for the hospitality. "Give my regards to Commander Shran," Reed tells her, still intent on patching a hole. Andorianna crosses her arms, sticks out a hip, and tells Reed that she's not there to steal their secrets since it would hardly be worth the effort. THAT gets Reed's attention -- he whips around all "Exsqueeze me?" She finds their ship ancient. Reed is annoyed. "I'm sorry I wasted your time on our primitive systems," Reed spits out. "Not at all, I found it nostalgic," Andorianna responds, and tells him to be careful when reconnecting the power grid: "You didn't reset the EPS synchronizer. You may singe your eyebrows when you bring it back online." Andorianna goes to leave, and Reed has a change of heart. He calls Andorianna back and apologizes for his rudeness: "Why don't I get us both a cup of coffee and we can realign these relays...together." Yeah, but she doesn't want coffee, she wants SEX!