Classics: DS9 4:19 - Shattered Mirror

Overall: 5.3

This again?

Plot Synopsis:

Memory Alpha has the summary here.

The Skinny:

I love DS9. I honestly do. It's my absolute favorite Trek, as a matter of fact. But that doesn't mean I don't notice the writers' peculiar flaws -- like, for example, the fact that they repeatedly return to the Mirror Universe without genuinely taking advantage of that setting's story potential.

At this point, the Mirror Universe is a toy the writers whip out whenever they feel like letting their ids run wild for forty-odd minutes. Thus, we have M!Worf leading M!Garak around on a chain BDSM-style. Thus, we have the Intendant propositioning virtually anything that walks on two legs. Is there some entertainment value in this approach? Yes -- I have to admit that I laugh when, for example, the Intendant agrees to cooperate with Sisko if only he'll come into her cell and, er, have some fun. But there's no depth here. The injured dignity we saw in Smiley in Crossover has been utterly erased. And the Intendant? She's now a one-note sex kitten.

The only mirror character who is decently treated in this episode is M!Jennifer -- but even in this case, one character's semi-redemption is accomplished through the warping of psychological reality. Jake is a young adult, not a three-year-old. He should be perfectly capable of understanding the difference between M!Jennifer and his own mother; he should not have been so vulnerable to M!Jennifer's manipulation.

GAH. Why do I always get the Mirror Universe episodes to review? Aside from the first, they are all skip-worthy.

Writing: 4.0

For most of the mirror characters, no new ground is covered -- and Jake is ridiculously infantilized.

Acting: 6.0

The acting is better than the acting in the last Mirror Universe episode, though -- except for Michael Dorn's turn as the regent, which I feel breaks a record in the scenery chewing department.

Message: 6.0

Move along. Nothing deep to see here.