History Recap / StarTrekEnterpriseS04E18InAMirrorDarkly

* StabTheScorpion: Played with; when T'Pol tells Trip how she set him up, he slams his hand into the wall next to her. Turns out he's activating the intercom to let the Captain know the repairs have been completed.

* HeWhoMustNotBeSeen: The oft-mentioned Admiral Gardner finally makes an appearance. So it's He Who Must Not Be Seen In This Timeline.

* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Averted; T'Pol gets slashed across the face during her KnifeFight with Hoshi--who plays it straight, as she takes a punch to the face but doesn't have a bruise to show for it.

-->'''Archer:''' Great men are not peacemakers; great men are conquerors!

* GoodIsNotNice: T'Pol is the least evil main character, but that doesn't stop her from brainwashing Trip to commit sabotage so he gets tortured in her place. Shouldn't have made that ''pon farr'' quip, Trip.

* FamousLastWords:
** "I'll buy you as much time as I can. Get out of here, now!" - Captain Forrest
** "I've failed you, captain." - Major Reed (probably)
** "Once we put down the rebellion, I'll expand the Empire throughout ... [[KilledMidSentence throughout]] ..." - Captain Archer (probably)

* AirVentEscape: In Part 2, Slar the [[TheReptilians Gorn]] slave master hides in the Jeffries tubes, committing acts of sabotage to force the crew to give him a shuttle to escape. Instead, Archer hunts him down with a team of [=MACOs=].

** When the slave Archer is torturing tells him that the saboteur is a [[TheReptilians Gorn]], Archer's expression clearly emotes his worry. Even in the Mirror Universe, they are notorious for their ferociousness.

--->'''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.

* ShoutOut: WordOfGod says the I.S.S. ''Avenger'' is named after the Imperial Star Destroyer from ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack''. Speaking of which, what does Reed shout when he realizes that the Gorn [[LuredIntoATrap set him and his men up]]? [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi "IT'S A TRAP!"]]
* SigilSpam: The Empire's Earth with a dagger through it logo is ''everywhere''.
* SinkTheLifeBoats: The Tholians fire on the escape pods as they break through their energy web. There are only 47, but that's enough to allow a Part Two.

* SinkTheLifeBoats: The Tholians fire on the escape pods as they break through their energy web. There are only [[The47Society 47 survivors]], but that's enough to allow a Part Two.

** The fate of Archer and Reed was left [[NotQuiteDead deliberately ambiguous as well]], so they'd be available for future Mirror Universe episodes [[CutShort that were never made.]]

* BigNo: Soval does this as ''Avenger'' is destroyed.

* DoomedByCanon: The rebellion against the Terran Empire will inevitably fail, as it's still going strong a hundred years later.

** "I'll buy you as much time as I can. Get out of here, now!" Captain Forrest
** "I've failed you, captain." Major Reed (probably)
** "Once we put down the rebellion, I'll expand the Empire throughout... [[KilledMidSentence throughout]]..." Captain Archer (probably)

* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: The I.S.S ''Enterprise'' has a Suliban CloakingDevice, a TractorBeam and {{Escape Pod}}s, all required by the plot. Presumably the Terran Empire doesn't have moral qualms about [[ForgottenPhlebotinum acquiring and exploiting alien technology]].

* NotQuiteDead: We don't actually ''see'' Reed and Archer dead; this was so they could be brought back in future MirrorUniverse episodes [[WhatCouldHaveBeen if required]].

* PerpetualFrowner: Archer

* PunctuatedPounding: Archer bouncing Forrest off the walls of his cell in retaliation for his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech. "Then why -- are you -- in the brig?"

* SanitySlippage: After reading of his more successful alternate universe self, Archer is goaded by {{hallucinations}} of this other Archer into increasingly reckless actions.
* SavedByCanon: Obviously the Terran Empire won't be overthrown, as it's still going strong (despite sporadic rebellions) in ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' and ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery''.
* SceneryPorn: When the boarding party enter the ''Defiant'' bridge and boot up the computer, the camera pans lovingly over every station as they power up and all the TOS bridge sound effects come in one-by-one.

