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{{real world}}
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{{sidebar episode
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|<!-- See [[Memory Alpha:Projects/Episode data project]] -->
| colspan="2" align="center" | [[Image:Defiant-NCC1764 bridge - In a Mirror, Darkly.jpg|200px|Commander Archer leads an away team aboard the USS Defiant, a future Earth ship.]]
 
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|image = USS Defiant in Tholian drydock, 2155.jpg
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|writer = [[Mike Sussman]]
| class="odd" | Series:
 
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|director = [[James L. Conway]]
| class="even" | [[ENT]]
 
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|date = [[January|January 13]], [[2155]] ([[stardate]] 0141.7)
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|other date = [[April|April 5]], [[2063]]
| class="odd" | Episode:
 
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|<!-- Arcs -->
| class="even" | [[ENT Season 4|4x18]]
 
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|arc = In a Mirror, Darkly
|-
 
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|arc next = In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II (episode)
| class="odd" | Original Airdate:
 
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|arc number = 1
| class="even" | 2005-04-22
 
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|arc count = 2
|-
 
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|arc2 = The [[mirror universe]]
| class="odd" | Production Number:
 
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|arc2 next = In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II (episode)
| class="even" | 094
 
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|arc2 number = 1
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|arc2 count = 13
| class="odd" | Year:
 
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|arc3 = The {{USS|Defiant|NCC-1764}}
| class="even" | [[2155]]
 
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|arc3 prev = The Tholian Web (episode)
|-
 
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|arc3 next = In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II (episode)
| class="odd" | Date:
 
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|arc3 number = 2
| class="even" | January 13
 
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|arc3 count = 6
|-
 
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}}
| class="odd" | Written by:
 
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{{disambiguation|the [[Star Trek Customizable Card Game|CCG]] expansion|CCG: In a Mirror, Darkly}}
| class="even" | [[Mike Sussman]]
 
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In the mirror universe, Commander Archer mutinies against Captain Forrest in order to capture a future Earth ship found in Tholian space. (Part 1 of 2)
|-
 
| class="odd" | Directed by:
 
| class="even" | [[James L. Conway]]
 
|-
 
| colspan="2" | [[Image:Vulcan.jpg|200px|A Vulcan captain greets a crowd of Humans.]]
 
|}
 
In the mirror universe, Commander Archer mutinies against Captain Forrest in order to capture a future Earth ship found in Tholian space. ''(Part 1 of 2)''
 
   
==Summary==
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== Summary ==
===Teaser===
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=== Teaser ===
April 5th, [[2063]] - From beyond [[Earth]]'s [[atmosphere]], a [[Vulcan]] ship descends and lands in [[Bozeman]], [[Montana]]. A [[Mirror universe people#Vulcan captain|member of the Vulcan crew]] disembarks and walks up to [[Zefram Cochrane (mirror)|Zefram Cochrane]]. Holding out his hand, the alien performs a [[Vulcan salute]] and recites a Vulcan salutation - "Live long and prosper". Cochrane also holds out his hand and attempts to copy the Vulcan's salute. After his attempt is unsuccessful, he lowers his hand and, instead of holding it for a handshake (which is what happened in a similar [[parallel universe]]), he reaches into his jacket and pulls out a [[shotgun]]. He kills the Vulcan and a [[xenophobia|xenophobic]] man in the crowd tells everyone to board the alien ship and take everything they can. Then the crowd storms the Vulcan craft, carrying shotguns as they run.
+
[[April|April 5]], [[2063]] &ndash; From beyond [[Earth]]'s [[atmosphere]], {{mu|T'Plana-Hath|a Vulcan ship}} descends and lands in [[Bozeman]], [[Montana]]. Watched by a crowd of onlookers, a [[Mirror universe people#Vulcan Captain|member of the Vulcan crew]] disembarks and approaches {{mu|Zefram Cochrane}}. The [[alien]] performs a [[Vulcan salute]] and recites a [[Vulcan]] salutation: ''"Live long and prosper."'' Cochrane tries to imitate the newcomer's salute. After an unsuccessful attempt, he lowers his hand and, instead of holding it for a handshake (which is [[Star Trek: First Contact|what happened]] in a similar [[parallel universe]]), he reaches into his coat and pulls out a [[shotgun]] with which he shoots the Vulcan, who instantly collapses. A bearded man in the crowd tells the other [[Human]] spectators to board the alien ship and take everything they can. Then the crowd storms the Vulcan craft with guns and attack the crew.
   
===Act One===
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=== Act One ===
  +
:"''[[Captain]]'s [[starlog]] &ndash; [[January|January 13]], [[2155]]. We've left [[Gorlan Station]] and have set a course to rendezvous with our [[assault fleet]]. [[Major]] {{mu|Malcolm Reed|Reed}} and the [[doctor]] have asked for a few minutes to show me their latest project.''"
[[Image:ISSEnterprise-2155.jpg|thumb|The ISS ''Enterprise'' continues through space at warp speed.]]
 
[[Image:Agonybooth-2155.jpg|thumb|''Enterprise''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s agony booth, a new invention.]]
 
   
  +
[[File:Agony booth, 2155.jpg|thumb|''Enterprise''{{'}}s agony booth, a new invention]]
:''"Captain's starlog - January 13, [[2155]]. We've left [[Gorlan Station]] and have set a course to rendezvous with our [[assault fleet]]. [[Malcolm Reed (mirror)|Major Reed]] and the [[Phlox (mirror)|doctor]] have asked for a few minutes to show me their latest project."''
 
  +
Aboard the {{ISS|Enterprise|NX-01}}, Reed and Dr. {{mu|Phlox}} demonstrate their new invention of an [[agony booth]] to Captain [[Maximilian Forrest]] and [[First Officer]] {{mu|Jonathan Archer}}, using the booth on a [[Tellarite]] [[officer]] named [[Terev]]. The observers discuss attributes of certain torture methods. Although Reed is unsure why Terev is being punished, the Major believes all Tellarites are guilty of something. Captain Forrest exits, followed out by Archer.
   
  +
In a [[corridor]], Archer reminds the captain of a proposal he made to venture into [[Tholian]] [[space]], as Archer has received news of a technology there that would give the [[Terran Empire]] the upper hand against a [[Terran Empire rebellion|rebellion]]. However, Forrest wants to help the Empire's assault fleet annihilate the rebels, as ordered by {{mu|Starfleet}}. Although Forrest suspects that Archer wants to use the technology to attain personal glory, the first officer repudiates this. Archer's insistence on his plan influences Forrest to threaten the first officer with a place in the agony booth. Archer finally yields to Forrest's authority.
On board the [[ISS Enterprise (NX-01)|ISS ''Enterprise'']], a [[Tellarite]] [[officer]] called [[Terev]] is tortured in ''Enterprise''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[agony booth]], a new invention created by [[Major]] Reed and [[Phlox (mirror)|Phlox]]. Captain [[Maximilian Forrest]], [[First Officer]] [[Jonathan Archer (mirror)|Jonathan Archer]], Reed and Phlox stand and watch as the Tellarite suffers. Reed comments that the agony booth will be much more effective than any of the previous disciplinary methods which have been tried on ''Enterprise''. Phlox seems pleased at the invention's capability to produce pain and comments that a synaptic scan calibrates the agony booth for each species. Archer seems less accepting of the torture device, although Captain Forrest remarks that there are particular advantages to a "good, old-fashioned flogging". Reed comments that the agony booth is exceptional because it is doesn't overwhelm a subject's nervous system like traditional forms of punishment can. He explains that traditional torture methods could sometimes make the brain feel nothing. However, Phlox adds that the agony booth's sensors keep the subject in a constant state of agony. When Archer asks why Terev is being punished, Reed states that he is uncertain but believes the Tellarite was late for a duty shift. He also opines that all Tellarites should be punished, as all members of their species are guilty of something. When Captain Forrest exits the room, Archer follows close behind.
 
   
  +
[[File:Mirror Archer threatens Mirror Reed.jpg|thumb|"''If anything happens to Forrest, I'll shoot you myself. Are we clear, major?''"]]
While they walk through a corridor, the first officer reminds Forrest of a proposal he made to venture into [[Tholian]] [[space]]. Archer has been informed of technology there which would give the Terran Empire a tactical advantage over the Tholians. However, the captain insists that ''Enterprise'' will carry out its orders to rendezvous with the [[Terran Empire]] assault fleet. Forrest argues that the Empire is attempting to crush a rebellion and [[Starfleet (mirror)|Starfleet]] has no time to deal with the Tholians. Although Archer thinks that the Terran Empire could use the technology in Tholian space to win their war, Captain Forrest believes that Archer only wants to be seen as a hero. The first officer claims that he is not seeking glory and that his only care is to save the Terran Empire. When Forrest orders Archer to resume his station on the [[bridge]], the first officer doesn't comply. Instead, he shouts that Captain Forrest is making a mistake. Seriously angered by Archer's behavior, the captain threatens his first officer that he will be thrown into the agony booth if his misconduct continues. However, Archer restrains himself, so Forrest soon leaves.
 
  +
Forrest is later busily reviewing work in his [[quarters]] when {{mu|Hoshi Sato}}, the [[captain's woman]], approaches, eager to relax him. They [[kiss]] passionately, Forrest conceding to her advances. Hoshi remarks that she is likely the only person aboard who doesn't want to kill him. Relaying rumor that a recent battle with the rebellion at [[Tau Ceti]] went well, Hoshi plans that &ndash; once the war is over &ndash; she will return to teaching students in [[Brazil]] while Forrest will accept a desk job at [[Starfleet Headquarters]]. He, however, explains that the battle was much worse than she has heard; Forrest implies that he is hiding the truth from the rest of the crew. Hoshi advises him to forget about the war and goes back to passionately kissing him.
   
  +
As ''Enterprise'' [[warp]]s through space, Forrest is making his way through the ship, closely followed by a {{mu|MACO}}, when they are ambushed by Archer and MACOs allied with him, including Major Reed in a [[turbolift]] and [[Sergeant]] {{mu|Travis Mayweather}}. Despite Archer ordering Reed to lock Forrest in the [[brig]], the Major is intent on killing the imprisoned captain. Archer threateningly insists that Forrest be kept alive so Reed ultimately relents.
In the captain's quarters, Forrest tells [[Hoshi Sato (mirror)|Hoshi Sato]] that he is reviewing status reports. Hoshi implies that the captain's quarters were primarily meant to be used for pleasure, not business. While Forrest sits at his desk, Hoshi falls into his arms and kisses him. When the captain raises the point that Hoshi is the one person aboard he doesn't mind surrendering to, she replies that she is probably the only person on the ship who doesn't want to kill him. Removing herself from Forrest's grasp, Hoshi reveals that she has heard rumors that the battle at [[Tau Ceti]] was successful. She informs the captain that the crew believe the war against the rebellion will soon be over. She imagines that she may soon return to teaching students in [[Brazil]] and believes it's likely that Forrest will be assigned to [[Starfleet Headquarters]] upon return to Earth. However, Hoshi is surprised to hear that ''Enterprise''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s confrontation was not as successful as she first thought. Forrest tells her that the Terran Empire lost twelve ships in the [[Tau Ceti system|Tau Ceti star system]]. He informs Hoshi that she has been listening to propaganda and fears what will happen if the crew discover the truth. Interrupting Forrest, Hoshi advises him to forget about the war. She leans forward and kisses him again.
 
   
  +
[[File:Archer takes control of the bridge.jpg|thumb|left|Archer takes control of the bridge]]
As ''Enterprise'' continues through space at [[warp]] speed, Captain Forrest marches through a corridor, closely followed by a [[MACO]]. Opening a turbolift door for the captain, the MACO is shot by Malcolm Reed. When Forrest removes a weapon from his belt, Commander Archer rounds a corner and advises the captain to surrender. Archer is followed by [[Travis Mayweather (mirror)|Travis Mayweather]] and they each hold a [[phase pistol]]. Mayweather steps forward to remove Forrest's weapon from the captain's grasp and returns to his previous position. When Forrest angrily states that Archer will hang for his mutinous actions, the commander orders the MACOs to lock Forrest in the [[brig]]. Reed asks for permission to give the captain a quick and quiet death in the [[cargo bay]], but Archer prefers that Forrest stays alive. As Major Reed begins to escort the captain to the brig, he indicates that he is still thinking of killing Forrest on the way there. Archer rushes forward and pins Reed against a [[bulkhead]], aiming his phase pistol at the MACO. The commander warns that if Forrest is harmed in any way, Archer intends to personally kill Major Reed. When the MACO replies that he understands Archer's orders, the commander releases him. Reed shoves Forrest further through the corridor, as a Vulcan [[engineer]] stands nearby and watches.
 
  +
{{mu|T'Pol}} is sitting in the [[bridge]]'s [[command chair]] when Archer and his MACOs arrive. Archer seizes control of the bridge and &ndash; via a ship-wide [[communication]] that is heard by Hoshi Sato, Dr. Phlox and the disfigured [[Chief engineering officer|Chief Engineer]] {{mu|Charles Tucker III|Charles Tucker}} &ndash; he assumes command of the rest of the ship, claiming that Starfleet ordered not only his takeover but also that he direct the ship on a vital, secretive mission into Tholian space. He assures the crew that if their mission is successful, Starfleet will crush the rebellion once and for all. Following the message, Archer tells a suspicious T'Pol that his orders were privately sent to him. He oversees the ship's change of course and orders T'Pol to help with the installation of a stored [[Suliban]] [[cloaking device]], as it will be necessary to the mission.
   
  +
:"Enterprise ''starlog, ''Captain'' Jonathan Archer. The crew has accepted the change of command without incident. Chief Engineer Tucker reports we'll have cloaking capability within six hours.''"
[[Image:Archer takes control of the bridge.jpg|thumb|200px|Archer takes control of the bridge.]]
 
On the bridge, [[T'Pol (mirror)|T'Pol]] slouches in the [[command chair]]. From a turbolift at the back of the room, Archer, Travis and a MACO enter. T'Pol moves from the chair and assumes a standing position. While Travis aims a weapon at the Vulcan, Archer tells her to stand aside. T'Pol asks where Forrest is located but Archer does not respond. Realizing that the commander is staging a [[mutiny]], T'Pol turns to a [[security officer]] and orders him to contact [[security]]. With Archer's encouragement, Travis fires his weapon at the security officer, who falls to the ground. Archer gazes threateningly at T'Pol as he steps towards the command chair. Using a control on the arm of the chair, the commander initiates a shipwide [[communication]].
 
   
  +
[[File:Archer asserts his command - In a Mirror, Darkly.jpg|thumb|Archer asserts his command.]]
As Hoshi Sato reads a [[PADD]] in the captain's quarters, she listens to Archer's voice. The commander reports that Starfleet has ordered him to relieve Forrest of duty and take command of ''Enterprise''.
 
  +
In the [[captain's ready room]], T'Pol reluctantly accepts that Archer is in command. He shows her Zefram Cochrane's shotgun from a century prior, wondering what might have happened if Cochrane had not used it to kill the first Vulcan who set foot on [[Earth]]. Reminding T'Pol that she is also Vulcan, Archer asserts his authority. She lets him know that they have likely already entered Tholian-occupied space, as they frequently annex systems outside of their core territory. Archer assigns her to search for a particular [[warp signature]] and, just as she is about to leave, he calls her back in with news that he is promoting her to first officer, explaining why he prefers to assign her to that position rather than Reed. Finally dismissed by Archer, T'Pol exits. He meanwhile returns Cochrane's gun to its display.
   
  +
[[File:Hoshi Sato attacks Jonathan Archer (mirror).jpg|thumb|left|While kissing Archer, Hoshi thrusts a knife at him.]]
In [[sickbay]], Phlox is studying dissected alien organisms when he hears Archer. The commander states that he has been instructed to take the [[starship]] on a vital mission into Tholian space. Archer also reveals that he has been prohibited from disclosing any further details of the mission.
 
  +
Later, Archer personally promotes Sergeant Mayweather to acting as the [[Captain's personal guard]]. Mayweather starts to congratulate Archer on his successful [[mutiny]] but the newly appointed captain cuts him short, followed by snarls from a hungry {{mu|Porthos}}. Hoshi arrives and Archer dismisses Mayweather. Hoshi admits that she knows Archer didn't receive orders from Starfleet. He shows a curious Hoshi that Forrest is still alive through an image of the [[brig]] on his [[desktop monitor]] and says the former captain will remain that way as long as Hoshi cooperates. Although she seduces Archer into accepting her continuance as the [[Captain's woman]], she pulls a knife out while they kiss. He disarms her as T'Pol hails him. The Vulcan reports that ''Enterprise'' is approaching the sought-after warp signature and Archer warns Hoshi to be "in a better mood" upon his return.
   
  +
[[File:Tholian starship explodes.jpg|thumb|The Tholian starship explodes]]
However, as Commander [[Charles Tucker III (mirror)|Tucker]] listens in [[Main engineering]], Archer claims that the rebellion against the Terran Empire will finally be crushed if ''Enterprise'' is successful.
 
  +
''Enterprise'' drops out of warp, nearing its target: a {{dis|Tholian ship|22nd century}}, manned by a single Tholian. Following a failed plan to [[Tractor beam|tractor]] onto the enemy craft and a subsequent brief exchange of firepower, ''Enterprise'' disables the Tholian ship. Its pilot starts an overload in its reactor but is beamed into ''Enterprise''{{'}}s [[Decontamination chamber|Decon chamber]] just as its own ship explodes. Acting on orders from Archer, Dr. Phlox delightedly begins to torture the Tholian by modifying the chamber's [[atmosphere]].
   
  +
=== Act Two ===
On the bridge, Archer admits that ''Enterprise''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s crew has more combat experience than any other crew in Starfleet. The commander continues to build morale by stating that he has confidence in the crew and is certain that they will be victorious again. When he performs a salute, every officer on the bridge returns the gesture. As the officers return to their duties, T'Pol ensures that she and Archer are not being watched. The commander nods to a crew member at the communications station, who closes the shipwide comm channel. T'Pol approaches Archer and maintains that ''Enterprise'' has not received orders from Starfleet. Archer follows T'Pol to the science station and responds that his orders were sent on a private channel. The Vulcan continues to doubt Archer and asks to see his orders. The commander agrees to eventually allow her that request and instructs the [[helmsman]] to follow a new heading at maximum [[warp drive|warp]]. He then turns to the MACO who accompanied him to the bridge and orders her to escort T'Pol to cargo bay two. Archer notifies the Vulcan that she will find a [[Suliban]] [[cloaking device]] there. In order to complete ''Enterprise''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s mission, T'Pol will be required to help Commander Tucker install the cloaking device in Main engineering. Once she leaves with the MACO, Archer assumes a comfortable sitting position in the command chair.
 
  +
[[File:Tholian pilot.jpg|thumb|left|The Tholian prisoner]]
  +
The [[senior staff]] gather outside the Decon chamber. Archer is initially startled by the Tholian suddenly appearing. He is interested to know where the Tholians have taken a {{mu|Terran}} vessel they captured. Phlox tortures the prisoner until it admits that Archer's quarry is at an [[orbit]]al facility in the [[Vintaak system]]. The Tholian then starts using its own crystalline structure to transmit a distress signal. Archer lets his senior officers know that he would prefer to keep the alien alive but unconscious until its information is confirmed.
   
  +
Working with T'Pol on installing the cloak in [[Engineering]], Tucker sees to it that she has a [[radiation meter]] from engineering officer {{mu|Biggs}}, as it will prevent her from absorbing the same kind of [[delta radiation|delta rays]] that disfigured him. Discussion turns, much to T'Pol's discomfort, to a past experience wherein Tucker allowed her to relieve [[pon farr]] with him. Tucker receives an electric shock from an overload sparking to the cloaking device.
:''"Enterprise starlog, ''Captain'' Jonathan Archer. The crew has accepted the change of command without incident. Chief Engineer Tucker reports we'll have cloaking capability within six hours."''
 
