Review Text
In brief: A garish and goofy comic book, but plenty of fun to get the job done, and with a great last act.
Last week's abysmal "Bound" was a silly hour with a lame plot that treated women like objects. The episode had its (delusional) defenders, who labeled it a "guilty pleasure." The error in that description was the use of the word "pleasure" in connection with a show that was such a colossal bore and a general insult to the intellect.
Now here comes "In a Mirror, Darkly," which is also a silly hour that generally treats women like objects. The key difference, however, is that "Bound" was a relentless bore and "Mirror" is quite a bit of fun, with inventive plot details. The term "guilty pleasure" applies in this case. I can recommend "Mirror" on its chosen level of hyper-aggressive testosterone, hilarious teeth-gnashing, and across-the-board sociopathic behavior. This is, after all, the mirror universe. If you're looking for any depth in the slightest, you've come to the wrong show. But it should be noted that the whole point of the mirror universe is that it's an evil comic book where strange things happen. If you want an evil comic book, you've got an evil comic book.
The episode also features a clever opening teaser (first contact with the Vulcans is marked by Zefram Cochrane pulling out a shotgun and blowing the Vulcan ambassador away), an inspired alternate title sequence (showing the advancement of human technology as a purpose for escalating warfare), and a brilliant final act of pure Trekkian fun. These attributes alone would make the hour worthwhile even if everything in between was pointless (which, come to think of it, is a close call).
To call this episode over-the-top would be an understatement. This is a go-for-broke hour of lunatic madness. A lot of it is admittedly inane, but that's the point. The entire episode takes place in the mirror universe and involves exclusively the mirror characters, which is something of a departure from previous Trek mirror-universe episodes, in which characters crossed over from one universe to the other and found themselves out of their element. This prohibits the interaction of characters with their anti-universe and instead allows exclusive focus on the eeeeeeevil characters.
Everyone here is a scumbag, pretty much without exception. The Enterprise is commanded by Captain Forrest (Vaughn Armstrong gets to reprise a version of his character killed earlier this season). Archer is the first officer, who usually wears a frown so extreme that I was left wondering if Scott Bakula had strained all his facial muscles in the making of this episode. Phlox is a doctor of the most unscrupulous kind, who dreams up new ways to torture and kill. In one amusing scene, we see his sickbay of horrors, where as a hobby he dissects animals while their insides pulsate.
Reed is a MACO and a sadist who smiles a subtle but evil grin at the prospect of anything involving torture or something blowing up. He has invented a torture chamber ("the booth") that sends agonizing pain straight into the brain. When a ship attacks the Enterprise, Reed's happy about it because it means he gets to shoot back. Mayweather is also a MACO, and I guess it's fitting that his mirror character is as equally underused as his normal version. Trip is a bitter engineer whose exposure to radiation has left him disfigured. He still hits on T'Pol, even in this universe.
Sato is the captain's mistress (for whomever the captain happens to be at the moment), trading sex for career advancement, although it seems that "advancement" is simply the right to have the captain's ear. If there's one complaint I'd lodge, it's that she's not permitted any strength or power beyond the barter of her sexuality. At least Intendant Kira was in charge in the DS9 mirror-universe episodes, and had a ruthlessness that allowed her to compete with, and surpass, her rival males. Then again, trying to look for character "virtues" in a story that is by definition utterly without virtue is probably foolish; the males are all violent psychopaths, so it's not like we should be looking for redeeming qualities.
The only more or less "normal" person on the ship is T'Pol, who, as a Vulcan, does not seem to harbor the aggressive hostility that all the humans do. Like Spock in the original "Mirror, Mirror," she's governed by a more tempered disposition. After a power play that leaves a number of crewmen dead and Captain Forrest locked in the brig, T'Pol helps Forrest regain the upper hand. She does this not out of ambition for conquest, but out of a loyalty that seems logical.
The plot is a crackpot concoction involving Archer's plan to take the Enterprise deep into Tholian space, where his intelligence points to the location of a secret base that is holding a Starfleet vessel that has been lured from an alternate (i.e. our) universe. But not just from another universe, Archer reveals, but from a century in the future of that other universe, promising more advanced technology that could be used in the Terran Empire's plans for unlimited conquest.
In executing this plan, there is an endless series of manipulations, betrayals, power shifts, and scenes of people screaming in the torture chamber. As much time as the crew (and presumably all of humanity) spends at each other's throats, it's a wonder they've been so successful at conquering other societies. It seems to me that just fending off overthrows within the command structure would be a full-time job.
The tone of these scenes is all attitude and evil comic-book grins, often with enjoyably funny results. You certainly have to regard the actors with admiration here: It takes guts to willingly throw yourself head-on through scenes of such inherent goofiness, devouring the scenery as if your life depended on it. Considering the enormity of the ridiculousness, the performances are fearlessly energetic. Scott Bakula in particular seems to be in a nirvana of play-evil, snapping his neck around with every line of dialog. Actors often say that playing the villain is fun. Everyone must've had fun here, because everyone is the villain.
A few words on the women's Starfleet uniforms: namely, extremely stupid-looking. Robert Blackman, the costume designer, either dropped the ball or was under some sort of directive that required nearly 12 inches of midriff. On the sex appeal front, Hoshi's negligee is fine and good, but the Starfleet uniforms are a laughable embarrassment of the implausible. Come on, folks. There's acceptably over-the-top, and then there's blatant stupidity.
