I guess Cmdr Sisko really would do anything (or anyone) to save Jennifer... WOW! This one is a whole lot of unnecessary, with a big helping of disgusting.
Two Mirror Universe episodes in one Star Trek series is one too many.
Solid episode. As always it's fun because actors (like in last episode btw) had the chance to experiment with their characters. It's a great diversion from the original story line. You'll even learn something about Terok Nor (although that's of course not the station from our universe). They will continue to tell stories from this universe. At the end of the show, this leads to a fairly complete parallel world with unique parameters that we're slowly introduced to by such tiny stories. I always praise DS9 for its overarching story. The story about the parallel world isn't any different: we witness the ongoing fight freedom fight of the Terrans and their alliance over the course of multiple connected epiosdes. Adding Tuvok was a wonderful surprise, too. It's also interesting to watch Benjamin navigate between his task, Dax and Jenifer. All while acting like Kirk. In particular, I also like Rom. It's like we see his potential through that metaphorical Looking Glass. This confident version of Rom will partly "materialize" in later seasons. Like in last mirror universe episode, I also like promiscuous S/M Kira. She's incredibly confident in her role.
Other than all that admittedly entertaining stuff, the plot itself is mediocre. It lacks subtlety. It's more or less a "standard" pirate/rebel action episode. As I recall, in later seasons the show came up with more interesting ways to connect the two universes in order to raise stakes and make the outcome much more consequential (for both universes). Until writers figure out how to do this, mirror universe episodes are solid and entertaining but they aren't great. Thus a 6/10.
Many of the elements that made the previous mirror universe episode, 'Crossover', work feel like they work against this episode. It just doesn't have any spark and pushes things into pantomime territory (which is saying something for these episodes, which were always intentionally over the top).
Nana Visitor's performance as the Intendent just isn't as interesting of playful as previously. We also get a horribly contrived appearance from mirror universe versions of Bashir and Dax, neither of which feel at all natural. I guess they just had to be in it because they are part of the main cast. The random appearance of Tuvok from Voyager does feel like quite a nice surprise, though.
Sisko manages to fit perfectly into his more ruthless counterpart's role despite having never met him or really knowing much about what he was like - Smiley must have done a really good job preparing him. Harder to ignore is the fact that Sisko sleeps with both Dax and Kira without putting up too much of a fight, which doesn't sit too well with me. I get that these episodes are about escapism, but that shouldn't be at the expense of our characters, and Sisko just would not have done that without feeling like he's violated the trust of his friends.
The actress playing Jennifer Sisko is just very lifeless, too. A bit of a disappointment as an episode, even with Garak acting like a super villain.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2022-12-03T00:20:07Z
[7.4/10] The thrill of an alternate universe episode is seeing the familiar in an unexpected guise. Watching noble Spock serve an evil empire, or spartan Kira become a lascivious oppressor, gives us a chance to see a different side of the performers and of the characters. Learning what the Federation, the Quadrant, the station become with different causes and effects has both an excitement and a novelty due to the changes. Freed from the constraints of returning to the status quo, they allow any series to go bigger and wilder than weekly television normally allows.
“Through the Looking Glass” does a creditable job on that front, but it’s a case of diminishing returns after season 2’s “Crossover.” We already know about the Cardassian-Klingon alliance. We already know the mirror versions of Kira, Garak, and O’Brien. We’ve already seen how Terok Nor is an authoritarian stronghold where Terrans are slaves. The surprise is gone.
The major difference (no pun intended, Kira), is that the resistance our Kira and Bashir sparked last season has blossomed into a full-fledged operation. That creates new challenges and gives us a chance to meet new denizens of the Mirror Universe. There’s Mirror Bashir! Who’s...a pretty generic resistance fighter type. There’s Mirror Dax! Who’s....a pretty generic rebel sexpot. There’s Rom! Who shows more backbone than we’re used to, having been spurred by a desire to avenge his brother, but even he gets minimal screen time.
For the most part, the resistance members have stock standard personalities, which meets rounding out the rest of the Mirror Universe cast seem like an exercise in box-checking rather than taking advantage of the “What If?” freedom of the setting. Hell, they throw freakin’ Tuvok into the mix (the only DS9/VOY crossover I can recall other than Voyager’s pilot) and proceed to do practically nothing with him! If the first Deep Space Nine visit to the evil alternate universe was an exercise in turning what the viewer knows on its head, the return visit is about delivering what you’ve already seen with a few minor extras.
