Day 362: Enterprise, In a Mirror Darkly (Part 1)

Show: Star Trek; Enterprise

Episode Particulars: S4EP18, “In a Mirror Darkly, Part 1”

 Summary: In a universe where Zefram Cochrane attacked the Vulcans during first contact instead of making peace, the Terran Empire is dealing with a rebellion. First officer Jonathan Archer of the I.S.S. Enterprise has received information about a ship in alien territory (mentioning which alien would give too much away) that could conceivably give the Terrans the edge in the fight, but Captain Forrest disagrees. Therefore, Archer stages a mutiny, both for the good of the Empire but also to enjoy the power that comes with being Captain. And thus begins a game of shifting loyalties, complete with threats, torture, and manipulation via sex. Basically, everything you’d expect from an evil universe except for the goatees.

Standalone Thoughts: I actually don’t have too much to discuss when it comes to this first part, and this is because the majority of the episode consists of watching the characters we’re familiar with be evil. It’s interesting to watch, but mostly because it’s new and different, since there are only a few hints of plot in-between the worldbuilding and various attempts at backstabbing. Only at the thirty minute mark does an actual plot start to emerge, and to be fair, it’s a hell of a plot, one that hardcore Trek fans might be able to figure out earlier but that will come as a delightful surprise to everyone else. Most of those ideas will be paid off properly in the next part, so it’s best to think of this episode as an extended prologue; decent enough for what it is, but works better with subsequent material. Which I will hopefully have more to say about.

How it Relates to the Whole: This two parter has no connection to the rest of Enterprise proper, though it obviously drew elements from the “real” universe, including the Suliban and the MACOs. As part of the larger picture, not only does the teaser openly lift bits from the First Contact movie, but it clearly drew on one specific TOS episode for inspiration, though as I said above, that doesn’t become obvious until nearly three-quarters of the way through the episode, and won’t really be explored until the next episode. Still, I give the writers immense credit for their creativity; this isn’t a callback I would have expected.

Other: *I mentioned in “Broken Bow” that you should normally skip the opening credits, but that there was one exception. That exception is today, when the cheesy title song is replaced in favor of a darker, more militaristic instrumental piece, and the visuals become more about war instead of exploration. It’s amazingly done, and deserves to be watched. Why couldn’t the show have gone with something like this from the beginning?

*There’s an interview with Connor Trinneer (22:00-23:50 if you want to see it for yourself) where he claims he had his mirror counterpart talk like a pirate as a joke, only for the director to love it and insist he keep doing it. Having now seen the episode for myself, I think Trinneer’s being a bit hard on himself. He sounds a little grizzled, but it’s not over-the-top ridiculous. He was probably just exaggerating for comedic effect, but I figured it was only fair to volunteer a fan’s opinion on the matter.

Badass Malcolm Moment: Obviously this is only “badass” in the context of the mirror universe, but Mirror Malcolm is partially responsible (along with Phlox) for creating the agony booth, which is memorable enough among Trek fans that there’s a website named after it. Given that our Malcolm invented two iconic pieces of Trek tech, it’s not surprising that his darker half has similar abilities.