The Enterprise is on its way to survey a moon in the 40 Eridani trinary system, more popularly known as the Vulcan home system, where once was an advanced civilization, the Kerkohvians. Pike has taken the opportunity to give the crew some downtime. In a pair of Captain's Logs, Nurse Christine Chapel and Spock set the stage: she's applying to a fellowship in Archaeological Medicine at the Vulcan Science Academy, and Spock has received word from T'Pring that, while he's home, she (T'Pring) has taken initiative to set up the formal V'Shal engagement dinner between their families. "This is," Spock tells Pike, "as you humans say, a big deal": there are a number of rituals which Spock will have perform; and he'll need to perform them perfectly, as T'Pring's mother T'Pril has opposed the union from the start on grounds of Spock being a Half-Human Hybrid. However, first they need to survey the moon... and the shuttle's crew will consist solely, it turns out, of Spock and Chapel, whose Unresolved Sexual Tension still lingers. While there, they encounter a Negative Space Wedgie, and the shuttle crashes... and when Spock awakens back on the Enterprise, Pike and M'Benga and Chapel hovering over him, he discovers that he has become fully human. He manages to get out a "What the f--" before the opening credits roll.
Spock attempts to acclimate to his new physiology. Vulcans are not The Stoic because they have no emotions; Vulcans are The Stoic because they have really strong emotions, with a Messianic Archetype named Surak suggesting they embrace logic rather than bomb themselves back into the Stone Age again. As such, Spock has trouble doing that adult-human thing of expressing his emotions in a measured manner (rather than rigidly suppressing them); it's also implied that the practices he developed are less viable with a non-Vulcan physiology. It all comes to a head when his mother Amanda Grayson (Mia Kirshner, reprising the role for the first time since DSC's Season 2) beams aboard: she's made arrangements for the V'shal dinner to be held here on the Enterprise so that Spock can remain in close medical care after his "accident." Spock shows up to meet her wearing a ridiculous beanie and clearly unable to control his facial expressions; Amanda knows the gig is up almost instantly. She decides to teach Spock how to lie, coaching him into faking his way through the three rituals of the dinner. Pike and most of the senior staff are asked (forced) to help.
Chapel, who after all is a geneticist, is working the other side of the problem, trying to find a cure with modern medicine that will restore Spock's hybrid genome. Number One and La'an, doing an inspection of the damaged shuttle, find what seems to be a business card, and Pike gets in touch with a Kerkovhian who gives the name "Yellow." Yellow explains that the Negative Space Wedgie was some sort of Kerkohvian transport conduit, and that after the shuttle accidentally hit it, "Remediation was made." Yellow's insistence that everything turned out perfectly suggests that, while the Kerkohvians may have developed advanced technology, their Customer Service is still stuck at "For Inconvenience, Press "1"" levels. Unfortunately, Chapel simply can't make her 23rd-century cure work — despite spending so much time on it that she almost misses her interview with the Vulcan Science Academy. (They don't seem impressed with her anyhow.) So she begs Ortegas and Uhura to fly a shuttle back into the Negative Space Wedgie, where she makes an impassioned plea to Yellow (though first she has to get through another operator named Blue) that they got it wrong, that Spock needs to be returned to who he was — to the man Chapel loves. (She also learns that the feelings may be more reciprocated than anyone realized: Just before the crash, Spock shifted all the shuttle's shields to Chapel's side of the shuttle.)
Spock is refitted with faked (shaved) Vulcan eyebrows and pointed-ear prosthetics before T'Pring beams aboard. Amanda offers to head T'Pril and her husband Sevel off at the pass so that Spock can tell T'Pring what's up and gain another ally, but T'Pring is clearly exhausted (in that serene way only Vulcans do) at dealing with her picky, overbearing mother, and Spock makes the decision to withhold the truth from her. T'Pril and Sevel then arrive in Pike's quarters to begin the ritual. Spock is required to make T'Pring's family tea — which involves holding a teapot with no handle — and then sit serenely while his mother-in-law-to-be gives a concise and pointed run-down of his flaws. (Amanda does the same to T'Pring, but since she actually likes T'Pring, it's much less demeaning.) Finally, Spock must mind-meld with his mother. He was able to (mostly) control himself while practicing and performing the other two rituals, but he is completely unable to fake this one. Fortunately, The Cavalry arrives: Chapel has gotten the cure from the Kerkohvians; his genome is restored immediately, though she says the morphological differences will take several hours to manifest. Spock, now half-Vulcan again, performs the mind-meld flawlessly, and T'Pril is forced to admit that Spock has proven himself fully Vulcan, "despite your... handicap." Well, it may have been over in the Kelvinverse, but the one thing we've learned is that, if Spock has a Berserk Button, it's Your Mom. He takes off the prosthetic ears and proclaims that a mere human just performed the rituals perfectly... and then thanks Amanda for persevering through Fantastic Racism for the sake of her love for her husband and children.
