7-12. The Emperor's New Cloak.

Ezri, from the Mirror Universe.

THE PLOT

Quark receives an unexpected visitor to his quarters: Ezri. But it's not the Ezri he knows, but instead one from the mirror universe. She's come with a ransom: Grand Nagus Zek has been taken prisoner by the Cardassian-Klingon Alliance. The price of his freedom is a cloaking device. If it's not delivered soon, Regent Worf will execute the Ferengi leader.

Quark and Rom are able to steal the cloaking device from a Klingon Bird of Prey with little difficulty. But once in the Mirror Universe, they are immediately captured by the Terran rebels, who are almost as bloodthirsty as the Regent. Even if they manage to escape with the cloak, they have yet another problem: The near-certainty that the Regent will simply take the cloak and then kill them all!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Sisko: Only in the episode for a throwaway appearance, but even that shows how strong a working relationship he and Martok have developed.

Kira, The Intendant: Sadly, this episode continues in line with the character's previous appearance, confirming that the once compelling Intendant has become little more than a tight costume and a set of mannerisms. This reaches a low ebb when she is allowed to escape with not only her life, but also her freedom. Why? "Because I owe her that much." Or because the writers have become too fond of their pet monster to bring her story to the firm close she deserves.

Quark: Though he still wants to believe that Ezri is or will become interested in him, he is too good an observer of human nature to deny that she's responding when Bashir flirts with her. We see once again that he is very devoted to Ferengi traditions, from his praying/bribing of the Ferengi deities to his determination to rescue Zek. He admits to Mirror Ezri that he doesn't actually believe there will be any reward or even appreciation for his actions - He puts himself in harm's way for the Nagus simply because Zek is the Nagus.

Ezri: Mirror Ezri is a mercenary,guided by no cause other than her next payment. She is puzzled when Quark explains his loyalty to Zek... Right up until the Intendant kills a friend of hers, at which point she discovers that she also feels a sense of loyalty to those she's connected with. The friendship that develops between this Ezri and Quark is one of the episode's more enjoyable aspects, and I wish more time was spent with the two of them and less time spent with the Intendant, the Regent, and Garak.

Garak: Speaking of whom... It's a sad day when Garak is the worst thing in an episode. The Mirror Garak of Crossover was vicious but still smart - Probably pretty close to what "our" Garak was, back in his Obsidian Order days. Here, Mirror Garak is just a bloodthirsty idiot. When Quark uses the real Garak as a model to mock him with, he's not just playing for time - He's right! The real Garak would run circles around this episode's Mirror Garak without even exerting any mental energy (Regent Worf is just as bad, and too uninteresting to waste a paragraph on - Suffice to say, Mirror Worf is an imbecile. Period.)

Zek: I'm guessing/hoping this is Zek's final appearance, and the character remains largely grating. It's a shame - Wallace Shawn was well-cast in the role, and in his early appearances Zek was reasonably engaging. But the Zek of episodes like Rules of Acquisition and Prophet Motive was genuinely shrewd, using Quark as an expendable tool. Ever since Ferengi Love Songs, he has been reduced to a lecherous/senile old man parody. Here, we see him escaping to the Mirror Universe to enjoy illicit oo-mox, which he begs Quark and Rom not to reveal to their mother because it would "break her heart." Which we're apparently supposed to find funny. Maybe this is the Mirror Zek, and the real Zek disappeared around Season Three?


THOUGHTS

Too much of the above reads like I hated The Emperor's New Cloak, which really isn't true. I do find it a little disconcerting that the DS9 Mirror Universe arc, so compelling in Crossover, Through the Looking Glass, and Shattered Mirror, ends up being wrapped up in a Ferengi comedy. But against my expectations, I mostly enjoyed this despite its shortcomings.

I was entertained by Mirror Ezri, particularly by the scenes between her and Quark. I also found myself laughing, often against my better judgment, at several of the gags. The Regent trying on a new gauntlet, then calling over an underling to test it by punching him in the face, was particularly funny. Other choice bits include: Mirror Brunt being genuinely honest, honorable, and kind; Rom's satisfaction at announcing his successful sabotage; and (for all my irritation at the portrayal of Garak) Quark's jibes at Garak about how much more formidable his Prime Universe counterpart is.

