On October 6 , 1967 , Star Trek delivered an episode that stay the gold measure for parallel universes . Half a hundred after , “ Mirror , Mirror ” stay a timeless image of scifi storytelling , andone of the best episode of Star Trek , full stop . Because as cool as the premiss is , it ’s a reminder of what makes Trek ’s heroes so imposing .
The legacy of “ Mirror , Mirror ” in 2017 is unquestionable . Beyond Star Trek , Mirror Spock ’s sinister goatee created a pop cultivation icon , thenow - standard optic languagefor commune an evil alternate variation of a character . In Trek , of course , the Mirror Universe was revisited multiple sentence — on TV in both Deep Space Nine and Enterprise , giving us glimpse of what the Mirror Universe looked like before and after the authoritative sequence , while numberless novel and cartoon strip have given us novel brainstorm through the lenses ofThe Next Generationand even theKelvin Timeline movies .
But “ Mirror , Mirror ” could ’ve very intimately been nowhere most as impactful as it came to be . Early drawing for the storyonly sport Captain Kirk being whisked off to a strange , alternate reality , one that was far less forbidding than the Mirror Universe we end up with — instead of showing us what happened to the Mirror counterparts transfer to the “ prime ” universe . That ’s something that would ’ve gazump us of the final ware ’s groovy success , which was not just throwing a larger cast of the regular part into the Mirror Universe ( in the actual episode Uhura , Scotty , and McCoy all connect Kirk ) , but reckon their nefarious similitude put away into “ our ” macrocosm , too .
“ Mirror , Mirror ” was perfectly time . It ’s not an sequence that would ’ve work in Star Trek ’s first time of year , when we were just getting to know the Enterprise bridge circuit crew . It thrives on being able-bodied to strongly cast off its alternate twin into such a wildly defend characterization that see Sulu clad in security system red , stomping about the place , or Chekov so willingly brazen in his endeavour to bring down Kirk ’s bidding ( and the frightful monetary value he pays for failing to do so — the agony booth ! ) is so utterly jarring .
For all the indecorum of the Mirror Enterprise ’s environs , give or take a few royal insignia , it ’s the graphic symbol employment on display that really sells the premise of just how mess up up and cruel this alternate reality is . Our heroes are clearly shocked the arcminute they appear in the Mirror Universe , because of just how alien the action at law on display are to them .
But its most effectively shuddery body of work is with the one character who is n’t so wildly different from their “ meridian ” counterpart : Spock . Kirk jokes at one full point that the Mirror Spock “ is very much like our own Mister Spock , ” but in all seriousness , he ’s right . While the rest of the cast has a hulk of a time vamp it up as their alternative malefic selves , Leonard Nimoy ’s performance is terrifically understated . Facial whisker notwithstanding , Mirror Spock is very much like the Spock we know and love , nerveless and calculatingly stoical ; he just befall to have had his moral kernel completely flipped . And where the other Mirror version of the crew thrived on that vast difference to their counterparts , Mirror Spock ’s eerie familiarity is what makes him such a disconcerting role to look out .
At the end of the episode , Spock Prime informs the returned Kirk and gang that they get a line the regretful guy rope in their midst much more quick than the crew of the I.S.S. ( Imperial Star Ship ) go-ahead managed to — because it ’s much easier for good people to guess to be devil or else of the other elbow room around . But what makes “ Mirror , Mirror ” such a timeless art object of Trek is the moments where the differences between the two , between cruelty and compassionateness , between single in division , are much more hard to fleck .
So many happy restoration , “ Mirror , Mirror . ” Please wear a goatee and be an son of a bitch for the relaxation of the day in celebration , everyone .
Mirror , mirrorStar Trek
Daily Newsletter
Get the best tech , science , and culture news in your inbox daily .
news show from the hereafter , birth to your present tense .
You May Also Like
