In a Mirror, Darkly

[Qonos]

I just Veoh'd these two episodes and being an Enterprise Hater I have to say that these were two of the best Enterprise episodes I've seen (of course they were 4th season)

It seems that we get a good look at what is really the beginning of the true powerful time of the Mirror Empire. The link back to TOS was nicely done. Unfortunately the Defiant really didn't work for me. The ship with the other ships looked out of place way to minimalistic and it certainly didn't look like it fit (Like some other posters have stated on other forums on this board, but that's a movie discussion and I'll stick with the episodes I watched here)

When dark the interior sets of the Defiant looked fine, mainly because most of the sets on Enterprise were darkly light. The Gorn looked great a nice update on the rubber suit man from TOS. The uniforms looked wacky only because they were up next to the Enterprise ones which have a more militaristic look. I felt with some of the dialog that the writer of this episode made his little jabs at TOS, but they were all meant in light hearted fun.

The writing and execution of this two parter was nice, the story kept me interested until the sexual stuff right before the big finale. It was overly drawn out. The final ending though felt a bit cliched and predictable, but it was a well written and well produced episode and deffinately one of the better eps I've seen.

 

[Ethros]

Actually the only thing I don't like about these eps is the Gorn. I don't hate it, but the CGI looks a bit cheap.
Other than that it's fantastic. Love the way Archer goes mental at the end "DESTROY THEM!!!"

 

[Augustus]

I thought it was fine until, freakin hoshi is takes over.... not anything against the character... just strange I thought...

 

[JiNX-01]

I thought it was fine until, freakin hoshi is takes over.... not anything against the character... just strange I thought...

Actually, I loved Empress Sato! Never.Saw.It.Coming.

 

[SFRabid]

I also liked the end. BnB said she would not have remained in power if the series had continued to season 5. It might have been interesting to see how she lost power.

 

[ChristopherPike]

It also seems unlikely Archer would've died, had Season 5 gotten a sequel MU adventure. They wouldn't exactly have sent Scott Bakula off on a paid vacation. He'd have been in there somewhere despite how that ending looked... Likewise Reed, but probably with some really hideous injuries.

BTW: All Hail Empress Sato!

 

[Hopeful Romantic]

The MU novel collection Glass Empires, which came out last year, had a sequel of sorts to "In a Mirror Darkly," Age of the Empress. It was co-written by Mike Sussman (with Ward and Dilmore), and based on his ideas about where the MU storyline would have gone in Season 5. You get an idea about Archer's fate in that book.

 

[Trekwatcher]

I thought it was a great 2 parter. While after a while all the TOS tie-in stuff in S4 got old, this time they really got it right. A clever setup that was well executed (no pun intended, given that it is the mirror universe). I agree with the poster that the gorn did look bad-a guy in a rubber suit would have been cheaper and would have looked more like what we have come to expect from "Arena." The "escape of the Defiant" sequence is one of the best action moments in all of ENT, IMHO.

 

[FalTorPan]

I enjoyed this two-parter, mostly for the TOS imagery, as I'm not an Enterprise fan. The biggest drawback was mirror-Archer. I don't know if it was the writing or Bakula's acting, but I kept expecting a Western villain moustache and black hat. He was unconvincing and over the top.

 

[JiNX-01]

I enjoyed this two-parter, mostly for the TOS imagery, as I'm not an Enterprise fan. The biggest drawback was mirror-Archer. I don't know if it was the writing or Bakula's acting, but I kept expecting a Western villain moustache and black hat. He was unconvincing and over the top.

That's what I loved about MU Archer. He was crazy. (Did you see the deleted scene when he gives a speech and the crew is applauding and he orders that the first person to stop clapping is to be shot? Seriously, how does he expect any work to get done if everyone is afraid to stop clapping and return to their stations? N.U.T.Z.! )

 

[The_Beef]

It also seems unlikely Archer would've died, had Season 5 gotten a sequel MU adventure. They wouldn't exactly have sent Scott Bakula off on a paid vacation. He'd have been in there somewhere despite how that ending looked... Likewise Reed, but probably with some really hideous injuries.

Actually, one of the signature things about the mirror episodes has always been that they're not afraid to kill off the major players. Mirror-Sisko was killed off, mostly as a plot device to bring normal Sisko in. Of course, given the direction they took this episode, I doubt there would have been any form of crossover to warrant killing Archer (an unusual respect for continuity there). I guess they just did it for shock value, so I sippose you're right about the possibility of him surviving if the show had been guaranteed another season.

 

[Unicron]

I agree these are two of ENT's better eps. I always had a sort of cynical optimism when the series was on, in that I hoped they'd give us good stuff (which they did sometimes) but also knew, in the earlier seasons especially, that some of the stories were just borrowed gimmicks. I was suspicious when I heard about an MU ep, because I thought it might fall into that category and because DS9 didn't really handle it well. But I was pleasantly surprised.

I really wish that ENT had been given the chance to have quality stories better, because they were there. It's unfortunate that so much of the potential for the series wasn't better employed.

 

[Hoshi_Mayweather]

BTW: All Hail Empress Sato!

Smart man....!

 

[Captain59]

At first I thought Bakula couldn't play the bad guy, but then I realized that's exactly how he was supposed to be...Mirror Archer was supposed to be nuts with a screw loose...especially with his alternate universe counterpart always talking in his ear.

 

[ChristopherPike]

BTW: All Hail Empress Sato!

Smart man....!

Bucking for a promotion...

 

[TEH BABA]

Would she have been hot bi hoshi keep in tradition?

 

[joncreed]

Fricking Classic 2 parter! Bakula owned the episodes- never liked the milquetoast Archer character but his Mirror Counterpart was a total ruthless badass!

Jolene Blalock was interviewed on the radio show "Coast to Coast AM" with George Noory and commented they just finished "In a Mirror Darkly" and if the series started with episodes like this they would've gone on to 7 years. Sadly, I couldn't agree more.

 

[Bill Morris]

And it didn't have that awful theme song!

 

[SG-17]

Mirror Universe stories always were a thing to be looked forward to for me. I hope in whatever TV series may come about next, they include atleast one.