An episode to remember for a number of reasons we’ll discuss in greater detail in the comments below, but beyond the philosophical gamesmanship and the outstanding dialogue, this episode benefits from being genuinely fun to watch.
Plot Synopsis, written by SABR Matt:
While returning from the Gamma Quadrant, Kira and Bashir experience a strange flash in the wormhole – and when they emerge, the station appears to be gone. They locate it shortly thereafter, but it’s orbiting Bajor! To make matters worse, they are soon spotted and tracked down by a Klingon (!) interceptor and boarded. The Klingons get one look at Kira and instantly apologize for having interfered. They exit before she has a chance to get any clarification and escort her back to the station unharmed. But when she arrives, it immediately becomes apparent that she’s not in Kansas anymore – because she herself is there to greet her!
After ordering Bashir to the mines (over Kira’s protests) the Intendant tells Kira the story of the transporter malfunction that stranded Kirk in an alternate reality where he convinced the violent and highly successful human/Vulcan alliance to disarm and make peace with their neighbors, giving the Klingons, Bajorans and Cardassians a chance to unite to conquer the Terrans and Vulcans in the name of vengeance. Kira looks on in horror at herself in this strange position of power and control – this is her, but not quite! The Intendant is fascinated by herself – an overt display of narcissistic and almost sexual arousal at her own presence comes over her, and she looks past Kira’s obvious disgust at this mirror universe and gives her free access to the station and personal quarters.
Kira uses the opportunity to do a little digging in the hopes of finding a way back to her own universe and freeing Bashir. She encounters Quark (still tending bar and complaining that Alliance taxes are running him out of business) and tries to swing a deal to get access to a transporter. Quark is quickly caught and executed by the Intendant (who takes that action with a stunning lack of feeling), and Kira is informed that a transporter won’t work since all such technology has been modified to prevent crossovers. Bashir, meanwhile, makes ‘friends’ with Odo, who teaches him a thing or two about ‘the rules’ in his ore processing plant. And shortly thereafter, he meets alternate O’Brien and tells him about where he comes from. The alternate is impressed, but there is little a Terran can do to help – even a theta (the highest rank among the slaves) – and this O’Brien doesn’t believe his tales of a better life anyway. He’s so jaded by his miserable existence that he believes Bashir is just feeding him lies to get his help.
Soon, Kira is approached by alternate Garak, who is plotting to kill the Intendant and grab power on the station. He promises he can get her away and back to her own universe if she will do what he wants – she must play the part of the Intendant for a while and then, after a few weeks, she can retreat to Bajor to ‘explore her pagh or something’ and she can be on her way. Kira reports this encounter to alternate Sisko in the hopes that he will help her escape before this plan is put in motion, but this Sisko is nothing like the one she knows. He’s completely broken and putting on a cocky, brave face…submitting himself to the Intendant’s sexual desires and collecting tributes (bribes and stolen cargo) for her in exchange for some modest freedoms for himself and his crew. He refuses her advances, leaving her without anyone to turn to.
Bashir, on the other hand, is finally able to get through to O’Brien when he encounters him as he’s sneaking through the access tunnels on the station to try to reach their runabout. O’Brien (a.k.a. ‘Smiley’) helps him make a bold escape attempt, and in the process, Bashir kills Odo. Unfortunately, they are caught and brought to the Intendant in the middle of a party. Kira has been dragged there, as have Sisko and his crewmates, to help the Intendant celebrate her good mood. The evening disrupted, the Intendant flashes incredible anger – especially when she asks O’Brien why he’d helped Bashir after all the progress he’d made reaching theta rank and O’Brien confesses that he believed anything was better than his current life and wanted to get away with Bashir and Kira to a better place. Her rage is interrupted when Sisko suddenly turns his weapon on Garak and leads them away – apparently persuaded by O’Brien’s optimistic speech. O’Brien and Sisko decide to stay behind to start their own rebellion. Kira and Bashir barely outrun a Klingon bird of prey and make it back through the wormhole to their own universe. Relieved, Kira reports that she has been ‘through the looking glass.’