It's just a shame that all of the villains are portrayed as idiots. The Regent is a gullible moron, who never even considers the possibility of treachery from the Ferengi. The Intendant has flattened into a two-dimensional set of mannerisms, purring seductively at everyone and killing a supporting character at one point just to remind us that she's evil. And Garak is so pathetically-characterized, the other two almost look good by comparison. These villains, once genuinely strong foils for Sisko and Kira, no longer even seem worthy of Quark and Rom!

But I have to admit that I still had fun watching. The episode is a guilty pleasure, but I wasn't bored by it. And I have to admit, the silliness makes a contrast from the Dominion plot, which with the end of the series now so close should be kicking into high gear again soon.


Overall Rating: 6/10.

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6-8. Resurrection.

Vedek Bareil's mirror universe counterpart
looks into the Orb of Prophecy.

THE PLOT

It's a typical day in Ops... right up until the moment that a transporter activates, beaming a very familiar figure onto the station: the late, lamented Vedek Bareil (Philip Anglim)!

This is not the Bareil Kira had been in love with, the man who died making (an ultimately temporary) peace with the Cardassians. This Bareil is from the Mirror Universe, and is a petty thief fleeing across the border between realities in hopes of a better life. Much to Sisko's concern, Kira takes the man under her wing, introducing him to Bajoran religion and culture. She finds the lines increasingly blurry between her Bareil and this very different yet strangely similar, man, and the two soon become lovers.

After Kira shows him the Orb of Prophecy, the Bajoran artifact that allows glimpses of possible futures, Bareil becomes moody and starts lingering outside the Bajoran temple. Kira believes he's just wrestling with his first "Orb experience," but Quark has a very different take on his behavior: A thief, casing the site of his next robbery.

After all, who knows a thief better than another thief?


CHARACTERS

Capt. Sisko: Given that his last involvement with the Mirror Universe involved the Mirror version of his dead wife, he has a strong understanding of what Kira is going through. "I knew she wasn't my wife. But sometimes she would smile at me a certain way, and then the light would hit her eyes, and it was my Jennifer. At least, that's what I wanted to believe." He is the one member of the crew who can really understand what Kira is going through - which makes it all the more disappointing that he's barely seen again after this. I would at least have liked one scene between Sisko and Bareil, as I suspect a conversation between them would have been interesting.

Major Kira/The Intendant: Nana Visitor is terrific, as usual, and does much to keep this weak script afloat. Kira's confusion, then enthusiasm, over spending time with this alternate Bareil is very clear throughout. Though she sleeps with him, and clearly grows fond of him, there isn't much sense that she is even close to loving him. He's an echo of something precious that she lost three years earlier. Like any foray into the DS9 Mirror Universe, we also get to see the Intendant - but in this case, the episode probably shouldn't have bothered, as this script gives us a flattened cartoon version of this previously multilayered villain. Gone is the sense of danger, that she might turn on a dime from kittenish to murderous. Gone also is the sense of need, the craving to be adored and admired. All that's left is a strutting, purring sex kitten - basically, a more violent version of Jessica Rabbit.

Quark: His work with the Resistance seems to have raised him a bit in Kira's estimation. In previous seasons, had he intimated to Kira that her love interest was planning to rob from the Bajoran temple, she probably would have threatened him and almost certainly would not have taken him seriously. Now she does take him seriously, and her following up on his words is what prevents the temple from being robbed.

Bareil: This episode returns Philip Anglim to the series for the first time since Season Three's Life Support. He does a fair job of playing this very different Bareil, a thief who wears the face of a widely respected holy man. It's a concept that could have been richly mined, had this new Bareil been retained in the recurring cast. Sadly, this is a standalone, so we simply get a standard conflicted scoundrel, though Anglim and Nana Visitor still play well off each other and make a convincing screen couple - which strongly highlights what a weak replacement Shakaar was, even on the rare occasions he was genuinely present.


THOUGHTS

Resurrection is the first "filler" episode since before the Dominion War started. Save for a quick reference to a lack of Dominion activity, this is unconnected to the larger events of the preceding episode. It's also a Mirror Universe episode, one which attempts to do something different with the concept by having a Mirror character come to the "prime" universe.