   
  +
Archer and Reed later inquire into the incident. The captain is insistent that Tucker prioritize the cloak's repair. Reed is suspicious of the overload, while a secretly knowledgeable T'Pol watches, but Tucker objects to Reed's MACOs investigating.
[[Image:Archer asserts his command - In a Mirror, Darkly.jpg|200px|thumb|The new captain asserts his command.]]
 
In his ready room, Archer examines a shotgun while T'Pol looks over his instructions from Starfleet. She comments that the orders appear to be authentic, but Archer seems to believe that whether they are is irrelevant. He claims that all he needs from T'Pol is her loyalty. Reluctantly, the Vulcan accepts Archer's leadership. The captain shows her the shotgun that he has been studying and informs her that Zefram Cochrane used it to kill the first Vulcan who walked on Earth. Archer wonders how history would have happened if Cochrane had not defeated the Vulcan invasion force. He theorizes that Humans may have become slaves to the Vulcans, the opposite of the current relationship between the two species. When T'Pol argues that she is not a slave, Archer reminds her that she is Vulcan, a fact that he tells her to always remember. Although the captain asks when ''Enterprise'' will reach Tholian space, T'Pol replies that the starship has probably already entered a star system that the Tholians have annexed. Archer shows her a piece of technology that carries an encoded [[warp signature]]. He orders T'Pol to analyze the signature and to notify him when she finds it in space. The Vulcan attempts to leave in a hurry, but Archer stops her. When he reveals his intention to promote T'Pol to [[first officer]], she mentions that Reed is due to be promoted to that position. The captain replies that Reed is an overly ambitious officer who has trouble following orders. However, the Vulcan recalls that Archer has made no effort to hide his dislike of her species. The captain explains that T'Pol's promotion is an acknowledgment that Vulcans and their technology have helped the Terran Empire. The captain dismisses his new first officer and returns Zefram Cochrane's weapon to its display.
 
   
  +
In the brig, Archer demands that Forrest identify the saboteur, believing it was a spy assigned by [[Admiral]] {{dis|Black|Admiral}}, but Forrest claims ignorance. Archer orders Mayweather, on brig duty, to search the captain's quarters for telltale messages from Starfleet. Mayweather complies, ignoring a cautioning of execution from Forrest. Now alone with Archer, Forrest criticizes him of having always lacked ambition. Archer brutalizes Forrest, citing his imprisonment as a sign that he is incorrect. Forrest pleads for Archer to release him, claiming consequences of both freeing him and killing him. Archer throws him against a bulkhead and departs.
Later, Archer briefs Travis Mayweather. As the [[captain's personal guard]], Mayweather will have his own quarters and better food. Archer also states that his personal guard will take orders from him and no-one else. Mayweather begins to congratulate Archer on his brilliant tactical planning. However, the captain tells Travis that he will lose his promotion if he is not quiet. When Mayweather hears a growling noise, he looks down to see [[Porthos (mirror)|Porthos]], lying on the floor. Archer mentions that the [[dog]] hasn't eaten its dinner yet. The door to the captain's quarters signals and Hoshi Sato enters. After Mayweather leaves to resume his post outside the door, Hoshi accuses Archer of lying. She appears to be sure that the captain did not receive any orders from Starfleet. When Hoshi states that she thought a mutiny was beyond Archer's capabilities, the captain takes the remark as a compliment. Archer claims that Forrest is safe, but Hoshi believes that the captain may have thrown him out of an [[airlock]]. To prove Forrest's safety, Archer permits Hoshi to view a live video transmission that shows him in the brig. Archer warns that Forrest will be executed if Hoshi causes any problems. The captain then asks for Sato's allegiance and expertise. Hoshi attempts to seduce Archer, but she soon realizes that the captain has never forgiven her for leaving him and apologizes for ending their relationship. She opines that Archer should have been in command of ''Enterprise'' since the starship left [[spacedock]] and recalls that several Starfleet [[admiral]]s conspired against him receiving the promotion he deserved. Hoshi reminds the new captain that, in accordance with tradition, everything that Forrest once had now belongs to Archer, including the [[captain's woman]]. As they embrace in a passionate kiss, Hoshi removes a knife from under her uniform. She raises the weapon, but Archer stops her from stabbing him. When the captain hears T'Pol hailing him, he tells Hoshi that he thinks their relationship should be nothing more than professional. Pushing Sato onto his bed, he finally responds to T'Pol's hails. The Vulcan reports that ''Enterprise'' is approaching the warp signature. Archer replies that he will soon be on the bridge and deactivates the comm channel. Stepping towards Hoshi, he threatens her with the knife she tried to attack him with. Archer warns her to be in a better mood when he returns to his quarters later and walks out the door.
 
   
  +
In the bridge's [[situation room]], Reed explains to Archer that evidence points to Tucker as being the saboteur.
As ''Enterprise'' drops out of warp, Reed announces Archer's presence on the bridge. T'Pol relinquishes command to Archer and notifies him that the vessel is nearing its target - a [[Tholian starship (ENT)|Tholian starship]]. Major Reed reports that the enemy craft is being piloted by a single Tholian. Archer orders Reed to activate the [[tractor beam|tractor emitters]], but the Tholian vessel detects ''Enterprise'' and its weapon systems come on-line. When the bridge trembles, Archer instructs Reed to disable the Tholian ship without harming the vessel's occupant.
 
   
  +
Tucker is later punished in the agony booth. Through severe pain, Tucker claims he is innocent and threatens Reed for having implicated him but Reed merely teases Tucker in return. Archer suspects Tucker is Admiral Black's spy and, despite Tucker insisting to the contrary, a distrusting Archer directs Reed to continue subjecting Tucker to the agony booth.
In space, ''Enterprise'' fires a volley of [[photonic torpedo]]es as it continues to pursue the enemy craft.
 
   
  +
Later in the captain's quarters, Archer and Hoshi lie together, clearly having had a [[sexual encounter]]. The captain ensures that Hoshi transmitted data to the [[fleet admiral]] but only refers to it cryptically, as an "[[insurance policy]]." Archer then starts to suspect T'Pol of being the saboteur, finding that she cannot be located by the ship's computer as the overload damaged the [[internal sensor]]s.
[[Image:Tholian starship (ENT) explodes - In a Mirror, Darkly.jpg|thumb|200px|The Tholian starship explodes.]]
 
However, on the bridge of the Starfleet ship, T'Pol informs the captain of an overload in the Tholian vessel's reactor. Archer shouts at Reed, blaming him for the incident, but the Major denies responsibility. T'Pol explains that the Tholian pilot may be attempting to destroy his own ship. Archer tells T'Pol to [[transporter|beam]] the Tholian into ''Enterprise''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[Decontamination chamber|Decon chamber]], shortly before the alien craft explodes. When Archer becomes concerned, T'Pol relieves his stress by confirming that the Tholian is now aboard ''Enterprise''. The captain uses the command chair to contact sickbay and directs Phlox to modify the [[atmosphere]] in the Decon chamber.
 
   
  +
[[File:T'Pol with Vulcan guards.jpg|thumb|T'Pol leads an armed Vulcan security party]]
The [[Denobulan]] doctor leaves his study of a dissected alien lifeform to operate a control station. Monitoring the Decon chamber, Phlox begins to adjust its temperature. He smiles as the Tholian prisoner screams in extreme agony.
 
  +
T'Pol meanwhile leads a successful rescue effort to free Forrest from the brig, two Vulcan companions of hers having a brief encounter with Archer, who escapes in a turbolift. Forrest and T'Pol then retake command from the bridge but find that the ship is locked on course, which Archer personally confirms before sarcastically relinquishing command to Forrest.
   
===Act Two===
+
=== Act Three ===
  +
With Archer having spent ten hours in the agony booth, Phlox remarks to Captain Forrest that he is amazed by Archer's pain threshold but the captain is reluctantly forced to release Archer from the booth. Forrest not only wishes to instead use it on Major Reed but also privately informs Archer that Fleet Admiral {{mu|Gardner}} has ordered his release, having been intrigued by the data Archer sent via Hoshi; the captain implies that the data pertained to Archer's plan to search for the captured Terran vessel. A seething Forrest lets Archer know that his betrayal is unforgivable and notifies Archer that he is due to brief the senior staff in an hour.
   
  +
While ''Enterprise'' continues at warp speed, the senior staff are gathered in the [[briefing room]]. T'Pol cites the findings of the [[Vulcan Science Directorate]] as proof that [[parallel universe#Alternate realities|alternate realities]] do not exist but Archer says Tholians are a little more open-minded than Vulcans. He continues briefing the senior staff, explaining that &ndash; after managing to open an [[interphasic rift]] into a parallel universe &ndash; the Tholians intentionally lured a ship through from the other side. Archer also reveals that he bought his information from a [[Humanoid]] laborer working for the Tholians and shows the other officers some images of the captured ship. The assembled crew members muse over the significance of the craft, which Archer says is not only from another universe but also from [[2268|about a hundred years]] into the future. T'Pol strongly objects to the information, fearing it is a trap and reminding Forrest of Archer's [[crime]]s, but Forrest insultingly interrupts her &ndash; adamant that they will investigate the ship &ndash; and instructs Tucker to get the cloak working before he exits.
[[Image:MirrorTholian.jpg|thumb|The Tholian prisoner.]]
 
Outside the Decon chamber, Archer, Mayweather and T'Pol meet with Phlox, Hoshi Sato and Major Reed. The Tholian is securely imprisoned within the chamber. When the captain asks about the alien's condition, Phlox mentions that Tholians are an hermaphroditic species, with characteristics of both sexes. In response to Archer's question, the doctor replies that the Tholian prisoner's biosigns seem to be stable. The captain then asks Hoshi whether the alien will understand him if he speaks to it. After consulting a device, Hoshi nods. Archer opens a comm channel to the interior of the Decon chamber and prepares to talk with the Tholian. Phlox, Reed, Archer and Hoshi peer through a window and into the chamber beyond, but the Tholian is hidden from sight. Suddenly, the alien jumps into clear view, directly behind the window. Archer and Hoshi are shocked by the Tholian's sudden appearance. The captain angrily looks at Phlox before he turns back to the window and informs the alien of its situation. Archer warns the Tholian that if it does not respond to his questions, the alien will be harmed. When it begins to respond in its own language - a mixture of high-pitched squeaks and squeals - Hoshi translates that the Tholian is demanding to be released. The captain asks where the Tholians are holding the Terran ship that they captured, but the alien responds that its people will destroy the vessel when they find it. To make the Tholian more co-operative, Phlox suggests altering the [[life support]] in the Decon chamber. Archer steps back to allow the doctor access to a control panel below the window. Phlox comments that he is decreasing the temperature inside the chamber by fifty degrees, shortly before he makes the modification. The Tholian reacts in pain and discomfort, screeching as it steps back from the window. When the captain demands that the alien answers his question, the Tholian insults Archer. Consequently, the captain orders Phlox to lower the temperature by another fifty degrees. As the alien begins to shake, Phlox explains that its exoskeleton is starting to fracture. Finally, the Tholian agrees to help Archer. After the captain indicates for Phlox to raise the chamber's temperature, the alien reveals that the Terran vessel is in the [[Vintaak system]]. When Archer hears a strange noise, T'Pol reports that the Tholian is attempting to send a short-range transmission. Eventually, the officers determine that the Tholian is using its crystalline structure to transmit a distress call. Major Reed advises the captain to immediately transport the alien into space, but Archer wants the Tholian kept alive until its information can be verified. The captain orders Phlox to find a method of rendering the alien unconscious. Accompanying T'Pol and Mayweather, Archer leaves Phlox, Hoshi and Major Reed to study the Tholian.
 
   
  +
While working on the cloak in Engineering, Tucker becomes distracted by T'Pol's presence and vents his anger at her for having apparently falsified the evidence that incriminated him earlier. She explains that she seduced him away from engineering before motivating him, by way of a [[mind meld]], to sabotage the cloak himself before using another meld to alter his memory of what had happened. She states that she was duty-bound to help Forrest regain command. Tucker warns that she will regret her actions, although T'Pol dismisses his threat. He calls the bridge and reports that the cloak is ready, so Forrest orders for it to be engaged. The ship at first encounters slight energy fluctuations but then cloaks.
[[Image:TPol and Tucker work in Engineering - In a Mirror, Darkly.jpg|thumb|200px|T'Pol and Tucker work on adapting the Suliban cloaking device.]]
 
[[Image:Suliban cloaking device overloads - In a Mirror, Darkly.jpg|thumb|200px|The cloaking device overloads, electrocuting Tucker.]]
 
In Main engineering, T'Pol works on adapting the Suliban cloaking device to operate with ''Enterprise''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s systems. Tucker stops her when he notices that she has forgotten to wear a [[radiation meter]], a safety precaution that he believes is vital. Trip subsequently orders [[Crewman]] [[Biggs (mirror)|Biggs]] to provide the Vulcan with one, so that she does not suffer the adverse effects of [[delta radiation]] exposure, an experience that scarred Tucker for life. T'Pol ignores Trip's warnings, but wears the radiation meter anyway, and asks for a [[flux coupler]]. According to Tucker, a year's exposure to delta radiation shortens a person's life by an estimated ten years. He adds that if the calculation is correct, he will probably be dead by the following week. When T'Pol suggests that he could ask the captain for a promotion, Tucker wonders if the Vulcan could ask, as she is now Archer's first officer. Tucker implies that she owes him a favor, as Trip once relieved her when she was suffering from ''[[pon farr]]''. He adds that he found the experience enjoyable and wonders when T'Pol is due to be affected by the ''pon farr'' again. Hearing an electrical buzzing noise, Trip looks around to see a spark of energy moving through a cable from the [[warp drive]] to the cloaking device. Moving quickly, he tries to disconnect the cable from the cloaking device and shouts at the other engineers, telling them to pull the [[matrix converter]]s. Suddenly, the cloaking device explodes while Trip holds onto it. The [[chief engineer]] flies back from the device and lands on the deck beside it.
 
   
  +
Soon thereafter, T'Pol is at the bridge's [[science station]] when ''Enterprise'' reaches its destination, in proximity of a [[gas giant]] in the Vintaak system. The [[bridge officer]]s spot the captured ship in a [[Tholian asteroid dock|drydock built into a moon]] of the [[Vintaak gas giant 001|gas giant]]. The vessel is the {{class|Constitution}} [[Federation]] starship {{USS|Defiant|NCC-1764}}.
Later, Archer, Phlox and Major Reed are in Main engineering with Trip and T'Pol. As the doctor attends to an injury on Trip's hand, the engineer tells Archer that the cloaking device will take at least a day to repair. However, the captain only gives him six hours to fix the device. Reed conspiratorially approaches Archer. The major is puzzled that, although there are dozens of [[EPS]] feeds on the same deck, the only one to overload is connected to the cloaking device. Tucker reports that the power surge disabled other systems, including internal [[sensor]]s and [[gravity plating]] on ''Enterprise''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s G deck. Archer orders the engineer to concentrate on repairing the cloaking device. Convinced that someone on board ''Enterprise'' is responsible for the incident, the captain tells Reed to find the saboteur. However, Trip offers the investigative skills of his own engineering staff, stating that [[security officer]]s and MACOs are not welcome in Main engineering. The captain repeats his order for Tucker to repair the cloaking device. As Archer leaves, Trip and Reed exchange threatening glances.
 
   
  +
=== Act Four ===
In the brig, Archer demands that Forrest tell him the identity of the saboteur, but the prisoner claims to be ignorant of the incident. Archer persists, believing that Admiral [[Black]], a high-ranking officer stationed on Earth, has planted a spy on board ''Enterprise''. The new captain also believes that Forrest knows the spy's identity and that the spy sabotaged the cloaking device. When Forrest claims otherwise, Archer instructs Mayweather to go to the captain's quarters and look for messages from Starfleet in Forrest's personal files. Forrest warns Mayweather that if he follows Archer's orders, he will be executed as a co-conspirator, but Travis still complies with Archer's instructions. After the MACO leaves, Forrest reveals that he has trusted Archer for many years because he thinks the commander has no ambition, which was why Archer's mutiny surprised Forrest. The new captain enters the cell where Forrest is imprisoned and wanders beside him. Suddenly, Archer assaults the prisoner, shouting that Forrest's impression was obviously wrong, as he is now in the brig. With a tight grasp around his throat, Forrest promises Archer a quick death if the captain releases him. Archer pulls a knife from Forrest's belt and threatens him with it. When Forrest notes that Hoshi will never forgive Archer if the captain kills him, Archer reluctantly lets Forrest go and slowly exits the brig. Forrest stares after the captain, watching through the clear walls of his prison.
 
  +
T'Pol briefs Archer, Tucker, Reed and Forrest in the situation room, telling them that ''Defiant''{{'}}s systems, even that of [[life support system|life support]], are powered down. Those alive aboard the ''Defiant'' consist of thirteen non-Humans, including one reptilian. Although Tucker is impressed by the vessel's engineering capabilities, Forrest plans for Archer to lead an assault team to salvage as much as possible from [[USS Defiant (NCC-1764) library computer|the craft's databanks]] before destroying the ship, as the captain fears that the region of space is too dangerous due to the Tholian presence. Archer objects to this plan but Forrest shouts him down. Moments after the others leave, Forrest instructs T'Pol to join the assault team, conspiratorially implying that he wants her to ensure Archer dies during the mission.
   
  +
Wearing [[environmental suit]]s, the team (now including Sergeant Mayweather) beam into a corridor of the ''Defiant'' to find that the Tholians have been gutting the vessel. The team also come across a dead Human security officer lying beside a discarded [[type 2 phaser|phaser]]. Reed offers to hold the weapon but Archer takes it instead, holstering it to his EV suit's pants.
In the [[situation room]] on the bridge, Reed tells Archer the findings of his investigation. Apparently, the saboteur entered a junction that the crew are forbidden from using, but the [[intruder alert|intruder alarm]]s in that section were disabled. According to Reed, the only way to disable the alarms is to run a high-level diagnostic scan. The major has learned that Tucker initiated a scan half an hour before the saboteur overloaded the EPS waveguide in the junction.
 
   
  +
On ''Enterprise'', a sedative that Phlox has been using on the [[Mirror universe Tholian pilot 1|Tholian pilot]] stops working and the alien begins retransmitting its bodily distress signal. After the signal is detected on the bridge, Forrest contacts Phlox, ordering him to kill the Tholian. Doing so takes time and Phlox becomes impatiently frustrated. He eventually succeeds in destroying the Tholian but its communication has attracted the attention of three Tholian vessels that approach ''Enterprise'' and start to hail the ship.
Later, Trip is punished for his act of treachery in the starship's agony booth. When Archer demands to know who the engineer was working for, Tucker promises that he was not the person who sabotaged the cloaking device. However, Archer responds that he has found evidence that Trip became chief engineer with Admiral Black's recommendation and insistence. This fact has led the captain to believe that Trip is a spy, but Tucker states that Archer is mistaken. Major Reed seems to enjoy torturing Trip and raises the pain level in the agony booth. The engineer continues to plead that he has only ever been loyal to Archer, but the captain orders Reed to use the agony booth until Trip becomes completely honest. Tucker shakes in excruciating agony as Archer leaves the room.
 
   
  +
The assault team meanwhile arrive on the ''Defiant''{{'}}s darkened bridge. They find only two deceased officers there, one of whom is a man wearing a [[command division]] [[uniform]]; Archer assumes he is the captain and T'Pol reports he has a broken [[neck]]. With Archer's approval, Tucker begins attempting to repower the vessel.
In the captain's quarters, Archer and Hoshi lie in bed, their bodies drenched in sweat. The captain frowns and asks whether Hoshi transmitted important data that he gave to her previously. Hoshi replies that the fleet admiral recieved the data. When she asks why it was so important, the captain answers that it was an "insurance policy". Frowning, he sits up and puts on some pants. He has realized that, given Tucker's engineering expertise, the damage to the cloaking device would have been more severe if Tucker had sabotaged the device. When Hoshi reminds Archer that Tucker was under T'Pol's observation, making the task of damaging the cloaking device harder, the captain thinks of his Vulcan first officer. He goes to a desktop monitor and asks the shp's [[computer]] to locate T'Pol. However, the computer replies that it cannot find her because the [[internal sensors]] are not functioning. Archer recalls that the sensors were damaged when the incident occurred, leading him to further suspect T'Pol. He puts on a shirt, arms himself with a phase pistol and leaves the room, telling Hoshi to stay in his quarters. As the door closes behind him, a serious expression crosses over Hoshi's face.
 