No matter, because all is forgiven by the last act, which is nothing short of brilliant. The Enterprise reaches the Tholian base and discovers a TOS-era Constellation-class starship, the USS Defiant. Viewers with encyclopedic instant-recall of classic Trek (or, in my case, easy access to my old reviews) will remember the Defiant as the ship from TOS's "The Tholian Web." When it vanished from the TOS universe, it apparently ended up here. Now mirror-Archer wants to beam aboard and steal it.
This leads to great sequence in which the Tholians discover the Enterprise and surround it with their energy web, and then start pummeling it with torpedoes. The crew evacuates in the escape pods while Forrest remains aboard to give them time to escape (although I wasn't quite sure what he was trying to do). The Enterprise explodes in a big fireball. Reed, watching from the Defiant, almost smiles, as if seeing explosions triggers an automatic response in his brain.
And, in what may be the coolest scene of the year, Archer's away team powers up the darkened bridge of the Defiant. I gotta tell you: When that bridge lit up and the TOS sound effects started chirping, I wanted to cheer. The feeling this evokes is exactly as if the cast of Enterprise had stepped through a time portal to emerge directly on the sets of the original series in 1966. It's a surreal and wonderfully pure fan moment, and I loved it. The production designers have perfectly recreated the bridge of what is ostensibly the Defiant, but in pure viewer terms is what we know is meant to be the original Enterprise. This is one of those imaginative moments where fictional universes spill into one another in the most unlikely and unexpected of ways, and generate a reality of their own.
If only this sort of imagination serviced a story that wasn't so fundamentally silly and full of characters whose attitudes run counter to this very notion of self-referential Trek imagination, we might've had something really special here. As it is, we have one very special moment within an hour of fairly amusing ones.
Next week: Will the mirror shine or shatter?
Previous episode: Bound
Next episode: In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II
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84 comments on this post
Straha
I for one liked the female uniforms, though. :)
Hoshi Sato killer
Hoshi would have been killed looong before she could poison archer.
Jason K
I finally got a chance to see part 1 last night. I was delighted that James Cromwell reprised his First Contact role. I thought it would have been someone else. Great opening scene.
Nolan
actually Jason, I was under the impression that they just spliced in footage from First Contact, with some insert shots of some different person pulling out a gun then a back shot of them shooting it.
GusF
As far as I'm concerned, this is the single best episode of the entire series. It certainly gets four stars from me.
Demon971
I'm with Straha. The female uniforms were hot! In Mirror Mirror the uniforms showed a good 8-10 inches of tummy, so of course ENT has to follow suit.
Besides, T'Pol's stomach is too good not to show that much! Same with Hoshi. Both those gals have amazing midsections. A tribute to the hotness of Star Trek gals!
Darkling
I think you mean Constitution-class, not Constellation-class...
Nathan
I couldn't get into it. Most of the other mirror universe episodes have the normal universe characters going over, and much of the interest is in their status as fish out of water, as well as the fact that you actually care about them. This, until the Defiant, was just bad people doing bad things (scumbags bagging scum?).
Paul York
A purely evil universe is boring, in my view. Much more interesting is where one character is good (from the good parallel universe - as Kirk or Sisko were when visiting evil universes) and the moral tension this creates ... Phlox experimenting on live animals was appropriate; that is done in labs now, which must mean that our world is actually an evil universe that a few of us (good people) are trapped in by mistake or design. I half believe that on some days.
Nathaniel
@Paul York
Experiments on live people are done as well. The distinction is not life but of what kind of experiments are done.
I'd tell you to actually look up the quite stringent guidelines scientific researchers have to follow on animal testing, but I suspect that your stupidity on this issue is quite willful.
Brock
5 minutes in: Okay everyone's evil and terrible at acting...
7 minutes in: alright Hoshi and and Admiral *throws up in mouth*
10 mintues in: Still boring fell asleep trying to watch
15 minutes in: Jammer thought this was better than the last episode? Did this review come from a parallel universe? Is it April 1st?
20 minutes in: Is this going somewhere? Is there even a story, or is it all midsections and "HEY I'M PLAYING AN EVIL ME! GET IT?!"
35 minutes in: Okay this is officially the worst Enterprise has to offer, Jammer must have some nostalgia disease I'm immune to
Finished: Well that was a complete waste of time, oh wait there's a part 2 to this train-wreck? *shoots self*
"Bound" had more substance than this steaming pile of poo poo pasta. For 3 stars I expected something pretty damn great since last week was only a 1 star and it was at least entertaining. I was watching paint dry during the boring parts of this episode, which was ALL of it.
Zane314
In a Mirror, Darkly, Part I >> wow, what an episode! 4.5 stars out of 4.0, this is as good as it gets for Enterprise and even at the top with the best NG and DS9. I really disliked the DS9 mirrors with Kira the ridiculous evil/horny schemer and Sisko overacting so much I thought his head was going to explode. But Mirror Darkly was outstanding with the right amounts of good story, acting (over but not too much) and call backs to the old TOS gems. It was a nice mirror approach to have all of them be evil/alternates, not some like in the other mirrors. Evil Phlox was still smiling and cheery, but evil! Torture, animal dissection, plus an evil leather-ish outfit to boot. And Tholians! I loved seeing all of one and getting more details on them. Oh and I guess evil Star Fleet only takes aerobics instructors and sit up champions for female crew members, wow-za! And evil Hoshi's hair, look, and demeanor was great, she was the best alternate of the lot. And the Tholian web is back! Really cool stuff, great effects, good pacing. An excellent episode, top 5 for the whole series and one of the most memorable Treks for the whole franchise.
