Shattered Mirror

The Siskos have an adventure in the mirror universe.

This is a fairly enjoyable episode with some humorous performances and decent spectacle. The key is not to take it seriously.

For me this is all about the over the top mirror universe characterisations and how funny you find seeing actors like Nana Visitor, Michael Dorn, Alexander Siddig, and Andrew Robinson chewing scenery. Personally I think Vistor, Dorn and Robinson have the most entertaining scenes.

There are some enjoyable action sequences that involve exciting space battles created by CGI and those always great shaky camera shots in the studio.

It ends with a quite poignant moment that is well made but feels quite out of sync with the tone of the episode.

6.5/10 for me but I round upwards.

First, let me admit that seeing characters act differently from their main story line can be fun, and can make a decent time watching it. That being said, that's where the good part of this episode stops. The rest is just pure junk in terms of intelligent construction of 'Shattered Mirror', and I'll explain why:

• the idea of parallel universes is ...erm... problematic as it is, to say the least (any number of parallel universes would require space-time-matter-energy duplication that is simply absurd scientifically), but even if you go past these problems the idea that easy travelling between these universes allow the same characters from different universes to coexist in one of the universes is even more absurd. A character from an universe shouldn't be able to exist in another "parallel" universe (i.e. outside of his own universe) - not to mention alongside his replica from the parallel universe - because all the space-time-matter-energy that he's made of belongs to a single universe: his own. That's why they're supposed to be "parallel" universes: because they coexist, but DON'T intersect...otherwise we would be talking about the same universe, now won't we?
• travelling to this parallel universe has been, as other reviewers mention, overused in DS9. Sure, it can be fun, but it becomes tiresome and boring after a while. After all the characters don't have any interest in involving themselves in the other universe, support an alliance or another, care for a person or another, for the simple reason that...duh, it's not their own (not to mention the apparently obsolete Prime Directive, regarding interfering in the matters of another 'world'). Which leads me to my next point...
• how the heck could Sisko and, even more stupidly, Jake, care deeply for the Jennifer from the other universe is beyond me, really. Hello, Sisko slowheads, it's NOT your wife/mother - it's an entirely different person. How could Jake, a Starfleet Captain son, be so charmed and easy to kidnap by someone who is clearly not his mother and bears no connection to him whatsoever is illogical, to say the least.
• the dumb plot doesn't stop there however. Get this: a Starfleet officer, a Captain in the Federation forces, the almighty Sisko, the first man tasked with stopping the Dominion's advances, makes a rookie "mistake": he falls into the same trap twice. Not only did Smiley (O'Brien's 'alter ego' in the parallel universe) easily captured him the first time in one of the previous episodes, but poor Sisko is incompetent enough to let himself being taken AGAIN to the parallel universe, this time along with his son. Now I don't know about you, folks, but this character is not the best father at all letting his son being taking away from him like that, and he's not worthy of being a Starfleet Captain if he, a hardened officer in one of the greatest millitaries in the galaxy, falls in the same trap twice. Imagine making such foolish mistakes against the Dominion - you're already conquered. I couldn't believe my eyes when he so easily bought Jennifer's claim that she was "just visiting" him... knowing the major problems in the parallel universe, he's fool enough to believe those folks may need a "vacation" in his own universe, hahaha!
• simple question: what do you do if a person who's the deadly enemy of your father points a gun at you and wants to know who you are? You lie, of course, because it saves your skin - you don't tell the person with the gun that you're the son of his enemy, inviting death, being taking hostage or being kidnapped... twice in a row. What does Jake Sisko do? Guess what: the exact opposite. Not smart at all, especially coming from an aspiring writer. Sure, Sisko being indebted to her was convenient for the alternate Kira and, of course, for a future (equally dumb) plot in the parallel universe, but made no sense if Jake wanted to survive and return home with his father.
• the Defiant, the station's shields and Bashir's ship was all that it took to make an ENTIRE fleet of angry Klingons to retreat and run back to their empire at maximum warp. I get it, the Defiant is a nasty ship and all (even though it seems to be on the brink of collapse in every battle it's involved in, at least visually), but to defeat Worf's entire imperial fleet that came to punish a handful of rebels? The writers must be joking, really.
• lastly, the nonsense that concludes all the previous nonsense above: since when Klingons (and Worf, alledgedly the most Klingon of all), retreat and run away from battle like cowards? I thought they were living under the motto that "It's a good day to die" and that "Victory is life", not to mention the honor they would throw away by leaving the battlefield. Ok, it's a "parallel universe", but Klingons are still Klingons if I'm not mistaken, and so far it all looks more like a parallel plot to logic and realism than a parallel universe episode.

It was midly fun, but I have a big problem with stupid plots and unrealistic life and death decisions from the characters - hence the rating. The writers can make the story suit their desired outcome all they want, but for me, the outcome should be a consequence of the story, not the other way around.

These mirror episodes are OK but I find them too hard to fathom. Now, characters can exist in both sides of the mirror. This is pretty typical. The people on one side are pretty much evil. How they get along is beyond me. I don't have much to say other than Jake Sisko is really tiresome and from the conclusion, I would imagine we have to deal with them again, sucking the imagination out of the writers.

Another mirror universe episode. The only thing that stands out here is the enjoyable spacebattle and the hilarious interaction between Worf and Garak. The rest is standard. Also I love Dax's hairstyle in the mirror universe.

Honestly if these mirror universes are being taken seriously (epecially this one), they would have only earned a 4 by me. So I'm taking the chance it was all a joke.