   
[[Image:TPol with Vulcan guards - In a Mirror, Darkly.jpg|thumb|200px|T'Pol leads a rescue attempt to free Captain Forrest.]]
+
[[File:Tholian web, mirror universe.jpg|thumb|The Tholians create a gigantic web to ensnare ''Enterprise'']]
  +
Four more Tholian ships approach ''Enterprise'' and, despite an initial attempt by Forrest to withdraw from the mission, the alien vessels are not only jamming communications between the pair of Starfleet ships but also subsequently create an energy web that surrounds ''Enterprise''. Forrest first tries to fire the ship's weaponry through the web and then maneuver out of it but neither method succeeds; ''Enterprise'' is trapped.
Meanwhile, T'Pol and two Vulcan security officers march through a corridor, carrying phase rifles.
 
   
  +
[[File:USS Defiant (NCC-1764) bridge.jpg|thumb|left|Archer and an assault team on the ''Defiant'' bridge]]
In the brig, two Starfleet guards hear the sound of weapons fire outside. When they open the door to the brig, a projectile weapon is thrown inside and quickly explodes. Once the guards are rendered unconsciousness, T'Pol and her Vulcan officers step into the brig. The first officer works on opening the cell where Forrest is imprisoned.
 
  +
Tucker's eventual restoration of power to the ''Defiant''{{'}}s systems enables T'Pol to monitor ''Enterprise''{{'}}s situation.
   
  +
Moments later, Forrest orders the crew to abandon ship but, much to Hoshi's concern, he chooses to stay behind in the hope that he might be able to buy the survivors more time.
In a corridor outside, Archer accompanies a MACO around a corner. Suddenly, the captain sees the two Vulcans at the other end. A battle ensues, but the MACO is hit and falls to the ground. Archer safely makes his way to a turbolift that he activates, escaping to another deck.
 
   
  +
Archer orders that the ''Defiant''{{'}}s weapons and engine systems are brought back on-line and, with the help of Mayweather and Reed, he starts to remove the two dead officers from their positions in front of the command chair.
In the brig, Forrest has been freed. When he asks T'Pol what took her so long to help him escape, she answers that she needed time to find assistance. The Vulcan also informs Forrest that she disabled the com system and the internal sensors, explaining why no alarm was triggered when Forrest finally escaped. Together, T'Pol and Forrest head for the bridge, followed by the two Vulcan officers outside.
 
   
  +
[[File:Archer watches EnterpriseNX explode.jpg|thumb|Archer watches as ''Enterprise'' explodes]]
Seizing control of the bridge, T'Pol and Forrest try to alter the starship's heading and exit Tholian space. However, T'Pol soon discovers that the helm station is not responding. A turbolift door slides open and Archer exits with his hands visibly raised in a surrendering position. He lowers them as he exits the turbolift and steps on to the bridge. He notifies Forrest and T'Pol that he has set auto navigation to be released only when ''Enterprise'' arrives at the coordinates he has set. Forrest orders him to restore the controls, but Archer replies that they have been encrypted with a random code that even he wouldn't be able to break. When Forrest asks T'Pol if she can override the helm, she answers that the process of breaking the encryption code will take several days. However, Archer assures Forrest that ''Enterprise'' will reach its destination long before several days have passed. Although the helm can no longer be controlled manually, Archer offers command of the starship back to Captain Forrest.
 
  +
''Enterprise'' meanwhile launches its complement of [[escape pod]]s but many are instantly destroyed. Forrest holds on to the helm station of his dying ship, moments before the assault team watch through the ''Defiant''{{'}}s [[viewscreen]] as ''Enterprise'' explodes.
   
  +
'''[[In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II (episode)|TO BE CONTINUED...]]'''
===Act Three===
 
   
  +
== Log entries ==
Later, Archer is tortured in the ship's agony booth. When Captain Forrest arrives, Doctor Phlox reports that Archer has spent the last ten hours in the punishment chamber, a feat that the Denobulan finds impressive. The captain tells Phlox to remove Archer from the booth and the doctor complies. Freed from the torture area, Archer stumbles to the floor in extreme pain. Forrest announces his intention to torture Major Reed in the agony booth and sends Phlox to bring Reed to the chamber. Lying on the floor, Archer wonders whether Forrest will either shoot him now or wait until his [[court martial]]. However, Forrest is under orders from Fleet Admiral Gardener to release Archer. The admiral was intrigued when he received the data that Archer sent to him. Since ''Enterprise'' has been locked on a set course towards a mysterious ship in Tholian space, Gardener has ordered Forrest to investigate the vessel. As Archer smiles faintly, the captain rushes forward and pulls Archer up by his shirt. Forrest recalls that Archer betrayed him, a fact that the captain is unlikely to forget. The captain throws Archer back to the floor and orders him to get cleaned up, since Archer is due to brief the senior staff in one hour.
 
  +
*"''Captain's starlog, January 13, 2155: We've left Gorlan Station and have set a course to rendezvous with our assault fleet. Major Reed and the doctor have asked for a few minutes to show me their latest project.''"
  +
*"Enterprise ''starlog, ''Captain'' Jonathan Archer. The crew has accepted the change of command without incident. Chief Engineer Tucker reports we'll have cloaking capability within six hours.''"
   
  +
== Memorable quotes ==
In the [[briefing room]], T'Pol disputes Archer's claim that a parallel universe exists. She states that, according to the [[Vulcan Science Directorate]], alternate realities do not exist, but Archer responds that the Tholians are more open to extreme possibilities than the Vulcans are. Continuing with the briefing, Archer shows the senior officers a diagram of an area in space. One part of the image is void of stars. Refering to the map, Archer states that the Tholians detonated a [[tri-cobalt warhead]] inside the [[gravity well]] of a dead [[star]]. The resulting explosion created an [[interphasic rift]] between Tholian space and another universe. Unable to explore the rift due to its unstable nature, the Tholians sent a [[distress call]] through to the other side. This drew the [[USS Defiant (NCC-1764)|USS ''Defiant'']] of [[2268]] to the rift; she became trapped, and her crew succumbed to the pernicious effects of [[interphase]]. The ''Defiant'' was eventually ejected from the rift into the mirror universe of [[2155]], where she was recovered for study by the Tholians. When Hoshi asks how Archer knows so much about the ship from the future, he explains that he bribed one of the [[humanoid]] laborers that the Tholians use. He then shows the officers several images that his contact transmitted to him and adds that, according to some theories, everything that exists in the universe that the crew are familiar with is duplicated in the alternate universe. Archer excitedly muses that, since the ship is from the future, the crew of ''Enterprise'' may be able to retrieve advanced engines and bio-weapons, and new tactical systems from the ship. T'Pol indicates her belief that the evidence is not genuine and becomes hostile towards Archer, telling Forrest that the commander is guilty of assualt and mutiny. Captain Forrest tells the Vulcan to be quiet, but she continues her comments. Eventually, Forrest interrupts and informs T'Pol of his firm decision to investigate the future starship. Preparing to leave the room, Forrest instructs Tucker to repair the cloaking device. As the captain exits, Archer looks down at T'Pol and smiles.
 
  +
"''[[Live long and prosper]].''"<br />
  +
({{mu|Zefram Cochrane}} shoots the [[Vulcan 21st century mirror captain|Vulcan captain]], killing him)<br />
  +
"''Board their ship! Take everything you can!''"
  +
: - The '''Vulcan captain''' and the '''grizzled man''', on first contact between Humans and Vulcans in the mirror universe
   
Later, Tucker is attempting to fix the cloaking device when T'Pol enters Main engineering. She notifies Trip that Forrest is expecting a progress report. Tucker answers that he requires a minute to set the [[field converter]]s. He walks away but soon turns back to T'Pol, shouting that he spent four hours in the agony booth due to her. The Vulcan suggests to Tucker that he direct his frustation at Archer. Although Trip blames T'Pol for disabling the intruder alarms in the service junction and implicating that he was responsible, the Vulcan claims that Trip is mistaken. Eventually, she explains that she lured Tucker into her quarters, initiated a [[Vulcan mind meld|mind meld]] with him and implanted a telepathic suggestion to sabotage the cloaking device. After he returned to T'Pol's quarters, she conducted another mind meld with him and altered his memory of what he had done. Tucker angrily snarls that T'Pol will regret her actions. Forcing her against a wall, he slams his fist against a com panel and contacts the bridge. When Captain Forrest answers, Trip tells him that the cloaking device is ready.
 
   
  +
"''The [[agony booth|booth]] will be far more effective than our previous disciplinary methods.''"<br />
As Commander Archer paces behind the captain's chair, Forrest hears Tucker add that the device will require all of the ship's energy, except for auxiliary power. Forrest soon responds, ordering Trip to engage the cloaking device. The lights in Main engineering and on the bridge momentarily darken as the device becomes active.
 
  +
"''It can stimulate the pain center of virtually any [[humanoid]]. A [[synaptic scanning technique|synaptic scan]] calibrates it for each species.''"<br />
  +
"''They call this ''progress''!''"<br />
  +
"''There's something to be said for a good, old-fashioned flogging.''"
  +
: - '''Reed''', '''Phlox''', '''Archer''', and '''Forrest''', discussing the virtues of the latest in torture technology
   
[[Image:ISSNX01Cloaking.jpg|thumb|200px|The ISS ''Enterprise'' cloaks.]]
 
In space, the craft shimmers as it disappears from sight.
 
   
  +
"''Something about... your 'maternal ancestor'.''"
Later, T'Pol reports on the bridge that ''Enterprise'' has arrived at its destination. When Forrest orders Hoshi to display an image of the ship's location on the main [[viewscreen]], the officers view a large, green gas giant surrounded by several [[moon]]s and [[meteoroid]]s. Complying with a request from Commander Archer, Hoshi brings up a closer view of one of the moons. The commander turns to Captain Forrest when the viewscreen displays a clear view of the ship he has been searching for - the USS ''Defiant''.
 
  +
: - '''Sato''', translating a [[Tholian]] insult hurled at "Captain" Archer <!-- Archer introduces himself as Captain to his Tholian prisoner -->
   
In a [[drydock]] built into the moon, Tholian vessels fly past the [[Constitution class|''Constitution''-class]] [[United Federation of Planets|Federation]] starship.
 
   
  +
"''You don't want to end up like me, do you? I've absorbed enough delta rays to guarantee my grandchildren [[glow in the dark]].''"
===Act Four===
 
  +
: - '''Tucker''', to T'Pol, on the dangers of [[delta radiation]]
   
In the situation room, T'Pol briefs Archer, Tucker, Reed and Forrest. Apparently, all power aboard the ''Defiant'' is deactivated. Although [[life support]] is also off-line, thirteen [[alien]] biosigns have been detected aboard the ship, including one reptilian. All of the aliens are located within a section of the [[secondary hull]]. Reed theorizes that the crew were probably executed, as no [[Human]] [[lifeform]]s have been detected. Trip seems impressed by the size of the starship's [[warp coil]]s and believes it likely that the ''Defiant'' could reach [[warp speed|warp]] 7. Forrest begins to organize an [[assault team]] under Archer's command. He tells the commander to download as much information from the ship's database as he can and then to destroy the vessel, a suggestion that Archer finds alarming. He argues that the crew need to take the ''Defiant'' with them, but Forrest reminds him that they are deep in Tholian space and believes that Archer's plan is too dangerous. Ultimately, Archer relunctantly accepts Forrest's orders. The captain dismisses Archer, Trip and Reed and waits for them to leave before he talks to T'Pol. He tells her to join the assualt team but ensure that Archer does not return.
 
   
  +
"''I did you a favor once.''"<br />
Aboard the ''Defiant'', the team, including Sergeant Mayweather, beam into a corridor wearing [[environmental suit]]s. T'Pol and Archer learn that the Tholians are stripping the ''Defiant'' of components. As the officers wander through the corridor, they discover a [[phaser type-2|phaser]] lying discarded beside the body of a dead [[USS Defiant (NCC-1764) personnel#Operations division lieutenant|Human Lieutenant]], a member of the ''Defiant''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s crew. Reed offers to hold the [[phaser]], but Archer chooses to carry the weapon himself and leads the officers away from the dead body.
 
  +
"''We agreed never to discuss that.''"<br />
  +
"''And I haven't.''"<br />
  +
"''I'd hardly call it a favor, you enjoyed yourself.''"<br />
  +
"''Several times as I recall. So, how many years is it 'til your ''[[pon farr]]'' comes around again?''"
  +
: - '''Tucker''' and '''T'Pol'''
   
Aboard ''Enterprise'', outside the Decon chamber, Phlox realizes that the Tholian prisoner is awake. Using a control panel, he tries to render the alien unconscious again, but the sedative does not work.
 
   
  +
"''This isn't like you, Jonathan. You never lusted for power and glory. That's why I trusted you at my side all these years &ndash; because you have no ambition!''"
On the bridge of the Terran Empire vessel, Hoshi reports that a distress call is being transmitted from the Decon chamber. Using a control on his chair, Forrest contacts Phlox.
 
  +
: - '''Forrest''', to Archer
   
Outside the Decon chamber, the Denobulan informs Forrest of the situation. As a solution, the captain instructs Phlox to kill the Tholian. Phlox's expression grows serious as the alien begins to scream in agony.
 
   
  +
"''The Tholians are a little more open-minded than your people. They detonated a tricobalt warhead here, inside the gravity well of a dead star. The explosion created an interphasic rift. A doorway into another universe.''"<br />
On the bridge, Hoshi reports that three Tholian vessels are approaching ''Enterprise''. Forrest grows desperate and demands to know what is happening.
 
  +
"''A doorway?''"<br />
  +
"''The rift was unstable. It was too dangerous to send one of their own ships through, so they transmitted a distress call into the opening, hoping to lure a ship from the other side. Their plan worked brilliantly.''"
  +
: - '''Archer''' and '''Tucker''', referring to the past events of {{e|The Tholian Web}}
   
Phlox reports that the Tholian will be dead in a few seconds. He impatiently asks the alien to die. Inside the chamber, the Tholian shatters into minescule pieces. The doctor contacts Forrest and tells him that the alien will no longer be able to cause trouble.
 
   
  +
"''The Tholians quantum-dated a piece of the hull. The ship is not only from another universe; it's from another time. About a hundred years into the future. Imagine the technology we can find on that ship. New tactical systems, advanced bio-weapons. Engines that can reach speeds we can only dream of. All of it, ours for the taking!''"
On the bridge, Forrest smiles when he hears the news. However, Hoshi tells him that one of the Tholian ships is attempting to contact ''Enterprise''.
 
  +
: - '''Archer''', on the {{USS|Defiant|NCC-1764}}
   
Together, Reed and Tucker force the doors to the ''Defiant''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s darkened bridge open. On the other side, the ''Enterprise'' officers find two dead men lying on the floor beside the command chair. One of the men, who Archer believes is the captain of the ''Defiant'', wears a [[command division]] [[Starfleet uniform]]. T'Pol notifies Archer that the man's neck is broken. When Trip states that the officers should be able to overload the ''Defiant''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[warp reactor]] from the bridge, Archer tells him to begin the work. Subsequently, the engineer starts to remove equipment from a case.
 
   
  +
"''Will you kindly die?''"
Aboard ''Enterprise'', Hoshi informs Forrest that four more Tholian vessels have joined the other three. The captain orders her to tell Archer that the mission is over and instructs the [[helmsman]] to prepare a course away from the Tholian ships. At her station, Hoshi reports that the alien vessels are jamming her transmission.
 
  +
: - '''Phlox''', to his Tholian prisoner
   
  +
==Background information==
[[Image:TholianWebENT.jpg|thumb|200px|The Tholians create a gigantic web to ensnare ''Enterprise''.]]
 
  +
===Introductory details===
In close proximity to the gas giant, the Tholian starships emit a massive [[Tholian web|energy web]] that surrounds and entraps ''Enterprise''.
 
  +
* Depending on counting of episodes in {{s|TOS}} &ndash; in particular, whether "The Menagerie" is counted as a single or double episode (Memory Alpha considers it two, with [[The Menagerie, Part I (episode)|a first]] and [[The Menagerie, Part II (episode)|second]] part) &ndash; this episode can either be considered as being the seven-hundredth live action episode of ''[[Star Trek]]'' or half of that "episode" (if the term is applied more loosely), with the other half being this installment's conclusion, {{e|In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II}}.
  +
* The title of this episode comes from a passage in the Bible (1 Corinthians 13:12 from the American Standard Version): "For now we see '''in a mirror, darkly'''; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known." The same verse (in the King James Bible, the relevant text reads "For now we see through a glass, darkly") is quoted by [[Captain]] [[Jean-Luc Picard|Picard]] in {{film|10}}.
  +
* This episode is both a prequel to {{TOS|Mirror, Mirror}} and a sequel to {{TOS|The Tholian Web}}.
  +
* Although {{VOY|Living Witness}} was the first of any ''Star Trek'' series in which none of the regular characters appear, this was the first mirror universe episode in which ''only'' the regular characters' mirror counterparts are seen. This differs from the mirror universe episodes of [[TOS]] and {{s|DS9}}, in which the "Federation Universe" characters travel to the parallel universe (and vice versa). The two-part "In a Mirror, Darkly" story of [[ENT]] takes place entirely in the mirror universe, with no crossover of any regular characters (although the ''Constitution''-class ''Defiant'' does itself cross over and the mirror Archer has a hallucination of his prime self).
  +
* This episode contains two main elements from {{TOS|The Tholian Web}}: the starship ''Defiant'' (whose fate is made known in this episode) and the Tholians. In fact, this episode is the first to depict a Tholian "in the flesh" since the {{y|1968}} episode, wherein only the head of a Tholian is shown. The species is revealed in this episode to be six-legged and crystalline in nature.
   
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===Story development===
On the bridge, Forrest orders the [[tactical officer]] to fire at the closest Tholian vessel. Although ''Enterprise'' causes no damage to the Tholian ship, Forrest persists. He instructs the tactical officer to use ''Enterprise''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[torpedo launcher]]s to attack.
 
