In A Mirror, Darkly, Part II

DVD, Enterprise S4 (In A Mirror, Darkly, Part II)

Sometimes you could believe you were watching a fan-made production of Trek while watching these episodes, particularly Part II which takes place mainly on the old sixties sets they recreated for the USS Defiant. Not a bad fan-made production, to qualify that statement. Essentially, it's not done in the thoughtful, slower style we associate with 'TOS,' the energy of 'Enterprise's last two seasons, coupled with the quick cuts, moving cameras and multitude of closeups, making the experience somewhat jarring when observed in such a setting. It's so fast and frantic that we aren't allowed time to revel in the beauty of these classic sets, we aren't given the classic shots, such as looking down on the bridge at work (though T'Pol looking through the science station viewer was one that recalled 'TOS'), or seeing long shots of the cast sat around the briefing room table complete with tri-screen, so although we have these wonderful recreations, we don't necessarily see them used as we'd like to. And when you consider that this is in the Mirror Universe, not just a difference of time, and these are alternate versions of the characters, who aren't used to sitting around discussing things, and that they don't have a lot of time to do so as they're either under attack, attacking, escaping, or dealing with internal threats, then you see that the style of direction and how the sets were used was purely to serve the story. It just doesn't make it as satisfying an experience as it might have been.

I often felt as if the constant action was designed to disguise the fact that the story, like Part I, is very slight, just continuing the shifting power play of before. It's not so much a story as a series of vignettes of pleasing stuff to see, or a list of references to keep track of. Again, as I said in my review of Part I, it seems churlish to point out flaws since they were doing such a wonderful thing as recreating those old and beloved sets, but it's not enough to just recreate history, you have to tell a good story within, and this isn't a good story. I felt much the same way as I did watching the 'TNG' two-parter, 'Unification,' with all the promise of bringing Leonard Nimoy back as Spock - Part I held all the anticipation, and then what a great way to finish, with a glimpse of the man (just as 'In A Mirror, Darkly' fleetingly served up the Defiant at the end), but then Part II failed to deliver on the potential, as joyous an experience as it was to have him back in Trek. The analogy works for this episode - it's great to have a Constitution-class vessel, both the inside and outside, but it required a story that could equal that greatness. It had been pulled off before, in 'Trials and Tribble-ations,' and 'Flashback,' even 'Relics,' so this is the main reason why this two-parter remains merely good rather than great, and isn't on my list of the Top 20 episodes of 'Enterprise,' no matter how groundbreaking they were in terms of attention to detail.

Now that that's out the way, what was fun about the episode? Just about everything, really: they have the 'Enterprise' cast dressed in the 'TOS' uniforms, which was fantastic, they have everything from food cubes to a Gorn, and we're even treated to parts of a Constitution-class that we'd never seen before. Admittedly, they were only Jefferies Tubes, which led out into larger, corridor versions, but even that complimented the design of the later Enterprise-D, which was shown to have a similar internal structure. I think this would make 'Enterprise' the series where most parts of different Enterprises are seen (if you count the Defiant as one in spirit), as we had the NX-01, this one, the D in the series finale, and a corridor of the J! It was a sight to see an NX-class vessel flying side by side with a Constitution of the 23rd Century, and it is these visual treats that the episode hangs on. Because of the time difference, Mirror Archer is able to look up what happened to him and people he knows (specifically, Hoshi), teasing us, and her, with the threat of exposing who she married and when she died. Even though they're different people, it makes them uncomfortable, and of course, it's of great interest to us as they're talking about the characters from the 'real' universe that we're invested in. It's a treat to have Majel Barrett once again providing the computer voice, you realise how much you miss her contribution, as easy as it was to sometimes take her for granted in the other series', making you wish she could have been more a part of 'Enterprise.' Technically, she should have been more monotone, but perhaps the Defiant's computer was slightly different to that of the Enterprise.

Another small thing I appreciated was seeing the tri-ladder being used during the Gorn hunt (we're going on a Gorn hunt, Gorn hunt, Gorn hunt, we're going on a Gorn hunt, we're not scared - you should be!). It's something seen since 'TOS,' but I don't think we ever had three people all climbing its sides at the same time, which was a great visual. The actual Gorn on the other hand… One of the best things about Part I was the unveiling of the Tholian look, and one of the worst things in Part II was the unveiling of the new Gorn. It's like this is the Mirror episode of Part I, with what was good before, now bad! Even at the time I remember disappointment with what they did after the buildup in Part I that there was a reptilian creature aboard, then the reveal from the captured slave that it's a Gorn, and to finally see it as a CG character… Even at that stage, when CG had moved on, they still couldn't achieve a fully believable humanoid. While the Gorn of 'TOS' is, in some ways, quite laughable, it's mainly from his snarling voice and lumbering movement, the look was incredible for the resources they had at the time. What they should have done was what they did with the Orions - get a bodybuilder, paint him green, stick a quality prosthetic head on top, and show him sparingly in dark corners - that would have been the way to make it work. I can see what they were trying to do, update an old design, but it just looked too different to what was expected, and didn't work. He didn't talk like the other Gorn, either, for which we can be thankful, growling into his communication device when we see him speaking at his end, so it was probably being translated.

