Trip's Parents

[CoffeeCat]

Hellllooo out there. I realize I'm speaking into a void but I figured what the heck.

So I'm binging on Enterprise via netflix dvd because my new-ish husband only watched like the first season (and never got to all the juicy stories of the 3rd and 4th season!) and we just finished watching "Home". In that episode, Trip told T'Pol that he had nowhere to go bc Lizzy was gone and I'm thinking, what about his parents?

It was mentioned in an earlier episode by Archer that his parents were "eccentric" but I never thought they abent because in Similitude, Sim asked Archer where his parents were, and I seem to remember holo-T'Pol saying in *the episode that shall not be named* that she had never met Trip's parents but she intended on visiting them.

So I was wondering if there was any fan theories about Trip's upbringing that might explain why Trip didn't visit them after returning from the Xindi mission.

Anyone?

[Asso]

I think, banally but realistically (I think), that between Trip and his parents there's absolutely no good blood.

[CoffeeCat]

Hey thanks for responding, Asso. It's good to hear from you! How've you been?

I'm starting to think more about Trip's upbringing and I'm beginning to theorize that his parents left him to raise his sister when he was a teen. I think it might explain certain things like the episode "Strange New World" and why Phlox hooked him up with T'Pol for neoro-pressure, and even his relationship with Captain Archer.

[Asso]

I am well, thanks, and still writing (but not here).
And you? Everything right?
Well, my explanation doesn't differ then so much from yours, or, at least, it isn't at odds with it. Trips parents left him to raise his sister when he was a teen? Mh... Prevented? Unable? Due to force majeure? Maybe yes. But an adolescent may not accept or may have very serious difficulties in accepting such things.

[CoffeeCat]

Well either way, the idea of absent parents seem to fit. Remember he said that he used to make sure all the guys got a good look at him before they even talked to Lizzy. Maybe he wasn't being the overprotective bother just for the sake of playing out a role...

[Asso]

Yes. I agree.

[CoffeeCat]

Well here's an ugly thought that I don't think many fans would want to deal with: what if Trip's parents belonged to Terra Prime?

[Asso]

Not impossible, but unlikely - I think - considering what T'Pol says about the fact that she would like to meet Trip's parents (in the unmentionable abomination).
Interesting, though.

[Transwarp]

I've seen lots of theories in fan fiction about Trip's parents. In most cases they are both alive and they are usually living in Florida or somewhere in the American south (Alabama, Mississippi, etc...) In some cases they are dead set against his relationship with T'Pol, in others they are supportive.

In the absence of firm canon, how you do it it boils down to your personal preferences, or what makes for a more interesting plot device.

[CoffeeCat]

Maybe not belong... But be sympathizers. You've got to admit, Trip was a bit of a bigot at the beginning of the series and was always very quick to defend Archer even tho it never really seemed worth the trouble. Could be due to upbringing.

But in the abomination... That was holo-t'pol. Not real T'Pol.

Transwarp, I've never read a fanfic where Trip's parents didn't like T'Pol. That's interesting. I'm posting here to think it through because the my otherwise constipated plot bunny just took a huge dump at my feet and now I'm trying to figure out how I want to paint these characters.

[Asso]

Mh... I have to say that, if it were for me, I'd rather keep Trip's parents in the shadows.
Eye that does not see, heart that does not hurt.
Be that as it may, I still think things were not going well between Trip and his parents.
The reasons, of course, can be countless.
For example...
The rebellion - first repressed and then conscious - towards stupid and obtuse parents. And oppressive. And maybe even small-minded.
Or fatuous and superficial.
You said that maybe Trip had had to take care of his sister. Possible. But why ever?
Because of parents like those above?
It is a not so rare situation, unfortunately.

[CoffeeCat]

Ah, but then there is that word Archer used to describe them.

Eccentric...

The dictionary definition is:

deviating from the recognized or customary character, practice, etc.; irregular; erratic; peculiar; odd: eccentric conduct; an eccentric person.

There are so many ways they can be to fit that word.

[Dinah]

I guess we all have a different take on Trip's parents. In my little corner of the world, Trip's parents were away from home during the attack. Given the confusion and hysteria on Earth this wouldn't exactly have been a great time for Trip to visit. Also, his parents were probably still trying to figure out where to go and what to do now that they'd lost everything including their daughter. I would think Trip tried to get a hold of them and talk to them, if he was lucky. So he would have made a true statement: he didn't have a home to go to anymore.

His parents may not have joined Terra Prime, but I have a feeling they weren't feeling to warm and fuzzy about space travel. Trip would have been better off letting them calm down before he visited. He knew they were OK and they knew he was healthy. Sometimes that's enough.

[CoffeeCat]

Here's a silly thought. Maybe they belonged to the circus.

[Asso]