User Reviews

While returning from the Gamma Quadrant the shuttle which Kira and Dr Bashir are aboard suffers from a problem with one of its engines leading to them entering the worm hole rather faster than intended. When they get through in one piece they are pleased until they see that DS9 isn't where it is supposed to be. They don't have time to wonder where it might be when a Klingon ship appears and two warriors beam aboard. These two are shocked to see Kira aboard and are very deferential. They offer to escort them back to DS9 which is near Bajor for some reason. It turns out that the accident sent them to the parallel universe first visited by Captain Kirk in the original series. Life is very different here; humans are slaves and "Intendant Kira" runs the station. Bashir is set to work in the ore refinery where he meets "Smiley" O'Brien and a slave driving Odo. The doctor and Major Kira must find a way to get back home, it is difficult for them to tell who they can trust as the counterparts of their friends are very different.

This was a fun episode that gave us a chance to see how the actions of Kirk a century ago lead to the enslavement of humanity and the rise of an alliance of the Klingons and Cardassians. Nana Visitor did a good job as the two very different versions of Kira however I think Avery Brooks is much better as the serious Commander Sisko than here where he seemed rather hammy laughing like a pantomime pirate. As this was in the mirror universe characters who would normally be safe from death can be killed... although I won't say which ones to avoid spoiling it.

Bashir and Kira enter the wormhole and after a malfunction find themselves in a parallel universe, created by an encounter with James T. Kirk. The Klingons and Cardassians rule and the Terrans are slaves. Kira's counterpart, a Bajoran princess, runs the whole show. The episode involves their efforts to form a connection with the Terrans and get back. The thing that always bothers me is that the science is so simple. If something goes wrong, just do it in reverse and it all works out. This has been going on since the original series.

This episode is a direct continuation from one the best Star Trek episodes ever, Mirror Mirror. In this universe we see a very different Deep Space Nine to the one we're used to. Nana Visitor puts on a fantastic performance as two Kiras and a very different 'alternate' Kira. Amazing to see the impact of Kirk's words to Spock at the end of the aforementioned episode and how cataclysmic the changes were when Spock had initiated a change on the way the Empire had ruled and eventually led to the Empire losing it's stranglehold over the Galaxy. This episode is continued brilliantly later in the show's run and gave a lot of characters in the mirror universe a brilliant twist in character!!

In my opinion Nana Visitor is one of the top 3 female actresses to have performed in Star Trek so it is always a joyous occasion for me to get a mirror universe episode with Kira.

I appreciated the fact that DS9 references captain kirk's experience in TOS and Kirk's plea to Spock actually had galactic consequences. It's a fun little twist that the Alliance gained power due to the terran empire become soft with ideals and diplomacy.

I view the DS9 alternative universe episodes as being a fun rollercoaster ride. There are so many great little moments ----- Odo's rules of obedience, Sisko being reduced to a headhunting boytoy, Quark being a sympathetic resistance sympathizer, Dictator Kira's heart stopping hip roll walk of awesomeness.

That is, if in fact this alternate universe is the same as "the Other Side" from that series.

In Fact, the entire concept of Alternate Universes was brought up in the TOS Episode "Mirror, Mirror" - And that was a highly unusual concept for Television in those days. But as The Original Series episodes were always written by high profile and usually Hugo-Award winning Science Fiction Authors, it was not unusual for Trek in itself. Therefore, this episode is a big "about time" episode-About time they brought back "The Mirror 'Verse" to Trek.

Add to this, that this episode is a 24th century continuation of the story that Kirk meddled in: This shows that indeed, Spock did take over the ISS Enterprise and became a pivotal figure in directing the Terran Empire toward a peaceful existence.

But because of that, the Terran Empire became weak, and was overthrown by what we have here: The Klingon-Cardassian Alliance.

This storyline was never investigated in The Next Generation, but here, it begins and becomes one of our favorite Deep-Space Nine story arcs, and is fit in to the general story of DS9 on several occasions.

But here is the first iteration: Kira and Bashir are returning through the Wormhole and a thruster malfunction causes them to Cross Over like Olivia does in Fringe. They find the Station way over by Bajor, and they are escorted in by a Klingon Battle Cruiser.

When they get there they are met by Garak and "The Intendant"-Who is Kira herself!

Garak is a Full Cardassian here, and Kira is the "Intendant" of the Station. She is fascinated by Nerys, but they shove Bashir in the Ore Processing Plant-The overseer is Odo, and this Odo is not very nice either.

While Nerys entertains The Intendant, Bashir meets "Smiley" O'Brien, named by that Universes "Sisko"-Who is a Pirate for The Intendant.

But Bashir knows they are in the Mirror Universe, he is able to tell Nerys that she must get access a Transporter which they might be able to rig to get them back across. Bashir wants to get "Smiley's" help with that, but "Smiley" is a bitter man, although he is still a Mechanical Genius.

Nerys Approaches Quark, who she thinks may help them for a Profit, but in fact Quark is willing to help them anyway-He helps to smuggle Terrans off of the station! But Quark is caught and killed by The Intendant, closing off that avenue of Escape.

But now, Garak has his agenda he wishes to impose onto Nerys, so the prospect of escape becomes more important than ever.

Bashir tells "Smiley" all about Miles on the other side, and this piques Smiley's interest, enough to elicit his help. Smiley causes an explosion in the Ore Processing Plant - And Bashir uses a Disruptor on Odo, splattering him all over, killing him. But they are caught by a Klingon-The same Klingon that was in the Next Generation Episode called "The Chase"-He is overheard boasting about working for "The Duras Family" and he mentions Lursa and Bet'or. But this Klingon catches Bashir and Smiley and they are brought in front of The Intendant, most likely to be executed.

All through this, the Alternate-Sisko may be a creep, but he is highly fond of Smiley: So, when The Intendant makes it clear that she is going to kill Smiley, Sisko "Changes his Mind" and paves a route of escape for Nerys, Bashir, Smiley and others. Smiley goes with Sisko, and Nerys and Bashir finally get back to their Runabout, using the same malfunction to get home. Fortunately, the people in the Mirror 'Verse have not discovered The Wormhole yet, and they are able to escape by the seat of their pants.

This episode is great Character development — exploring the main DS9 characters by showing their Mirror Doppelgangers. And the fact that the Mirror Odo and Quark get killed, shows that DS9 was not afraid of really getting their teeth into the Mirror storyline and abusing it for all it's worth. A very effective episode, and one of my favorite of the series. The actor who reprises the Klingon role from the earlier Next Gen episode is not credited. Ironically, that Next Generation Episode had Salome Jens playing the Specter of "An Alien Race from which most of the Humanoids had descended from"-Salome Jens was to become the Matriarch of the Shapeshifters, so that this episode reaches back and accommodates that episode from The Next Generation is very fitting, and provides a sort of continuity between The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.