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*A mirror-universe story for ''Star Trek: Enterprise'' was originally conceived as one of a couple of ways of bringing [[William Shatner]] into the series' [[ENT Season 4|fourth season]]. (''Inside the Mirror Episodes'', [[ENT Season 4 DVD]] special features; {{st.com|bl=1|startrek/view/news/article/10226.html}}) As he and [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] were unable to reach an agreement, the plans to have Shatner included in the series were discarded, [[Undeveloped Star Trek: Enterprise episodes#William Shatner two-parter|the initial mirror-universe storyline]] ultimately being [[Undeveloped Star Trek episodes|undeveloped]]. {{st.com|bl=1|startrek/view/news/article/10226.html}}
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* Nevertheless, the series' writing staff still wanted to do an episode set in the mirror universe. (''Inside the Mirror Episodes'', [[ENT Season 4 DVD]] special features; {{st.com|bl=1|startrek/view/news/article/10226.html}}) The "episode in the Mirror Universe" format, as opposed to the crossovers in other series, was thereafter conceived as a way of allowing the show to visit the mirror universe, while still preserving {{e|Mirror, Mirror}} as the "obvious" first contact between the two universes. (''Inside the Mirror Episodes'', [[ENT Season 4 DVD]]; ''Mirror Universe, Part 2'', [[Star Trek: Fan Collective - Alternate Realities]] DVD special features) Writer [[Mike Sussman]] attributed this idea to Executive Producer [[Manny Coto]] and remarked, "''What was great about an approach where our people weren't crossing over to the mirror universe is that you didn't have any of the moralizing speeches where Archer or somebody waves their finger and lectures these 'bad people' about 'Well, you really ought to try this other way.{{'}}''" (''Mirror Universe, Part 2'', [[Star Trek: Fan Collective - Alternate Realities]] DVD special features)[[File:Mike Sussman at a viewer.jpg|thumb|Writer [[Mike Sussman]] at the ''Defiant''{{'}}s science station]]
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* The ''Defiant'' ended up in this story after Mike Sussman had spent years wondering about the ship's destiny, as the vessel mysteriously disappears in "The Tholian Web". The starship was also in the original pitch for an earlier ENT episode that Sussman wrote. This pitch became [[ENT Season 2|Season 2]]'s {{e|Future Tense}}, which also features the Tholians (although only their ships are seen and not they, themselves). Like in this episode, both Archer (albeit the Archer of the series' usual universe) and the Tholians would have been interested in the futuristic Federation starship. However, the effect that the discovery would have on the series' continuity would have been too difficult for the writers to deal with, so the ship was changed to an unrelated, even more futuristic vessel and the original premise was scrapped. When Manny Coto later wanted a mirror-universe episode to be included in Season 4, however, Mike Sussman suddenly realized (following several other ideas for the episode that, for a variety of reasons, had not worked out) that the ''Defiant'' could feature in the episode, having not only been pulled into the past but also into the mirror universe. This change of setting freed the writers from continuity concerns, as they could essentially do virtually anything they wanted in the mirror universe without violating [[canon]]. (''Inside the Mirror Episodes'', [[ENT Season 4 DVD]] special features)
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* Manny Coto subsequently suggested that the story could be a two-parter, although Mike Sussman had only planned what would happen in the first part. (''Inside the Mirror Episodes'', [[ENT Season 4 DVD]] special features) In addition, he had never before written a two-parter and, at the time he wrote this episode, it was not yet known who would be writing its conclusion. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]]; ''Mirror Universe, Part 2'', [[Star Trek: Fan Collective - Alternate Realities]] DVD special features) Because the second part would definitely be set on the ''Defiant'', however, Sussman wanted to set some things up in this episode for the second part of the story. (''Inside the Mirror Episodes'', [[ENT Season 4 DVD]]; ''Mirror Universe, Part 2'', [[Star Trek: Fan Collective - Alternate Realities]] DVD special features) Owing to the fact that the story was his first two-parter, Sussman wanted to do justice to it and tried to invest as much time in its writing as he possibly could. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* During the writing process, Mike Sussman managed to obtain the script of {{e|Mirror, Mirror}} from [[Tim Gaskill]] and read it for the first time. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* One of the first ideas that Mike Sussman had for this episode was that Hoshi Sato would be the captain's woman. Such a dramatic reversal of the character's usual nature was not disputed by anyone involved in the episode's creation. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* Even though the series' team of writers knew, early in the writing process, that they wanted Hoshi to be the captain's woman and Archer to be a beaten-down and paranoid first officer, it was not until later that the team decided what the mirror universe version of "Trip" Tucker would be like. Manny Coto wanted him to be scarred, so the Reeves-Stevens came up with the concept that the scarring was due to the radiation plating involved in ''Enterprise''{{'}}s warp reactor being not quite up to Starfleet specifications. The series' writers then recalled that Fleet Captain [[Christopher Pike]] has a disfigurement, due to delta radiation, in "The Menagerie" so they added Trip's facial scarring in this episode, with the intention of it being a small homage to Pike as well as a factor implied as motivating the character of Tucker (whose condition is less severe than Pike's, as Pike was flooded with the radiation while Tucker only received small amounts of it). ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* The writers aimed to give Mayweather a more active role in this episode than the character was usually afforded in the series. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]]) Author [[Diane Duane]]'s decision to make the mirror version of [[Reginald Barclay]] the personal guard of Mirror Picard &ndash; in the non-[[canon]] novel ''[[Dark Mirror]]'', which Mike Sussman read before writing the script &ndash; inspired Sussman to make Mayweather the chief [[bodyguard]] for Archer. (''Information provided by Mike Sussman'') Additionally, it was thought that making him Archer's personal guard would be more fun for the character of Mayweather. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* Similarly, the writers wanted to make the mirror universe T'Pol more ruthless, and logical in a less compassionate and much harder way, than her counterpart in the regular universe. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* Mike Sussman wrote the episode alone over the [[Christmas]] {{y|2004}} hiatus. He periodically faxed pages to Manny Coto who &ndash; although getting married in [[Venice]], at the time &ndash; had several phone conversations with Sussman in which Coto talked about his own story suggestions, changes, and notes. Sussman was still writing this episode when the production crew started filming the second part of the two-parter. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* In the initial version of the story, T'Pol was trying to sabotage the cloaking device in order to prevent the mission going ahead. Mike Sussman thought this subplot was too straightforward, however. With Manny Coto's input, the sabotage was changed to being a diversionary act that would enable T'Pol to attain her new motive of disabling the sensors so she could free Forrest. This alteration, which Sussman found made more sense than his initial conception of the story, was made early in the writing process. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* The idea of this episode's teaser, a homage to {{film|8}}, was originally suggested to Sussman by Manny Coto. Sussman was immediately impressed by the idea. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* The scene in which Reed and Phlox demonstrate the agony booth was originally scripted without Phlox's inclusion, as Mike Sussman decided only later to have the scene serve as Phlox's introduction in the episode. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* Keeping Captain Forrest alive, during his capture and imprisonment by Archer, represented a slight story problem for Mike Sussman, as he needed Forrest to survive until the episode's conclusion. The involvement of Hoshi Sato allowed Sussman to solve this problem, as Forrest threatens Archer (during the scene in which they are both in the brig) that Hoshi will not forgive him if he kills Forrest. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* One of the biggest problems that Mike Sussman faced in writing this episode was how to explain away Forrest sparing Archer's life, after Forrest regains command of ''Enterprise''. Sussman consequently added the plot point about Archer smuggling fascinating information to the admiral, via Hoshi. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* Another plot problem was how to account for Forrest sending Archer to board the ''Defiant'' after Archer had betrayed Forrest. The solution &ndash; to end the scene with Forrest privately revealing to T'Pol that the reason was that he wanted her to make sure Archer didn't survive the mission &ndash; suddenly occurred to Mike Sussman and made immediate sense to him. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* Mike Sussman originally wanted to save the reveal of the fact that the ''Defiant'' was from 100 years into the future until after Archer and his assault team board the vessel. Sussman found himself having to add that fact into Archer's briefing scene, as the ship would otherwise seem too insignificant at that point in the story. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* In an early draft of the script, Archer and his assault team access the ''Defiant'' Bridge by climbing through one of two hatches that are on either side of the main [[viewscreen]]. Sussman later decided to have the team enter via the [[turbolift]], however. (''Information provided by Mike Sussman'')
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* One of the things that Mike Sussman wanted to set up for this installment's conclusion was that the characters who board the ''Defiant'' would be left with no option but to wear TOS uniforms in the story's second part. This is the real reason why Archer and his team are wearing environmental suits when they transport to the ''Defiant'', rather than their regular Terran Empire uniforms. (''Inside the Mirror Episodes'', [[ENT Season 4 DVD]]; ''Mirror Universe, Part 2'', [[Star Trek: Fan Collective - Alternate Realities]] DVD special features)
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* Mike Sussman found it very hard to write the scenes on ''Enterprise''{{'}}s Bridge during the final battle sequence, as most of the regular characters were off the Bridge and the episode's budget would allow Forrest to speak only with either the ship's computer voice (which was typically inexpensive to hire) or Hoshi Sato; the practicality of hiring an extra to play a speaking officer would have been prohibitively expensive. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* ''Enterprise''{{'}}s prefix of "ISS" was originally present in the script's original draft but got lost in some of the subsequent versions. It is therefore not referenced in episode dialogue but does appear on the starship's hull, thanks to the series' visual effects team. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* The concept of Archer having to use an excuse before he could take control of ''Enterprise'' (specifically, his faked orders from Starfleet), was based on [[Pavel Chekov (mirror)|Chekov]]'s use of an excuse before trying to take command from [[James T. Kirk|Kirk]] in {{e|Mirror, Mirror}}. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* T'Pol dismisses Tucker threatening her by telling him, "''Threats are illogical.''" These same three words are taken from {{TOS|Journey to Babel}}. In that episode, [[Sarek]] says them (adding, "''And payment is usually expensive.''"), after Tellarite ambassador [[Gav]] threatens Sarek that he will pay. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* After writing the scene in which Archer personally confirms for Forrest that he has locked ''Enterprise'' on course for an unalterable destination, Mike Sussman realized that the plot point was a little reminiscent of [[Spock]] locking the ''Enterprise'' on course for [[Talos IV]] in "The Menagerie". In the episode's audio commentary, Sussman can be heard deciding that the reference was "a subconscious homage." ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* Even Mike Sussman was unsure whether the weapons display in ''Enterprise''{{'}}s ready room was originally Forrest's or a result of a redecoration of the room by Archer, following Forrest's capture. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* Although the episode does not clarify the historical accuracy of a reference (made by Archer) to the Vulcans who visited Earth in 2063 as having been an "invasion force," Mike Sussman has since stated that he didn't think the Vulcans had really been sending an invasion force but was sure that Earth's history books had subsequently recorded the Vulcans had been. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* Similarly, Sussman has speculated that Mayweather would have probably been subjected to the agony booth after Archer and Reed, and that T'Pol likely got to her rank of Commander by using the same method she utilized to motivate Tucker, involving two Vulcan mind melds. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* Although the episode also does not definitively establish whether or not Forrest believes Archer's claim of a future starship from an alternate universe (during Archer's briefing scene), Mike Sussman has clarified that he suspects even Forrest doubts Archer's story. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* Mike Sussman found it was fun to write an ENT episode wherein none of the regular characters are friends with one another. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
   
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===Editing===
In space, the starship fires several [[torpedoes]] that illuminate the energy web, but the web remains intact. The Tholians respond by opening fire on the starship.
 
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* One scene that was deemed unnecessary and was ultimately cut was a short sequence showing T'Pol recruiting a Vulcan security officer for her mutiny. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* The original version of the scene wherein Hoshi Sato brings a knife out while kissing Archer was initially longer than in the final version; the scene as originally scripted ended with a shot of Porthos growling. This shot was eventually [[deleted scene|deleted]] from an early cut of the episode, owing to the fact that the episode was running a few minutes long. Sussman initially suggested losing the opening scene featuring the agony booth, but was ultimately happy that other cuts allowed the sequence to remain intact. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* Although Sussman believed the editors could have cut the scene where T'Pol explains to Trip how she compelled him to sabotage the cloaking device, the writer found the scene both fun and important to showing how different the mirror T'Pol is from her alternate universe counterpart. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* A panning shot showing the ''Defiant''{{'}}s Bridge becoming energized also had to be cut short, to avoid a continuity glitch. The full version of the shot included the turbolift doors closing but the shot is followed by one in which the doors are open, so the shot was cut to the moment just before the doors begin to shut. Mike Sussman initially hoped the full version of the shot could be kept, but he was still pleased with the final version. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
   
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===New credits===
As the bridge trembles around her, Hoshi confirms that the Tholians have detected ''Enterprise''. Forrest tells the helmsman to maneuver the ship away from the Tholian vessels. Contacting Main Engineering, he orders a crewman to deactivate the cloaking device and to concentrate all power on the starship's engines. However, the crewman replies that the cloak is not respond.
 
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[[File:ENT Mirror Title.jpg|thumb|"Star Trek: Enterprise" in black letters]]
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* This episode, along with [[In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II (episode)|the second part]], features a completely revised opening credits sequence that chronicles the history of Human warfare and interstellar domination of the [[Terran Empire]].
  +
* The possibility of creating different opening titles for different episodes had been the subject of much discussion by ''Star Trek''{{'}}s writers. [[Brannon Braga]] had, at one point, suggested that an alternate title sequence be created for an episode of {{s|TNG}}, although this had not come to pass. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]]) Similarly, for {{DS9|Trials and Tribble-ations}}, [[Ronald D. Moore]] and [[René Echevarria]] had initially hoped to complete that episode's ''Original Series'' homage by changing the episode's end credits to [[TOS]] fonts and theme music (with DS9 background images), but the idea had never gotten far for budgetary reasons, as well as a lack of enthusiasm from the rest of the production staff. {{AOLchat|Ronald D. Moore|ron050|1997}} In this case, the alternate credits stemmed from the idea of doing the episode as if it was from the mirror universe version of ENT. (''Inside the Mirror Episodes'', [[ENT Season 4 DVD]]; ''Mirror Universe, Part 2'', [[Star Trek: Fan Collective - Alternate Realities]] DVD special features)
  +
* To help deliver the message that we're "not in [[Kansas]] anymore," the words "Star Trek: Enterprise" in these titles change from white to black. (''Information provided by Mike Sussman'')
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* The new credits &ndash; an amalgam of real world historical footage and motion picture produced clippings &ndash; depict [[World War I]] [[:File:German Fokker airplane.jpg|fighter aircraft]], [[World War II]] American troops marching into Paris, a [[squadron]] of [[Stuka]]s, an atomic bomb exploding, aerial carpet bombings, a [[:File:Project 705.jpg|submarine firing a torpedo]], a different [[Luna|moon]] landing, a T-62 [[tank]], an [[F-15 Eagle]], the destruction of a [[Klingon Bird-of-Prey]], and a battle between ''Enterprise'' and the [[Xindi]].
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* The alternate credits also include scenes from other Paramount Pictures media, notably the television series {{wt|Call to Glory}}, the 1927 silent World War I film {{wt|Wings (1927 film)|Wings}} (incidentally, the first motion picture to receive the [[Academy Award]] for Best Picture) {{el|ithankyouarthur.blogspot.com/2012/05/wild-bill-keeping-it-real-in-wings-1927.html}}, and the 1990 feature film {{wt|The Hunt for Red October (film)|The Hunt for Red October}}. The image of a Boeing B-1B Lancer seen in one of these shots was used at the start of the 2005 film {{wt|The Jacket}}. The image of an energy weapon blasting through a building was repurposed from the {{s|VOY}} [[VOY Season 6|sixth season]] episode {{e|Dragon's Teeth}}.
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* Two scenes showing World War II era [[:File:German U-Boat.jpg|German submarine]]s originated from the 2000 [[Universal Studios]] war movie {{wt|U-571 (film)|U-571}}; Universal Studios is the movie distribution partner of Paramount Pictures through [[United International Pictures]].
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* Writer Mike Sussman's favorite shot from these titles was that of the {{type|Emmette}} starship firing on the moon. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
   
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===Sets, props, and wardrobe===
Aboard the ''Defiant'', Archer grows impatient with Trip. Eventually, the engineer successfully restores power to the ship's systems, and the lights and consoles on the bridge become active. When a console beeps, T'Pol learns from the [[science station]] [[viewer scope]] that ''Enterprise'' is being attacked.
 
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* Although it was first thought that this episode's teaser would require part of the Vulcan ship to be rebuilt, long-time production designer [[Herman Zimmerman]] had actually saved the mock-up of the craft's lower portion from {{film|8}}. The set, having been in storage for almost ten years, was taken out of storage and refurbished before being reused. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* The agony booth's plastic enclosure was a reuse of the quarantine chamber set piece from {{ENT|Cold Station 12}}. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]]) In the episode's audio commentary, Tim Gaskill speculates that the booth's interior was likely quite warm, due to the on-set lights as well as the probability that the enclosure would have trapped heat.
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* The sickbay aboard the ''Enterprise'' of this episode was inspired by a description in the script of {{e|Mirror, Mirror}}, referring to the mirror universe sickbay in that episode as being a "vivisectionist's lab." ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* The decision to make this story a two-parter was primarily influenced by the fact that doing so would financially enable the production crew to reconstruct more ''Constitution''-class sets than had been seen in any official ''Star Trek'' production since ''The Original Series''. (''Inside the Mirror Episodes'', [[ENT Season 4 DVD]] special features)
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* The ''Defiant'' corridor set that Archer and his assault team beam into was constructed by Herman Zimmerman and his art department. The set was required to be much more functional than its equivalent from ''The Original Series'', to show the gutting of the ship, including open panels and broken conduits. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]]) [[File:Constitution bridge rebuilt.jpg|thumb|The ''Defiant'' Bridge set, standing on Paramount's Stage 9 in 2005.]]
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* Although small sections of the TOS bridge had been recreated for {{TNG|Relics}} and {{DS9|Trials and Tribble-ations}}, this is the first time a full three-quarters version of the famous set stood on a Paramount soundstage since {{y|1969}}.
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* Manny Coto at first had a major concern regarding the age of the set's origin. He explains, "''My big concern, of course, was that our heroes would be coming from an ''Enterprise'' set that was built in 2005 and designed to look somewhat more sophisticated to a set that was patterned after a {{y|1965}} television show, where they didn't have as much money for detail and budget. And so our fear was: Would it look cardboard, and would it look like our heroes had gone to ... a cheesier set, frankly? But it didn't work out that way.''" (''Inside the Mirror Episodes'', [[ENT Season 4 DVD]]; ''Mirror Universe, Part 2'', [[Star Trek: Fan Collective - Alternate Realities]] DVD special features)
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* The team who worked on the ''Defiant''{{'}}s reconstruction had spent many years of studying the TOS Bridge, not only for the past official ''Star Trek'' episodes that had included portions of the set but also for personal reasons. (''Inside the Mirror Episodes'', [[ENT Season 4 DVD]] special features)
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* Production designer Herman Zimmerman and his art department made a few modifications to the ''Defiant'' Bridge. The segmented red railing seen in [[TOS]] is now perfectly curved. Also, two removable panels are now visible on opposite sides of the main [[viewscreen]], due to the discarded plot point of Archer and his assault team accessing the Bridge by climbing through one of these hatches. (''Information provided by Mike Sussman'') The ''Defiant'' Bridge of this episode also differs from the TOS Bridge because it features subtle movement in its wall-mounted graphics, courtesy of [[Michael Okuda]] and his art department, but the graphics are otherwise very similar to those on the Bridge set of ''The Original Series''. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]]) Illustrator [[Doug Drexler]] says of the graphics, "''Those backlit graphics have been sweated over. They really weren't fudged in any way; I studied thousands and thousands of frame grabs.''" (''Inside the Mirror Episodes'', [[ENT Season 4 DVD]] special features)
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* The ''Defiant'' helm console and captain's chair had been previously built for a museum attraction. Unlike the command chair on Kirk's bridge, the ''Defiant'' captain's chair does not swivel. (It should be noted that the ''Enterprise''{{'}}s command chair does not swivel in {{e|The Cage}}, {{e|Where No Man Has Gone Before}}, nor during some of the earliest episodes of the [[TOS Season 1|first season]] of TOS.) Several members of the production staff, including Manny Coto, found it hard to resist an urge to sit in the captain's chair of the reconstructed Bridge set. (''Inside the Mirror Episodes'', [[ENT Season 4 DVD]] special features)
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* The production crew paid an extraordinary amount of attention to detail in this episode, even positioning the bodies of the ''Defiant''{{'}}s captain and the [[redshirt]] who died, strangling him, exactly where they appear in {{TOS|The Tholian Web}}. Even T'Pol's diagnosis of the dead captain's broken neck is accurate. However, the images on the small screens above the bridge stations do not match with those seen in the ''Original Series'' episode.[[File:Defiant operations lieutenant.jpg|thumb|Dead ''Defiant'' lieutenant wearing a [[redshirt|red shirt]] that bears the ship's angled insignia as well as a faint outline of the ''Enterprise'' insignia]]
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* Even though Bob Justman, on the authority of Gene Roddenberry, stopped the practice of creating a unique [[assignment patch]] for each ship after {{e|The Omega Glory}}, one was designed for this episode. It is an angled insignia similar to one glimpsed on the registry pennant of TOS starships and in the background of various [[starbase]]s. {{st.com|article/starfleet-insignia-explained}}
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* The shirt worn by the first dead officer that Archer and his team come across was previously used aboard the ''Enterprise'' in {{DS9|Trials and Tribble-ations}}. Despite the production crew replacing the ''Enterprise'' assignment patch with that of the ''Defiant'', a faint outline of the ''Enterprise''{{'}}s arrowhead insignia is still visible on the shirt. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* This episode marks the first appearance of a [[phaser]] pistol in the ''Enterprise'' series. The prop was an off-the-shelf toy manufactured by [[Art Asylum]], modified with a strip of [[Velcro]] to allow it to adhere to [[Scott Bakula]]'s trousers.
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* The Suliban cloaking device was a reuse of the [[phase cannon]] model seen in {{ENT|Silent Enemy}}.
  +
* The Terran Empire emblem, which appears on the doors aboard the ''Enterprise'' of this episode as well as being worn as an arm patch on Starfleet uniforms of the mirror universe, not only first appeared in {{e|Mirror, Mirror}} but also used the same globe as the [[United Earth]] logo that first appeared in {{ENT|Home}}. In this case, the globe emblem was slightly changed from its equivalent in "Mirror, Mirror", to show both of Earth's hemispheres. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[text commentary]])
   
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===Cast and characters===
Meanwhile, the Terran Empire starship is taking heavy damage. The ship has lost [[hull plating]] and the [[warp containment field]]s are failing. Three minutes before the ship is expected to explode due to a [[warp core breach]], Forrest orders the crew, including the officers on the bridge, to abandon the ship in [[escape pod]]s. Most of the bridge officers leave their stations, but the captain remains behind and goes to the [[helm]]. Hoshi, still on the bridge, rushes to Forrest and demands an explanation to why he hasn't left. He answers that he intends to delay the ship's destruction for as long as he can and tells Hoshi to leave ''Enterprise''.
 
