A formal Vulcan dinner held before a wedding, at which the prospective husband must serve the bride's family and submit to their judgement through a series of prescribed rituals.
The V'Shal is an ancient ceremony in which the families of a betrothed couple meet. The groom-to-be performs each stage under the critical eye of his future mother-in-law.
It is central to the Strange New Worlds episode Charades. T'Pring's parents arrive aboard the Enterprise for the dinner just after a shuttle accident, and the well-meant repairs of an alien species, have left Spock entirely human. With his mother Amanda coaching him, he tries to conceal the change and get through the rituals while struggling with unfamiliar emotions.
Christine Chapel obtains the means to restore him in time for the final rite. Spock then reveals the deception to honour his mother, and T'Pring, hurt that he hid it from her, asks for time apart.