SABR Matt’s Ratings:
Writing: 9.5
Although this script doesn’t uniformly flow with beautifully crafted exchange after exchange the way some of our other DS9 features have, it certainly does have its overwhelming strong moments, as you’ll see in the highlights. Peter Allen Fields – on a mediocre day – writes better than most people do at their best. :) That having been said, the true strength of this script is the way the characters are written to be entirely consistent with their normal-universe counterparts emotionally and at their core, and yet…completely different…shaped by both their DNA and their experiences. Kira and the Intendant share a basically spiritual core identity that is masked by their own personal ambitions. Kira’s ambitions come out as abrasiveness on the job and a violent (but restrained) temper. The Intendant, on the other hand, has been shaped by her position of power into a borderline personality with a completely unchecked temper. Garak is still a conniving schemer and a skilled spy. Quark still seeks profit and still has a heart of gold. O’Brien is still a mechanical genius and a basically good (albeit jaded by a hard life) man. Odo still craves order and efficiency above all else – with a little too much power over his workers, his quest for control turns him from lovable autocrat to evil slave master. Even when PAF is writing completely different versions of his characters…he demonstrates mastery of those characters!
It’s also worth pointing out that PAF goes multiple times to a very effective literary device – juxtaposition. The Intendant orders Quark’s execution, then brightly turns and announces to Kira that she’s planning a party. O’Brien shows his softer side and then suddenly turns angry and jaded at the possibility that Bashir might be lying to him to earn a favor. We routinely cut from scenes featuring the hardships of life for the Terrans to the pure opulence of the Intendant’s lifestyle. Everything about the script is designed to make the viewer uncomfortable…to present a great feeling of imbalance. That includes how many of the scenes are shot, with the camera slightly tilted (or, in a few cases, severely tilted, such as when the Klingons first board the runabout), and the lighting unusually harsh (making the people appear harder and uglier somehow). It seems every time PAF gets involved, the director pulls out all the stops to produce a technically and artistically superior episode to match the quality of the writing.
Acting: 7.5
I am sorry to say that in this case, the cast didn’t quite live up to the top quality of the script. In post-production interviews and at conventions, Nana Visitor has admitted that the script had called for the Intendant to be a significantly more orderly and rational evil figure and that, because she was uncomfortable with the role, she had accidentally come across as deeply sexual in her portrayal. It ‘kind of’ works, but that’s more luck than skill. Later Crossover Universe episodes played right to that hyper-sexual interpretation to their severe detriment. However, when she’s playing the Kira we know and love, Nana does a fantastic job depicting her horror at this version of herself. And Colm Meaney got to play the same old O’Brien, so his performance was flawless. I thought Rene Auberjonois leaned a bit toward the purple side in his performances too, despite some amusing lines he was given, and mirror Garak, for some reason, was played rather stupidly…I don’t know what Andrew Robinson was thinking. The overall quality of performance is solid, but definitely the weakness of this episode.
Message: 10.0
On the other hand, the show doesn’t fail to impress me with its double-barreled shots across the bow of Hollywood normative conformity. First, it is a wonderful twist on the trite and pathetically naïve pacifistic message delivered in the original series episode “Mirror, Mirror”…to imagine the humans disarming themselves and then getting overrun is rather delicious. As my sister angrily noted during her scathing review of the SG1 episode “The Nox,” unilateral pacifism does not work. The maturity of DS9’s writers is unparalleled in Trek canon.
On top of that, O’Brien’s inspiring words resonate deeply within anyone who believes as I do that human nature inherently requires freedom and hope…that mere survival isn’t enough…and that our drive toward self-determination and free will can never be stamped out, no matter how hard a dictator might try. This is one area where Star Trek has always been strong. A rebel yell for freedom is always good TV; even Roddenbury would agree on that point.
Stephanie S’s Ratings:
Writing: 9.0
My co-author's comments essentially encapsulate my own thoughts.