Sadly, despite a few bright moments, this is the first Mirror Universe episode that I would describe as a failure, and is easily the weakest episode of what has been to this point an outstanding season.

This cannot be laid at the feet of the actors. The regulars are in good form, and Philip Anglim does a solid job of making the Mirror Bareil just enough like "our" Bareil that we can see how Kira sees her old lover in him, but different enough that we never make the mistake of seeing him as the same character. Levar Burton's direction isn't terribly atmospheric, but it is competent for the demands of the episode.

No, the problem is the script. Having established the concept of the Mirror Bareil coming to our universe, writer Michael Taylor's story fails to do anything to capitalize on it. The first half tries to be a character piece, and has some good moments. I enjoyed the dinner scene with Bareil and Kira joining Worf and Dax. Bareil swipes Worf's sword to prove his prowess as a thief, earning Worf's respect (it was probably a choice between that and killing him, and Dax would have likely disapproved of the latter). The relationship material between the two characters works, in large part because of the chemistry between Anglim and Visitor, and Bareil's discomfort at being recognized as a man he is nothing like works reasonably well, though like too much here it is under-explored.

Then, a little past the halfway point, it turns into a caper comedy. A bad one. There's nothing clever about the caper. Bareil's plan to steal the Orb of Prophecy appears to amount to nothing more than "walk in and take it," with no sign of any real security for him to bypass and no sense of danger whatsoever. He is conflicted after looking into the Orb and seeing his "prime universe" self... but nothing terribly interesting is done with that idea, either.

Had the episode been content to be a character piece, with the new Bareil either adjusting to a life in this universe or having to go back to his own, it might have worked passably well. Had the entire piece been a caper story, with a bit more life and cleverness to the caper, that might also have worked. One could certainly imagine Mirror Bareil pairing with Quark and possibly Garak to make a tidy profit. But by trying to be both, it succeeds as neither.

That's not even mentioning the scene in which the Intendant tries to impersonate Kira, not very convincingly, and the Bajoran guard isn't even slightly suspicious. This episode takes place in the context of a war with shapeshifters, and a member of the station's command staff was already impersonated by a changeling. Upon seeing Kira behaving out of character and unable to provide her security code, surely the guard should have responded in some other way than giving her a neck massage?

I could gloss over that bit of stupidity if the episode itself was good. But in an already weak episode, such a poorly-judged moment stands out all the more.


Overall Rating: 4/10.

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4-20. Shattered Mirror.

Mirror Garak ingratiates himself with Regent Worf.

THE PLOT

Sisko receives an extremely welcome visitor from the Mirror Universe: Jennifer (Felecia M. Bell), that universe's version of his late wife. Jennifer fills him in on a recent victory the Terrans scored over the Alliance of Klingons, Bajorans, and Cardassians. The humans have taken control of Terok Nor, their equivalent to Deep Space 9. But this isn't purely a social call, and when Sisko is called away for a meeting, Jennifer takes Jake to her universe - leaving a transport device behind as an invitation to Sisko.

The captain accepts, grimly determined to recover his son. Jennifer and "Smiley" O'Brien greet him with a deal: His help in exchange for Jake. O'Brien downloaded the schematics for the Defiant during his brief visit to Sisko's universe, but he can't quite make the ship work. The very problem Sisko overcame with the ship's power being too much for her hull is presenting itself here. They need Sisko to solve this problem within four days. 

If he can't get the ship online by then, Regent Worf will arrive with his Alliance battle fleet to retake the station. And if that happens, the Terrans promise, then Sisko and Jake will be taken right along with the rest of them!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Sisko: Fiercely devoted to his son's welfare, and looks ready to tear "Smiley O'Brien" and Jennifer apart with his bare hands when he arrives at Terok Nor. But he is quickly talked down when shown that Jake is well and, in fact, enjoying himself. He is up to the challenge of getting the Defiant into shape, and he is not as immune to Jennifer's appearance as he pretends to be. He surprises himself when he insists on commanding Defiant in the final combat, something which was not part of the arrangement. Avery Brooks is on fine form, and he and "Smiley" make as engaging a team here as they did in Through the Looking Glass.

