Enterprise | Season 4

In a Mirror, Darkly (Pt 1)

Directed By: James L. Conway
Written By: Michael Sussman

Rating:

Reviewed on: 9 August 2005
Reviewed by: Michael Axe

In Brief:

Review: (Contains Spoilers)

I have always been a fan of the Mirror Universe episodes, so the chance to see the Mirror Universe take on the Enterprise-era Alpha Quadrant was always going to be interesting. But this is a Mirror Universe episode unlike any other, in that the writers took the bold step of setting the episode entirely in the Mirror Universe with no cross-over characters from the USS Enterprise crew.

That's right – the “real” Archer and Co never appear in the episode, which was certainly an unexpected twist. And while this may disappoint some viewers, I thought it worked surprisingly well. Had the “real” crew crossed-over into the MU, it would have been (another) continuity nightmare, but by making the episode about the MU Enterprise crew, the writers have given us a fascinating insight into the history of the Terran Empire, without the need to throw in the clichés involved with having visitors from the “real” universe.

The episode starts with what is arguably the event that set the MU on a different course from the real universe. The reference back to First Contact with the Vulcans worked wonderfully, and the icing on the cake was the altered title sequence which followed, which was a stroke of genius.

We then get to see the back-stabbing (literally) that goes on in the Terran version of Starfleet, as well as seeing the origins of things such as the memorable agony booth from “Mirror, Mirror”. As with the other MU episodes, half the fun is seeing how the characters are portrayed in the MU – and in this episode the writers really excelled. While characters such as Reed and Mayweather are simply “mean” versions of the usual characters, others have undergone more noticeable changes. Trip – or Tucker as he is called here – is a bitter loser, scarred and dying from radiation overdoses picked up from the warp engine; T'Pol is an uncertain second-class citizen, unsure of who to follow; and even Porthos is a huge Rottweiler!

But the two characters who are arguable the most different are Archer and Hoshi. Mirror-Archer is a man who has never lived up to his potential, and now, after years of being ignored, is desperate to make one last all-or-nothing attempt to make a name for himself. But he lacks the qualities that made real-Archer a pioneer, and now Mirror-Archer is walking the fine line between brilliance and breakdown.

Hoshi meanwhile has become the ultimate siren – deadly, but impossible to resist. After having left Archer years ago when his career was going nowhere, she starts off as consort to Captain Forrest, but soon works to ingratiate herself with the new captain.

Another welcome touch was the return of Forrest, proving that another great thing about MU episodes is that you can resurrect popular deceased characters. Mirror-Forrest gets a fair bit to do in this episode, and in an interesting allusion to the final fate of his real-universe counterpart, Mirror-Forrest sacrifices himself to save the lives of others.

This episode also lays the groundwork for the MU that we first saw in “Mirror, Mirror”, by showing how after First Contact, the Vulcans become the slaves of the Terran Empire, and the technological “leg up” provided by Vulcan technology allowed the Terran Empire to expand. The portrayal of T'Pol in this episode is a particularly effect representation of the tenuous and uncertain position the Vulcans have within the Terran Empire.

The plot of the episode itself is also a treat for fans, as after all these years we finally get to see a Tholian in person, and the incorporation of the USS Defiant (which disappeared into interspace in the TOS episode “The Tholian Web”) was another brilliant touch. The final cliffhanger was executed perfectly, and left me chomping at the bit for the next instalment.

Michael Axe is the author of a number of novellas and screenplays, and is a main reviewer for ST Universe. All his reviews are copyright © Michael Axe and are used here exclusively with his permission.