This premise could have easily slipped into cornball sci-fi action; indeed, when the series revisits the Mirror Universe in later episodes, this is precisely what happens. But here, PAF largely sticks to the principles of thoughtful storytelling. Emphasis is placed on the reaction of the characters - particularly Kira - to the horrors and injustices they witness - and, as discussed further below, the plot is arranged around a strong philosophical center, which gives the episode thematic purpose.
Acting: 8.0
I largely agree with my co-author on this dimension as well. However, I can't say I found anything wrong with Andrew Robinson's performance. And there is one thing SABR Matt does not address above that I believe is worthy of note: Avery Brooks delivers many of his lines with his usual scenery chewing bombast, but I am actually quite impressed with how effectively - and subtly - he conveys Mirror!Sisko's interior conflict. You can see in Brooks' flashes of expression how much it actually disgusts his character to be the Intendant's plaything. Thus, his change of heart in the climax doesn't come as a complete surprise - and that's a big positive in my book!
Message: 10.0
“My daughter’s hamster (a pet white mouse) has food, water, shelter and even medical care, and a cage full of fun curly tubes. The hamster responds by constantly trying to chew his way to freedom. I think we all understand what freedom is, and it is not a gilded cage.”
My co-author nails it when he mentions the human (sentient?) thirst for freedom. Love of freedom is, I believe, this episode's dominant theme. In particular, there are two scenes that stand out in this regard. One, of course, is Mirror!O'Brien's iconic speech, which, as SABR Matt has already noted, perfectly and poignantly captures the longing of the downtrodden in any standard dictatorship. The other is Kira's second scene with Mirror!Sisko. Watching that scene again, I can't help but remember the quote I included above. Mirror!Sisko is the most privileged of the Terrans we see; he enjoys a certain freedom of movement and a small taste of the opulent lifestyle of the Alliance elite. But Mirror!Sisko's life is, in the above observer's phraseology, a "gilded cage" - and beneath his bravado, he is fully conscious of that fact. Put Mirror!Sisko's and Mirror!O'Brien's scenes together, and what you have is not merely an acknowledgment of man's desire for liberty, but also a very clear definition of just what exactly that means. It doesn't mean living at odds with the natural law. It doesn't mean living at odds with one's own conscience. Freedom is not license, no matter what material rewards may flow forth from such an abandonment of principle.
In addition to the above discussed paean to genuine freedom - and the anti-pacifism SABR Matt has already mentioned - this episode also covertly makes the case for suffering as opposed to decadence in the contrast we see between Kira, who has struggled all her life to survive and retain her personal dignity, and the Intendant, who has been showered with every advantage. The former is a woman of honor and decency; the latter is spoiled and capricious. So it goes for anyone who gets everything her fallen little heart desires.
On the whole, there is a moral and humane core in this first of the Mirror Universe episodes that is largely absent in the rest - which likely accounts for why we like it so much despite its rather standard sci-fi premise.
Highlights below the cut!
Highlights, compiled by Stephanie S.:
(Let us begin with some snippets from the opening conversation.)
BASHIR: Do you mind if I listen to some music?
KIRA: Actually, I do. I was hoping to meditate for a few minutes.
BASHIR: Of course! I didn’t know you meditate.
KIRA: Every day.
BASHIR: I had the opportunity to study meditation with Isam Helewa when I was in college. A remarkable fellow. He sort of took me under his wing. I can't tell you how much I learned from him. The man was a master at rhythmic breathing.
KIRA: You'll have to give me a few tips some time. (You can tell she’s starting to get annoyed here.)
BASHIR: Gladly. Oh, and I'd be more than interested in learning any Bajoran meditation techniques you'd like to show me.
KIRA: We just usually like to sit… quietly. (Heh.)
BASHIR: This is nice. I'm glad we're finally doing this.
KIRA: What?
BASHIR: Talking to one another. Finding common interests. Burying the hatchet.
KIRA: Hatchet?
BASHIR: A human expression. It means that we're finally putting past conflicts behind us.
KIRA: Making way for brand new ones. (LOL!)
BASHIR: Would you like to have dinner sometime?
KIRA: I think you'd better stick with Dax. (Hee!)