T'Pring consults Spock privately. He apologizes for not telling her the truth, claiming he was looking out for her feelings. T'Pring accepts his reasoning, but is concerned that he did not include her — his fiancee, the person who is on his side no matter what — in the caper despite including the entire senior staff. "How am I meant to feel," she asks, and he cannot answer. T'Pring concludes that the two must spend some time apart and resolve their feelings. Meanwhile, Chapel has a follow-up interview with the Vulcan Science Academy about the fellowship. She — and the Vulcan — jointly realize that she has conducted more Archaeological Medicine in the past episode than their whole institute has; she realizes that she has no need of the fellowship. (There's no "Live Long and Prosper" sign-off, but the sentiment is clear.) In the transporter room, Spock thanks Amanda again for the sacrifices she has made, and she admits, "It is not easy, being a human who loves a Vulcan." This leads Spock straight to Chapel — a human who loves a Vulcan — where he communicates clearly that he does indeed have feelings for her. ...Which is all he can get out before the Big Damn Kiss.
Tropes:
- Aborted Arc: A minor one, but Chapel's desire to go on a two-month trip with the Vulcan Science Academy, first mentioned at the start of the season, is dashed when her application is rejected for not stating the three scientific principles exactly and that she hadn't memorized certain things that would be needed for her to get in.
- Almighty Mom: Amanda intends to teach Spock how to lie, and enlists Pike's aid in doing so. When Pike attempts to protest:Pike: Do I have a choice in the matter?
Amanda: You do not. - All for Nothing: Spock attempts to master his human side to pass the V'Shal ritual so his wedding with T'Pring will be accepted. He succeeds, but because he didn't let T'Pring in on what was happening, she decides to put their relationship on hold. This causes him to get together with Christine, and T'Pring eventually marries Stonn.
- Anatomically Ignorant Healing: The Kerkohvian AI has trouble making sense of a Half-Human Hybrid like Spock, so it simply selects the half of his DNA that matches the other, uninjured occupant and uses that as a baseline.
- Berserk Button: Clean up after yourself or Spock will destroy you!!
- The Big Damn Kiss: Spock and Chapel share a passionate kiss in the final scene, before moving on to the rest as the credits roll.
- Bittersweet Ending: Spock is narrowly able to get himself through the ritual, obtains a better understanding of his mother and the sacrifices she made, and decides to explore his romantic feelings with a reciprocal Nurse Chapel, but T'Pring is hurt that Spock didn't trust her enough to disclose his transformation into a human, setting the stage for when she chooses Stonn over him seven years later.
- Blatant Lies: Spock tells his mother that he's not upset when he's clearly on the edge of panic.
- Brutal Honesty: The Ritual of Awareness requires a Vulcan to listen to their soon-to-be mother-in-law lay out all of their faults. T'Pril criticizes Amanda for not being brutal enough with T'Pring.
- Call-Back: T'Pring reminds Spock of the time they switched katras.
- Call-Forward: The three scientific principles of archaeological medicine are named after Dr. Korby, Chapel's future fiancé from "What Are Little Girls Made Of?"
- Cathartic Scream: Spock excuses himself to the bathroom after T'Pril points out all his flaws, using the opportunity to scream his rage into a towel.
- Central Theme: Love Makes You Crazy. All the characters use their love for someone else as a motivation for Poor Communication Kills. Chapel's pushed herself into denial to maintain a collegial working relationship with Spock. T'Pril presumably does love her daughter, but she expresses it in ways T'Pring neither needs nor appreciates. Amanda is a Stepford Smiler, hiding the pain she feels to avoid inflicting her burdens on others. And Spock... Well, Spock's allowed to be a mess, under the circumstances, but he only kind of makes things better.
- Chewing the Scenery: Human Spock's emotions go almost out of control while he adjusts to his situation.