Patrick
This episode is the most inventive, imaginative, and "outside-of-the-box" episode of this entire underwhelming Star Trek Enterprise series. The teaser alone was ingenious and then the lead-in with the alternate universe credits had a compelling energy that I've never attributed to Star Trek: Enterprise. The rest, is just a ball. The idea of having a Mirror Universe episode without our regular heroes was a brilliant idea!
In fact I can honestly say that Enterprise was able to do *one thing* better than Deep Space Nine--make the Mirror Universe a fun romp again. With the exception of "Through the Looking Glass"; DS9's Mirror Universe episodes were depressing and predictable.
Tiarfe
This episode was so ludicrous it could not hold my attention. I had to rewind after seeing the last 5 minutes because I thought I missed something. I wasted time because everything leading up to the ending sucked.
Yeah T'Pol and Hoshi uniforms were really stupid.
At least the ending was good enough for me to want to seed the next episode.
Cloudane
Whoa... whoa! Great (and chilling) touch changing the opening sequence (and ending music). Really good!
Not too sure about a mirror universe where everyone (regardless of where they're from) is Pure Evil. Did some kind of Evil Gene get released into the galaxy millions of years ago in the parallel universe or what? The mirror world in DS9 (and TOS) was at least a little more mixed, I thought.
Wasn't sure where the "Defiant" came in, so ended up re-watching The Tholian Web after this episode. (I originally thought the mirror universe was created in "Mirror, Mirror"... maybe not). I see - interesting choice of episodes to mix with the mirror universe, cleverly done.
Onwards, but I may have to re-skip through this episode after watching Tholian. Good work making me think and geek out.
Cloudane
Wait, two more observations!
- In the mirror universe, T'Pol looks a bit like Lara Croft
- That last moment when Reed kind of smirks at the Enterprise's destruction, reminds me of the end of Series 3 of Blake's 7, where Avon watches the destruction of the Liberator and grins. Very good :)
Kay
This would've made an awesome story arc if they'd maintained some good sense on how such a world would work.
I really wouldn't mind a Mirror Darkly universe as primary for a new ST show which later ties into the main universe, maybe putting them in direct conflict.
Mad
"Yeah T'Pol and Hoshi uniforms were really stupid."
Why? Because it's not practical? You really think that evil empire of misogynistic, evil, sex obsessed warlords would care?
I actually really like this episode. Remember, this is mirror universe. It's not supposed to be clever or have emotional depth, it's just fun.
Annie
This must be one of those episodes you either love or you hate. I was primed to love it because the teaser and opening credits were so clever. The opening credits kind of blew me away and made me determined to love the episode and overlook my usual nits. Hell, I even liked Reid in this one.
I'm not familiar with TOS (will turn to that after I'm done with Enterprise) so I didn't get any of those jokes. Is the insectoid species original to TOS? I guess I figured they made the alien a CGI insectoid so they could have it explode on screen. Even so, I felt really bad for it.
I didn't mind the women's uniforms, but I think it should have been a rule that if they are going to have provocatively dressed women, they have to have a shirtless or at least sleeveless Travis. They followed that rule in Bound, why not here?
Dez
I found this thoroughly enjoyable! In particular the TOS era ship lighting up, fantastic! Even richer now Jammer points out the ship was lost to Tholians in TOS.. Nice segue! The ladies uniforms were ridiculous but hey fits the alternate universe, and wow T'Pol and Hoshi were fit ;D
Burt
It doesn't sound like Jamahl has been laid in a long time. Either that or he is trying to suck up to some women. He seems completely out of touch with what pretty girls like to wear. They sexy girls at my job (even managers) would come to work wearing less than nothing if they were allowed to. Only the rules keep them from dressing like tramps. They love the attention.
Steven
Everything about the Mirror universe episodes was one dimensional, including the characters who were all just the same evil in different bodies. I didn't particularly like the weaker DS9 mirror universe episodes either, but having said that, they were far better than this crap. At least the characters had some depth and weren't all evil power mongers. I like Star Trek & Enterprise, especially the Xindi storyline, but if this was to be it's future, then I'm glad it was axed. There's some seriously dark people in Paramount who seem to be hell bent on ruining a popular franchise.
Dom
Well, given that Hoshi seizes control and becomes Empress in the sequel to this episode, I think it's hard to say that she's "not permitted any strength or power beyond the barter of her sexuality"
T'Paul
Definitely a fun romp and homage to (even the silly bits of) TOS.
Such a shame... now I'm finishing my second round of ENT and seeing what it could have been had it been given the chance.
It really could have done what it set out to do: complete the circle and fill in provide us a lot of interesting background to TOS and the federation as a whole.
Really, really, really hope that it's not the last Trek series (have heard that thanks to the new movies it may not be), and that any future trek series learns the lessons from the mistakes of the 5 series 'till now.