BASHIR: I'm sorry? Oh, you thought that I was trying to… No, no, no!
KIRA: My mistake.
BASHIR: But if I thought…
KIRA: Forget it.
BASHIR: Right. (AWKWARD.)
(Now - let’s move on to Bashir’s encounter with Mirror!Odo.)
M!KLINGON: Another extra worker for you. A Terran who doesn't know the rules.
M!ODO: Well, we'll see to it that he learns them. What's your designation?
BASHIR: Bashir. Julian.
M!ODO: Is that a joke?
BASHIR: (Impudent.) I don't know. Is it?
(Odo slaps him.)
M!ODO: No joking. That's my Rule of Obedience number fourteen. Now - what's your designation?
BASHIR: I don't have a designation.
M!ODO: I don't have a designation, sir.
BASHIR: Another Rule of Obedience?
(Odo slaps him again.)
M!ODO: I don't have a designation, sir.
BASHIR: I don't have a designation, sir. (He grinds this out mockingly.)
M!ODO: Now why is that?
BASHIR: I don't know. And frankly I don't even know what I'm doing here.
M!ODO: You're here to process ore. Have you ever done that before?
BASHIR: No, I haven't.
M!ODO: Have you ever worked in the mines?
BASHIR: No.
M!ODO: Then what have you done?
BASHIR: I've been practicing medicine.
(Odo slaps him again.)
M!ODO: Did you forget Rule of Obedience number fourteen?
BASHIR: It's not a joke. I'm a doctor.
M!ODO: Well, Doctor, don't forget to scrub before you operate.
(Then, we get the backstory.)
INTENDANT: You’re me, aren't you?
KIRA: I’m Kira Nerys.
INTENDANT: That makes two of us. Where you come from, things are very much like this, aren't they? There's a station, a Bajor, Cardassians, Terrans, Klingons…
KIRA: The players are the same, but everyone seems to be playing different parts.
INTENDANT: You didn't seem to recognize the Alliance.
KIRA: No.
INTENDANT: Perhaps you'd recognize the name Kirk.
KIRA: I'm sorry, I don't.
INTENDANT: Interesting. On my side, Kirk is one the most famous names in our history. Almost a century ago, a Terran starship captain named James Kirk accidentally exchanged places with his counterpart from your side due to a transporter accident. Our Terrans were barbarians then, but their Empire was strong. While your Kirk was on this side, he met a Vulcan named Spock and somehow had a profound influence on him. Afterwards, Spock rose to Commander in Chief of the Empire by preaching reforms, disarmament, peace. It was quite a remarkable turnabout for his people. Unfortunately for them, when Spock had completed all these reforms, his empire was no longer in any position to defend itself against us.
KIRA: Us?
INTENDANT: The Alliance - the historic coming together of the Klingons and the Cardassians.
(Later…)
INTENDANT: Unlike my First Officer, Mister Garak, I have no taste for violence. I regret using it… even when it seems necessary.
KIRA: I know exactly what you mean.
INTENDANT: You do, don't you?
KIRA: I know you don't want to kill me… and you're searching for a good reason not to.
(The Intendant brightens.)
INTENDANT: Got any ideas?
KIRA: My side needs what you have. A strong Bajor. If you knew the struggles we've been through to rebuild our world… who's to say you won't influence us this time?
INTENDANT: Me?
KIRA: My side once changed the course of your history. Well, maybe this time your side can change mine. Maybe you can teach me what I need to become the leader of Bajor, as you have.
INTENDANT: That appeals to me.
KIRA: If I can find a way back.
INTENDANT: But I will have to kill your friend.
KIRA: No. Don't. If you knew him… he's an arrogant Terran who's lived a privileged life on my side. Let him see how the other half lives.
INTENDANT: No, it's too dangerous. The Cardassians and the Klingons would never allow it.
KIRA: Are you the leader of this sector or not?
(The Intendant is suddenly overcome.)
INTENDANT: You know how to manipulate me!
KIRA: I know how I'd feel in your place. I wouldn't give a damn what the Cardassians or the Klingons thought.
