4x18 In a Mirror, Darkly (1)

[9.1/10] Welome back to the Mirror-Verse! I have to admit, I have been waiting to see this episode for a while, as it’s the Enterprise episode with the most hype, and I wasn’t disappointed. There is so much fun detail, distinctive verve, and a unique spin on the usual Starfleet idealism in this episode, with neat connections to episodes past and continuity nods galore.

As I mentioned in my write-ups for “Twilight” and “E2”, there is something liberating about a “What If” episode. Freed from the confines of even loose continuity, and from the need to have the characters be alive and well and more or less back to the status quo by the next episode, Enterprise can take all of the toys out of its toy box and really have fun with them. The freedom a quick trip to the Mirror-verse provides is infectious, letting us see different takes on familiar characters and entertaining spins on staid Federation scenarios.

That may be the most surprising thing about “In a Mirror Darkly” -- how gosh dang fun it is. That seems counterintuive, given that we’re in a universe where cruelty is the order of the day and everything is literally and figuratively darker than in the prime Star Trek universe. But while season 3’s Xindi arc meant to be darker and edgier in that faux-prestige, dutifully serious sort of way, the Mirror Universe offers us much more of cartoony darkness, in the vein of Hydra in the Marvel Universe or G.I. Joe’s Cobra.

After all, a civilization that really was that devoted to conquest and war and brutality would be shocking and disturbing. But there’s a mustache-twirling quality to almost everything we see in “In a Mirror Darkly”, a cartoonish sort of cackling evil that helps the audience to not take it so seriously. At times, the show seems to be elbowing the viewer in the ribs and saying, “Can you imagine?” But that over the top, winking quality works in a two-episode jaunt that gets to have some fun with its otherwise kind-hearted, noble characters.

The best aspect of part one of our trip to the Mirror Universe on Enterprise is the level of detail. There’s the inevitable joy of going to an alternate dimension and seeing how things are different and how they’re the same. Everything from the eXtReMe stripes on the Enterprise, to Archer’s ready room collection of weapons rather than ships past, to the incredible reimagined intro shows the tactile differences between the prime universe and this one that makes the Terran Empire Enterprise feel lived in (albeit lived in by amoral brutes).

It’s also neat to see where this slip to the other side of the mirror leaves all of our familiar faces. Archer is an unambitious second in command who nevertheless potentially finds his moment and unleashes his big scheme. Hoshi is, as the original “Mirror, Mirror” episode from The Original Series puts it, “a captain’s woman”, something between a supporting officer and a concubine, but one who has her own agenda and loyalties. And Mayweather is a green enforcer (with hair and an earring -- extreeeeeeme!) who becomes Archer’s personal guard.

Both Malcolm and Phlox feel familiar except with malevolent twists on their usual personalities. Reed, counter to his usual type, doesn't like following orders; Phlox dissects animals rather than keeping them, and the pair work together to invent the first agony booth. (It’s a nice nod to Enterprise’s propensity to show its cast members creating some famous piece of tech from later in the timeline). Trip has some positively Pike-esque facial scarring from spending so much time near the radiation of a warp engine, and T’Pol is a pragmatic loyalist who uses her mind-melding abilities to get Trip to do her bidding.

If that weren’t enough, Admiral Forest (or rather, his Mirror-verse equivalent) is captain of the Enterprise! It’s a nice way to throw the viewer off immediately, show that the scenario is different here beyond just a few snarls or assassination attempts. The same goes for the cold open, which reimagines a Mirror-verse version of first contact with the Vulcans (hello again, James Cromwell!) that turns lethal very quickly. There’s an attention to detail here, and a creativity to picturing how things would be different on a Terran Empire version of the Enterprise, that wins the day.

But perhaps the canniest choice the creative team beyond part one of “In a Mirror Darkly” makes is to connect this episode to “The Tholian Web” from The Original Series. In addition to the thrill of getting to stroll through the Mirror Universe in the first place, it also gives the viewer the excitement of seeing a Tholian in live action (more or less) for the first time, to see the Enterprise run into a constitution-class starship, and to watch our heroes wander around on a TOS-era bridge. It’s complete and total fanservice to be sure, but I ate it up with a spoon.

It also helps give form and purpose to the Mirror Universe visit beyond the usual “bucket of crabs” infighting and glimpses into a dark-tinged version of our heroes’ usual adventure. Archer’s goal here is not just to take command away from Forrest, but to steal all of the tech and information he can glean from a prime universe ship from a century in the future. That’s a clear motivation that creates a dangerous mission into Tholian space that results in a veritable suicide mission, a skirmish with the Tholians, and the destruction of the Enterprise.

It’s the sort of thing Enterprise just couldn’t pull off within the confines of normal continuity and the main characters’ usual personalities. The Mirror Universe opens up storytelling possibilities and chances the writers’ room can take that would be much trickier, if not impossible, if the consequences mattered beyond a little two-episode stint. With those limits removed, the show has all kinds of fun reimagining Snidely Whiplash doppelgangers for its heroes, and picturing the over-the-top evil world that they exist in.

Whether the show can maintain that sort of gleefully malevolent momentum for another full episode remains to be seen. But for now, Enterprise is playing its stab at the Mirror Universe to the hilt, and I’m glad to be along for the trip to the dark side.