In my opinion (to go off on a tangent) a good series would be the Federation leaving the Milky Way for the first time going to another galaxy where none of the aliens were humanoid (if we accept the premise of TNG's the chase that our galaxy was seeded by an ancient humanoid race). Kind of like a non-corny Voyager.
navamske
A couple of missed opportunities:
-- It would have been cool if after boarding the Defiant the Enterprise crew had played the last message the ship received -- and it was from Uhura, whom they could have depicted on a viewscreen using archival footage (and with Ms. Nichols's permission).
-- I would like to have seen Evil Archer find in the Federation database a reference to the first officer of the NCC-1701. He would have been like, "A human and a Vulcan reproduced? WTF?!"
Nancy
I loved how committed the series was to the Mirror universe, even changing the credits. The nods to TOS were brilliant. The ladies' outfits were ridiculous but I figured they were the result of a sexist patriarchy. The only thing that was lacking was someone to root for. I guess T'Pol was somewhat sympathetic but even she was ruthless eventually.
@Burt - clearly you know nothing about women. It's true we like to look attractive, but we like respect even more, so we don't actually yearn to be objectified at the workplace. We do not sigh with sadness that our male colleagues will be looking at our eyes instead of our boobs because we couldn't wear the low cut body stocking we go clubbing in. We also know there are other ways to get male attention besides dressing provocatively.
Retnan
They were just being consistent, Uhura's costume in "Mirror Mirror" shows her midriff. Women are sex objects in the Mirror Universe, deal with it.
I'd say given that Hoshi becomes the EMPRESS there is little to complain about on the women's rights front.
NCC-1701-Z
"Something about your maternal ancestor" - Hoshi, translating the Tholian
Nice to know that yo mamma insults are still around in the future. In spite of myself, I laughed. Favorite line.
Probably my favorite mini-arc so far, with the Vulcan arc being close behind. Doesn't mean much, but it's fun. I liked that we got our first complete look at a Tholian, and that they made Porthos a Rottweiler.
NCC-1701-Z
I also liked how they explained the events of TOS's "Tholian Web" and tied it in here. It does kind of make sense. In general, I've really appreciated all the in-jokes and references to future Trek series throughout this season.
Andrew
I don't really agree with the sentiment that "everyone here is a scumbag". Captain Forrest, at the very least, demonstrated a spark of altruism and genuinely honorable behaviour during the evacuation and subsequent destruction of the mirror NX-01. While it's impossible to be a decent human being and survive in the Terran Empire, I think Forrest gave the impression of having a quasi-moral center, which is more than any other human character in this episode can claim to have.
Admiral Black, in the second part of this episode, also seemed to be a little calmer and more reserved... and in general less psychotic and blood-thirsty... than most of the other humans. I guess maybe to reach those higher command ranks, Starfleet needs officers who can be rational at least some of the time, heh.
Elliott
Andrew: Remember how in the TNG era admirals were basically always corrupts assholes? I take these two to be the mirror reversal of that law
Snooky
I'm surprised how many people found the female outfits sexist -- considering the TOS female uniforms in "our" enlightened future were really impractical miniskirts! As a female, I thought it was funny. But I wouldn't have minded some bohunk action in exchange.
The opening sequence was so phenomenal and unexpected, I dragged both my husband and son into the room and made them watch it. The credits, too. And the credits really were a social commentary of their own -- yes, we've invented and explored, but yes, most of the tech has been used for warfare. Even landing on the moon was an outcome of the Cold War (I say this at the 45th anniversary of the walk on the moon.)
The rest was so over the top, there's not a lot there to even discuss. The best part by far were the TOS references, the Tholians, seeing a Tholian, the Tholian web, and the TOS BRIDGE!!! That thrilled my Trekkie heart.
Polt
These two episodes are my favorite ones from Enterprise. But then I've always been a Mirror Universe junkie. So much fun here...and seeing the Constitution class bridge again....nice. Also nice was Travis, with his different hair and earrings...very sexy.
I'm anxious to move onto the second episode now...I just smile the whole way through both these, enjoying the ride!
Azdude
I'm tired of these alternate universe / alternate timeline episodes.
I am thinking that maybe the demise of the entire Star Trek franchise had less to do with poor writers, but with the poor decisions of their Marketing Overlords.
At this point in the season, there is definitely a lowering of thoughtful scripts, and a focus on target markets. Ill conceived, but very apparent.
Anyway, I agree that the female uniforms were pretty silly.
But also pretty freaking hot.
Damn you, male hormones! !
John G
Not even going to watch this. Mirror universes are the worst thing ever to happen to Star Trek. I would rather watch an episode where a Ferengi in drag attempts a transwarp flight and evolves into a giant salamander.
Peter
I quite liked the realisation of the Tholian as a crystalline arachnid.
If the Terran Empire had access to TOS technology 100 years prematurely then by the time Kirk and Co have their transporter accident the Terran empire would be at TNG or beyond levels of technology so, just like season 2's Regeneration, this makes zero sense but I guess it isn't supposed to.
Midriff revealing costumes for the girls?Well this is just a reference to Uhura's bare belly in the equivalent TOS episode-but a century later-now that is one prevalent fashion!
Peremensoe
Peter, i's probably best to think of this as a *different* "mirror" universe/timeline than the one K&S see.
David
Not *everyone* in this episode was evil. Trip was normal.
Paul Allen
Dammit, spoilers for the follow up episode in the comments on the first episode. :(
Bad craic guys....
