Star Trek: 10 Most Shocking Returns

10. T'Pol (Star Trek: Lower Decks)

This return was one of the most pleasantly shocking surprises in recent Star Trek history. When These Are The Voyages aired in 2005, Star Trek: Enterprise came to an ignoble end, going out with a whimper rather than a roar. In the interim, the franchise moved away from the NX-01 (despite some fun references in the Kelvin timeline and the newer live-action streaming shows)

While there is much talk of a potential continuation of Archer's story in Star Trek: United, most of the crew of Enterprise hadn't been heard from again, bar a holographic cameo from Trip Tucker in Holograms All The Way Down. Jolene Blalock had barely appeared at any conventions or Trek events since her run as T'Pol came to an end. She had also been openly critical of both the show's finale and some of the behind-the-scenes decisions around her character.

Mike McMahan teased some big swings in the final season of Star Trek: Lower Decks, and with T'Pol's return in Fissure Quest (alongside Harry Kim(s), Garak, Bashir, Lily Sloane, and even Curzon Dax), he did not disappoint. McMahan explained that to convince Jolene to return, he penned her a letter explaining how beloved her character was, as well as the respect he intended to depict her with, comedy show or no.

It worked, leading to an enormously enjoyable episode overall. The episode felt like a healing of sorts, ensuring that T'Pol's final appearance (for now) was no longer relegated to a hologram aboard the Enterprise-D.