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* [[James Cromwell]] and [[Cully Fredricksen]] both appear in this episode (courtesy of footage from {{film|8}}), as [[alternate universe|alternate versions]] of their ''First Contact'' characters, [[Zefram Cochrane (mirror)|Zefram Cochrane]] and the unnamed [[Vulcan]] captain respectively. Clearance from Cromwell and Fredricksen was required before the teaser sequence could be given the go-ahead, but the performers graciously accepted the reuse of the footage and did not ask for too much money in return. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* This episode marks the final appearance of [[Vaughn Armstrong]] on the series, his regular character of [[Maxwell Forrest]] having died in the earlier fourth season episode {{e|The Forge}}. Armstrong was extremely pleased that, in this episode, a character he was playing finally "got the girl," in the form of Hoshi Sato. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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* According to Mike Sussman, the cast and crew joked that the mirror universe "put the Ho back in Hoshi." (''Inside the Mirror Episodes'', [[ENT Season 4 DVD]] special features)
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* On deciding what breed of [[dog]] should play the mirror universe Porthos, Mike Sussman suggested a [[Great Dane]]. At the episode's production meeting, this suggestion was generally thought to be very funny and insufficiently scary. The other choices were a Pit Bull or a [[Rottweiler]], the latter being ultimately chosen. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
   
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===Production===
On the ''Defiant''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s bridge, the officers have removed their helmets, since life support came on-line when power was restored. When T'Pol notifies Archer that ''Enterprise'' is taking heavy damage, the commander asks Trip whether he can activate the ''Defiant''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s weapons and engines. Although the engineer is unsure, he sets to work on those systems. Archer tells Mayweather and Reed to help him remove the dead bodies from in front of the command chair and they start to lift the two men.
 
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* At one point during production, Scott Bakula wondered if it was possible to modify the Terran Empire salute, due to both the cramped conditions aboard ''Enterprise'' and the danger that an actor performing the salute &ndash; which requires the saluting individual to jut their hand out &ndash; could easily collide with an actor nearby. Mike Sussman was asked, by [[Merri Howard]], to visit the set and act as consultant on the salute, to ensure that all actors and extras were performing it correctly. One suggestion was that the actors could minimize the salute to involve only a thump on the chest that, in the final version, precedes the extension of the arm. However, the same action had been used in the parody sci-fi film ''[[Galaxy Quest]]'' and, when Sussman pointed this out, it was generally agreed that the episode should not mimic the film too closely; consequently, the suggestion was dismissed. The final version of the salute used in this episode differs from the one used in {{TOS|Mirror, Mirror}} as the hand is open in the latter example whereas the salute in this episode involves a closed fist. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
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*[[Jolene Blalock]] expressed concern over having no lines in the Engineering scene wherein Archer and Reed inquire into Tucker's electric shock as T'Pol quietly watches them. Writer Mike Sussman believed that since Blalock's character had skillfully set up Tucker to take the fall for damaging the cloaking device, it would therefor be smarter of T'Pol to remain silent in order to not give away that she was the conspirator behind the sabotage. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
  +
* During the filming of the scene in which Archer tussles with Forrest in the brig, director [[James L. Conway]] told Vaughn Armstrong to briefly stick his tongue out amid the conflict. Armstrong thought performing this action was a slightly cheesy moment and he was somewhat embarrassed about it. He later recounted the experience to Tim Gaskill, who can be heard relaying it to Mike Sussman in the episode's audio commentary. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
  +
* The filming of the scene wherein Tucker is subjected to the agony booth while Archer interrogates him was very intense, requiring many takes and [[Connor Trinneer]] to apparently be writhing in agony inside the booth. Some of the production staff who were present during this experience found it to be upsetting to watch. Neither Mike Sussman nor Tim Gaskill were on the set at this point but both later heard about the intensity of filming the scene. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
  +
* Tim Gaskill managed to visit the set to watch the filming of the scene wherein Tucker restores power to the ''Defiant'', lighting up its Bridge. Gaskill later recalled that this experience had been "a great moment." ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
   
  +
===Modernizing the Tholians===
Surrounded by flames and fire, the bridge of ''Enterprise'' shudders as the Tholian vessels continue their assualt.
 
  +
* The process of creating the fleshed-out [[CGI model|CGI]] Tholian was supervised by [[Dan Curry]]. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]]) Visual effects producer [[Ronald B. Moore]] was pleased to be provided with the opportunity of working on designing the Tholians for ENT, having not been given that chance when working on "Future Tense" (due to the fact that the Tholians themselves are never seen in that episode). (''Visual Effects Magic'', [[ENT Season 4 DVD]] special features)
  +
* The visual effects team watched "The Tholian Web" a couple of times to prepare for modernizing the Tholians. (''Visual Effects Magic'', [[ENT Season 4 DVD]] special features) The team's design process included early sketches, some of which were seen by Mike Sussman. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
  +
* Ronald B. Moore was at first stumped as to how to approach the task of designing the new Tholian. His usual instinct of modernizing early aliens was to make them as close as possible to the TOS versions while also trying to imagine what the aliens might have been like in ''The Original Series'' if that show had had a bigger budget. In this case, even though he thought the Tholian in "The Tholian Web" ([[Commander]] [[Loskene]]) looks like it's wearing a helmet, Moore instead wanted to make the new Tholian have a crystalline structure. (''Visual Effects Magic'', [[ENT Season 4 DVD]] special features)
  +
[[File:David Anderson, Tholian stand-in.jpg|thumb|Raw footage of [[David Anderson]] appearing as the [[stand-in]] for the [[CGI model|CGI]] Tholian pilot that appears in this episode]]
  +
* The filming of the CGI Tholian was accomplished using motion-control and required [[stand-in]] [[David Anderson]] to wear an intricate, black bodysuit that enabled him to be tracked, before the digitally animated Tholian was then made to duplicate his movements, which were subsequently slightly modified. (''Visual Effects Magic'', [[ENT Season 4 DVD]] special features)
  +
* Although the spider-like appearance of the Tholian's modernized exterior might suggest that the Tholians are personally capable of spinning webs like their ships are, Mike Sussman had not considered this until it was pointed out to him by a friend. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
   
  +
===Music===
The starship begins to launch [[escape pod]]s, but some of the small capsules are destroyed by the Tholian ships' weapons, or when they collide with the energy web's structural supports.
 
  +
* This episode's teaser reuses the theme music of {{film|8}}, as written by [[Jerry Goldsmith]].
  +
* The episode also debuted a bombastic, {{audio|file=ENT main title 4, mirror.ogg|text=militaristic theme}} that was written especially for the two-parter, by prolific ''Star Trek'' composer [[Dennis McCarthy]] (along with composer [[Kevin Kiner]]). This "mirror theme" is used to accompany both the alternate credits sequence, near the start of the episode, and the episode's end credits. When CBS/Paramount syndicated ENT to local television stations starting in late 2005, this theme could frequently be heard in promos for several other episodes of the series, in addition to the two mirror universe episodes. Indirectly referring to the series' [[Where My Heart Will Take Me|usual theme song]], Mike Sussman says of the revised theme's success, "''We [...] got rid of that, you know, tambourine-slapping theme song for two episodes, which I think a lot of people were happy with.''" (''Mirror Universe, Part 2'', [[Star Trek: Fan Collective - Alternate Realities]] DVD special features)''
   
  +
===Continuity===
Almost completely engulfed by fire, ''Enterprise''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s bridge rocks violently as Captain Forrest holds on to the helm station of his dying ship.
 
  +
* Phlox is performing a vivisection on what appears to be a [[Cardassian vole]] in one scene, perhaps suggesting that the Terran Empire had already encroached on [[Cardassian]] space by 2155.
  +
* While trapped in the Tholian web, ''Enterprise'' is able to fire weapons through its cloak. However, the cloak appears to ''momentarily'' fail a few seconds after ''Enterprise'' launches torpedoes, perhaps indicating that the ship has insufficient power for simultaneous use of weapons and cloak.
  +
* It remains unclear how Archer and his assault team got to the ''Defiant'' Bridge via turbolift since the ship's power was off. Although not established in the episode, Sussman believed that Tucker's power unit (later used to activate the [[Engineering station|Bridge Engineering console]]) could have been used to make the lift operational. (''Information provided by Mike Sussman'')
  +
* The computer system aboard the ''Enterprise'' of this episode has a voice, unlike the ''Enterprise'' that is usually featured in the series. The voice is masculine, in common with the computer system aboard the ''Enterprise'' of {{e|Mirror, Mirror}}. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
  +
* Another commonality between those two episodes is that, in both this episode and {{e|Mirror, Mirror}}, more Vulcans are on the ''Enterprise'' than in each episode's respective series; the earlier episode includes a [[ISS Enterprise Spock's guard 1|Vulcan bodyguard]] working for {{mu|Spock}}, whereas this episode involves the Vulcan security officers that help T'Pol spring Forrest from the brig. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
  +
* The plot point of T'Pol detecting a reptilian aboard the ''Defiant'' foreshadows the discovery of a [[Gorn]] living on the ship, in the second part of the two-parter. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
  +
* Director [[James L. Conway]] had previously directed {{DS9|Shattered Mirror}} in {{y|1996}}, another episode dealing with the [[mirror universe]].
  +
* For the first time in the series, [[escape pod]]s are used by the ''Enterprise'' crew, launched by being ejected through removable panels around the saucer. Even though Mike Sussman was once told that the ''NX''-class ''Enterprise'' of the regular universe does not have escape pods, he later implied that he believed the mirror universe setting of this story allows, without breaching continuity, for escape pods to have been assigned to the ''Enterprise'' of this episode. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
  +
* The web created by the Tholians in this episode differs from the one in "The Tholian Web". In the earlier episode, two Tholian ships connect by reversing into each other and then moving away. In this episode, the beam is emitted from the fore of the vessels. While it took several hours for the Tholians to "spin" their web in the first instance, here it takes a matter of seconds. However, like the Terrans, it could be assumed that the mirror-universe Tholians are more advanced technologically, in their own time period, than their counterparts in the prime universe. The difference in webs might also be explained by the fact that there are only two Tholian ships in the TOS episode, whereas in this episode, there are several. Mike Sussman has commented that the slower method of creating the web would not have served story purposes here. ([[ENT Season 4 DVD]] [[audio commentary]])
  +
* In the {{s|DIS}} episode {{e|Vaulting Ambition}}, a [[PADD]] with information about the events of this episode retroactively places them on [[stardate]] 0141.7, the earliest stardate yet in any series or film.
   
  +
===Reception===
On the ''Defiant''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s bridge, Archer looks through the helm station viewer scope while Reed attempts to operate the navigation console. When T'Pol alerts Archer's attention to the viewscreen, the commander watches helplessly as ''Enterprise'' explodes.
 
  +
*The two-part episode proved to be one of the most popular installments of ''Enterprise.'' David Bianculli, {{el|npr.org/people/2101612/david-bianculli/}} the television critic for ''The New York Daily News'', called them "''the best hours of'' Enterprise ''yet''." He wrote, "''The biggest treat of this episode, though, is its ability to surprise - and to do so with not only a sense of'' Trek ''history, but with a sense of humor.''" Bianculli added that "''by taking a walk on the wild side,'' Enterprise ''is being very good by letting its characters be very bad''." He rated the episode three-and-a-half out of four stars, and said that it was so much fun that "''had they adopted this attitude from the start,'' Enterprise ''probably would still be flying missions next season''." {{el|nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/star-trek-final-frontier-article-1.618456}}
[[Image:Archer watches Enterprise explode - In a Mirror, Darkly.jpg|thumb|200px|Archer watches as ''Enterprise'' explodes.]]
 
  +
*In August 2016, ''[[Star Trek]]'' fans at the 50th anniversary [[Star Trek convention|convention]] in Las Vegas chose "In a Mirror, Darkly" as one of the "Ten Best ''Star Trek'' Episodes" of all time, out of more than seven-hundred live-action episodes produced as of that date. {{st.com|article/captains-beam-down-to-star-trek-las-vegas-for-day-4}}
  +
* ''Newsweek'' magazine listed this episode, and its [[In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II (episode)|second part]], first on its list of "Top 10" ''Enterprise'' episodes. (''Newsweek: Star Trek - 50 Years on the'' ''Enterprise'', January/February 2016, p. 82).
  +
* The readers of ''[[Star Trek Magazine issue 124|Star Trek Magazine]]'' selected the two-parter as the best episode of ''Star Trek: Enterprise'' in their 40th anniversary reader poll ("Who's on Top?," [[Star Trek Magazine issue 124|Issue No. 124]], 17 November 2005).
  +
* ''Cinefantastique'' magazine listed the two-hour episode at #4 on its list of the top ten television episodes of 2005. ("TV: Best of 2005," ''Cinefantastique 2005 Yearbook Issue'', November 30, 2005, p.8).
  +
* ''Wired'' named the two-part installment as one of twelve "all-time best ''Star Trek'' episodes" available online for binge-watching. {{el|wired.co.uk/article/the-best-star-trek-episodes-on-netflix}}
  +
* The guidebook ''[[Star Trek 101]]'' by [[Terry J. Erdmann]] and [[Paula M. Block]] lists this episode as one of the "Ten Essential Episodes" from ''Star Trek: Enterprise'' (p. 262).
  +
* "''Everything that was set up in the classic 'Mirror, Mirror' is here and writer [[Mike Sussman]] juggles them all expertly''," writes ''IGN.com'', awarding the installment five out of five stars. “''The actors are obviously having more fun than they've ever had before playing these alternate versions of their regular characters which frankly, have more depth to them than we've seen in the past three-and-a-half years of the series... ['In a Mirror, Darkly'] may be a gimmick episode, but it's a gimmick that works nearly flawlessly and shouldn't be missed''.” {{el|ign.com/articles/2005/04/21/trek-report-report-from-the-mirror-universe}}
  +
* Brannon Braga was highly impressed by this episode's teaser sequence, later stating, "''When I saw that, it was like, 'This should just be a whole season!{{'}}''" {{Trekcore|s=blog|2013/03/exclusive-brannon-braga-interview-part-ii}}
  +
* This episode was nominated for an [[Emmy Award]] in the Outstanding Hairstyling For A Series category.
  +
* A busy box prop from one of the ''Defiant'' corridor sets was ultimately auctioned off in week 1 of the [[It's A Wrap! sale and auction|''It's A Wrap!'' sale and auction]]. {{stala|0011}} The control interfaces for the agony booth from this episode were also sold in the same auction.
  +
* Scott Bakula described the two-parter as a favorite episode of his in an interview with SyFy Wire. {{bl|syfy.com/syfywire/scott-bakula-and-dominic-keating-look-back-on-star-trek-enterprises-best-episodes-10-years}}
  +
* John Billingsley and Connor Trinneer were not fans of the two-parter. Billingsley called the episodes "''banal''" and Trineer described them as "''pandering;''" while in the same interview, Dominic Keating described them as “''good fun''.” {{TrekMovie.com|2020/06/22/john-billingsley-star-trek-enterprise-needed-more-development-was-fked-by-network-timidity/}}
  +
* Linda Park, who had a substantial role in the two-parter as the self-proclaimed Empress Sato, has said: "''I think it’s well known that those are my favorite episodes''." {{st.com|article/linda-park-interview}}
  +
* Following the success of the two-part episode, Sussman contributed the story for a sequel novella, "[[Age of the Empress]]," published as part of the first in a series of Mirror Universe anthology trade paperbacks. (Mack, David, et al. ''Glass Empires'' - ''Star Trek: Mirror Universe #1''. Pocket Books, 2007).
   
  +
===DVD releases===
'''TO BE CONTINUED...'''
 
  +
* As part of the [[ENT Season 4 DVD]].
  +
* As part of the ''[[Star Trek: Fan Collective - Alternate Realities]]'' collection.
   
  +
== Links and references ==
==Background Information==
 
  +
{{ENT Cast (Mirror)}}
*This is the seven hundredth live action episode of ''[[Star Trek]]''.
 
  +
=== Guest stars ===
  +
* [[Vaughn Armstrong]] as [[Maximilian Forrest]]
  +
* [[Franc Ross]] as [[Human 21st century grizzled man 1|Grizzled Man]]
   
  +
=== Uncredited co-stars ===
*This episode, along with [[In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II|the second part]], feature a completely different opening credits that chronicles the history of human warfare and interstellar domination of the [[Terran Empire]], as opposed to the regular opening sequence depicting peaceful exploration. Featured are [[World War I]] troop tactics, a [[squadron]] of [[Stuka dive-bomber]]s, aerial bombings, a different [[Luna|moon]] landing, a [[T-90 Tank]], an [[F-15]], and a battle between ''Enterprise'' and the [[Xindi]]. Also, to help deliver the message that all is not right, the words "Star Trek: Enterprise" in the opening title change from white print to black print. The opening credits include scenes from other [[Paramount]] media, notably the television series ''Call of Glory'' and the feature film ''The Hunt for Red October''.
 