INTENDANT: You're right. I don't.
(Bashir then meets Mirror!O’Brien.)
BASHIR: Miles O'Brien. I know you on my side.
M!O'BRIEN: Yeah?
BASHIR: Actually, we're best friends.
M!O'BRIEN: You and me?
BASHIR: That's right.
M!O'BRIEN: What am I, some kind of doctor too?
BASHIR: No, you're Chief of Operations of this station.
M!O'BRIEN: Me? Go on!
BASHIR: It's true.
M!O'BRIEN: Chief of Operations…
BASHIR: Looks like you know your way around machines.
M!O'BRIEN: I know some things. What else is he like, this Chief of Operations?
BASHIR: He's married, he has a five year old daughter, he's one of the most decent men I know. We've fought our way out of a few scrapes together. I admire him a great deal.
M!O'BRIEN: Sounds like he got the lucky draw between me and him.
BASHIR: Have you ever done much work on transporters?
M!O'BRIEN: Me? Yeah, some. Why?
BASHIR: The Chief O'Brien I know is an expert in transporter technology.
M!O'BRIEN: I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I know as much as any Terran.
BASHIR: I hope that'll be enough
M!O'BRIEN: Enough for what?
BASHIR: We think that transporter will help us get back to our side.
(Mirror!O’Brien’s attitude turns on a dime.)
M!O'BRIEN: What? You're filling me up with this stuff just to get me to help you, is that it?
BASHIR: No, everything I've told you is the truth.
M!O'BRIEN: I don't know you. I'm not your friend! I'm not your friend!
(Mirror!Sisko arrives.)
KIRA: You and your friends don't seem like the other Terrans I've seen here.
M!SISKO: The Intendant has honored me with a ship and a crew. I honor her by collecting… duties… (He giggles.)… of a sort from vessels who pass in this direction.
KIRA: And why do you deserve this special treatment?
M!SISKO: I suppose because I amuse her, and she's not easily amused. And… it seems that you amuse her too.
(Mirror!Sisko is moving in for a kiss when Mirror!O’Brien enters.)
M!O'BRIEN: You wanted to see me, Mister Sisko?
M!SISKO: Hello, Smiley, how are you?
M!O'BRIEN: It's Miles, Mister Sisko.
M!SISKO: I don't like Miles. That's why I named you Smiley!
INTENDANT: Now, what is this I hear about you wanting a transporter?
(She gets out of her bath.)
INTENDANT: Quark mentioned something about it during his interrogation.
KIRA: I did ask him about a transporter, that's true.
INTENDANT: But why?
KIRA: You know I'm looking for a way back. A transporter was responsible for the first crossover.
INTENDANT: And if you had come to me, I would have told you all transporters were redesigned afterwards to make sure the same thing would never happen again. It won't work. So, why didn't you come to me?
KIRA: You're very busy.
INTENDANT: You don't trust me.
KIRA: I guess I am a little afraid of you.
INTENDANT: Then you fear yourself. I don't want your fear. I want your love. If you can't love me, who can?
INTENDANT: Quark. I've always liked you, you know that.
M!QUARK: I have nothing but respect for you, Intendant. I am so sorry.
INTENDANT: You did it because you felt sorry for these Terrans. You hate to see them suffer just as I do.
M!QUARK: Yes, Intendant.
INTENDANT: But where would we be without them? Who would perform the labor for the Alliance? (Then, to Mirror!Garak…) A quick death. Don't make him suffer any more.
M!QUARK: No, Intendant, please! I made a mistake! Have mercy! Please! No!
(Quark is hauled out. That business over with, the Intendant instantly – and frighteningly – recovers her cheer.)
INTENDANT: I've planned a party for us tonight. What shall we wear?
M!GARAK: She's never going to let you leave, you know. Can't you tell? She's in love.
KIRA: What are you talking about?
M!GARAK In love with you, my dear. She's all a-twitter about you – can't talk about anyone else. You're the perfect gift for the girl who has everything. She's taken you into her heart like a Drathan puppy lig left on her doorstep. Who else could she share her deepest secrets with… tell her troubles to… trust with her life?