John Stobbart
I agree Paul. I come here after the episodes. If somebody wants to comment on something that happens in part 2, they should do it for the comments for part 2
Diamond Dave
Jaw-dropping teaser and title sequence that sets out an extremely audacious strategy to set an entire episode in the mirror universe without any intervention from our main crew. It's a shame it doesn't quite live up to that brilliant opening, and mainly I think the problem is that the crew are pretty much playing evil versions of themselves - there's nothing really that different here apart from from amped up performances and lots and lots of scenery chewing.
On the plus side, Evil Phlox and Evil Reed make the most of their opportunities, and Evil Hoshi is very easy on the eye. Evil Archer doesn't really work though. But as a comic book romp this is pretty successful. 3 stars.
Nolan
Wow, some salty, cynical people in these comments. This eoisode is just dumb fun. I will admit to being a bit fidgity in my chair waiting for episode advancement, but having tried my hand at acting, I know how fun going over the top and chewing scenery is, be it overly comedic or dramatic. This falls at a point where those two meet.
I also love how as Enterpise started making references to and giving send ups to TOS the more indignant some viewers got.
rose
the theme song for this special should have been the theme song for enterprise from the beginning. too bad it took so long for the show to improve
lizzzi
Great fun. I love the way it refers back to TOS's The Tholian Web. I think the mirror universe stories in Enterprise are far more entertaining than the meh mirror universe in DS9. So what if the Enterprise mirror universe is over-the-top cartoonish? I think it's a riot--pure entertainment with no redeeming value. Wahoo!
Dave
Didn't the characters on other shows occasionally have "meetings with the Tholian ambassador" and such? Nothing ever mentioned that they couldn't handle room temperature.
Lupe
I personally find 'mirror universe' episodes an annoying waste of time, and although I suppose you could just argue for the fun aspects of this one, I found it hard to take filling the entire cast with psychopaths and sadists, and then in the final act putting them in danger and presumably expecting us to root for them.
With only a few episodes left, I'm bummed that there's a part two to this.
mefive
Great episode. Quite innovative to make the crossover character an actual ship. And what a ship! lol. As a Superman fan, seeing a super ship depicted like Superman ought to be (unstoppable) was great.
Intrinsic Random Event
OK... clearly the know the show is on the way out by now, so they're just screwin around for fun. Nevertheless, I found this to be a reasonably enjoyable midriff.
Sorry, EPISODE, I meant episode...
Steve
No goatees? Shame...
Weyoun Zero
You didn't see Soval? He had the goatee. It's funny how nobody seems to be calling this episode sexist. Guess we'll see come part II
artymiss
Brilliant opening credits! I normally fast forward thru them as I find the Enterprise music dire.Got a surprise this time!
I don't much care for the DS9 alternate universe episodes, find them too camp and self-indulgent with certain of the actors too partial to hamming it up. I thought this was better but so bleak and grim I didn't exactly enjoy it. I found the alt universe Phlox genuinely upsetting. A lot of care and thought and attention seemed to have gone into the Enterprise alt world and I appreciated that but I didn't really like watching it!
I am soooo disappointed the alt universe version of Porthos isn't a cat...
By the way Mr Jammer in the highly unlikely event that you are reading this I would just like to point out that people who like an episode you don't are not "delusional", they just have a DIFFERENT opinion from your own.
Rahul
Like my review of "Mirror, Mirror" from TOS, this is a fun episode. Well done with being loyal to the 2 60s classic episodes -- that's what I appreciated most. Some of the characterization is over the top but that's what it's supposed to be. Such a universe could never possibly get anything constructive done.
The opening initially threw me, but I'm glad it did. The scene from First Contact with Cochrane shooting the Vulcans and then no cheesy ENT introductory music -- already, I'm eager to see what's in store. If the episode is entirely about the mirror universe than start with it from the opening scene, I say.
I've read "In a Mirror, Darkly" is considered one of the best ENT episodes. That's great because the series has generally been a disappointment for me. I think the ENT edition of the mirror universe was better done than DS9's attempts.
The ending got good with the plot being the Tholians having created some kind of time / mirror universe rift and bringing back the Defiant from the future. It looks just like from the 60s which was very well done. But the part of Archer & Co. just beaming aboard and taking it over seemed too easy. Good scene as well with the Tholians getting their web going and destroying the Enterprise -- although they did it much quicker than in the 60s episode.
A strong 3 stars for Part I of this episode -- the ENT cast does well with their wacky alter-egos although I was not a fan of Hoshi's character. It's a decent plot too, plenty of back-stabbing with good pacing. At the very least this is what ENT should be doing with more episodes is fleshing out the backstory for TOS episodes. Or at least that's what I would have liked. Maybe Discovery will do this...
Dave
Humans begin able to conquer the entire Vulcan civilization based on the theft of one scout ship's technology is about as believable as the Romulan plot in Unification where Romulus thought it could conquer and hold Vulcan when it lies in the heart of Federation space.
Al
I've been watching Trek since the 60's and think the Mirror, Darkly episodes are among the best and most entertaining of all Trek series. All hail Empress Sato. LOL!
Nievesg
Thanks to your advices, I watched yesterday TOS' Tholian Web & Mirror Mirror first, and then both mirror episodes of ENT. All in a row. It doubles the fun!