  +
* [[David Anderson]] as [[Mirror universe Tholian pilot 1|Tholian prisoner]]
  +
* [[Jef Ayres]] as {{mu|Haynem}}
  +
* [[Craig Baxley, Jr.]] as [[ISS EnterpriseNX tactical officer 001|ISS ''Enterprise'' tactical officer]]
  +
* [[Caroline Bielskis]] as [[Unnamed Terrans|Montana Earth Woman]]
  +
* [[Steve Blalock]] as [[Vulcan 21st century mirror captain|Vulcan captain]]
  +
* [[Solomon Burke, Jr.]]
  +
* [[Dominic Calandra]] as [[ISS EnterpriseNX helm officer 001|''Enterprise'' command division officer]]
  +
* [[Mickey Cassidy]] as {{mu|M. Romero}}
  +
* [[Mark Correy]] as {{mu|Alex}}
  +
* [[James Cromwell]] as {{mu|Zefram Cochrane}} (archive footage)
  +
* [[Shawn Crowder]] as [[MACO mirror personnel MACO 003|ISS ''Enterprise'' MACO]]
  +
* [[Evan English]]
  +
* [[Cully Fredricksen]] as [[Vulcan 21st century mirror captain|Vulcan captain]] (archive footage)
  +
* [[Peter Godoy]]
  +
* [[Glen Hambly]] as [[ISS EnterpriseNX Vulcan officer 001|ISS ''Enterprise'' Vulcan officer]]
  +
* [[Noelle Hannibal]] as [[Vulcan 21st century mirror first officer|Vulcan officer]] (archive footage)
  +
* [[Scott Hill]] as [[ISS EnterpriseNX Vulcan officer 002|ISS ''Enterprise'' Vulcan officer]]
  +
* [[Dieter Hornemann]] as [[Vulcan 21st century mirror second officer|Vulcan officer]]
  +
* [[Yoshio Iizuka]] as {{mu|V. Brown}}
  +
* [[April Jacobson]] as [[A. Jacobson (mirror)|Terran officer]]
  +
* [[John Jurgens]]
  +
* [[Bevin Kaye]] as [[Vulcan 21st century mirror first officer|Vulcan officer]]
  +
* [[Tamara Lee Krinsky]] as [[Unnamed Terrans|Terran townsperson]] (archive footage)
  +
* [[Ricky Lomax]] as {{mu|W. Woods}}
  +
* [[Andrew MacBeth]] as {{mu|E. Hamboyan|mirror}}
  +
* [[Aouri Makhlouf]]
  +
* [[James McElroy]] as [[MACO mirror personnel MACO 004|MACO bystander]]
  +
* [[Louis Ortiz]] as [[Vulcan 21st century mirror second officer|Vulcan officer]] (archive footage)
  +
* [[Cesar Rodriguez]]
  +
* [[Rife Sibley]] as [[MACO mirror personnel MACO 002|MACO]]
  +
* [[Paul Sklar]]
  +
* [[Pablo Soriano]] as [[Terev]]
  +
* [[Cecelia Specht]]
  +
* [[John Wan]] as {{mu|Biggs}}
  +
* [[Eric Warfield]] as [[Defiant 1764 captain 001|''Defiant'' captain]] {{stala|1778-0255}}
  +
* [[Curtis Wong]] as [[Defiant 1764 operations lieutenant 1|''Defiant'' operations lieutenant]]
  +
* [[Unknown performers]] as
  +
** {{mu|C. Black}}
  +
** {{mu|T. Palmer}}
  +
** [[Defiant 1764 operations ensign 1|''Defiant'' operations ensign]]
  +
** [[Human 20th century Terran Empire astronaut|Terran Empire astronaut]] (opening credits)
   
  +
=== Stunt double ===
*These two episodes differ from other [[mirror universe]] episodes of [[TOS]], and [[DS9]]. Instead of someone travelling to the mirror universe, both of the episodes, from beginning to end, took place in the mirror universe.
 
  +
* [[Shawn Crowder]] as [[stunt double]] for [[Connor Trinneer]]
   
  +
=== References ===
*[[James Cromwell]] and [[Cully Fredricksen]] both appear, courtesy of footage from ''[[Star Trek: First Contact]]'', playing [[alternate universe|alternate version]]s of their [[Star Trek: First Contact]] characters, [[Zefram Cochrane (mirror)|Zefram Cochrane]] and the unnamed [[Vulcan]] captain who made first contact with [[humans|humanity]] on April 5, [[2063]] (respectively).
 
  +
[[2063]], [[2155]], [[2268]]; [[ability]]; [[agonizer]]; [[agony booth]]; "[[all hands]]"; [[ancestor]]; [[annexation]]; {{mu|Biggs}}; {{dis|Black|Admiral}}; [[boarding party]]; [[bomber]]; [[Brazil]]; [[brig]]; [[Calico M950]]; [[career]]; [[cloaking device]]; [[co-conspirator]]; [[court martial]]; [[dead star]]; {{USSr|Defiant|NCC-1764}}; [[delta radiation]]; [[dinner]]; [[dozen]]; [[duty shift]]; [[emperor]]; {{ISSr|Enterprise|NX-01}}; [[escape pod]]; [[Fleet Admiral]]; [[flogging]]; [[flux coupler]]; {{mu|Gardner}}; [[gas giant]]; "[[glow in the dark]]"; [[Gorlan Station]]; [[gravity well]]; [[Heckler & Koch MP5]]; [[insurance policy]]; [[internal sensor]]; [[invasion force]]; [[Kelvin]]; [[kiss]]; [[theft|looting]]; [[Major]]; [[maternal]]; [[maximum warp]]; {{mu|Military Assault Command Operations}}; [[mind meld]]; [[mirror universe]]; [[mutiny]]; {{mu|T. Palmer}}; ''[[pon farr]]''; {{mu|Porthos}}; [[progress report]]; [[propaganda]]; [[reptilian]]; [[sabotage]]; {{dis|sanctuary|location}}; [[sedative]]; [[sergeant]]; [[sexual encounter]]; [[shotgun]]; [[status report]]; [[Suliban]]; [[Tau Ceti]]; [[Tellarite]]; [[temperature]]; {{mu|Terran}}; [[Terran Empire]]; [[Terran salute]]; [[Terev]]; [[Tholian]]; [[Tholian space]]; [[Tholian web]]; {{dis|Tholian ship|22nd century}} ([[Tholian 22nd ship 003|unnamed 1]], [[Tholian 22nd ships 004|unnamed 2]]); [[tractor emitter]]; [[tri-cobalt warhead]]; [[Vintaak system]] ([[Vintaak gas giant 001|gas giant]], [[Vintaak moon 001|moons]]); [[Vulcan]]; [[Vulcan Science Directorate]]
[[Image:Defiant-lieutenant-corpse.jpg|thumb|Dead ''Defiant'' lieutenant. ''Note the angled ship insignia.]]
 
*The fate of the [[USS Defiant (NCC-1764)]] from the [[TOS]] episode "[[The Tholian Web]]" is made known in this episode. Even though the original series producers neglected to create an [[assignment patch]] for the ''Defiant'', one was designed for this episode. It is an angled insignia similar to the registry pennant on TOS starships. This shape was also seen as a Starfleet insignia on various TOS [[starbase]]s.
 
   
  +
==== Opening theme references ====
*The producers paid an amazing amount of attention to detail in this episode, even positioning the bodies of the ''Defiant's'' [[Commanding officer|Captain]] and the [[Redshirt]] who died strangling him exactly where they appeared in [[TOS]]: "[[The Tholian Web]]". Even [[T'Pol]]'s diagnosis of his broken neck was accurate.
 
  +
[[2K12 Kub]]; [[75 mm Gun M1916]]; [[B-1B Lancer]]; {{type|Emmette}}; [[F-5 Tiger II]]; [[F-15 Eagle]]; [[Fokker D.VII]]; [[Stuka|Junkers Ju 87]]; [[M4 Sherman]]; [[Project 705]]; [[Renault FT]]; [[Sopwith Camel]]; [[T-62 main battle tank]]; [[T-90 tank]]; [[Type VII submarine]]
*For the first time in the series, [[Escape pod]]s are used by the ''Enterprise'' crew. They are ejected though removable panels around the saucer. This episode marks the first appearance of a [[phaser]] in the ENT series.
 
   
  +
=== External links ===
*This episode also shows what a Tholian's entire body shape looks like.
 
  +
* {{startrek.com|database_article/in-a-mirror-darkly|"In a Mirror, Darkly"|external}}
  +
* {{mbeta-quote|In a Mirror, Darkly}}
  +
* {{wikipedia-quote|In a Mirror, Darkly}}
   
  +
{{Mirror universe episodes}}
*The plastic enclosure that makes up the agony booth in ''[[ENT]]: "In a Mirror, Darkly"'' is a reuse of the quarantine chamber setpiece from [[ENT]]:"[[Cold Station 12 (episode)|Cold Station 12]]".
 
  +
{{ENT nav|season=4|last={{e|Bound}}|next={{e|In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II}}}}
  +
{{featured|date=August 2005|id=137334}}
   
  +
[[cs:In a Mirror, Darkly]]
*While trapped in the Tholian web, the ''Enterprise'' is able to fire weapons through their cloak.
 
  +
[[de:Die dunkle Seite des Spiegels, Teil I]]
 
  +
[[es:In a Mirror, Darkly, Part I]]
*This episode marks the final appearance of [[Vaughn Armstrong]] on the series.
 
  +
[[fr:In a Mirror, Darkly, Part I (épisode)]]
 
  +
[[ja:ENT:暗黒の地球帝国・前編]]
==Memorable Quotes==
 
  +
[[nl:In a Mirror, Darkly, Deel I]]
''"Live long and prosper."''
 
 
-- ''Zephram Cochrane shoots and kills the Vulcan Captain.'' --
 
 
''"Board their ship, take everything you can!"''
 
 
: - '''Vulcan captain''', '''"Grizzled Man"'''
 
 
 
''"Something about ... your maternal ancestor."''
 
 
: - '''Hoshi Sato (mirror)''', translating Tholian
 
 
 
''"I did you a favour once."''
 
 
''"We agreed never to discuss that."''
 
 
''"And I haven't."''
 
 
''"I'd hardly call it a favor, you enjoyed yourself."''
 
 
''"Several times as I recall. So, how many years is it 'til your [[pon farr]] comes around again?"''
 
 
: - '''Charles Tucker III (mirror)''', '''T'Pol (mirror)'''
 
 
 
''"Will you kindly die?"''
 
 
: - '''Dr. Phlox (mirror)'''
 
 
==Links and References==
 
===Cast===
 
* [[Scott Bakula]] as [[Jonathan Archer (mirror)]]
 
* [[Jolene Blalock]] as [[T'Pol (mirror)]]
 
* [[John Billingsley]] as [[Phlox (mirror)]]
 
* [[Connor Trinneer]] as [[Charles Tucker III (mirror)]]
 
* [[Dominic Keating]] as [[Malcolm Reed (mirror)]]
 
* [[Anthony Montgomery]] as [[Travis Mayweather (mirror)]]
 
* [[Linda Park]] as [[Hoshi Sato (mirror)]]
 
===Guest stars===
 
* [[Vaughn Armstrong]] as [[Maximilian Forrest]]
 
* [[Cully Fredricksen]] as the mirror [[Vulcan]] [[captain]] ([[Mirror universe people]])
 
* [[James Cromwell]] as [[Zefram Cochrane (mirror)]]
 
 
===References===
 
[[agonizer]]; [[agony booth]]; [[Biggs (mirror)]]; [[Black]]; [[Brazil]]; [[brig]]; [[cloaking device]]; [[USS Defiant (NCC-1764)|''Defiant'', USS]]; [[delta radiation]]; [[Emperor]]; [[ISS Enterprise (NX-01)|''Enterprise'', ISS]]; [[escape pod]]s; [[Fleet Admiral]]; [[flux coupler]]; [[Gardner (mirror)]]; [[gas giant]]; [[Gorlan Station]] ([[Gorlan]]); [[Major]]; [[MACO (mirror)|MACO]]; [[mirror universe]]; [[mutiny]]; [[pon farr]]; [[Porthos (mirror)]]; [[Sergeant]]; [[shotgun]]; [[Suliban]]; [[Tau Ceti system]]; [[Tellarite]]s; [[Terran]]s; [[Terran Empire]]; [[Terran salute]]; [[Terev]]; [[Tholian]]s; [[Tholian web]]; [[tri-cobalt warhead]]; [[Vintaak system]]; [[Vulcan]]s; [[Vulcan mind meld]]; [[Vulcan Science Directorate]]
 
 
====Chronology====
 
* [[Mirror universe history]]
 
* [[Mirror universe starships]]
 
* [[2063]]
 
* [[2155]]
 
* [[2268]]
 
 
{{featured}}
 
 
{| class="browser"
 
|-
 
| class="prev" | Previous episode:<br />[[Bound]]
 
| class="topic" | Episodes of [[ENT|Star Trek: ''Enterprise'']]<br />[[ENT Season 4]]
 
| class="next" | Next episode:<br />[[In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II]]
 
|}
 
 
[[Category:ENT episodes]]
 
[[Category:ENT episodes]]
 
[[nl:In a Mirror, Darkly, Deel I]]
 

Latest revision as of 04:24, 14 December 2023

Real world article
(written from a Production point of view)

For the CCG expansion, please see CCG: In a Mirror, Darkly.

In the mirror universe, Commander Archer mutinies against Captain Forrest in order to capture a future Earth ship found in Tholian space. (Part 1 of 2)

Summary

Teaser

April 5, 2063 – From beyond Earth's atmosphere, a Vulcan ship descends and lands in Bozeman, Montana. Watched by a crowd of onlookers, a member of the Vulcan crew disembarks and approaches Zefram Cochrane. The alien performs a Vulcan salute and recites a Vulcan salutation: "Live long and prosper." Cochrane tries to imitate the newcomer's salute. After an unsuccessful attempt, he lowers his hand and, instead of holding it for a handshake (which is what happened in a similar parallel universe), he reaches into his coat and pulls out a shotgun with which he shoots the Vulcan, who instantly collapses. A bearded man in the crowd tells the other Human spectators to board the alien ship and take everything they can. Then the crowd storms the Vulcan craft with guns and attack the crew.

Act One

"Captain's starlogJanuary 13, 2155. We've left Gorlan Station and have set a course to rendezvous with our assault fleet. Major Reed and the doctor have asked for a few minutes to show me their latest project."
Agony booth, 2155

Enterprise's agony booth, a new invention

Aboard the ISS Enterprise, Reed and Dr. Phlox demonstrate their new invention of an agony booth to Captain Maximilian Forrest and First Officer Jonathan Archer, using the booth on a Tellarite officer named Terev. The observers discuss attributes of certain torture methods. Although Reed is unsure why Terev is being punished, the Major believes all Tellarites are guilty of something. Captain Forrest exits, followed out by Archer.

In a corridor, Archer reminds the captain of a proposal he made to venture into Tholian space, as Archer has received news of a technology there that would give the Terran Empire the upper hand against a rebellion. However, Forrest wants to help the Empire's assault fleet annihilate the rebels, as ordered by Starfleet. Although Forrest suspects that Archer wants to use the technology to attain personal glory, the first officer repudiates this. Archer's insistence on his plan influences Forrest to threaten the first officer with a place in the agony booth. Archer finally yields to Forrest's authority.

Mirror Archer threatens Mirror Reed

"If anything happens to Forrest, I'll shoot you myself. Are we clear, major?"

Forrest is later busily reviewing work in his quarters when Hoshi Sato, the captain's woman, approaches, eager to relax him. They kiss passionately, Forrest conceding to her advances. Hoshi remarks that she is likely the only person aboard who doesn't want to kill him. Relaying rumor that a recent battle with the rebellion at Tau Ceti went well, Hoshi plans that – once the war is over – she will return to teaching students in Brazil while Forrest will accept a desk job at Starfleet Headquarters. He, however, explains that the battle was much worse than she has heard; Forrest implies that he is hiding the truth from the rest of the crew. Hoshi advises him to forget about the war and goes back to passionately kissing him.

As Enterprise warps through space, Forrest is making his way through the ship, closely followed by a MACO, when they are ambushed by Archer and MACOs allied with him, including Major Reed in a turbolift and Sergeant Travis Mayweather. Despite Archer ordering Reed to lock Forrest in the brig, the Major is intent on killing the imprisoned captain. Archer threateningly insists that Forrest be kept alive so Reed ultimately relents.

Archer takes control of the bridge

Archer takes control of the bridge

T'Pol is sitting in the bridge's command chair when Archer and his MACOs arrive. Archer seizes control of the bridge and – via a ship-wide communication that is heard by Hoshi Sato, Dr. Phlox and the disfigured Chief Engineer Charles Tucker – he assumes command of the rest of the ship, claiming that Starfleet ordered not only his takeover but also that he direct the ship on a vital, secretive mission into Tholian space. He assures the crew that if their mission is successful, Starfleet will crush the rebellion once and for all. Following the message, Archer tells a suspicious T'Pol that his orders were privately sent to him. He oversees the ship's change of course and orders T'Pol to help with the installation of a stored Suliban cloaking device, as it will be necessary to the mission.

"Enterprise starlog, Captain Jonathan Archer. The crew has accepted the change of command without incident. Chief Engineer Tucker reports we'll have cloaking capability within six hours."
Archer asserts his command - In a Mirror, Darkly

Archer asserts his command.

In the captain's ready room, T'Pol reluctantly accepts that Archer is in command. He shows her Zefram Cochrane's shotgun from a century prior, wondering what might have happened if Cochrane had not used it to kill the first Vulcan who set foot on Earth. Reminding T'Pol that she is also Vulcan, Archer asserts his authority. She lets him know that they have likely already entered Tholian-occupied space, as they frequently annex systems outside of their core territory. Archer assigns her to search for a particular warp signature and, just as she is about to leave, he calls her back in with news that he is promoting her to first officer, explaining why he prefers to assign her to that position rather than Reed. Finally dismissed by Archer, T'Pol exits. He meanwhile returns Cochrane's gun to its display.

Hoshi Sato attacks Jonathan Archer (mirror)

While kissing Archer, Hoshi thrusts a knife at him.

Later, Archer personally promotes Sergeant Mayweather to acting as the Captain's personal guard. Mayweather starts to congratulate Archer on his successful mutiny but the newly appointed captain cuts him short, followed by snarls from a hungry Porthos. Hoshi arrives and Archer dismisses Mayweather. Hoshi admits that she knows Archer didn't receive orders from Starfleet. He shows a curious Hoshi that Forrest is still alive through an image of the brig on his desktop monitor and says the former captain will remain that way as long as Hoshi cooperates. Although she seduces Archer into accepting her continuance as the Captain's woman, she pulls a knife out while they kiss. He disarms her as T'Pol hails him. The Vulcan reports that Enterprise is approaching the sought-after warp signature and Archer warns Hoshi to be "in a better mood" upon his return.

Tholian starship explodes

The Tholian starship explodes

Enterprise drops out of warp, nearing its target: a Tholian ship, manned by a single Tholian. Following a failed plan to tractor onto the enemy craft and a subsequent brief exchange of firepower, Enterprise disables the Tholian ship. Its pilot starts an overload in its reactor but is beamed into Enterprise's Decon chamber just as its own ship explodes. Acting on orders from Archer, Dr. Phlox delightedly begins to torture the Tholian by modifying the chamber's atmosphere.

Act Two

Tholian pilot

The Tholian prisoner

The senior staff gather outside the Decon chamber. Archer is initially startled by the Tholian suddenly appearing. He is interested to know where the Tholians have taken a Terran vessel they captured. Phlox tortures the prisoner until it admits that Archer's quarry is at an orbital facility in the Vintaak system. The Tholian then starts using its own crystalline structure to transmit a distress signal. Archer lets his senior officers know that he would prefer to keep the alien alive but unconscious until its information is confirmed.

Working with T'Pol on installing the cloak in Engineering, Tucker sees to it that she has a radiation meter from engineering officer Biggs, as it will prevent her from absorbing the same kind of delta rays that disfigured him. Discussion turns, much to T'Pol's discomfort, to a past experience wherein Tucker allowed her to relieve pon farr with him. Tucker receives an electric shock from an overload sparking to the cloaking device.

Archer and Reed later inquire into the incident. The captain is insistent that Tucker prioritize the cloak's repair. Reed is suspicious of the overload, while a secretly knowledgeable T'Pol watches, but Tucker objects to Reed's MACOs investigating.

In the brig, Archer demands that Forrest identify the saboteur, believing it was a spy assigned by Admiral Black, but Forrest claims ignorance. Archer orders Mayweather, on brig duty, to search the captain's quarters for telltale messages from Starfleet. Mayweather complies, ignoring a cautioning of execution from Forrest. Now alone with Archer, Forrest criticizes him of having always lacked ambition. Archer brutalizes Forrest, citing his imprisonment as a sign that he is incorrect. Forrest pleads for Archer to release him, claiming consequences of both freeing him and killing him. Archer throws him against a bulkhead and departs.

In the bridge's situation room, Reed explains to Archer that evidence points to Tucker as being the saboteur.