KIRA: Sisko.
M!SISKO: Tell her I'm busy.
KIRA: I have something important to tell you.
M!SISKO: I'm listening.
KIRA: It's valuable information, and I want something in exchange.
M!SISKO: You've gone into business for yourself, have you?
KIRA: All I want is to get off this station. I want my runabout back.
M!SISKO: (laughing) And you expect me to help you? She'll have my head… or something else…
KIRA: Not if you save her life.
M!SISKO: Her life?
KIRA: Garak is planning to kill her. Tonight.
M!SISKO: That's it? That's the valuable information? Garak has been trying to kill her since the day he got here.
KIRA: He wants me to take her place.
M!SISKO: Well, now, that's more creative than he usually gets. I wouldn't worry about it.
KIRA: What kind of a man are you?
M!SISKO: You're disturbing my nap.
KIRA: The Benjamin Sisko I know would never sell his soul and allow himself to become a part of this tyranny against his own people.
M!SISKO: Terrans don't have souls. We don't believe in them.
KIRA: What do Terrans believe in? Raising their children to dig ore out of the mines for the Alliance? I worked in mines too - till I was old enough to start fighting for my freedom.
M!SISKO: What do you care about Terran's freedom?
KIRA: I care about freedom! What I don't understand is why you don't care. Why the only one on this station I have met who seemed to give a damn was a Ferengi toad named Quark.
M!SISKO: You're looking in the wrong place for a hero, ma'am. I've made the best of a bad life for my crew. That's my contribution.
KIRA: Yes - you charmed your way out of the mines… but you and I both know you're no less a victim than anyone else here.
(Then Bashir takes his chance and kills Odo. He and Mirror!O’Brien try to escape, but are captured.)
TELOK: Intendant! The new Terran killed the shape-shifter, and O'Brien tried to help him escape.
INTENDANT: (To Kira.) This is my fault for listening to you, for keeping him alive in the first place. (Then to Bashir.) I know very little about where you come from, but from what I've heard, I think your kind has a lot to learn.
BASHIR: We've got a lot to learn? What a laugh!
INTENDANT: Qui-et. On this side, Terran workers do not speak to their superiors as you do. They certainly do not murder them! He was the only one of his kind, the man you killed. Do you realize that? He's irreplaceable! No one ran that operation as efficiently as he did. No one kept order among the workers as he did. (Then she addresses the assembled.) This is my reward for treating you Terrans with the least bit of respect. Very well. I can learn from my mistakes. You want to set an example, Garak? Use him. Set an example for all Terrans! Let him die slowly in public view on the Promenade! Let his pleads for mercy echo through the corridors for all Terrans to hear!
KIRA: Intendant…
INTENDANT: (To Kira.) Another word from you, and you will die right beside him. (To Mirror!O’Brien.) And you, O'Brien, you tinkerer and putterer and fixer of broken things – you've been a perfect theta for years. What could have possibly gotten into you? What were you thinking?
M!O'BRIEN: Do you want an answer, Intendant?
INTENDANT: Yes!
M!O'BRIEN: This man… (He refers to Bashir.)… This man is a doctor where he comes from. And there's an O'Brien there just like me, except he's some kind of high up Chief of Operations. They're Terrans. Can you believe that? Maybe it's a fairy tale he made up, but it made me start thinking how each of us might have turned out if history had been just a little different. I wanted him to take me with him… because whatever it's like where he's from, it's got to be better than this. There's got to be something better than this. (This is the best moment in the entire episode. Bar none.)
INTENDANT: Not for you, Mister O'Brien. Oh, he's going to be taking you with him. Just not exactly where you thought he would be taking you.
(But just then, Mirror!Sisko, who seems to have taken Mirror!O’Brien’s speech to heart, intervenes.)
M!SISKO: No. I don't think so.
(The mercenaries take charge, and Kira takes her bodyguard's weapon.)
INTENDANT: Have you lost your mind?
M!SISKO: No. I didn't lose it, I just changed it. (And thus, the desire for freedom wins the day!)
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