It's hilarious when you get on ENT the same details as TOS' evil guys: the salute, the lack of fabric on girls' uniforms, the sword&planet logo, the positions of dead Defiant's crew, the well-done Tholian, even the bearded Vulcans!
And then ENT's mirror has the twist about First Contact and special credits, what's not to love?
Thanks again for your warning about lowering my expectations, the script was just average.
But once you are ready for thar... watching such a game of thrones story with humour touches is pure joy!
Trip's bitter jokes, Archer as Macbeth but with exxagerated bed scenes, Hoshi as evil mastermind, Reed and Tucker still faithful to their jobs somehow, and the end twist... it was so much fun!
Skoopo
I was just thinking...imagine if someone was new to Star Trek shows and this is the first episode they saw. LOL. They'd probably think Trek fans are completely insane.
I love it.
3 1/2 stars
Chrome
So I decided to watch this in desperate hopes that it would somehow link to DSC's MU plotline. What can I say, it's a really goofy hour of television with everyone doing things "for the evilz".
I actually think Scott Bakula was pretty good in this. I believed he was a bad guy and his motivations made sense for a mirror universe character. There are some interesting atmospheric touches that make the MU quite frightening, and I enjoyed seeing the Tholians. And hey, there's the Defiant, which is apparently what links this episode to DSC's MU arc.
The problem is, and I'll get to it more in the next episode review, is that it's really hard to relate to these MU characters. Besides the obvious TOS homages, what does this have to do with the Prime Universe and why are we invested in these evil versions of the heroes?
One other thing that bothered me was the cheap cash-in on "First Contact". The clip even used the exact same music and stock footage of James Cromwell meeting the Vulcans without actually hiring the actor back. While I'm on the subject, It's also pretty dubious that bunch of post-apocalyptic humans could get the jump on the Vulcans, not only on their ship, but on the rest of the more advanced Vulcan society. Like, really, the humans used a Vulcan scout ship to subjugate the Vulcans? Riiight.
But hey, it was entertaining, so I'll give this one a little slack. 2.5 stars.
Cmj
I kind of would've liked to see the prime universe's Enterprise crew's eyes bug out at seeing T'Pol, Hoshi and Trip. That's what makes it a fun episode. We're watching it from the view of Prime Universe and thinking 'WTH'.
Latex Zebra
@Chrome - One other thing that bothered me was the cheap cash-in on "First Contact". The clip even used the exact same music and stock footage of James Cromwell meeting the Vulcans without actually hiring the actor back.
Him and the other actors all agreed on a minimal appearance fee for reusing the footage. Imagine hiring them back, rebuilding the set (they were lucky enough to be able to get the bottom of the Vulcan ship from someone) would have taken a decent slice of the budget from quite an FX heavy couple of episodes.
Gooz
First we get the Orion slave belly dancers and now this. Stopped watching as soon as T’Pol showed up in the crop top. Maybe this crap played well in whenever this show was filmed, but it’s just gross and pervy now. Plus, I always hated these mirror universe episodes.
W. A.
I am totally shocked at how many seem to think that the women's uniforms were just for titillation (they were, make no mistake; just not *just* for it). Have none of you ever seen "Mirror Mirror"? Right or worng, logical or not, that's what passes for women's uniforms in the Mirror Universe! Even if you don't like Mirror Universe episodes and so feel the outfits are stupid, to act like they belong is ludicrous.
Lupe
A bunch of hillbillies storming onto the first interstellar ship they've ever seen, somehow overpowering the Vulcans with primitive weapons, figuring out how to fly it, and then somehow enslaving the Vukcan empire has to be the most preposterous notion this series has developed (I'm not sure if it beats Paris and Janeway mating as Salamanders) .
The opening titles were clever, but after that it was just a pointlessly nasty, unpleasant experience. I skipped the DS9 mirror universe eps last time I watched it, and they were better than this.
And yeah, calling your readers delusional - not cool.
Karel
DOM - Well it’s been 5+ years since you posted your comment about Hoshi’s fate, yet here I am in November 2018, innocently reading comments by those who know Jammer’s posting rules prohibiting spoilers, coming across YOUR post. Why oh why would you be so cruel?
Luckily for me, I watched parts 1 and 2 consecutively before going to Jammer’s review and reader/watcher comments. I, too, picked up on the irony of the line from Jammer’s Part 1 review — the line you cited in your spoiler post.
(Yes,I’m being deliberately vague in an attempt to avoid repeating a spoiler.)
Steve McCullagh
Awful, stupid, masturbatory nonsense. I HATE the Mirror episodes and this is no different.
Startrekwatcher
2.5 stars
This one struggled twintwin my attention ruin through most of it. Like a lot of ENT episodes it had a “ been there done that” feel with it covering the same ground as “Mirror, Mirror” with agony booths, constant plotting, a captain’s mistress etc. there’s a fine line between homage and recycled. Here it definitely falls into recycled category.
The only moments that felt fresh and had me involved in the episode were the teaser, anything involving the Tholians and the arrival onboard the Defiant.
spinalatte
Wow, this episode was quite polarizing! I found the premise interesting, but it was tough for me to keep my enthusiasm up.
I had trouble with the overacting, the weird close talking, with people's face 3 inches from someone, even when angry and shouting. Scott Bakula was difficult to watch for me, fuming, pacing, clenching - he seemed uncomfortable like he was coming off of meds or in withdrawal or something.
