T ' Les T ' Les was a Vulcan who worked as an instructor at the Vulcan Science Academy in the early 22nd century . T ' Les and her husband had met only once prior to their bonding and marriage . However , even though they were strangers at the time of their marriage , they grew to love and care for each other deeply . ( ) In 2088 , T ' Les and her husband had their only child , a daughter named T ' Pol . ( ) T ' Les became a widow when her husband , and T ' Pol ' s father , died sometime prior to 2151 . ( ) T ' Pol , a sub - commander in the Vulcan High Command , was assigned to the starship in 2151 . Later that year , she took part in the discovery of a spy complex under the P ' Jem monastery . ( ) In 2154 , after returning from the Xindi incident , T ' Pol visited her mother on , and brought Commander Tucker without telling her mother beforehand . T ' Les was not happy to see T ' Pol with a Human companion , especially given that T ' Pol had been engaged in a family - arranged bonding with a Vulcan named Koss . T ' Pol had broken off the arrangement three years earlier , in order to stay aboard " Enterprise " . T ' Les insisted , however , that T ' Pol keep her marriage agreement with Koss . Despite her initial disdain towards Tucker , T ' Les could not help but eventually like him . She was certain he was in love with her daughter . Able to sense a strong bond between them , T ' Les hoped that Tucker would inform T ' Pol of his feelings for her before she married Koss . ( ) T ' Les notified T ' Pol that she had " retired " from her teaching position at the Science Academy . In reality , because of her daughter ' s actions on P ' Jem in 2151 , T ' Les had been under investigation for removing classified material from the Science Academy , and had been forced into an early retirement due to the falsified charges . T ' Les later joined a group of Vulcan dissidents known as Syrrannite s , who were vulnerable to arrest after they supposedly destroyed the United Earth Embassy . After Archer and T ' Pol were captured by the Syrrannites , T ' Les came to their aid and persuaded T ' Pau , the head of the movement , to trust them . T ' Les advised T ' Pol that the Vulcan High Command was corrupt and evil . She died in her daughter ' s arms when the High Command bombarded the Syrranites ' compound – the T ' Karath Sanctuary in Vulcan ' s Forge . ( ) Appendices . Background information . T ' Les was played by actress Joanna Cassidy . In the script for , T ' Les was introduced as " a dignified Vulcan woman on the low side of a hundred . " Joanna Cassidy was cast as T ' Les while having a recurring part on the series . The fact that the casting department at shared duties with " Six Feet Under " helped her land the role of T ' Les . Shortly after portraying the character , Cassidy stated , " " I ' m definitely mother material these days and I think that ' s why they thought of me for " Star Trek : Enterprise " . They asked me if I wanted to come in and play T ' Les and I said yes [ . . . ] I was very pleased to be asked to be on the show . " " ( ) The introduction of T ' Les may have also been influenced by an interest in adding some gravitas to the character of T ' Pol . " " They ' re testing Jolene Blalock ' s acting chops by giving her heavy stuff to play , " " reckoned Cassidy . Thinking of T ' Les as a welcome acting challenge , Joanna Cassidy tried to mentally unravel the character ' s motivations . " " I saw her as an extremely confident woman , " " reflected the actress , " " but secretive [ . . . ] Not forthcoming might be a better description . She ' s very strong . Her past wasn ' t really spoken of , but I assume she lost her husband . I sort of filled in the spaces [ . . . ] And I think she ' s filled with a great passion and love for her daughter which would enable her to have such feelings of somewhat being abandoned . My sense was that T ' Les felt abandoned and wanted her daughter involved in her life again . " " The insights that the series did offer into the relationship between T ' Les and her daughter made an impression on Joanna Cassidy . " " My understanding was that on " Star Trek " you hadn ' t really seen any Vulcan mother - daughter relationship before , but I wish they ' d brought it in earlier , " " Cassidy remarked . " " I think it could have been a very interesting part of the series and it could have crossed over into something about the Vulcans that people haven ' t learned yet . " " Joanna Cassidy found that assuming the role of T ' Les for the episode " Home " was very enjoyable but involved a few difficulties , not the least of which was adopting the reservedness associated with the part . " " T ' Les is such a stoic and unemotional person , and I am not a stoic and unemotional person . I ' m very animated , " " explained Cassidy . " " So to hold myself back physically and emotionally was a real challenge . " " ( ) The actress also commented , " " I was doing slight smiles , and I was told that was not appropriate ! Sometimes I even showed too much in the eyes . Vulcan feelings are very hidden . And I loved that . I ' m very expressive , so to pull it all in was interesting . " " The make - up for the part was another restrictive challenge that Cassidy was faced with , though she was pleased with the prosthetics . " " I was in a chair for a couple of hours and I had to rein myself in during that , too , " " she said . " " But I loved the look . Once it was done I thought it was terrific . And I got to keep my ears . But I understand that they don ' t last , that they break down over time . " " ( ) Returning to play T ' Les in was somewhat easier for Cassidy . She later remembered , " " I fitted in a little bit more , but it ' s still hard to get into the rhythm when you ' re not there every day . Still , I felt comfortable . I knew everyone . I knew what to expect . I knew what the make - up would be like . " " ( ) The character of T ' Les was killed off in " Awakening " because , among other reasons , Paramount Pictures couldn ' t afford to pay Joanna Cassidy to play her in . ( " Information from " ) As evidenced by the final draft script of " Awakening " , however , T ' Les ' death scene was added to with some additional dialogue for the final version of the scene . For example , in unscripted lines of dialogue , T ' Les discovers T ' Pol has successfully helped find the " Kir ' Shara " and tells T ' Pol , " " You have always struggled so with your emotions . I came here , I did all this to help you . " " Other lines that weren ' t scripted include T ' Les reassuring T ' Pol that she would understand what her mother had meant by that , and T ' Les affectionately referring to her daughter as " my T ' Pol . " Cassidy was very surprised to learn of T ' Les ' demise and suspected the same was true of T ' Pol actress Jolene Blalock . " " I hadn ' t read the scripts between ' Home ' and ' Awakening ' , so I didn ' t know how they were leading up to ' Awakening ' , " " said Cassidy , " " but it was probably as big a shock to me as it was to Jolene to get a mother and to lose a mother . We had such a nice time together . I think she was disappointed to lose me . I think having my character there opened a side of her that hadn ' t really been tapped . " " ( ) T ' Les ' likeness was used as a digital model for concept artwork , when Sanja Hays was designing Vulcan clothes for .