“Shattered Mirror” is classic adventure episode thanks to yet another foray into the “parallel universe” which has been a recurrent story idea throughout the series. What separates this episode from previous ones is a deeply personal connection. There are times that this concept is played a bit too much for melodrama. But the overwhelming spirit of the episode is one of action and suspense, so that the interpersonal situations provide merely another layer to a tale that becomes, almost entirely, a vehicle for a fun, thrilling action sequence.

When Jennifer Sisko — the woman from the “other side” — pays a visit to Ben and Jake Sisko, she stirs deep emotions within Jake. Her efforts are duplicitous, though, and she’s there to use Jake as a lure to get Ben back into the parallel universe where the Rebellion, after a few important victories, now faces the inevitably overwhelming counterattack from the Alliance. The hope is that Ben can help Smiley (the “other” O’Brien) get a mirror version of the Defiant operational before the attack (Smiley had conveniently stolen the plans when he was last on board DS9.

The presence of Jennifer, and the connection the three characters share despite their very different histories, makes for the most compelling *human* element to the episode. It speaks of a natural connection between souls — that Ben and Jennifer are soul mates, no matter what universe they are from. It’s a thoroughly compelling idea, and I really like how the episode explores the concept. The danger here is that the back-and-forth of allegiances tends to make the interactions a bit too soapy. Fortunately, it’s not enough to derail the episode as a whole.

There are a few “mirror” character moments thrown in — like Nog running the bar and Bashir and Dax being together. Nog breaks Kira out of prison and Kira promptly shoots him. Garak is a prisoner of a newcomer to the parallel universe: The Regent (hint: it’s Worf). In fact the Worf-Garak scenes are amusing, despite their ridiculously over-the-top circumstances and dialogue (Worf’s “Make it so” is worth a chuckle). But really, the rest of the episode exists for the sole purpose of building to its final space battle between the Alliance fleet and the mirror Defiant.

The battle itself is simply extravagant. Wonderfully choreographed and executed, there’s so many visual effects thrown at the screen that it’s nearly impossible to remember them all. And in the spirit of the episode’s excess, the final moments, in which the Defiant weaves in and out of disruptor fire, is thrilling, despite its obvious implausibility.

And really, that’s this episode boils down to: Plausibility. From start to finish just about *everything* (except, perhaps, the emotional reactions of the Siskos) is implausible, even within the concept of a mirror universe. I mean, really, how many main cast characters can they cram into these stories? How realistic is it all anyway? Do these stories even really matter?

Increasingly, as the mirror universe plots become more and more hyperbolic, they become less and less informative about character and have less of an impact on the series as a whole. If the original episodes demonstrated something about the inherent natures of these characters, this installment almost doesn’t care — it just wants to be a fun action-adventure installment. Which is fine, but it becomes an exercise in diminishing returns. The episode is fun but these are becoming increasingly hollow experiences.

“Shattered Mirror” is almost entirely a hollow experience. There’s a nice twist at the end, when Jennifer sacrifices herself to save Jake. And Ben’s reaction at losing Jennifer a second time is poignant. But this was more of a subplot to the episode than anything else, dwarfed by a spectacle of hyperbole.

Filed under: Deep Space Nine