I give them props for trying something daring, but I did not enjoy the mirror universe in DS9, and this episode was average for me. 2/4
Elam
I loved this take on the Mirror Universe. Back to the evil Terran Empire of Mirror Mirror. None of the namby pamby Alliance, humans are slaves etc. from DS9. I love DS9 but I hated what they did with the Mirror Universe. So Spock trying to work for peace weakened the Terran Empire so we got enslaved by the alliance? WHat kind of message does that send? Isn’t that the antithesis of Star Trek values? Being moral and democratic makes you weak? Instead of working for peace and toleration we should be militaristic, violent and sexist? You can’t be moral and strong at the same time? DS9 really did a disservice to the whole Star Trek ethos. Plus the DS9 mirrror episodes were just boring. By embracing the evil Federation human nature, Enterprises’ Mirror Universe really highlights the moral center of Trek and the optimism and morality that is one of the franchise’s appeals.
AND, at the risk of sounding sexist, Mirror Darkly revived the belly baring uniforms for the female officers. I will admit I enjoyed seeing Hoshi and Tpols’ belly buttons plus 10 to 12 inches of bare tummy around them. The two actresses are beautiful after all. Yes the uniforms are sexist, but that’s the point. The mirror universe is a violent and treacherous place, so the people there are Violent and treacherous and also racist and misogynistic.
John Daniels
Finally Archer grew a pair :)) I like it when he shot that reptile who tried to kill him and blow uf the ship. I wish the regular show was more like that. In the other universe the reptile could kill half his crew and destroyed half his ship he would have given him a little peep speech and took him home, lol.
I like this universe, but they need to not make them seem so evil just more balls and less PC correctness. If a ship is trying to kill you feel free to kill them, because if you don't they are going to kills other innocents people and that will be on your weak hands.
Polly
Visually amusing, but otherwise dull episode. Scott Bakula's impersonation of Captain Kirk was fun.
Adam
ENT season 4 is, with one or two exceptions, utterly gripping. Out of all the shows from the classic era, I actually think ENT S4 has got better with time. It embraces the Trek universe so deeply it is clearly being written for fans, by fans, and it breaks my heart to know there will never be a season 5.
What's ironic is that Picard and Discovery seem to take the gloom, violence and anti-Trek ideals of these mirror universe episodes, and builds whole new series out of them, while modern audiences bay for more violence, more twisted storylines, basically more Game of Thrones style horror and pessimism. In the Trek universe? Really? Where humans are supposed to have outgrown the mess that we are today?
drewsg
Why do all Star Trek parallel universes turn women into scantily dressed sluts?
Thierafhal
I don't understand how someone can praise an episode for being ridiculously over the top and then complain about the female uniforms being ridiculously over the top. That's just kind of a silly nitpick on this ludicrously fun episode.
BK
Fun to watch these episodes again as the evil orange-faced emperor is banished from the White House. Hoping our mirror universe will flip back to a better one in 2021.
H
Fun to return to the original "evil Starfleet" setup of the mirror universe, after DS9 kinda ran the concept into the ground in its later seasons. Phlox and Hoshi are especially enjoyable here, and it was cool to see an updated version of the Tholian design (having just rewatched The Tholian Web in preparation). A good time all round, looking forward to checking out part 2.
Andrew Lloyd
These are my least favorite episodes. To begin with, the acting comes off as pure community theater quality. I suppose this is because of the premise which is basically "act evil." The performances border on satire. This brings me to my second issue with these episodes. I watch Star Trek for the basic message of goodness and progress that it embodies. The mirror universe episodes turn that on its head. If the mirror episodes came off as more believable I might enjoy the contrast, but they do not. Finally, until Discovery, the episodes play no substantive part in the broader themes and story lines of the Trek series. The very worst mirror episodes are definitely from DS9. Watching Kira slink around all seductively comes off as an SNL parody skit. Kira is my least favorite Trek character and she is at her worst in the mirror episodes. The best of the mirror episodes is Discovery because they do play a broader role in the story, and aren't just an excuse to dress women in skimpy clothes and have everyone act like dime store thugs.
Frake's Nightmare
Someone pelase take me to an alternate universe where this series doesn't exist. Please.
Jeffery's Tube
If the In a Mirror, Darkly two-parter had aired earlier in Season Four, like maybe right after Home or (somehow, ideally) as the season premiere, I wonder if Enterprise would have been cancelled.
nickf
Not a fan of this episode. The TOS-era ship looked archaic. Had it been something Galaxy-class or - even better - Intrepid-class, it would have made for a far more convincing episode, chewed scenery notwithstanding.
11001001
I dislike much of what ENT has to offer. So how ironic (and sad) is it that this two-parter, which a lot of people above are dismissing as "dumb fun" and "just a romp" actually turns out to be among the *best* that this TV series has to offer? It was immensely entertaining, thrilling, and satisfying in a way that the real prime-universe ENT stories, with characters we are supposed to care about in the long term, simply cannot be.
So what makes this work so well? ENT's strength has always been its production values and action sequences. If you can create an episode that leads with these things, and doesn't hinge on actual continuity, plot logic, and characterization (all of which ENT routinely fails at) you arrive at somewhat of a winning formula.