- Continuity Nod:
- Spock mentions that he and other Vulcans often use nasal suppressants when serving alongside humans. T'Pol did the same thing.
- Sarek is not present to attend the ritual, as Spock mentions that the two of them are still not on speaking terms. About 10 years from now, their 20-year estrangement will finally end.
- Curse Cut Short: After being turned fully human, Spock declares "What the f—". Roll intro.
- Delicious Distraction: Sevet tries to feign disinterest in Pike's tevmel after his wife criticizes it, but it's clear by the end that he couldn't stop thinking about it.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Dealing with the Kerkohvians is very similar to an automated customer service line.
- Do I Really Sound Like That?: Spock is incredulous when the girls teaching him how to act like a Vulcan is speaking so monotone and has to ask if he really sounds like that. They all give him a Blunt "Yes".
- Doomed by Canon:
- Even though Spock is able to complete the ritual, T'Pring is hurt that Spock hid the fact he was turned into a human, another crack on the path to their relationship falling apart by "Amok Time".
- Spock and Chapel both decide to explore their feelings for one another, but whatever relationship blossoms is just as doomed to fail given that she spends The Original Series and The Animated Series failing to get him to be attracted to her, not to mention that she'll get engaged to Dr. Korby before the events of "What Are Little Girls Made Of?"
- Double-Meaning Title: Referring to the charade Spock must put up to hide his transformation into a human, and also to the one he, Chapel and T'Pring have been playing in trying to hide their true feelings from themselves and others (T'Pring that she is unhappy in her relationship with Spock, he and Chapel in denying their mutual attraction). Oh, and to the literal game of charades, which Pike attempts to use as a stalling tactic, claiming it's an "important Earth tradition".
- Everyone Can See It: Since this trope was, literally, Chapel's entire personality back in TOS, it's naturally played straight here. That said, while Roddenberry had it Played for Laughs, here it's Played for Drama.
- Facial Dialogue: Pike and Spock spend the episode displaying a variety of "Oh, Crap!" and "This Is Gonna Suck" expressions every time things start going Off the Rails.
- Fantastic Racism: T'Pril calls Spock's human half a limitation to his face in the presence of two full-blooded humans.
- Fascinating Eyebrow: Lampshaded by Ortegas, who tells Spock to not move any part of his face but the eyebrow.
- Funny Background Event:
- As Spock greets his mother and (badly) hides his emotions, Pike tries to make an excuse to leave, but the transporter room doors slam shut and won't open, leaving him to mill about in frustration before Spock loses his composure. He then gets a "This Is Gonna Suck" face when Spock reveals the truth.
- There's a second when, at the end of the dinner, Sevet asks for more of the snacks and Pike goes to grab them. By the time he comes back, Spock is laying into T'Pril, and Pike just about-faces and hides.
- Henpecked Husband: T'Pril quickly browbeats her husband Sevet into compliance every time he tries to offer even mild praise.
- Hidden Depths: During his spare time, Spock receives cooking lessons from Captain Pike.
- Honor Before Reason: Spock is able to successfully fake his way through the rituals, buying enough time for Chapel to cure him, but when T'Pril commends him on overcoming his human half and believes no human could have completed the rituals, he feels compelled to reveal the deception simply to spite her for her attitude, as well as apologize to his mother for having to deal with the same for far longer.
- Humanity Ensues: When Spock and Chapel crash while investigating the anomaly, the Kerkohvian AI scans their vessel and determines Chapel to be uninjured (thanks to Spock diverting the shielding to protect her), while Spock's hybrid nature is confusing. It thus chooses to heal him by matching him to the other lifeform present, making him fully human.
- Humans Are Smelly: Spock is polite about it, but he carries his species' distaste for human smells.
- I Need a Freaking Drink:
- When T'Pril starts laying into Spock during the ritual, Pike, in the background, takes a big drink.
- After Spock's duplicity with T'Pring has convinced her they need to spend time apart, Pike offers to join Spock in another human ritual: commiseration. It's a good thing the captain's quarters are well-stocked.
- Lighter and Softer: Coming off of four straight episodes dealing with stopping a war, the evils of prejudice, traumatizing time travel and memory loss, this episode is a lot sillier.
- Mama's Boy: Spock does not take T'Pril's dislike of his mother very lightly, and defends Amanda to his in-law for all she has sacrificed.
- The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body: Spock finds himself run by his human emotions because the Vulcan techniques to suppress them don't work with a human mind.
