History Recap / StarTrekEnterpriseS04E18InAMirrorDarkly

* InnocuouslyImportantEpisode: The events of this two-parter turn out to be crucial in ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery''.

* TestedOnHumans:

* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Reed re. Forrest after Archer takes the ship, and T'Pol re. Archer after Forrest takes it back. Both turn out to be aware of this. In "Part 2" Archer says he'd airlock T'Pol for her 'betrayal', but as he's suffering from CriticalStaffingShortage (47 to run a ship that needs 400) he can't afford to.

* EvilEmpire: The Terran Empire. The Tholians are also said to aggressively 'annex' star systems.

* ArtificialGravity: Archer defeats Slar by having T'Pol increase the power in a grav plating to 20 G's.

-->'''Mayweather:''' And Captain...I'd like to be the first to congratulate you on a brilliant strategem. I'm certain that in years to come--\\

* FemmeFatale

* KillEmAll: [[spoiler: The only main characters still alive and well by the end are Hoshi and Mayweather; Archer and Reed's fates are not definitive but appear fatal, T'Pol and Phlox are both slated for execution, and while Trip isn't actively in harm's way, he himself acknowledges that he doesn't have long to live regardless due to his Delta Radition poisoning.]]

* OtherMeAnnoysMe: Archer's reaction to his alternate universe self.

* PunishmentBox: The Agony Booth, predecessor to the handheld agonizers used in "Mirror Mirror."

--> '''Reed:''' Perhaps it was a pet owned by one of the original crew.\\
'''Phlox:''' Unless one of them owned a ''Velociraptor'', I find it extremely unlikely.

* ZeerustCanon: The ''Defiant'' is accurate to the old ''Enterprise'' sets, and Archer is ''marveled'' at how ''advanced'' it all looks. He even takes to wearing a standard-issue [=TOS=] captain uniform. The original series sets make such a stark contrast from all of the other sets on the series that they're surprisingly effective at looking like mysterious future technology from a parallel universe.

* {{Interquel}}: PlayedWith. Due to the [[TimeTravel time-travelling]] and [[AlternateUniverse universe-crossing]] nature of the ''USS Defiant'', this episode serves as both a prequel to the [[Series/StarTrek TOS]] episode "Mirror Mirror", as well as a sequel to the (later) TOS episode "The Tholian Web".

* EvilWearsBlack: Phlox wears a black leather outfit. Plus all the [=MACO=] personnel (which includes Lieutenant Reed and Sergeant Mayweather) wear black assault vests over their camouflage uniforms.

** The episode ends with Hoshi threatening the powers that be with the ''Defiant'', and her declaration of herself as Empress, but it isn't made clear whether or not her attempted coup was successful given that in "Mirror, Mirror", the technology level of both ''Enterprise''s seem essentially identical. PLEASE NOTE: Part of this post was deleted by another poster, weakening the argument presented, and the post below regarding ST: Discovery" was grafted on, making it seem that it was part of the original post. A new post is fine, but is seems very poor etiquette to eviscerate someone else's post. The original post went on to indicate that it seems unlikely in the extreme that had Hoshi succeeded, that a power-hungry organization like the Terran Empire would not have reverse-engineered the highly advanced "Defiant" and built upon that technology. In this case the "ISS Enterprise" in "Mirror, Mirror" would have been much more advanced that the "USS Enterprise". As for what was stated in "Discovery", this poster stands by the original post and takes refuge in FANON DISCONTINUITY"


''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' eventually revealed that Hoshi did succeed, and that the ''Defiant'' was still in service as late as 2257.

** The episode ends with Hoshi threatening the powers that be with the ''Defiant'', and her declaration of herself as Empress, but it isn't made clear whether or not her attempted coup was successful given that in "Mirror, Mirror", the technology level of both ''Enterprise''s seem essentially identical. ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' eventually revealed that Hoshi did succeed, and that the ''Defiant'' was still in service as late as 2257.

* CoolStarship: The ''Defiant'', a Constitution-class ship 100 years ahead of anything in this time period.

* CurbStompBattle: The Tholians thoroughly trash ''Enterprise''. The ''Defiant'' wrecks everything in her way.

* SpareAMessenger: Archer allows a rebel starship to escape after destroying all the others, in order to spread fear. He destroys a crippled Vulcan ship first just to KickTheDog.

* VillainBall: Archer is ''heavily'' prone to this. For instance, he tries to torture the identity of Admiral Black's spy aboard ''Enterprise'' out of Forrest...even though the spy would have been assigned to report on ''Forrest'' and thus Forrest wouldn't know who the spy is.

[[caption-width-right:350:All hail the Terran Empire!]]

* TheAestheticsOfTechnology: You can judge for yourself whether the ''Defiant'' looks a century in advance of the ''Enterprise''. [[FanDumb Just don't debate it here]].

** Trip Tucker and Malcolm Reed completely despise each other in the MirrorUniverse, whereas in the Main Universe they're each other's best friends.

* DramaticIrony: Archer proudly shows off the shotgun Cochrane used to kill the first Vulcan who stepped onto human soil.
-->'''Archer:''' I wonder how history would have played out if Cochrane hadn't turned the tables on your [[WrittenByTheWinners invasion force]]. Humans might be your slaves instead of the other way around.

* SleepingTheirWayToTheTop: Hoshi Sato starts out as Captain Forrest's mistress, then jumps back into bed with Commander Archer (whom she previously used in the same manner), then later seduces Corporal Mayweather to help her in her murder of Archer to take over the ship.

* TheMutiny: When Forrest refuses the idea of a mission into Tholian space, Archer takes over the ship in cahoots with Reed and Mayweather.

* OutOfFocus: Happens to ''all the regular characters of the show'', as none of them appear in these two episodes. Unlike in all the previous Mirror Universe episodes, no one crosses over between the Prime Universe and the [=MU=], so the show focuses entirely on the Mirror counterparts of the regular cast. The reason for this is that the original series episode [[Recap/StarTrekS2E4MirrorMirror "Mirror, Mirror"]] was clearly meant to be first time Starfleet became aware of the Mirror Universe, so the ''Enterprise'' writers couldn't introduce the [=MU=] to the timeline a hundred years earlier without needing some convoluted explanation for why it would've been forgotten by Captain Kirk's era. However it has the added benefit of adding to the sense of claustrophobic horror, as this time there is no possible escape from the MirrorUniverse.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Archer has a complex about this that's well-justified. Although not lacking in ruthlessness, Captain Forrest commands respect and loyalty; people only obey Archer when it's in their interest. After Forrest is dead, Archer ends up hallucinating his successful alternate universe counterpart even though he hates how that Archer earned it.

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Archer despises T'Pol, especially after she double-crosses him to break Forrest out of the brig, but needs to keep her around because her expertise makes her invaluable.

-->"It's unwise to give that salute even behind closed doors."

** T'Pol went to Trip to handle her ''pon farr'' problem, but sets him up to be the fall guy for her sabotage and taunts him about it afterward. In Part Two, however, when Archer threatens Trip, she speaks out in his defense, despite her own precarious position.