And you know what the best part is? The icing on the cake is that these episodes *don't* actually jettison plot logic and continuity. Within the confines of this mirror universe, it actually all hangs together really well. Plus, there is even inter-series continuity that is better than usual! The TOS-era elements are incorporated seamlessly and organically into the plot ("Tholian Web" mystery explained!), and are implemented with the utmost care and respect for the source material. The sets, sound effects, and VFX are so on point and so authentic, that it's kind of amazing. This is not merely fan service, it's a seriously good homage, one that makes the TOS era feel like an alive and relevant part of the ongoing saga of Trek stories we're witnessing. I loved the update/facelift to the Gorn and Tholians as well, although the Gorn's facial shape didn't seem quite right, and I thought they could have made it a bit closer to the original. I'd love to see both of these species reimagined using 2020s CGI!
The fact that the Defiant weapon VFX and sounds, in particular, are so faithful to the TOS originals, and yet work so well/plausibly as *more* advanced tech in this context, make it all the more frustrating that the usual ENT weaponry VFX and sounds are basically just carbon copies of the TNG-era ones from 200 years later. No creativity was exerted in Season 1 to try to make the NX-01 technology seem distinctly 22nd-century. This underscores how much better it would have been if, from the get go, ENT as a series had decided to forgo beam weapons, photon torpedoes, and transporters altogether in favour of dumb ballistic weaponry. It would have fit continuity better, and would have made finding the goldmine of tech represented by the Constitution-class U.S.S. Defiant in this episode even more impactful. The supposed use of nuclear weapons in the Earth-Romulan War (referenced in TOS) would have also made much more sense. The showrunners should have made it so that, in the (prime universe) 2150s, the *Vulcans* are only just starting to develop shields, tractor beams, transporters, etc., and Earth Starfleet doesn't have them at all.
But the VFX thing is a tangent. Getting back to "In a Mirror, Darkly": I've said that this two-parter doesn't actually do a bad job at plot logic and continuity. But what about that third element I alluded to, that ENT routinely fails at: characterization? Welp, the characterization is no better here than in most of ENT, and is arguably (deliberately) worse. The characters are over the top caricatures. The actors chew the scenery with gusto. Many of the usual mirror-universe tropes/archetypes are on display. E.g. Mirror Reed and Phlox both remind me a lot of mirror-universe Elim Garak: the sadistic torturer. Mirror Trip reminds me a lot of "Smiley" (Mirror O'Brien) in nature, albeit with a much harder edge to him. He's a man just trying to get through the day, who's sacrificed a lot, and will serve whatever master he must in order to remain alive. None of these people is depicted as a plausible functional adult, let alone as a military officer. By extension (as Jammer pointed out), with all the backstabbing and lack of discipline, it's unclear how mirror-Earth could even run a military, much less an empire. Then again, in the prime universe's Klingon Defense Force, it's canonical that "advancement" works in much the same way as shown here (by assassination, for example). And we accept *that* without question. So...meh?
I enjoyed T'Pols statement (from part 2 I think), that although it may take centuries, the Terrans would eventually pay for their arrogance. The nod to the DS9 mirror universe episodes is obvious. But *any* nod to DS9 is extremely welcome.
These episodes both get 4/4 from me. I'd watch them again, even though I'm inclined to put all of the rest of ENT on the "skip" list.
Sigh2000
For some reason yet unknown, I couldn't deal with this mirror episode the first time I watched it, but thought better of it on a second viewing once I reprogrammed my brain for 'campy.' I could never quite handle TOSs
"Chekov in agony" scene in 60's trek either. So I have to tell myself that it's just another take on The Pit and the Pendulum, to get through it all.
It was particularly difficult for me to watch "inverse Phlox" since I always depended on his beneficent rationality (even in the worst of episodes). Malcolm was always borderline "inverse" so that wasn't a shock. Just look at how he abused poor Major Hayes, now sadly, long-lamented.
Pål
Everything in this episode is overdone – even the redone credit sequence starts out well then turns to something dripping with cheese and amateurish graphics.
But drewsg asks the right question - and effectively gives the answer.
The sexist powers that be managed to get Seven into a tight body suit but the rest of the women on the crew were mostly allowed to keep their dignity.
Most of the guys writing this crap would be embarrassed to have their shirts off in public.
It makes you appreciate James T. Kirk willing to slut himself out time and time again as sex object. Archer is shirtless enough but lacks any of the charm that is necessary to pull it off. Trip is the only one who really delivered for the men.
Mathias
First RE: the women' uniforms. Yes, very silly. But I thought it was a reference to the women's uniforms in the TOS mirror universe, particularly Uhura's. (On a side note, is it redundant to say "the" TOS? Hmm...)
A fun episode but something that bothered me was the very premise of the mirror universe, namely that Earth was able to take power over Vulcans. The Vulcans had been a super powerful race of interstellar travelers for thousands of years with technology millennia beyond Earth's. So just because at first contact the Earthlings killed the Vulcans and raided a single ship they were able to instantly become powerful enough to dominate over them? Wouldn't the Vulcans have stopped them in their tracks long before that happened as soon as their first contact crew was murdered?
Davidw
This episode just shows that the producers and writers can't write Star Trek so they do the opposite of Star Trek.
And this is sort of the model of a lot of Star Trek going forward. It's really kind of depressing.
Mike
Pure awesomeness! Loved it!
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