2.4 — “Mirror, Mirror”
Plot: An ion storm causes a malfunction as Kirk, Scott, Uhura, and McCoy beam back to the ship from a peaceful trade mission to Halka. The landing party is projected into a parallel universe where the Enterprise is a warship of the Terran Empire, Kirk holds his command through intimidation and murder, and Spock wears a beard. Kirk and his crewmates must try to pass on this strange new ship while avoiding committing atrocities–which is the very thing that makes their detection inevitable!
Thoughts: This is a very silly episode. Come on, it’s true. I like the twisted costumes (they’re disco space pirates!) and looking at Spock’s beard and Uhura’s belly button as much as the next person, but I can’t help but feel that “Mirror, Mirror” works better as a Saturday Night Live sketch than as science fiction.
There’s a different vibe developing for Star Trek in its second season, which I can’t quite put my finger on. Kirk comes off (not just in this episode) as less of the thoughtful Captain of first season and more of a brash swaggerer. The writers are more glib about his womanizing in this episode than ever before. WHAT does Kirk think he’s doing making out with Marlena in his quarters after Scott has already given him the 30-minute countdown clock? He knows he isn’t who she thinks he is. It would be so easy to make an excuse and get rid of her, but I guess he is just so captivated by her brown eyes that he can’t help himself? Phone a friend (like that Jim Kirk guy from first season) and find some moral fiber, man. Maybe he’s just so shattered from losing Edith Keeler and his brother Sam that he’s not himself anymore.
All the Nazi trappings offer me the opportunity to point out again the long shadow of World War II hanging over the series, except that subtlety is so far out the window that this observation doesn’t have much weight. There were a lot of fun touches differentiating the two Enterprises. I noticed the computer voice in the mirror universe is male–not Majel Barrett.
I find I can’t take “Mirror, MIrror” seriously, but a number of things are quite good about it, and make the episode memorable. First, good character turns for Uhura and Sulu. This is one of the rare episodes that really gives Sulu something to do, and he delivers (again), and Nichelle Nichols proves, again, she has range (and she certainly looks great!). Second, Spock Prime’s amusement at Kirk & Co’s mirror universe counterparts and that wild Cagney impression of Shatner’s. Third, the fight scene in sick bay, where it takes four of them to face off against Mirror Spock. Fourth, Kirk Prime’s farewell speech to Mirror Spock, describing tyranny and violence as illogical, and telling Spock that he uniquely has the power to stop it, even selling out his own counterpart by revealing information about the Tantalus device and its location. Is this a tacit admission that Spock is the best person on the Enterprise? These character beats redeem the episode, and allow Kirk & Co. to realize a victory over the MIrror Universe, not just escape from it.
My favorite single piece of the episode, however, even more than the wardrobe and design, is DeForest Kelley’s performance. When McCoy insists on staying behind to save the life of Mirror Spock, it tells you everything about his character. Later, in the episode closer, he smiles and says he thinks any change in Spock would be an improvement–but you know it’s not true. McCoy would lay down his life for Spock without a second thought, even Mirror Spock. Kelley is saying “Camp it up, my friends–I’m just going to dig deeper. This is how a pro does it.”
On the subject of mini-trends, this is the second episode in a row with a Vulcan mind-meld (will this be the only Spock/McCoy meld until Wrath of Khan?), and it’s been a couple of rough episodes for Lt. Uhura.
3.5 out of 5 standard-issue crew agonizers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror,_Mirror_(Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series)
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