Weekend Trek “The Emperor’s New Cloak”

Well, here’s the last Mirror Universe episode, and it’s also a Ferengi-based episode, so it may actually point out how absurd the Mirror Universe is.

See, that’s basically what this episode is.  For all the Ferengi are often greed personified, there is arguably a very pragmatic streak to them as opposed to the more idealistic other cultures present in this universe.  If something will make them a profit, they’ll go for it.  Yes, they revere a lot of traditions that are, to put it bluntly, horrible, but I do seem to recall Quark once dreams about the first Grand Negas’s telling him that the Rules for Acquisition were really more guidelines that holy scripture.  Besides, Ferengi only seem to get in trouble when they go to foolish lengths to make a profit.

Wait, they do that all the time.  I take back what I said about their pragmatism.

Speaking of foolish attempts to make a profit:  Zek went to the Mirror Universe to open up new markets.  He got caught over there, and the Mirror Universe version of Ezri came over to force Quark to bring a cloaking device to the other side.  The Mirror Universe apparently doesn’t have those things, and Quark has to recruit Rom for help.  They swipe the device from Martok’s ship and hustle it off the station, being beamed with the device to the Mirror Universe where, surprise surprise, there’s a doublecross.

And Quark, pessimist that he is, basically saw it coming.

Rom, meanwhile, spends the episode wondering why everything isn’t, as he’d been told, just the opposite of what he’d come to expect.  Considering the first thing they saw was a flesh-and-blood Vic Fontaine, and he was gunned down by Bashir and Smiley O’Brien.

Oh, and Zek is doing alright in Regent Worf’s prison as he’s locked up with Intendent Kira, and she knows how to keep an old Ferengi happy.

Honestly, I don’t think I am going to miss Intendent Kira very much.  That headband was always kinda distracting, and while I am guessing the generally awesome Nana Visitor enjoyed hamming it up as her evil self, I just didn’t much care for it.

However, for me, the fun here came from Rom’s basically comparing the Mirror Universe to their home dimension at all opportunities.  He’s quick to point out that it isn’t really the opposite of where they come from.  O’Brien is basically the same in both dimensions.  Ezri isn’t a Dax.  And Brunt is there as Ezri’s partner, a pair of freelancers, but this Brunt is nice and friendly, a good cook, and someone who actually wants to be fair.  It’s…distracting.

Mirror Brunt gets killed in a way that convinced Ezri to turn on her girlfriend Kira.

I’ve said this before, but I will say it again:  as much as Deep Space Nine gets some credit for same-sex kisses, they do just make it between women.  I’m wondering when the first same sex male kiss happened on Star Trek.  Maybe it was Sulu in Star Trek Beyond.  That’s…a bit depressing actually.

As it is, Quark’s expectations that they’re going to be double-crossed at all times and Rom’s constant comparing between universes saves the day.  Yes, they get double-crossed, and when Mirror Garek goes to interrogate the Ferengi, all Quark and Rom do, with an assist from Zek, is compare this Garek to the one they know and how disappointing the Mirror Universe version is.  Apparently, actor Andrew Robinson also found Mirror Garek disappointing, so something tells me he loved this scene.  Watching the Mirror version go into raving confusion as the Ferengi tell him about the much superior interrogator back home that shares his name and face, a man who is and isn’t just a simple tailor, yeah..true highlight of the episode.

Also, Rom sabotaged the cloaking device, allowing Smiley and his crew on the Defiant to capture Worf and effectively end the war.  Sure, Kira got away, but it’s not like we’re going to be checking in on this universe again, at least in this series.  Plus, I was impressed that the celebrating Mirror Federation’s Vulcans were just standing there watching like an emotionless being of logic should.  Plus, it turns out Mirror Leeta wants nothing to do with Rom and may be Ezri’s other girlfriend.  The Ferengi basically figure they should go home.

I hope they remembered to return Marok’s cloaking device.  He looked pretty mad when they left.