- Mythology Gag: Spock takes up cooking lessons from Pike in his spare time, which he developed a passion for from his grandmother in The Autobiography of Spock.
- Negative Space Wedgie: The swirling vortex on Kerkhov, which is actually an interdimensional transport tunnel.
- Not So Above It All: Sevek is married to the most traditionalist of all Vulcans, but he can't help but enjoy Pike's more flavorful take on Vulcan cuisine.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: T'Pril is overly critical, perpetually unpleasable, and racist on top of that. Even her own daughter can't stand her.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: The Kerkohvian AIs insist on proper protocol and don't understand that simply choosing one-half of Spock's genome isn't actually "fixing" him. Ortegas, Uhura, and Chapel have to fly into the transport tunnel to actually get them to talk long enough to understand the issue.
- Oh, Crap!: Spock's and Chapel's eyes go wide when Pike calls to tell Spock that Amanda is beaming aboard. Spock then struggles to keep from panicking when she tells him that T'Pring's parents insist on the engagement dinner.
- Orphaned Punchline: We're shown a number of times where Ortegas is telling jokes to Spock and the Bridge Crew girls, but we only see the punchline and their reactions.
- Out-of-Character Alert: Spock having an emotional outburst in front of his mother understandably proves to her he's definitely hiding something.
- Parental Marriage Veto: T'Pril hates Spock and is willing to cancel his engagement to T'Pring if the V'Shal dinner doesn't go perfectly.
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Rainbow Lens: Spock, a Child of Two Worlds who has been bullied for things he can't help and has had to choose what his public identity should be, has always been a LGBTQ icon. This episode, by forcing him to pretend to be something he's not, takes that allegory up to another level. - "The Reason You Suck" Speech: T'Pril digs into Spock during the second part of the ritual, believing he's betrayed his Vulcan heritage by joining Starfleet and not remaining at home to be with his betrothed, especially because of his human heritage. He's barely able to suppress the rage and has to excuse himself under the false pretense of using the bathroom to scream into a towel.
- Rubber-Forehead Aliens: In a bit of meta humor, Spock is rendered human and then has to be given a pair of prosthetic ears so that he can pass as a Vulcan.
- Running Gag: Throughout the ritual, Pike is trying his hardest to hide the fact that Spock is not Vulcan at the moment, and just when he thinks that things are going smoothly, he's back to commiserating about the situation when it looks like things are about to go off the rails. Even when the ritual is over and he's off to get the food for Sevek, Spock takes off his fake ears and Pike just sets the tray down in frustration.
- Serious Business: Spock dislikes Sam Kirk's constant mess from his dirty dishes during their science meetings, but he usually cleans it up while Sam's talking. When he's fully human, he tells Sam to clean it up, and actually has to be restrained from beating the tar out of him when Sam doesn't do so immediately.
- Script-Reading Doors: An example where the doors stay shut instead of open. When Amanda beams on-board and Spock has trouble hiding his emotions, Pike tries to make an excuse for them to leave, only for the transporter room doors to slam shut and refuse to open, making sure Spock sticks around long enough for him to reveal his condition. Once that happens, the doors finally open.
- Sexy Discretion Shot: After their Big Damn Kiss, when Spock asks what it means, Christine answers, "I don't know. Shut up", grabs him and pushes him out of camera view. Roll credits.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Spock hides from T'Pring the fact that he was turned into a human. Instead of laughing it off as a wacky sitcom plot, she is deeply hurt at his lack of trust, and chooses to pause their relationship.
- Test of Pain: One of the Vulcan engagement rituals involves the groom-to-be making tea for the bride's parents, wherein they are required to pour the boiling hot kettle bare-handed. For a Vulcan, the kettle is well within temperatures they can tolerate, but it becomes this for Spock's now-human hands. While rehearsing this, his mother Amanda Grayson mentions that living among Vulcans involves hiding a lot of pain.
- This Is Gonna Suck: When Spock requests to return to duty, Pike agrees and then assures M'Benga that it will be fine in a tone of voice that conveys his total lack of faith in that statement.
- The Un-Smile: Played With. Spock's smile and laughter are genuine, but the crew are so not used to him smiling that it becomes disconcerting to them.
- We Want Our Jerk Back!: Downplayed, since Spock isn't a jerk by any means, but the crew are so used to this stoic, emotionless Vulcan that they start growing concerned when he behaves more like them.