Kira, The Intendant: Nana Visitor's silky, sexually predatory Intendant remains hypnotic any time she's on screen. This episode plays her almost as a Hannibal Lecter figure. Captured by the rebels, she shows no hint of being cowed by them. She laughs at them as if they were a collective joke. She barters with Sisko for information that will help in the coming battle - All the while plotting to further her own agenda. This is the most powerless we've seen her to date, and yet she is still the most formidable of the villains here. By some distance.

Jake: Is captivated by Jennifer, marveling at just how much she is like the mother he remembers. His absolute love and faith may well push Jennifer to be more and better than she would have been in other circumstances. Mostly, Jake acts as an observer, the one person here who has not seen the Mirror Universe before. He is overjoyed to see not only his mother again, but also Nog - though in the latter case, he's in for a rude awakening as to how starkly different Mirror Nog is from his much-missed best friend.

Worf: Mirror universe Worf actually has much of what our Worf always wanted. He is a pure Klingon, commanding his own ship and his own Klingon crew. He not only keeps Garak prisoner for his failure to defend Terok Nor, he actually keeps him on a chain leash, yanking the leash any time Garak says something that displeases him. He has all the Klingon bloodlust, with none of our Worf's restraint. He commands with an iron fist, and even barks out, "Make it so!" in a fun TNG reference. Michael Dorn seems to be having a grand time playing a near-operatic villain, even if Mirror Worf isn't even close to being as formidable as the Intendant.

Hot Parallel Space Babe of the Week: Felecia Bell returns as Jennifer Sisko... and has apparently taken some acting lessons. She's still noticeably weaker than Avery Brooks or Colm Meaney (or even Cirroc Lofton, for that matter), but she does acquit herself with a reasonable performance that's on par with what you'd expect of a Trek guest actress. It goes without saying that she bonds completely with Jake, and in an effective emotional scene she tells Sisko how hard it is for her to be with the boy. "My Ben Sisko is dead. I look at Jake and all I see is the son that I'll never have."

Garak: Mirror Garak has, in previous episodes, been portrayed as a purely ruthless and dangerous opponent. This episode brings his characterization more into line with the normal Garak - which is a good thing, since his silver tongue and healthy sense of self-preservation are far more entertaining to watch. One of Deep Space 9's strengths is its willingness to create new character pairs. This episode pairs Garak and Worf, to enormously good effect. Their scenes together are darkly hilarious, and I hope to see them revisited in future Mirror Universe installments. 


THOUGHTS

Deep Space 9 makes its annual visit to the mirror universe, and delivers another hugely enjoyable piece.  Shattered Mirror is a direct sequel to Through the Looking Glass, and it's a good one. It carries that episode's plot forward, moving the Terran/Alliance conflict forward. The sense of momentum is raised even higher than it was in last year's episode, with a rousing battle scene at the climax.

This is a Sisko-heavy episode, and Avery Brooks delivers as expected. Still, reflecting the strengths of the core series, it is also an excellent ensemble piece. There's something here for all of our regulars. Mirror Julian, who was a one-dimensional sneer in Through the Looking Glass, is developed into an effective action man - which is achieved without compromising on the unpleasantness we saw in the previous episode. He's still belligerent and possibly a sadist, but he is also clever and courageous, justifying his (possibly self-bestowed) rank of "captain." He clearly enjoys the loyalty of Mirror Dax, who insists on accompanying him on a possible suicide mission and threatens Sisko with a knife if he ever dares touch her again.

The episode has virtually no dead space, and its 45 minutes breeze by so quickly that it's actually disappointing to see the end credits arrive. The annual Mirror-verse episode had the potential to become a tiresome gimmick, but Deep Space 9 has applied the same sensibilities to the parallel universe that it applies to the core universe. Each episode has stood alone, with its own strong narrative. At the same time, each episode has moved the mirror universe forward.

What Deep Space 9 has done with its mirror episodes is to create an entertaining, even compelling arc. It's impressive stuff, and I look forward to the next mirror episode advancing that even further.


