Episode of the Week : Mirror, Mirror

[Melakon]

I don't know how I missed this thread, but I watch the episode at least once a week, often when in an "altered consciousness".

The teaser is one of the most perfect openings in the franchise.

Melakon's unofficial theory that the Haulkans created the Mirror Universe as a way to test the Federation's true intentions is still my favorite explanation.

Thanks for the shout out. I know the theory doesn't make any sense, and it doesn't even come close to the actual origins of the story, but based on what we only see on screen, the theory works for me.

 

[Marsden]

You're Welcome, it was cool when you said it and I still like it.


I guess you certainly not blame this episode but all of those sequel appearances really falls under the law of diminishing returns for me, it cheapens this story that it's just another thing. That's another reason why I liked this as a one time happening that really didn't create a mirror universe.

But, having said that:
In the Shatnerverse, the divergence of the two universes happened when Zefram Cochrane decided by coin flip to tell the Vulcans all about the borg and the threat they caused in the future right at First Contact, causing both Earth and Vulcan to adopt much more emphasis on defense and eventually conquest rather than peaceful exploration.

 

[Timo]

It doesn't really look like there ever was any divergence. Rather, whenever our universe reaches out to the other side, it finds another universe where everybody just happens to be evil, ruthless and lesbian by birth!

And it's a different universe every time, sometimes with cloaks, sometimes without, sometimes with memory of Kirk, sometimes without. Out of an infinite selection of universes, a suitable pair can easily "intersect" at any single timepoint - but not really at two or more points, as the two would evolve in different directions in between... Yet since the pool of universes is infinite, there's an optimal mirror universe there for any given timepoint of ours.

The big questions for me:

- Which of the two universes seen here was the more plausible one, taking into account human nature?
- Was the mirror Uhura merely evil, ruthless and lesbian, or was she also into BDSM and heavy leather?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[E-DUB]

I too have postulated "Mirror Universes", including one where the Terran Empire never fell.

If any of you haven't seen it, check out ST Continues sequel to this episode. You'll be glad you did.

 

[Galileo7]

10. Star Trek "in the sweet spot." A premise so powerful it carried over to at least two of the later series.

Agree. 10

 

[Silvercrest]

It's worth noting that "In a Mirror Darkly" is far and away my favorite episode of Star Trek Enterprise. If they had set that whole series in the mirror universe and seldom shown the bland "prime" characters, ENT would have run ten years.

I dunno... I think they would have run out of characters before they made it to ten episodes.