* SkywardScream: Soval does this as ''Avenger'' is destroyed.

* StockFootage from ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'' is cleverly intercut with episode footage in the teaser when Zephram Cochrane murders the Vulcan emissary. Also used in the special TitleSequence with news footage and scenes from movies and other Trek episodes are used to show that HumansAreWarriors.

* VehicularTurnabout: The Tholians steal the Defiant, only to have it stolen again by the Terran Empire.

* WhamShot: TheTeaser features that heartwarming scene from the end of ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact''. The Vulcan ship lands in Montana, the captain greets Zefram Cochrane with a salute and "Live long and prosper", Cochrane tries but fails to return the salute...and then he pulls out a gun and shoots the Vulcan. Welcome to the MirrorUniverse!
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Reed regarding Forrest after Archer takes the ship, and T'Pol regarding Archer after Forrest takes it back. Both turn out to be aware of this.
** It's implied that Archer is worried that killing Forrest will turn Hoshi against him, while Forrest can't kill Archer because the Emperor has already endorsed ThePlan that Archer proposed (he does try to arrange Archer's death during a combat mission however).
** 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.

* BeehiveBarrier: The Tholians are able to demonstrate a complete web in this episode. Unlike in "The Tholian Web", where there were two of them forming a large web around an immobilized ship, here a half-dozen are able to assemble a complete web around a smaller ship in under a minute. Once complete, the gaps in the web fill up with energy, blocking outbound fire while allowing the Tholians to fire through it with impunity. Some of the escape pods trying to get out are sliced apart by the strands. It also collapses onto the ''Enterprise'', destroying it. The Tholians also create a flat barrier blocking the ''Defiant'' spacedock, but Archer just blows up their ships to neutralize it.

* ShoutOut: WordOfGod says the I.S.S. ''Avenger'' is named after the Imperial Star Destroyer from ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack''. Speaking of which, what does Reed shout when he realizes that the Gorn [[LuredIntoATrap set him and his men up]]?
--->"IT'S A TRAP!"

* ShoutOut:
** WordOfGod says the I.S.S. ''Avenger'' is named after the Imperial Star Destroyer from ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack''.
** And speaking of ''Franchise/StarWars'', what does Reed shout when he realizes that the Gorn [[LuredIntoATrap set him and his men up]]?
---> "IT'S A TRAP!"

* RebelRelaxation: Averted; Archer wears his collar buttoned up (unlike in the normal universe) to show his more uptight nature. However he does do the requisite SlouchOfVillainy in the captain's chair.

* HighCollarOfDoom: A subtle version -- Archer wears his collar buttoned up, unlike in the normal universe, to show his more uptight nature.

* ThisIsGonnaSuck: T'Pol realizes Archer is DrunkWithPower during his speech aboard the ''Avenger'', and that he'll likely destroy Vulcan if he becomes Emperor.

In the year 2155, however, things aren't going well for the Terran Empire, which is facing a successful rebellion among the alien races they've conquered. On the [=ISS=] ''Enterprise'', First Officer Jonathan Archer hopes to repeat history with a raid into Tholian space. The Tholians have opened a rift into a future AlternateTimeline from which they've seized the ''Constitution''-class starship [=USS=] ''Defiant''. With speed and firepower a hundred years in advance of anything in the Quadrant, and a database full of subversive ideals, the ''Defiant'' is a GameBreaker that could save the Terran Empire...or bring it to its knees.

* OtherMeAnnoysMe: Archer's reaction to his alternate universe self, though at the same time he is deeply envious of the success his counterpart enjoyed.

* ALighterShadeOfBlack: Forrest is one of the more honorable Terran Empire officers seen, even pulling a HeroicSacrifice by staying behind on the Enterprise to distract the Tholians and buy the rest of the crew enough time to escape.

-->'''Forrest:''' You really think Admiral Black would place a spy on ''my'' ship, then tell me who it is?