Overall Rating: 9/10.

Previous Episode: Hard Time
Next Episode: The Muse


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3-19. Through the Looking Glass.

The Intendant prepares to strike
against the Terran rebels.

THE PLOT

Sisko is in Ops when Chief O'Brien approaches, asking to speak with him privately. When Sisko turns away, O'Brien pulls a phaser on him and orders him to the transporter. They beam out, onto a waiting ship - and into another universe!

Sisko quickly realizes that this isn't his O'Brien, and that he has been taken to the mirror universe Kira and Bashir had visited a year earlier. Events have progressed, with the mirror Sisko and O'Brien leading a full-blown rebellion against the Klingon/Cardassian Alliance. But the mirror Sisko is dead, leaving a critical mission incomplete: a rendezvous with a human scientist working on a project that will doom the rebellion.

Unless Sisko agrees to finish his counterpart's mission, the rebels will have no choice but to kill that human to stop the project from being completed. The catch? The scientist is Jennifer Sisko (Felecia M. Bell), Benjamin's wife!


CHARACTERS

Commander Sisko: Avery Brooks, who has sat on the sidelines of the last few episodes, gets the spotlight here. He gives an excellent performance, showing how his Sisko is different from (better than) the mirror one as he outthinks his opponents where his counterpart would simply have tried to outfight them. He throws himself into the scenes in which Sisko pretends to be his mirror self, clearly enjoying the chance to carouse with Dax and Kira and punch out Bashir. As in The Maquis and Past Tense, the role of thinking man's action hero suits Brooks - something I'm hoping the writers have noticed.

Kira, The Intendant: Basically a repeat of her performance in Crossover. She's highly sexual and completely ruthless. She acts on whims more than plans, much to Garak's frustration when a whim leads her to keep Sisko alive for at least a little while longer. She does have strong instincts, though, and knows that Sisko's threat at the episode's end is no bluff.  Nana Visitor remains terrific as The Intendant, neatly stealing pretty much every scene she's in.

O'Brien: His mirror universe counterpart is very much the same man that our O'Brien is. This episode partners him with Sisko for almost the entire running time. Avery Brooks and Colm Meaney play splendidly opposite each other, O'Brien's solidity providing Sisko with a reliable anchor.

Dr. Bashir: Siddig has about as much fun with mirror Bashir as Brooks has with Sisko. Dirty and disheveled, he looks and sounds like an old movie pirate as he stirs up dissension within the rebel ranks. He practically spits his dialogue as he argues against Sisko. I'm actually sorry his role is so small - More mirror Bashir would be enormously entertaining.

Dax: In the mirror universe, she is Sisko's mistress. Mirror Dax is a lot more focused on self-interest and self-preservation than our Dax. Like our Dax, she is very loyal to Sisko. Though she wants to leave with him, she accepts his decision to stay with the rebels. She backs him up when Bashir speaks against his plans, ready to use deadly force to halt any arguments. On a shallower note, Terry Farrell joins in the mirror universe tradition of having her darker counterpart be sexier than her already very appealing normal Dax.

Garak: Mirror Garak continues to be what our Garak probably was before his disgrace. He is formidable and shrewd, and has no qualms about using torture and murder to achieve his ends. His desire to topple The Intendant and take over her position, detailed in Crossover, gets no mention here. Then again, I'm not sure there would have been room for it in the already packed plot. If there's a third mirror universe DS9 episode, though, I'd love to see this dark Garak's machinations come to the fore.

Tuvok: The mirror universe provides the franchise with a way to cross the two active Trek series by having a mirror Tuvok as part of Sisko's rebellion. Despite his prominent billing, he is only in the episode briefly. Disappointingly, neither his characerization nor his performance are even a little bit different than on Voyager. Mirror Tuvok is the exact same man as our Tuvok, which makes his minor role entirely uninteresting.


THOUGHTS

Crossover was one of the best episodes of Season Two, and one of the best-received. Making a sequel to it was probably a no-brainer for the production staff. The challenge was to produce an episode that worked both as a sequel and as interesting episode on its own.

