Star Trek: Lower Decks' final two episodes delivered big thrills for fans while leaving some with hopes for upcoming Trek shows to continue acknowledging the series' canon going forward. Guest stars from the past were all over both episodes, including one actor whose only prior Trek performances could be enjoyed watching Enterprise with a Paramount+ subscription. So how did the series snag franchise icon Jolene Blalock to return as T'Pol, and why was she only credited by her first name? Mike McMahan shared the answers with CinemaBlend.
I had the honor to speak with Lower Decks creator McMahan ahead of the finale about the wild change he made to the Star Trek universe and, of course, about finally bringing Jolene Blalock back into this sci-fi fold. While T'Pol is beloved and considered one of the franchise's best characters, the actress hadn't returned for any new-era projects until now. Below, Mike McMahan explained how it all came together starting with a personal appeal:
A big thing that we made sure with Jolene is that there was tons of communication and tons of respect. I wrote her a letter explaining how important her work on Enterprise was to me not only as a fan, but also as a writer of Star Trek and how I defined Vulcans and that T’Lyn is like kind of a love letter to her work [as T’Pol] among others. I sent her the script, and she read it, and she watched the show, and I guess she had turned down other Star Trek to be on because I think she didn't wanna be. sort of like window dressing, you know what I mean? I didn't expect to get her because we had heard she had said no before. It may have just been that we got to her instead of an agent and she read it and was like, ‘Oh, this looks fun,’ because she came in saying she loves the show.
Though the T'Pol in Star Trek: Lower Decks was from another universe, she was largely the same character portrayed in Enterprise. Mike McMahan has talked in the past to CinemaBlend about how T'Lyn is based on T'Pol, so it's no surprise to me that he and the staff were able to write her lines and craft her moments with the perfect tone.
While T'Pol didn't make CinemaBlend's shortlist of best Star Trek characters, she's well-loved and considered one of the best characters in Enterprise. As mentioned, this was her first franchise appearance in decades, and Mike McMahan told us he wanted to make sure he fulfilled whatever requests and stipulations she had, which led to the much-questioned moment of how she was credited without a surname in the end credits. The showrunner addressed that below:
She said, ‘Would it be ok if I just went by Jolene?’ and we were like, ‘Jolene, it is whatever you want to be.’ I think a lot of times in this industry you are told what you're allowed to do. And I really wanted to make sure that she felt like she was in charge of defining stuff because we were so appreciative of her coming back. She didn't tell me why, but she was like, ‘I would prefer just to be Jolene in this,’ and we were happy to do it.
The creator couldn't shed light on why the request was made, but confirmed they honored it, and that's why Blalock is known simply as "Jolene" in the Star Trek: Lower Decks credits. I can only assume the reason behind it wasn't anything controversial and it could be something as simple as the fact that there hasn't been another major "Jolene" in Trek lore.
The big question I'm sure many are wondering is if "Jolene" will return as T'Pol in other Star Trek shows. Unfortunately, we can only speculate and say that T'Pol would likely still be alive and available to appear in Season 3 or 4 of Strange New Worlds. Also, with Robert Picardo reprising his role as the EMH in Starfleet Academy, he could presumably pull in any past Trek character as a hologram, so she could also appear there. Really, it just takes a writer with the know-how of the franchise to set up any chain of events to make it happen, so let's hope she's game for more appearances in the future.
Star Trek: Lower Decks is over, but the entire series is available to stream on Paramount+. The conversation surrounding the series continues well after the finale of course, and for those who want in on the fun, be sure to read what Mike McMahan told CinemaBlend about that Klingon connection to Discovery.