Tucker is later punished in the agony booth. Through severe pain, Tucker claims he is innocent and threatens Reed for having implicated him but Reed merely teases Tucker in return. Archer suspects Tucker is Admiral Black's spy and, despite Tucker insisting to the contrary, a distrusting Archer directs Reed to continue subjecting Tucker to the agony booth.

Later in the captain's quarters, Archer and Hoshi lie together, clearly having had a sexual encounter. The captain ensures that Hoshi transmitted data to the fleet admiral but only refers to it cryptically, as an "insurance policy." Archer then starts to suspect T'Pol of being the saboteur, finding that she cannot be located by the ship's computer as the overload damaged the internal sensors.

T'Pol with Vulcan guards

T'Pol leads an armed Vulcan security party

T'Pol meanwhile leads a successful rescue effort to free Forrest from the brig, two Vulcan companions of hers having a brief encounter with Archer, who escapes in a turbolift. Forrest and T'Pol then retake command from the bridge but find that the ship is locked on course, which Archer personally confirms before sarcastically relinquishing command to Forrest.

Act Three

With Archer having spent ten hours in the agony booth, Phlox remarks to Captain Forrest that he is amazed by Archer's pain threshold but the captain is reluctantly forced to release Archer from the booth. Forrest not only wishes to instead use it on Major Reed but also privately informs Archer that Fleet Admiral Gardner has ordered his release, having been intrigued by the data Archer sent via Hoshi; the captain implies that the data pertained to Archer's plan to search for the captured Terran vessel. A seething Forrest lets Archer know that his betrayal is unforgivable and notifies Archer that he is due to brief the senior staff in an hour.

While Enterprise continues at warp speed, the senior staff are gathered in the briefing room. T'Pol cites the findings of the Vulcan Science Directorate as proof that alternate realities do not exist but Archer says Tholians are a little more open-minded than Vulcans. He continues briefing the senior staff, explaining that – after managing to open an interphasic rift into a parallel universe – the Tholians intentionally lured a ship through from the other side. Archer also reveals that he bought his information from a Humanoid laborer working for the Tholians and shows the other officers some images of the captured ship. The assembled crew members muse over the significance of the craft, which Archer says is not only from another universe but also from about a hundred years into the future. T'Pol strongly objects to the information, fearing it is a trap and reminding Forrest of Archer's crimes, but Forrest insultingly interrupts her – adamant that they will investigate the ship – and instructs Tucker to get the cloak working before he exits.

While working on the cloak in Engineering, Tucker becomes distracted by T'Pol's presence and vents his anger at her for having apparently falsified the evidence that incriminated him earlier. She explains that she seduced him away from engineering before motivating him, by way of a mind meld, to sabotage the cloak himself before using another meld to alter his memory of what had happened. She states that she was duty-bound to help Forrest regain command. Tucker warns that she will regret her actions, although T'Pol dismisses his threat. He calls the bridge and reports that the cloak is ready, so Forrest orders for it to be engaged. The ship at first encounters slight energy fluctuations but then cloaks.

Soon thereafter, T'Pol is at the bridge's science station when Enterprise reaches its destination, in proximity of a gas giant in the Vintaak system. The bridge officers spot the captured ship in a drydock built into a moon of the gas giant. The vessel is the Constitution-class Federation starship USS Defiant.

Act Four

T'Pol briefs Archer, Tucker, Reed and Forrest in the situation room, telling them that Defiant's systems, even that of life support, are powered down. Those alive aboard the Defiant consist of thirteen non-Humans, including one reptilian. Although Tucker is impressed by the vessel's engineering capabilities, Forrest plans for Archer to lead an assault team to salvage as much as possible from the craft's databanks before destroying the ship, as the captain fears that the region of space is too dangerous due to the Tholian presence. Archer objects to this plan but Forrest shouts him down. Moments after the others leave, Forrest instructs T'Pol to join the assault team, conspiratorially implying that he wants her to ensure Archer dies during the mission.

Wearing environmental suits, the team (now including Sergeant Mayweather) beam into a corridor of the Defiant to find that the Tholians have been gutting the vessel. The team also come across a dead Human security officer lying beside a discarded phaser. Reed offers to hold the weapon but Archer takes it instead, holstering it to his EV suit's pants.

On Enterprise, a sedative that Phlox has been using on the Tholian pilot stops working and the alien begins retransmitting its bodily distress signal. After the signal is detected on the bridge, Forrest contacts Phlox, ordering him to kill the Tholian. Doing so takes time and Phlox becomes impatiently frustrated. He eventually succeeds in destroying the Tholian but its communication has attracted the attention of three Tholian vessels that approach Enterprise and start to hail the ship.

The assault team meanwhile arrive on the Defiant's darkened bridge. They find only two deceased officers there, one of whom is a man wearing a command division uniform; Archer assumes he is the captain and T'Pol reports he has a broken neck. With Archer's approval, Tucker begins attempting to repower the vessel.

Tholian web, mirror universe

The Tholians create a gigantic web to ensnare Enterprise

Four more Tholian ships approach Enterprise and, despite an initial attempt by Forrest to withdraw from the mission, the alien vessels are not only jamming communications between the pair of Starfleet ships but also subsequently create an energy web that surrounds Enterprise. Forrest first tries to fire the ship's weaponry through the web and then maneuver out of it but neither method succeeds; Enterprise is trapped.

USS Defiant (NCC-1764) bridge

Archer and an assault team on the Defiant bridge

Tucker's eventual restoration of power to the Defiant's systems enables T'Pol to monitor Enterprise's situation.

Moments later, Forrest orders the crew to abandon ship but, much to Hoshi's concern, he chooses to stay behind in the hope that he might be able to buy the survivors more time.

Archer orders that the Defiant's weapons and engine systems are brought back on-line and, with the help of Mayweather and Reed, he starts to remove the two dead officers from their positions in front of the command chair.

Archer watches EnterpriseNX explode

Archer watches as Enterprise explodes

Enterprise meanwhile launches its complement of escape pods but many are instantly destroyed. Forrest holds on to the helm station of his dying ship, moments before the assault team watch through the Defiant's viewscreen as Enterprise explodes.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Log entries

  • "Captain's starlog, January 13, 2155: We've left Gorlan Station and have set a course to rendezvous with our assault fleet. Major Reed and the doctor have asked for a few minutes to show me their latest project."
  • "Enterprise starlog, Captain Jonathan Archer. The crew has accepted the change of command without incident. Chief Engineer Tucker reports we'll have cloaking capability within six hours."

Memorable quotes

"Live long and prosper."
(Zefram Cochrane shoots the Vulcan captain, killing him)
"Board their ship! Take everything you can!"

- The Vulcan captain and the grizzled man, on first contact between Humans and Vulcans in the mirror universe


"The booth will be far more effective than our previous disciplinary methods."
"It can stimulate the pain center of virtually any humanoid. A synaptic scan calibrates it for each species."
"They call this progress!"
"There's something to be said for a good, old-fashioned flogging."

- Reed, Phlox, Archer, and Forrest, discussing the virtues of the latest in torture technology


"Something about... your 'maternal ancestor'."

- Sato, translating a Tholian insult hurled at "Captain" Archer


"You don't want to end up like me, do you? I've absorbed enough delta rays to guarantee my grandchildren glow in the dark."

- Tucker, to T'Pol, on the dangers of delta radiation


"I did you a favor once."
"We agreed never to discuss that."
"And I haven't."
"I'd hardly call it a favor, you enjoyed yourself."
"Several times as I recall. So, how many years is it 'til your pon farr comes around again?"

- Tucker and T'Pol


"This isn't like you, Jonathan. You never lusted for power and glory. That's why I trusted you at my side all these years – because you have no ambition!"

- Forrest, to Archer


"The Tholians are a little more open-minded than your people. They detonated a tricobalt warhead here, inside the gravity well of a dead star. The explosion created an interphasic rift. A doorway into another universe."
"A doorway?"
"The rift was unstable. It was too dangerous to send one of their own ships through, so they transmitted a distress call into the opening, hoping to lure a ship from the other side. Their plan worked brilliantly."

- Archer and Tucker, referring to the past events of "The Tholian Web"


"The Tholians quantum-dated a piece of the hull. The ship is not only from another universe; it's from another time. About a hundred years into the future. Imagine the technology we can find on that ship. New tactical systems, advanced bio-weapons. Engines that can reach speeds we can only dream of. All of it, ours for the taking!"

- Archer, on the USS Defiant


"Will you kindly die?"

- Phlox, to his Tholian prisoner

Background information

Introductory details

  • Depending on counting of episodes in Star Trek: The Original Series – in particular, whether "The Menagerie" is counted as a single or double episode (Memory Alpha considers it two, with a first and second part) – this episode can either be considered as being the seven-hundredth live action episode of Star Trek or half of that "episode" (if the term is applied more loosely), with the other half being this installment's conclusion, "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II".
  • The title of this episode comes from a passage in the Bible (1 Corinthians 13:12 from the American Standard Version): "For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known." The same verse (in the King James Bible, the relevant text reads "For now we see through a glass, darkly") is quoted by Captain Picard in Star Trek Nemesis.
  • This episode is both a prequel to TOS: "Mirror, Mirror" and a sequel to TOS: "The Tholian Web".
  • Although VOY: "Living Witness" was the first of any Star Trek series in which none of the regular characters appear, this was the first mirror universe episode in which only the regular characters' mirror counterparts are seen. This differs from the mirror universe episodes of TOS and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in which the "Federation Universe" characters travel to the parallel universe (and vice versa). The two-part "In a Mirror, Darkly" story of ENT takes place entirely in the mirror universe, with no crossover of any regular characters (although the Constitution-class Defiant does itself cross over and the mirror Archer has a hallucination of his prime self).
  • This episode contains two main elements from TOS: "The Tholian Web": the starship Defiant (whose fate is made known in this episode) and the Tholians. In fact, this episode is the first to depict a Tholian "in the flesh" since the 1968 episode, wherein only the head of a Tholian is shown. The species is revealed in this episode to be six-legged and crystalline in nature.

Story development

  • A mirror-universe story for Star Trek: Enterprise was originally conceived as one of a couple of ways of bringing William Shatner into the series' fourth season. (Inside the Mirror Episodes, ENT Season 4 DVD special features; [1](X)) As he and Paramount were unable to reach an agreement, the plans to have Shatner included in the series were discarded, the initial mirror-universe storyline ultimately being undeveloped. [2](X)
  • Nevertheless, the series' writing staff still wanted to do an episode set in the mirror universe. (Inside the Mirror Episodes, ENT Season 4 DVD special features; [3](X)) The "episode in the Mirror Universe" format, as opposed to the crossovers in other series, was thereafter conceived as a way of allowing the show to visit the mirror universe, while still preserving "Mirror, Mirror" as the "obvious" first contact between the two universes. (Inside the Mirror Episodes, ENT Season 4 DVD; Mirror Universe, Part 2, Star Trek: Fan Collective - Alternate Realities DVD special features) Writer Mike Sussman attributed this idea to Executive Producer Manny Coto and remarked, "What was great about an approach where our people weren't crossing over to the mirror universe is that you didn't have any of the moralizing speeches where Archer or somebody waves their finger and lectures these 'bad people' about 'Well, you really ought to try this other way.'" (Mirror Universe, Part 2, Star Trek: Fan Collective - Alternate Realities DVD special features)
    Mike Sussman at a viewer

    Writer Mike Sussman at the Defiant's science station

  • The Defiant ended up in this story after Mike Sussman had spent years wondering about the ship's destiny, as the vessel mysteriously disappears in "The Tholian Web". The starship was also in the original pitch for an earlier ENT episode that Sussman wrote. This pitch became Season 2's "Future Tense", which also features the Tholians (although only their ships are seen and not they, themselves). Like in this episode, both Archer (albeit the Archer of the series' usual universe) and the Tholians would have been interested in the futuristic Federation starship. However, the effect that the discovery would have on the series' continuity would have been too difficult for the writers to deal with, so the ship was changed to an unrelated, even more futuristic vessel and the original premise was scrapped. When Manny Coto later wanted a mirror-universe episode to be included in Season 4, however, Mike Sussman suddenly realized (following several other ideas for the episode that, for a variety of reasons, had not worked out) that the Defiant could feature in the episode, having not only been pulled into the past but also into the mirror universe. This change of setting freed the writers from continuity concerns, as they could essentially do virtually anything they wanted in the mirror universe without violating canon. (Inside the Mirror Episodes, ENT Season 4 DVD special features)
  • Manny Coto subsequently suggested that the story could be a two-parter, although Mike Sussman had only planned what would happen in the first part. (Inside the Mirror Episodes, ENT Season 4 DVD special features) In addition, he had never before written a two-parter and, at the time he wrote this episode, it was not yet known who would be writing its conclusion. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary; Mirror Universe, Part 2, Star Trek: Fan Collective - Alternate Realities DVD special features) Because the second part would definitely be set on the Defiant, however, Sussman wanted to set some things up in this episode for the second part of the story. (Inside the Mirror Episodes, ENT Season 4 DVD; Mirror Universe, Part 2, Star Trek: Fan Collective - Alternate Realities DVD special features) Owing to the fact that the story was his first two-parter, Sussman wanted to do justice to it and tried to invest as much time in its writing as he possibly could. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • During the writing process, Mike Sussman managed to obtain the script of "Mirror, Mirror" from Tim Gaskill and read it for the first time. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • One of the first ideas that Mike Sussman had for this episode was that Hoshi Sato would be the captain's woman. Such a dramatic reversal of the character's usual nature was not disputed by anyone involved in the episode's creation. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • Even though the series' team of writers knew, early in the writing process, that they wanted Hoshi to be the captain's woman and Archer to be a beaten-down and paranoid first officer, it was not until later that the team decided what the mirror universe version of "Trip" Tucker would be like. Manny Coto wanted him to be scarred, so the Reeves-Stevens came up with the concept that the scarring was due to the radiation plating involved in Enterprise's warp reactor being not quite up to Starfleet specifications. The series' writers then recalled that Fleet Captain Christopher Pike has a disfigurement, due to delta radiation, in "The Menagerie" so they added Trip's facial scarring in this episode, with the intention of it being a small homage to Pike as well as a factor implied as motivating the character of Tucker (whose condition is less severe than Pike's, as Pike was flooded with the radiation while Tucker only received small amounts of it). (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • The writers aimed to give Mayweather a more active role in this episode than the character was usually afforded in the series. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary) Author Diane Duane's decision to make the mirror version of Reginald Barclay the personal guard of Mirror Picard – in the non-canon novel Dark Mirror, which Mike Sussman read before writing the script – inspired Sussman to make Mayweather the chief bodyguard for Archer. (Information provided by Mike Sussman) Additionally, it was thought that making him Archer's personal guard would be more fun for the character of Mayweather. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • Similarly, the writers wanted to make the mirror universe T'Pol more ruthless, and logical in a less compassionate and much harder way, than her counterpart in the regular universe. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • Mike Sussman wrote the episode alone over the Christmas 2004 hiatus. He periodically faxed pages to Manny Coto who – although getting married in Venice, at the time – had several phone conversations with Sussman in which Coto talked about his own story suggestions, changes, and notes. Sussman was still writing this episode when the production crew started filming the second part of the two-parter. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • In the initial version of the story, T'Pol was trying to sabotage the cloaking device in order to prevent the mission going ahead. Mike Sussman thought this subplot was too straightforward, however. With Manny Coto's input, the sabotage was changed to being a diversionary act that would enable T'Pol to attain her new motive of disabling the sensors so she could free Forrest. This alteration, which Sussman found made more sense than his initial conception of the story, was made early in the writing process. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • The idea of this episode's teaser, a homage to Star Trek: First Contact, was originally suggested to Sussman by Manny Coto. Sussman was immediately impressed by the idea. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • The scene in which Reed and Phlox demonstrate the agony booth was originally scripted without Phlox's inclusion, as Mike Sussman decided only later to have the scene serve as Phlox's introduction in the episode. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • Keeping Captain Forrest alive, during his capture and imprisonment by Archer, represented a slight story problem for Mike Sussman, as he needed Forrest to survive until the episode's conclusion. The involvement of Hoshi Sato allowed Sussman to solve this problem, as Forrest threatens Archer (during the scene in which they are both in the brig) that Hoshi will not forgive him if he kills Forrest. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • One of the biggest problems that Mike Sussman faced in writing this episode was how to explain away Forrest sparing Archer's life, after Forrest regains command of Enterprise. Sussman consequently added the plot point about Archer smuggling fascinating information to the admiral, via Hoshi. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • Another plot problem was how to account for Forrest sending Archer to board the Defiant after Archer had betrayed Forrest. The solution – to end the scene with Forrest privately revealing to T'Pol that the reason was that he wanted her to make sure Archer didn't survive the mission – suddenly occurred to Mike Sussman and made immediate sense to him. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • Mike Sussman originally wanted to save the reveal of the fact that the Defiant was from 100 years into the future until after Archer and his assault team board the vessel. Sussman found himself having to add that fact into Archer's briefing scene, as the ship would otherwise seem too insignificant at that point in the story. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • In an early draft of the script, Archer and his assault team access the Defiant Bridge by climbing through one of two hatches that are on either side of the main viewscreen. Sussman later decided to have the team enter via the turbolift, however. (Information provided by Mike Sussman)
  • One of the things that Mike Sussman wanted to set up for this installment's conclusion was that the characters who board the Defiant would be left with no option but to wear TOS uniforms in the story's second part. This is the real reason why Archer and his team are wearing environmental suits when they transport to the Defiant, rather than their regular Terran Empire uniforms. (Inside the Mirror Episodes, ENT Season 4 DVD; Mirror Universe, Part 2, Star Trek: Fan Collective - Alternate Realities DVD special features)
  • Mike Sussman found it very hard to write the scenes on Enterprise's Bridge during the final battle sequence, as most of the regular characters were off the Bridge and the episode's budget would allow Forrest to speak only with either the ship's computer voice (which was typically inexpensive to hire) or Hoshi Sato; the practicality of hiring an extra to play a speaking officer would have been prohibitively expensive. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • Enterprise's prefix of "ISS" was originally present in the script's original draft but got lost in some of the subsequent versions. It is therefore not referenced in episode dialogue but does appear on the starship's hull, thanks to the series' visual effects team. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • The concept of Archer having to use an excuse before he could take control of Enterprise (specifically, his faked orders from Starfleet), was based on Chekov's use of an excuse before trying to take command from Kirk in "Mirror, Mirror". (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • T'Pol dismisses Tucker threatening her by telling him, "Threats are illogical." These same three words are taken from TOS: "Journey to Babel". In that episode, Sarek says them (adding, "And payment is usually expensive."), after Tellarite ambassador Gav threatens Sarek that he will pay. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • After writing the scene in which Archer personally confirms for Forrest that he has locked Enterprise on course for an unalterable destination, Mike Sussman realized that the plot point was a little reminiscent of Spock locking the Enterprise on course for Talos IV in "The Menagerie". In the episode's audio commentary, Sussman can be heard deciding that the reference was "a subconscious homage." (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • Even Mike Sussman was unsure whether the weapons display in Enterprise's ready room was originally Forrest's or a result of a redecoration of the room by Archer, following Forrest's capture. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • Although the episode does not clarify the historical accuracy of a reference (made by Archer) to the Vulcans who visited Earth in 2063 as having been an "invasion force," Mike Sussman has since stated that he didn't think the Vulcans had really been sending an invasion force but was sure that Earth's history books had subsequently recorded the Vulcans had been. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • Similarly, Sussman has speculated that Mayweather would have probably been subjected to the agony booth after Archer and Reed, and that T'Pol likely got to her rank of Commander by using the same method she utilized to motivate Tucker, involving two Vulcan mind melds. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • Although the episode also does not definitively establish whether or not Forrest believes Archer's claim of a future starship from an alternate universe (during Archer's briefing scene), Mike Sussman has clarified that he suspects even Forrest doubts Archer's story. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • Mike Sussman found it was fun to write an ENT episode wherein none of the regular characters are friends with one another. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)

Editing

  • One scene that was deemed unnecessary and was ultimately cut was a short sequence showing T'Pol recruiting a Vulcan security officer for her mutiny. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • The original version of the scene wherein Hoshi Sato brings a knife out while kissing Archer was initially longer than in the final version; the scene as originally scripted ended with a shot of Porthos growling. This shot was eventually deleted from an early cut of the episode, owing to the fact that the episode was running a few minutes long. Sussman initially suggested losing the opening scene featuring the agony booth, but was ultimately happy that other cuts allowed the sequence to remain intact. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • Although Sussman believed the editors could have cut the scene where T'Pol explains to Trip how she compelled him to sabotage the cloaking device, the writer found the scene both fun and important to showing how different the mirror T'Pol is from her alternate universe counterpart. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • A panning shot showing the Defiant's Bridge becoming energized also had to be cut short, to avoid a continuity glitch. The full version of the shot included the turbolift doors closing but the shot is followed by one in which the doors are open, so the shot was cut to the moment just before the doors begin to shut. Mike Sussman initially hoped the full version of the shot could be kept, but he was still pleased with the final version. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)

New credits

ENT Mirror Title

"Star Trek: Enterprise" in black letters

Sets, props, and wardrobe

  • Although it was first thought that this episode's teaser would require part of the Vulcan ship to be rebuilt, long-time production designer Herman Zimmerman had actually saved the mock-up of the craft's lower portion from Star Trek: First Contact. The set, having been in storage for almost ten years, was taken out of storage and refurbished before being reused. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • The agony booth's plastic enclosure was a reuse of the quarantine chamber set piece from ENT: "Cold Station 12". (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary) In the episode's audio commentary, Tim Gaskill speculates that the booth's interior was likely quite warm, due to the on-set lights as well as the probability that the enclosure would have trapped heat.
  • The sickbay aboard the Enterprise of this episode was inspired by a description in the script of "Mirror, Mirror", referring to the mirror universe sickbay in that episode as being a "vivisectionist's lab." (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • The decision to make this story a two-parter was primarily influenced by the fact that doing so would financially enable the production crew to reconstruct more Constitution-class sets than had been seen in any official Star Trek production since The Original Series. (Inside the Mirror Episodes, ENT Season 4 DVD special features)
  • The Defiant corridor set that Archer and his assault team beam into was constructed by Herman Zimmerman and his art department. The set was required to be much more functional than its equivalent from The Original Series, to show the gutting of the ship, including open panels and broken conduits. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
    Constitution bridge rebuilt

    The Defiant Bridge set, standing on Paramount's Stage 9 in 2005.