Simply doing "more of the same" would not have worked. Having been to the mirror universe once, we already know how different the characters are in their world than in ours. That episode was breathtaking because it took the DS9 audience and two of its regulars on a tour of a vision of hell, with the demons wearing the faces of people we already know. It was dark and surprisingly disturbing, with a distorted and surreal feel to it.

But having given us that tour, we know the DS9 mirror universe. An effective return would have to marry the inherent interest value of the mirror universe to a strong plot.

Through the Looking Glass achieves this quite brilliantly. Writers Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe have built on what was established in the earlier episode, and used those trappings to construct a rescue plot that is tightly-paced and genuinely clever. Just enough information is held back to keep things tense and exciting, without allowing it to become confusing. The mirror universe backstory has clearly been well planned out, and everything slots perfectly into place. It's a stunningly well-structured script, one whose momentum never lets up.

In the margins, there is still time to have some fun with the mirror characters. Mirror Rom is more outspoken than our Rom, giving Max Grodenchik a couple of excellent scenes. Mirror Dax and Mirror Bashir are a lot of fun. The rebel encampment may just be the umpteenth redressing of the Star Trek cave set, but at least it's well used, and director Kolbe keeps the lighting adjusted to maintain a dramatic atmosphere throughout.

Unfortunately, while she's not as awful here as she was in Emissary, there's not much getting around Felecia M. Bell's acting limitations. Given how critical Jennifer's role is to the episode, her wooden performance does sound an "off" note, particularly as the episode builds to its climax. Still, save for Bell, this is a wonderfully entertaining episode: Well-made, wonderfully-acted, and scripted with an eye toward pace and structure. Terrific fun.


Overall Rating: 9/10

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Next Episode: Improbable Cause

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2-23. Crossover.

Kira, through the looking glass.

THE PLOT

While Major Kira and Dr. Bashir are returning from the Gamma Quadrant, a minor malfunction causes a disruption in the wormhole. When they reach the other side, they find that they are no longer in their universe. They are in the parallel "mirror universe."

Here, Deep Space 9 is still known as Terok Nor, and is run by an alliance of Bajorans, Cardassians, and Klingons. The Terran Empire has fallen, all as a consequence of Captain Kirk's visit 100 years earlier, and now the humans live as slaves. Terak Nor is ruled over by The Intendant - also known as Kira Nerys, Major Kira's counterpart. The Intendant is instantly fascinated with our Kira, allowing her the run of the station while hoping to share information with her... among other things. Meanwhile, Bashir is sent to the mines, with his life held hostage to Major Kira's cooperation - a hostage the mirror universe's Garak plans to use in his own grab for power!


CHARACTERS

Commander Sisko: "Mirror Sisko" has the demeanor of a pirate. Which, save for his operations being sanctioned by the Alliance, basically describes his work - commanding a Terran crew to collect tribute. He justifies himself to Kira by stating that he has "made the best of a bad life" for his crew. But after The Intendant chooses the worst possible moment to show her true colors, he shows that he isn't as different from our Sisko as he first appears. Avery Brooks has a grand time overacting and snarling his way through Sisko's "pirate" scenes, while also doing well with his hero moment at the end.

Major Kira: Nana Visitor is terrific in a dual role, playing both the normal Kira and the seductive Intendant. Visitor has great fun with the Intendant, adopting the kind of confidently sexual attitude Kira is normally denied. She all but purrs over her counterpart, her gestures recalling the attempted seduction of Dax in Dramatis Personae - only this time there's no alien influence, this is simply who Kira became in this set of circumstances.

Our Kira is initially intrigued with her, taken with the idea of a strong Bajor and feeling that in that, at least, the mirror universe might have something to show the fragemented Bajoran government of her world. She doesn't even seem particularly put off by The Intendant's obvious designs on her, though neither does she seem particularly interested. She is appalled, however, when she sees the mines, and I think it's that moment - seeing her people and Odo becoming exactly like the Cardassians - in which she truly resolves to escape by any possible means. Visitor is just as good as normal Kira as we've become accustomed to, making her effectively both hero and villain of the piece.