I was unsure what the relationship the Gorn and the purple/blue aliens had to the Defiant - it would make sense that they were slaves working for the Tholians, but equally the Gorn could have been an ally, or, and this was my confusion, were they aboard the Defiant when it was brought through to the MU? If that were the case then I'd have liked to have seen them take the opportunity to make the unnamed alien slave be one of the many 'TOS' races that we were never likely to see again, instead of the contemporary design which they used, though it was a good one (even if it had red blood, when you'd expect blue or purple from a race with that colour skin). It made sense to bring in a character we knew to bite the dust (or get bitten to death), Kelby seeming like a nicer fellow in this universe. Not that we really knew him that well anyway, but it was better than a no-name MACO being the victim, I just wish he'd been wearing a red shirt - shame they didn't have a Ferengi to kill off! I wonder if it was another tribute to 'First Contact' mirroring the way an engineer pokes her head up a Jefferies Tube and gets killed in that film, though Kelby lasted a bit longer. When the Gorn tricks Reed and his men into an explosion activated by Communicator, I wanted it to say "I'm not a slave any more, I'm an engineer," in tribute to Chief O'Brien ('Empok Nor')!

We see another step towards the multicultural mix that would become the norm in our universe's Federation when an Andorian and an Orion are part of the ISS Avenger's crew (so Star Trek XI wasn't the first time we saw an Orion in Starfleet!). Soval is more of a cowed individual than the proud, often haughty version we know (and we finally get a Vulcan with a goatee), but the Vulcans in this universe seem even less logical and calm than the usual ones we see in the 22nd Century, which were already unVulcan-like enough. T'Pol shows fear, apprehension (such as when Archer threatens her in the Briefing Room, when she should have been solid as a rock), anger, distrust - she practically shouts at Soval to get her point across, writhing around him as she tries to convince him of the necessity to mutiny against Archer and his grand plans of becoming Emperor, no sign of the calm, still presence a Vulcan (even in the MU), is supposed to portray. It makes me think she's only partly Vulcan. A very small part, and the rest Romulan, or something! But then we see Soval's the same unrestrained, emotional being as her. His fiery death as the Avenger ruptures around him looked cool, but it would have been so much cooler if he'd maintained Vulcan composure to the last, and died with his eyes shut, allowing it to wash over him. That inability to give in to fear, anger, etc, was what made Vulcans so great as a species, and it's a huge reminder of one of the biggest mistakes with the series as a whole (and something I'm always harping on about).

At least T'Pol was shown to make short work of Hoshi in a knife fight in the corridor, but that was somewhere we could have seen a Vulcan lose it somewhat, perhaps pushing her up the wall in a rage, then returning to her placid demeanour to remind us that these Mirror Vulcans are more ruthless. I also would have liked that to have been a more dramatically shot sequence instead of confined to a corridor, T'Pol seen to take out several MACOs, for example, so we're impressed with her physical capabilities (much like our T'Pol in 'Marauders'). But if you thought the Vulcans were overacted, Archer takes the biscuit. It's only when we see an imagined version of our Archer who taunts the Mirror Archer (an excellent idea, well implemented, and the only person we see from our universe, even if it was a figment), that we remember that Scott Bakula is actually an accomplished actor and his character is likeable, because this Archer is so over the top with everything he says, harshly snapping out his dialogue, that it makes him a weak, uninteresting character. The performance may have been in keeping with other MU characters we'd seen before, but I'd have preferred a darkly subtle evilness to him. Like Mirror Garak, he was a one-note villain that had nothing about him for us to sympathise with or wish well in any way, and if you don't care what happens to the characters that doesn't help make the story memorable.

Not every character was like that, however, Phlox shown to have some kind of loyalty, even if it was motivated by greed, as well as being a much more competent fighter than our version when he has a rumble with Trip. It was good to finally see the much mentioned Admiral Gardner (if only the MU version), and Admiral Black was played by regular face, Gregory Itzin ('DS9,' 'Voyager,' and Season 1 of 'Enterprise'). Reed's nastiness was pretty much forgotten this time as he didn't have much to do before being wounded (perhaps mortally), by the Gorn explosion. Trip and Mayweather were the lesser used characters, and seemed better for it, especially the brutal Travis, who's happy to beat up the alien as he sits tied to a chair, the fact that he hardly ever speaks making him more menacing, very different to the affable, interested helmsman we know. Trip's scar, although an excellent tribute to Captain Pike, could have done with some work, as this episode, perhaps due to the flatter lighting on the Defiant, made it look fake thanks to the shininess of the prosthetic. Perhaps that's what it would have looked like in real life, but I'd have thought a matte look would have been more appropriate. Not that it was that important, just whenever his face appeared there was a glare from the lights shining on the scar, which put me off.

The fact that the flaws of the episode were more evident stopped it achieving its potential: the characters are wear the garb of 'TOS' and walk the corridors of 'TOS,' but you don't get the sense of 'TOS' or the idea that this is anything more than showing off visually, not duplicating the camera work of 'TOS' as they had the sets and lighting. T'Pol sees the logic in the Federation, though logic is too strong a word for it as these Vulcans just aren't very logical, which does at least plant the seed of rebellion down the line as a possibility, which Spock eventually took on after our Kirk's visit, but because they couldn't do any more than that there was little to stop the story from simply ending, and abruptly at that, just the beginning of a new reign, as Empress Hoshi takes control in revenge for so many episodes where she'd taken a back seat. She and Mayweather have the last laugh, and they were the two least used characters on the series, so there's nice contrast there, although whether it was planned I don't know. If it was they'd have had to admit they hadn't used them enough in the series, so it may just have been an unconscious reward for them. Trouble is, the story doesn't really matter, and when you have these forty-odd minutes to tell one, you should be taking the opportunity, not expecting to have a few more years. This was the episode in which they were told of cancellation, and it is sad, because even though these weren't the best two episodes, they could have developed it in another visit to the Mirror Universe had the series been allowed to continue. A visit to the MU was a good idea, and the implementation worked well, but only because of the gimmicks.

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