  • Although small sections of the TOS bridge had been recreated for TNG: "Relics" and DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations", this is the first time a full three-quarters version of the famous set stood on a Paramount soundstage since 1969.
  • Manny Coto at first had a major concern regarding the age of the set's origin. He explains, "My big concern, of course, was that our heroes would be coming from an Enterprise set that was built in 2005 and designed to look somewhat more sophisticated to a set that was patterned after a 1965 television show, where they didn't have as much money for detail and budget. And so our fear was: Would it look cardboard, and would it look like our heroes had gone to ... a cheesier set, frankly? But it didn't work out that way." (Inside the Mirror Episodes, ENT Season 4 DVD; Mirror Universe, Part 2, Star Trek: Fan Collective - Alternate Realities DVD special features)
  • The team who worked on the Defiant's reconstruction had spent many years of studying the TOS Bridge, not only for the past official Star Trek episodes that had included portions of the set but also for personal reasons. (Inside the Mirror Episodes, ENT Season 4 DVD special features)
  • Production designer Herman Zimmerman and his art department made a few modifications to the Defiant Bridge. The segmented red railing seen in TOS is now perfectly curved. Also, two removable panels are now visible on opposite sides of the main viewscreen, due to the discarded plot point of Archer and his assault team accessing the Bridge by climbing through one of these hatches. (Information provided by Mike Sussman) The Defiant Bridge of this episode also differs from the TOS Bridge because it features subtle movement in its wall-mounted graphics, courtesy of Michael Okuda and his art department, but the graphics are otherwise very similar to those on the Bridge set of The Original Series. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary) Illustrator Doug Drexler says of the graphics, "Those backlit graphics have been sweated over. They really weren't fudged in any way; I studied thousands and thousands of frame grabs." (Inside the Mirror Episodes, ENT Season 4 DVD special features)
  • The Defiant helm console and captain's chair had been previously built for a museum attraction. Unlike the command chair on Kirk's bridge, the Defiant captain's chair does not swivel. (It should be noted that the Enterprise's command chair does not swivel in "The Cage", "Where No Man Has Gone Before", nor during some of the earliest episodes of the first season of TOS.) Several members of the production staff, including Manny Coto, found it hard to resist an urge to sit in the captain's chair of the reconstructed Bridge set. (Inside the Mirror Episodes, ENT Season 4 DVD special features)
  • The production crew paid an extraordinary amount of attention to detail in this episode, even positioning the bodies of the Defiant's captain and the redshirt who died, strangling him, exactly where they appear in TOS: "The Tholian Web". Even T'Pol's diagnosis of the dead captain's broken neck is accurate. However, the images on the small screens above the bridge stations do not match with those seen in the Original Series episode.
    Defiant operations lieutenant

    Dead Defiant lieutenant wearing a red shirt that bears the ship's angled insignia as well as a faint outline of the Enterprise insignia

  • Even though Bob Justman, on the authority of Gene Roddenberry, stopped the practice of creating a unique assignment patch for each ship after "The Omega Glory", one was designed for this episode. It is an angled insignia similar to one glimpsed on the registry pennant of TOS starships and in the background of various starbases. [5]
  • The shirt worn by the first dead officer that Archer and his team come across was previously used aboard the Enterprise in DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations". Despite the production crew replacing the Enterprise assignment patch with that of the Defiant, a faint outline of the Enterprise's arrowhead insignia is still visible on the shirt. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • This episode marks the first appearance of a phaser pistol in the Enterprise series. The prop was an off-the-shelf toy manufactured by Art Asylum, modified with a strip of Velcro to allow it to adhere to Scott Bakula's trousers.
  • The Suliban cloaking device was a reuse of the phase cannon model seen in ENT: "Silent Enemy".
  • The Terran Empire emblem, which appears on the doors aboard the Enterprise of this episode as well as being worn as an arm patch on Starfleet uniforms of the mirror universe, not only first appeared in "Mirror, Mirror" but also used the same globe as the United Earth logo that first appeared in ENT: "Home". In this case, the globe emblem was slightly changed from its equivalent in "Mirror, Mirror", to show both of Earth's hemispheres. (ENT Season 4 DVD text commentary)

Cast and characters

  • James Cromwell and Cully Fredricksen both appear in this episode (courtesy of footage from Star Trek: First Contact), as alternate versions of their First Contact characters, Zefram Cochrane and the unnamed Vulcan captain respectively. Clearance from Cromwell and Fredricksen was required before the teaser sequence could be given the go-ahead, but the performers graciously accepted the reuse of the footage and did not ask for too much money in return. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • This episode marks the final appearance of Vaughn Armstrong on the series, his regular character of Maxwell Forrest having died in the earlier fourth season episode "The Forge". Armstrong was extremely pleased that, in this episode, a character he was playing finally "got the girl," in the form of Hoshi Sato. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • According to Mike Sussman, the cast and crew joked that the mirror universe "put the Ho back in Hoshi." (Inside the Mirror Episodes, ENT Season 4 DVD special features)
  • On deciding what breed of dog should play the mirror universe Porthos, Mike Sussman suggested a Great Dane. At the episode's production meeting, this suggestion was generally thought to be very funny and insufficiently scary. The other choices were a Pit Bull or a Rottweiler, the latter being ultimately chosen. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)

Production

  • At one point during production, Scott Bakula wondered if it was possible to modify the Terran Empire salute, due to both the cramped conditions aboard Enterprise and the danger that an actor performing the salute – which requires the saluting individual to jut their hand out – could easily collide with an actor nearby. Mike Sussman was asked, by Merri Howard, to visit the set and act as consultant on the salute, to ensure that all actors and extras were performing it correctly. One suggestion was that the actors could minimize the salute to involve only a thump on the chest that, in the final version, precedes the extension of the arm. However, the same action had been used in the parody sci-fi film Galaxy Quest and, when Sussman pointed this out, it was generally agreed that the episode should not mimic the film too closely; consequently, the suggestion was dismissed. The final version of the salute used in this episode differs from the one used in TOS: "Mirror, Mirror" as the hand is open in the latter example whereas the salute in this episode involves a closed fist. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • Jolene Blalock expressed concern over having no lines in the Engineering scene wherein Archer and Reed inquire into Tucker's electric shock as T'Pol quietly watches them. Writer Mike Sussman believed that since Blalock's character had skillfully set up Tucker to take the fall for damaging the cloaking device, it would therefor be smarter of T'Pol to remain silent in order to not give away that she was the conspirator behind the sabotage. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • During the filming of the scene in which Archer tussles with Forrest in the brig, director James L. Conway told Vaughn Armstrong to briefly stick his tongue out amid the conflict. Armstrong thought performing this action was a slightly cheesy moment and he was somewhat embarrassed about it. He later recounted the experience to Tim Gaskill, who can be heard relaying it to Mike Sussman in the episode's audio commentary. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • The filming of the scene wherein Tucker is subjected to the agony booth while Archer interrogates him was very intense, requiring many takes and Connor Trinneer to apparently be writhing in agony inside the booth. Some of the production staff who were present during this experience found it to be upsetting to watch. Neither Mike Sussman nor Tim Gaskill were on the set at this point but both later heard about the intensity of filming the scene. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • Tim Gaskill managed to visit the set to watch the filming of the scene wherein Tucker restores power to the Defiant, lighting up its Bridge. Gaskill later recalled that this experience had been "a great moment." (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)

Modernizing the Tholians

  • The process of creating the fleshed-out CGI Tholian was supervised by Dan Curry. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary) Visual effects producer Ronald B. Moore was pleased to be provided with the opportunity of working on designing the Tholians for ENT, having not been given that chance when working on "Future Tense" (due to the fact that the Tholians themselves are never seen in that episode). (Visual Effects Magic, ENT Season 4 DVD special features)
  • The visual effects team watched "The Tholian Web" a couple of times to prepare for modernizing the Tholians. (Visual Effects Magic, ENT Season 4 DVD special features) The team's design process included early sketches, some of which were seen by Mike Sussman. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • Ronald B. Moore was at first stumped as to how to approach the task of designing the new Tholian. His usual instinct of modernizing early aliens was to make them as close as possible to the TOS versions while also trying to imagine what the aliens might have been like in The Original Series if that show had had a bigger budget. In this case, even though he thought the Tholian in "The Tholian Web" (Commander Loskene) looks like it's wearing a helmet, Moore instead wanted to make the new Tholian have a crystalline structure. (Visual Effects Magic, ENT Season 4 DVD special features)
David Anderson, Tholian stand-in

Raw footage of David Anderson appearing as the stand-in for the CGI Tholian pilot that appears in this episode

  • The filming of the CGI Tholian was accomplished using motion-control and required stand-in David Anderson to wear an intricate, black bodysuit that enabled him to be tracked, before the digitally animated Tholian was then made to duplicate his movements, which were subsequently slightly modified. (Visual Effects Magic, ENT Season 4 DVD special features)
  • Although the spider-like appearance of the Tholian's modernized exterior might suggest that the Tholians are personally capable of spinning webs like their ships are, Mike Sussman had not considered this until it was pointed out to him by a friend. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)

Music

  • This episode's teaser reuses the theme music of Star Trek: First Contact, as written by Jerry Goldsmith.
  • The episode also debuted a bombastic, militaristic theme file info that was written especially for the two-parter, by prolific Star Trek composer Dennis McCarthy (along with composer Kevin Kiner). This "mirror theme" is used to accompany both the alternate credits sequence, near the start of the episode, and the episode's end credits. When CBS/Paramount syndicated ENT to local television stations starting in late 2005, this theme could frequently be heard in promos for several other episodes of the series, in addition to the two mirror universe episodes. Indirectly referring to the series' usual theme song, Mike Sussman says of the revised theme's success, "We [...] got rid of that, you know, tambourine-slapping theme song for two episodes, which I think a lot of people were happy with." (Mirror Universe, Part 2, Star Trek: Fan Collective - Alternate Realities DVD special features)

Continuity

  • Phlox is performing a vivisection on what appears to be a Cardassian vole in one scene, perhaps suggesting that the Terran Empire had already encroached on Cardassian space by 2155.
  • While trapped in the Tholian web, Enterprise is able to fire weapons through its cloak. However, the cloak appears to momentarily fail a few seconds after Enterprise launches torpedoes, perhaps indicating that the ship has insufficient power for simultaneous use of weapons and cloak.
  • It remains unclear how Archer and his assault team got to the Defiant Bridge via turbolift since the ship's power was off. Although not established in the episode, Sussman believed that Tucker's power unit (later used to activate the Bridge Engineering console) could have been used to make the lift operational. (Information provided by Mike Sussman)
  • The computer system aboard the Enterprise of this episode has a voice, unlike the Enterprise that is usually featured in the series. The voice is masculine, in common with the computer system aboard the Enterprise of "Mirror, Mirror". (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • Another commonality between those two episodes is that, in both this episode and "Mirror, Mirror", more Vulcans are on the Enterprise than in each episode's respective series; the earlier episode includes a Vulcan bodyguard working for Spock, whereas this episode involves the Vulcan security officers that help T'Pol spring Forrest from the brig. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • The plot point of T'Pol detecting a reptilian aboard the Defiant foreshadows the discovery of a Gorn living on the ship, in the second part of the two-parter. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • Director James L. Conway had previously directed DS9: "Shattered Mirror" in 1996, another episode dealing with the mirror universe.
  • For the first time in the series, escape pods are used by the Enterprise crew, launched by being ejected through removable panels around the saucer. Even though Mike Sussman was once told that the NX-class Enterprise of the regular universe does not have escape pods, he later implied that he believed the mirror universe setting of this story allows, without breaching continuity, for escape pods to have been assigned to the Enterprise of this episode. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • The web created by the Tholians in this episode differs from the one in "The Tholian Web". In the earlier episode, two Tholian ships connect by reversing into each other and then moving away. In this episode, the beam is emitted from the fore of the vessels. While it took several hours for the Tholians to "spin" their web in the first instance, here it takes a matter of seconds. However, like the Terrans, it could be assumed that the mirror-universe Tholians are more advanced technologically, in their own time period, than their counterparts in the prime universe. The difference in webs might also be explained by the fact that there are only two Tholian ships in the TOS episode, whereas in this episode, there are several. Mike Sussman has commented that the slower method of creating the web would not have served story purposes here. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)
  • In the Star Trek: Discovery episode "Vaulting Ambition", a PADD with information about the events of this episode retroactively places them on stardate 0141.7, the earliest stardate yet in any series or film.

Reception

  • The two-part episode proved to be one of the most popular installments of Enterprise. David Bianculli, [6] the television critic for The New York Daily News, called them "the best hours of Enterprise yet." He wrote, "The biggest treat of this episode, though, is its ability to surprise - and to do so with not only a sense of Trek history, but with a sense of humor." Bianculli added that "by taking a walk on the wild side, Enterprise is being very good by letting its characters be very bad." He rated the episode three-and-a-half out of four stars, and said that it was so much fun that "had they adopted this attitude from the start, Enterprise probably would still be flying missions next season." [7]
  • In August 2016, Star Trek fans at the 50th anniversary convention in Las Vegas chose "In a Mirror, Darkly" as one of the "Ten Best Star Trek Episodes" of all time, out of more than seven-hundred live-action episodes produced as of that date. [8]
  • Newsweek magazine listed this episode, and its second part, first on its list of "Top 10" Enterprise episodes. (Newsweek: Star Trek - 50 Years on the Enterprise, January/February 2016, p. 82).
  • The readers of Star Trek Magazine selected the two-parter as the best episode of Star Trek: Enterprise in their 40th anniversary reader poll ("Who's on Top?," Issue No. 124, 17 November 2005).
  • Cinefantastique magazine listed the two-hour episode at #4 on its list of the top ten television episodes of 2005. ("TV: Best of 2005," Cinefantastique 2005 Yearbook Issue, November 30, 2005, p.8).
  • Wired named the two-part installment as one of twelve "all-time best Star Trek episodes" available online for binge-watching. [9]
  • The guidebook Star Trek 101 by Terry J. Erdmann and Paula M. Block lists this episode as one of the "Ten Essential Episodes" from Star Trek: Enterprise (p. 262).
  • "Everything that was set up in the classic 'Mirror, Mirror' is here and writer Mike Sussman juggles them all expertly," writes IGN.com, awarding the installment five out of five stars. “The actors are obviously having more fun than they've ever had before playing these alternate versions of their regular characters which frankly, have more depth to them than we've seen in the past three-and-a-half years of the series... ['In a Mirror, Darkly'] may be a gimmick episode, but it's a gimmick that works nearly flawlessly and shouldn't be missed.” [10]
  • Brannon Braga was highly impressed by this episode's teaser sequence, later stating, "When I saw that, it was like, 'This should just be a whole season!'" [11]
  • This episode was nominated for an Emmy Award in the Outstanding Hairstyling For A Series category.
  • A busy box prop from one of the Defiant corridor sets was ultimately auctioned off in week 1 of the It's A Wrap! sale and auction. [12] The control interfaces for the agony booth from this episode were also sold in the same auction.
  • Scott Bakula described the two-parter as a favorite episode of his in an interview with SyFy Wire. [13](X)
  • John Billingsley and Connor Trinneer were not fans of the two-parter. Billingsley called the episodes "banal" and Trineer described them as "pandering;" while in the same interview, Dominic Keating described them as “good fun.” [14]
  • Linda Park, who had a substantial role in the two-parter as the self-proclaimed Empress Sato, has said: "I think it’s well known that those are my favorite episodes." [15]
  • Following the success of the two-part episode, Sussman contributed the story for a sequel novella, "Age of the Empress," published as part of the first in a series of Mirror Universe anthology trade paperbacks. (Mack, David, et al. Glass Empires - Star Trek: Mirror Universe #1. Pocket Books, 2007).

DVD releases

Links and references

Starring

Guest stars

Uncredited co-stars

Stunt double

References

2063, 2155, 2268; ability; agonizer; agony booth; "all hands"; ancestor; annexation; Biggs; Black; boarding party; bomber; Brazil; brig; Calico M950; career; cloaking device; co-conspirator; court martial; dead star; Defiant, USS; delta radiation; dinner; dozen; duty shift; emperor; Enterprise, ISS; escape pod; Fleet Admiral; flogging; flux coupler; Gardner; gas giant; "glow in the dark"; Gorlan Station; gravity well; Heckler & Koch MP5; insurance policy; internal sensor; invasion force; Kelvin; kiss; looting; Major; maternal; maximum warp; Military Assault Command Operations; mind meld; mirror universe; mutiny; T. Palmer; pon farr; Porthos; progress report; propaganda; reptilian; sabotage; sanctuary; sedative; sergeant; sexual encounter; shotgun; status report; Suliban; Tau Ceti; Tellarite; temperature; Terran; Terran Empire; Terran salute; Terev; Tholian; Tholian space; Tholian web; Tholian ship (unnamed 1, unnamed 2); tractor emitter; tri-cobalt warhead; Vintaak system (gas giant, moons); Vulcan; Vulcan Science Directorate

Opening theme references

2K12 Kub; 75 mm Gun M1916; B-1B Lancer; Emmette-type; F-5 Tiger II; F-15 Eagle; Fokker D.VII; Junkers Ju 87; M4 Sherman; Project 705; Renault FT; Sopwith Camel; T-62 main battle tank; T-90 tank; Type VII submarine

External links

Previous episode:
"Bound"
Star Trek: Enterprise
Season 4
Next episode:
"In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II"
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