Dr. Bashir: The teaser reminds us that however far he may have come, Bashir has never really shed the arrogance he brought with him on his arrival. Attempting to bridge the differences between himself and Kira, he mainly succeeds in reminding her of all the reasons she initially disliked him.  She even refers to him as "arrogant" and "pampered" when talking to the Intendant. Despite this reminder of his shortcomings, Bashir is very effective as he works on O'Brien, pushing him to the strength and decency that he knows any Miles O'Brien must have. He also doesn't hesitate to take decisive action when an escape opportunity presents itself, and faces down the Intendant's pronouncement of his death sentence without blinking.

O'Brien: Is probably the most like his counterpart in the main universe. He's hard-working, and has learned how the machinery on the station works. He's raised himself to the point that he can actually talk back to the evil "mirror Odo" without getting slapped. He finds it a wonder that a Terran like Bashir could have become a doctor in the other universe, and cannot fully believe that his own counterpart could be chief of operations. He resists stepping out of place until the very end. But when he does finally aid Bashir, as we know all along he has to, he gives the Intendant an accounting of himself that's so raw and simple that it not only convinces when it leads Sisko to action, it more or less sums up the entire episode in a few, plain, defiant words.

Quark: Just as our Quark used his position to aid Bajorans during the Cardassian occupation, the Quark in the mirror universe does what he can to help Terrans escape the Alliance. "Mirror Quark" appears to be more altruistic than regular Quark. Our Quark might do good, but even then he'll usually make sure that he's getting some profit out of it - nor is he above doing things that are very, very bad. This Quark doesn't pursue profit. His price for helping Kira is for Kira to help him in aiding the escape of more Terrans.

Garak: It's good that The Wire preceded this episode, as The Wire indicated that Garak had been a force - likely, a sometimes sadistic one - prior to his disgrace. This episode's "mirror Garak" is just as devious as our Garak. But without the benign surface or the friendship with Bashir to humanize him, he is a genuinely frightening figure - far scarier, with his dulcet tones and his way of smiling as he threatens oh-so-politely, than Gul Dukat has ever indicated he even could be. Andrew Robinson seems to enjoy the chance to cut loose and really show Garak's dark side, and I suspect the Garak we see here isn't really very far removed from our version in the days before he was reduced to being "a simple tailor."


THOUGHTS

With a script by Peter Allen Fields and Michael Piller, almost certainly the two best writers at this point in Deep Space 9's run, it's no surprise that Crossover is a very good entertainment. Fields and Piller use the ending of TOS' Mirror, Mirror as a starting point. Kirk's heroic speech to "mirror Spock" made an impact, it turns out. Kirk got up on his soapbox and succeeded in changing things - by making them vastly worse than they had been already.

That in itself is a terrific twist, one which makes this trip to the mirror universe one in which everything really is "through the looking glass," as Kira says. Not only is Kira confronted with evil versions of herself and Odo, a ruthless and apathetic Sisko, and (perhaps most disturbing of all) an altruistic Quark, but everything is turned upside down. The Bajorans are the oppressors, treating the human Terrans at least as badly as the Cardassians treated them. Kira, the freedom fighter, sees herself turned into the worst oppressor of all.

This is a expertly directed episode, with David Livingston using some interesting lighting and camera angles to truly make the scenes in the familiar space stations sets feel otherworldly. This isn't just the harsh, bleak feel of the Occupation scenes in Necessary Evil. This time, the feel is vaguely surreal, as if we're seeing a world distorted through a funhouse mirror. It's done well enough to create the effect, without being heavy-handed enough to distract from the story.

Still, the showstopping scene belongs not to Kira, not to Garak, and not to Sisko. The scene of the episode is the one I referenced earlier, the plain, desperate weariness expressed by plain, simple O'Brien. His speech to the Intendant is the one genuinely emotional moment of the episode, and is so good that I can't think of a better way to close this review than to simply quote it in full:

"This man is a doctor where he comes from. And there's an O'Brien there, just like me... Except he's some kind of high-up chief of operations. And they're Terrans. Can you believe that? Maybe it's a fairy tale he made up, but it started me thinking how each of us might have turned out, had history been just a little different. I wanted him to take me with him because, whatever it's like where he's from, it's got to be better than this. There's got to be something better than this."


Rating: 10/10.

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