And yet, what should spice this one up is the premise. Sisko is abducted by “Smiley” O’Brien, and convinced to stand-in for his deceased Mirror-verse counterpart for the good of the resistance. Even the cause of freedom wouldn’t necessarily be enough to get him to stand-in for another man’s cause (though, in fairness, he wasn’t shy about assuming the mantle of Gabriel Bell), except that Smiley wants him for a very particular mission: rescuing Jennifer Sisko.
That's a hell of a twist, one that introduces all sorts of complicated wrinkles to the proceedings. Sisko isn’t sure if it’s right or wise to get involved in this conflict, but he’s understandably moved to act here to save the women he lost in his world. Doing so requires him to follow in Kirk’s footsteps and pretend to be someone else long enough to hope that nobody dangerous catches on. It calls on him to persuade his (or the other Benjamin’s) wife that it’s better to join with the resistance despite the long odds instead of collaborating with the enemy in the hopes that a quick end to the rebellion will result in fewer deaths. And he has to contend with an Intendant Kira who still has feelings for her one-time concubine, but who’s hurt and torn by his defection.
That should be more than enough to carry the hour! And in truth, it does. Based on the premise alone, you can enjoy the spark of Prime Sisko trying on his Mirror Universe counterpart’s exuberant bravado on for size and doing surprisingly well with it. You can feel an odd sympathy for the otherwise horrible Intendant Kira for not being able to separate her feelings for Sisko from her duties as Intendant. And lord knows, there’s an electricity to Benjamin reuniting with the woman whose death so affected him, and drove his character arc in the series first episode (or at least, someone who looks and sounds a hell of a lot like her).
But “Through the Looking Glass” isn’t the home run its Mirror Universe predecessor was in all of this. Seeing our Sisko cut loose and play the part is great, but the resistance material is so glancing and vanilla that it doesn’t really move the needle. Watching Kira toy with SIsko, little realizing that he’s using her affections to toy with her right back, has an undeniable charge to it. Yet, so much of the proceedings here feel rushed that we don’t get enough time to process the complex psychological dance both parties are doing.
The biggest disappointment, though, has to be Benjamin and Jennifer’s reunion and bond. Avery Brooks, pro that he is, sells the hell out of it. The way his heart stops when Smiley shows him a photo of “Professor Sisko” and he realizes what’s at stake is superb. The way he absolutely melts when he finally shares a room with her is a wonderful piece of acting. His look of longing when he speaks about having to return home makes the pathos palpable.
Unfortunately, he and Felicia M. Bell just don’t have a ton of chemistry together, which normally isn’t a big deal for a romantic partner who dies in the first episode. For her part, Bell isn’t bad, but not quite to Brooks’ level, which means you never quite feel the overwhelming emotion, the stirring connection between two people, that ought to power this episode on sparks alone. The Siskos reuniting should be momentous, and instead it hovers comfortably but disappointingly around “pretty good.”
There is, nevertheless, some juice to their conversation. The pair debate whether there’s merit in the resistance’s cause, of freedom and liberty, or more peace in collaborating in comfort. Given the subtext of Mirror Sisko being kept as a pet in the last episode, the sense of Jennifer’s place in a society that wants her talents but keeps her in captivity is no less potent. And the fact that this Professor SIsko is moved by Prime Benjamin’s words and deeds, and yet it’s those aspects of him that confirm he’s not the man she married, are a canny choice.
The logistical block and tackle of their conflict is good too. Professor Sisko working on a special scanner that would allow the Alliance to identify resistance cells is a good motivator for both sides of the war that comes with strong moral implications. Our Sisko succeeding where Mirror Sisko failed, and making it aboard Terok Nor with guile instead of pigheaded combativeness, by intentionally getting captured, show’s Benjamin’s cleverness and courage. And his using his knowledge of Deep Space Nine’s command codes to hold Intendant Kira over a barrel via the station’s self-destruct sequence is a clever bit of business.
“Through the Looking Glass” isn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination. Under any circumstances, it’s still cool to return to Deep Space Nine’s corner of the Mirror Universe. The reunion of lost soulmates under peculiar circumstances, with secret identities and a chance to make up for old regrets, comes with plenty of emotional charge. And the ultimate goal and stand-offs come with a suitable amount of excitement.
You just wish DS9 would deliver a little more. The Mirror Universe would eventually become a little exhausting in the franchise, and worse yet, old hat. As neat as it is to leap through the mirror once more, I’d be happier if the show did more to explore the unique differences between their world and ours, and maximize Benjamin’s chance to be face to face with the woman he deeply loved, and sadly lost.