Being a key element in the Sstar Trek lore from the very beginning, Vulcan mythology can often seem distorted by simplicity. Seen as a stoney emotionless species, their society is built on logic and science in helping them understand and navigate through the complexities of the universe. Though when it comes to them being emotionless, nothing could be farther from the truth.
Once a volatile and primitive species, the Vulcan culture came from the teaching of Surak who learned to repress his violent urges and find peace within logical thought. Surak’s teachings would become the basis for Vulcan core values for centuries. When it came to the original series, Vulcans were introduced through Spock – a half Vulcan with a human mother who often wrestled with the cultural norm of repressing emotions alongside the human half’s more emotional state.
Over the years we’d see many versions and era’s of Spock’s struggle for balance, from his controlled original series run, his emotional turmoil and breakdown in Discovery leading to his early development in Strange New Worlds, and even the contrast of an older and more accepting Spock from the late 24th century interact with an ’emotionally compromised’ iteration of his young self from another timeline in the 2009 feature.
The popular vision of what a Vulcan is was formed with Spock’s calm and cool persona as a contract to McCoy’s explosive emotion which each side giving Kirk his balance. Though the extend in which the Vulcan myth has been pushed over the years has led to some interesting tests of how we view the Vulcan’s repression of emotion….
CAPTAIN SOLOK, DS9
When it comes to Vulcan ego, there are few that match Solok. As a young cadet he was always happy to prove how superior Vulcans were to humans, in both physical strength and intellect due to their logical practices. A trait that frustrated and annoyed fellow cadet Ben Sisko who’d try and best Solok by testing both sides of the argument in a single wrestling match.
Sisko lost. And while both would rise to prominent command positions, Solok would always make sure to write every paper on Vulcan superiority referencing Sisko’s weaknesses. When the two would face again in an unfriendly baseball game, Sisko still never won. But was able to test the patience of Vulcan restraint, managing to rile Solok up so much that he’s let the anger slip from under the Vulcan mask and get himself ejected from the game.
COMMANDER T’POL
In the Enterprise era Vulcans were shown in a much less kind light than ever before. Portrayed with a superiority complex matching Solok’s, they’d be seen showing humanity why they weren’t ready to explore and stall the advancement of space travel for decades. Even when Starfleet snapped and took the opportunity to launch Enterprise towards Qo’nos, the Vulcan High Command wouldn’t let the ship leave dock without their representative on board.
T’Pol was in a unique position in terms of her placement. After studying the Vulcan ways for her entire life, her assignment to Enterprise took her well out of her comfort zone. Without the support of her peers, her emotional restraint was tested on more than one occasion from showing heartfelt appreciation to Archer’s gifts, to admitting that she was a bit of as rebel who used to sneak off to jazz bars ni the night. The Vulcan equivalent of running through fields of wheat…
Eventually her restraint would be tested when her ability to suppress emotion would be taken away thanks to exposure to Trilliam-D. With the volatile emotions breaking through the surface, she struggled with addition and feelings for fellow crewmate Trip Tucker; though having lost her natural ability to hold back, her ability to still keep her Vulcan cool makes her one of the more resilient we’re seen on screen.
LT COMMANDER TUVOK
Throughout the years we’d seen Spock change froma half Vulcan determined to hide from his human side, to eventually become an older man with more balance with his emotions. In Voyager Tuvok was significantly older than Spock was, and his journey with logic was on the same level as an older Spock, using his emotional suppression as merely a small chapter in a wider story of his life.
Tuvok kept up the Vulcan facade, with calm and logic always being at the forefront of his decisions, but his attitude to emotional conflict was more lax than we’d seen with Spock and other Vulcans. Far more confident in his identity, Tuvok doesn’t shy away from showing when something annoys him – especially if that something’s called Neelix- and equally feels comfortable showing his affection for his friends. Particularly Janeway who he shows a great love and loyalty to.
His more relaxed attitude to emotion made for being a great mentor to the likes of Seven, helping her balance the overwhelming experience of discovering her identity following a lifetime of Borg control. Though cracks did show, from an admission that he once rejected logic to embrace passion as a younger man, and when he lost control after experiencing the rage within the mind of serial killer Lon Suder.
LT COMMAMNDER CHU’LAK
A small part in a larger story, Chu’lak has the shortest amount of screen time on the list but still remains a fascinating case for how diverse a mindset Vulcan’s really have. Early in her time as part of Deep Space Nine’s crew, Ezri Dax was brought in to help investigate a murder. Using her hidden host Joran, she found her killer; an nondescript wallflower of a background character who turned his Vulcan ideology into a motive.
Chu’lak is a bit of a chilling character. Just another Vulcan, a species so respected and a role so small in the grand scheme of things no one would even look at him twice as the killer. It might not have been Eddington level of surprise, but it laid out an interesting psychology that was never touched on before. A Vulcan breakdown.
Using a rifle transporting bullets into his victims, he’d choose his targets by peeking through the walls of the station and finding people who were happy, who wore the full spectrum of emotionon their sleeves. His excuse? Logic demanded it. His reason? He was emotionally broken. Chu’lak might have seemed an emotionless killer, but underneath it all the trauma of war had broken his spirit so badly that he snapped. An idea touched on many times in DS9, but being a traditionally controlled archetype, it made for a unique and terrifying reveal.
AMBASSADOR SAREK
Very few have had as big a turnaround on screen as Sarek. First presented in the original series, he was the epitome of Vulcan perfection. In contrast to his son, Spock, who had to battle his human side for control, Sarek was in perfect control of his logical teachings and a symbol of the ultimate Vulcan.
Over time we’d learnt he extent of his commitment to logic. His first son rejected logic in all it’s forms, rejecting his strict Vulcan parentage to explore religion. His second was a failed experiment, a link between humans and Vulcans that never matched up to his expectations. His third attempt would see him take in a human orphan to raise in the superior Vulcan ways to prove their teachings would make for a better future. He again, failed. But he never lost his dedication or commitment; even at the risk of alienating his children to uphold traditional values.
But while other Vulcans has seen age come with more balance, for Sarek it came with an illness that finally broke him. Effected by Bendi syndrome, Sarek is surrounded by an entourage on the Enterprise-D to hide his condition. Despite the extra support, Sarek’s emotions finally broke through as he was brought to tears by a musical performance which began a downward spiral that would see the ultimate Vulcan suffer through an emotional crisis as his mental state broke down.
His final scenes were heart-breaking for followers of the character. One man filled with pride and perfection broken down by age and illness and with all his restraint gone, his emotions fully reaching the surface, the admission and realisation that he felt a deep love for his son and would die never showing it.
Sarek has always been the ultimate vision of a perfect Vulcan. Yet underneath, he’s also the perfect example of how strong those emotions can be under their calm exterior.
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