"I don't want your fear. I want your love!" Intendant to Kira

One of the classic episodes of the original Star Trek television series was "Mirror, Mirror", where Kirk and some crew members are transported to some kind of mirror universe, where everything is pretty much the opposite of the way it is in "our" universe. When Kirk left, it looked like he had convinced the Mirror-Spock to lead a revolution against the Earth Empire and bring reforms to its sadistic government. Now, with "Crossover," Deep Space Nine explores what has happened over the last hundred years. And boy, what a doozy of an episode! This one is simply fun on all levels.

Returning from a supply run to New Bajor (a Bajoran colony on the other side of the wormhole), Kira (Nana Visitor) and Bashir (Siddig El Fadil) are enjoying a nice chat. Ok, "enjoying" wouldn't be the term Kira would use, but Bashir seems to be. This is a hilarious scene, nicely contrasting the rest of the episode. A problem develops in the runabout's engine as they're going through the wormhole, and when they emerge, they are not in their own universe any more. They find the station (it's in orbit around Bajor, not the wormhole) and are taken there, to find that the Bajorans, Cardassians, and Klingons are in control of the whole thing. Kira's counterpart, the Intendant, is in charge, and she seems fascinated by her mirror image, almost to the point of narcissism. Things are pretty brutal for the Terrans at the station, so Kira has to convince them to keep Bashir alive, meanwhile trying to figure out a way back to their own side. And maybe she'll have as much of an effect on this universe as Kirk did, all those years ago?

There is so much cool stuff in this episode that it's hard to know where to begin. It's certainly not flawless (perhaps they should have avoided the conceit of having Mirror-Odo blow up, as it seemed a bit gratuitous), but it's pretty close. The acting is phenomenal from all sides. Visitor seems to relish playing both the good Kira and the extremely unstable Intendant, but the Intendant performance is simply wonderful. There's one scene where she orders the death of a prisoner, and then immediately transforms into a giddy school girl as she tells Kira about hosting a party and wondering what they both should wear, and the change in her from one moment to the next is almost chilling. The self-love that she has, which becomes centered on Kira, is quite well-done too ("Get this…*attractive* young woman some quarters"). In fact, Visitor plays the whole situation perfectly, as Kira initially seems to think that her Bajor could learn a little bit from how strong Mirror-Bajor has become.

The other mirror-characters are just as good. Garak (Andrew Robinson) is the least changed, though he's far more bloodthirsty than his "real" counterpart. There are shades of his original character (such as when he tells Kira "I do admire a well-tailored gown"), and he schemes just as much, but he's much harsher. Sisko (Avery Brooks) is quite different, inspiring loyalty because he can safeguard his crew from the Intendant rather than through his personal charisma. He's just as much a prisoner as the Terrans in the mines, however. Odo (Rene Auberjonois) is an extreme version of his law and order persona, and O'Brien (Colm Meaney) still works well with machines, though he is a broken man spiritually. When he hears about the "real" O'Brien from Bashir, the envy and hope that appears in his eyes is almost heart-wrenching, as is his "I *am* a decent man" when Bashir is trying to get him to help. All of the actors play these roles to perfection, and even Brooks manages to rein in his tendency to go over the top, making Sisko fun yet tragic rather than scene-chewing.

I don't usually mention it, but I have to say that the direction (by David Livingston) and the set design is wonderful, as is the script. Peter Allan Fields does it again, but again he comes up with an extremely expensive episode in terms of production values, perhaps explaining why he was let go. The station (especially the ore processing area) is suitably dark, with smoke and steam rising from various machines and everything looks oppressive. Contrasting that is the brightness of the Intendant's quarters, which is almost garish. Livingston uses some interesting camera angles too, especially when the Klingons come on board the runabout at the beginning, with the camera almost being on the floor, looking up at both them and Kira. All around, an interesting technique.

With all of that, here are some short takes:

Odo's "Rules of Obedience" are a frightening take on the Ferengi "Rules of Acquisition," though we only hear one rule, "no jokes"

It was really a nice touch that Kira had no idea who Kirk was. There's no reason she should, being in the Bajoran resistance and having nothing to do with the Federation until last year, but Kirk is such a God-figure in the Trek universe that I'm sure it was tempting to have her know who he was.

I really wish that I could go back to that feeling of first watching the episodes without being familiar with them. The previews showed how different this universe was, but to actually hear Kirk's name evoked, I seem to recall, was quite shocking. It loses some of its impact, having seen it, but I still think the whole concept is cool.

It's too bad that the Mirror Universe concept became diluted over subsequent seasons, but this first episode remains a tour de force, and I love it every time I see it.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD