Game The Most Disliked Mirror Universe Episode, 2025 Edition

[Sakonna]

THE OBJECTIVE: A sudden-death elimination game in which we remove our personal favorite episodes/movies from a themed list, until we arrive at the episode that is, if not the worst, at least the most disliked.

It's a framework to say positive things about episodes from across the franchise.

THE RULES: Below is a list of Mirror Universe features/episodes from TOS, DS9, ENT, DIS, LD, and PRO.

Eliminate/save your favorite, or the one you deem the ‘best' of what currently remains.
Post something you enjoy about the episode you are saving, and copy-and-paste the list with your choice removed.

You can use any standard you like to judge which option is "best." You can save episodes for being widely recognized “best Trek” classics, or for idiosyncratic qualities that no one appreciates but you.

As you get down the list, you might have to reach more and more for something to enjoy about an episode, and it's OK to eventually save episodes for being "less bad."

But -- no tactical voting! You cannot remove an episode because you don’t think anyone else will, or because you feel it would threaten your preferred episode's chance to “win.”

You can take multiple turns.

Leave at least 2 eliminations by other posters before you eliminate another episode.

New players are always welcome. You do not have to already be a "most disliked game" regular to dive in.

Much thanks to @Farscape One for helping me vet the list!

Enjoy!

TOS Season 2: "Mirror, Mirror"
DS9 Season 2: "Crossover"
DS9 Season 3: "Through The Looking Glass"
DS9 Season 4: "Shattered Mirror"
DS9 Season 6: "Resurrection"
DS9 Season 7: "The Emperor's New Cloak"
ENT Season 4: "In A Mirror, Darkly, Part I"
ENT Season 4: "In A Mirror, Darkly, Part II"
DIS Season 1: "Despite Yourself"
DIS Season 1: "The Wolf Inside"
DIS Season 1: "Vaulting Ambition"
DIS Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue"
DIS Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 1"
DIS Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"
DIS Season 5: "Mirrors"
LD Season 2: "I, Excretus"
PRO Season 2: "Cracked Mirror"
Feature: "Star Trek: Section 31"

 

[Sakonna]

"Crossover"! The MU was never better than in Trek's second run at the concept. Every instinct they had about how to reintroduce this universe 100 years later is dead-on.

TOS Season 2: "Mirror, Mirror"
DS9 Season 3: "Through The Looking Glass"
DS9 Season 4: "Shattered Mirror"
DS9 Season 6: "Resurrection"
DS9 Season 7: "The Emperor's New Cloak"
ENT Season 4: "In A Mirror, Darkly, Part I"
ENT Season 4: "In A Mirror, Darkly, Part II"
DIS Season 1: "Despite Yourself"
DIS Season 1: "The Wolf Inside"
DIS Season 1: "Vaulting Ambition"
DIS Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue"
DIS Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 1"
DIS Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"
DIS Season 5: "Mirrors"
LD Season 2: "I, Excretus"
PRO Season 2: "Cracked Mirror"
Feature: "Star Trek: Section 31"

 

[Detached Nacelle]

The curse of broken up two parters. I will save the exquisite In a Mirror Darkly 1.

TOS Season 2: "Mirror, Mirror"
DS9 Season 3: "Through The Looking Glass"
DS9 Season 4: "Shattered Mirror"
DS9 Season 6: "Resurrection"
DS9 Season 7: "The Emperor's New Cloak"
ENT Season 4: "In A Mirror, Darkly, Part II"
DIS Season 1: "Despite Yourself"
DIS Season 1: "The Wolf Inside"
DIS Season 1: "Vaulting Ambition"
DIS Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue"
DIS Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 1"
DIS Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"
DIS Season 5: "Mirrors"
LD Season 2: "I, Excretus"
PRO Season 2: "Cracked Mirror"
Feature: "Star Trek: Section 31"

 

[BillJ]

“Mirror, Mirror”, they should’ve stopped there.

DS9 Season 3: "Through The Looking Glass"
DS9 Season 4: "Shattered Mirror"
DS9 Season 6: "Resurrection"
DS9 Season 7: "The Emperor's New Cloak"
ENT Season 4: "In A Mirror, Darkly, Part I"
ENT Season 4: "In A Mirror, Darkly, Part II"
DIS Season 1: "Despite Yourself"
DIS Season 1: "The Wolf Inside"
DIS Season 1: "Vaulting Ambition"
DIS Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue"
DIS Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 1"
DIS Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"
DIS Season 5: "Mirrors"
LD Season 2: "I, Excretus"
PRO Season 2: "Cracked Mirror"
Feature: "Star Trek: Section 31"

 

[Farscape One]

"IN A MIRROR, DARKLY, PART II" is saved.

Truly fun episode. I'd save it just for giving us a break from that awful theme song of the series the rest of the time.


DS9 Season 3: "Through The Looking Glass"
DS9 Season 4: "Shattered Mirror"
DS9 Season 6: "Resurrection"
DS9 Season 7: "The Emperor's New Cloak"
DIS Season 1: "Despite Yourself"
DIS Season 1: "The Wolf Inside"
DIS Season 1: "Vaulting Ambition"
DIS Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue"
DIS Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 1"
DIS Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"
DIS Season 5: "Mirrors"
LD Season 2: "I, Excretus"
PRO Season 2: "Cracked Mirror"
Feature: "Star Trek: Section 31"

 

[altersalk]

Of all the S1 Disco eps, the intro, "Despite Yourself" does a great job of setting the stakes the crew has found themselves in, and features Blowout Tilly delivering an amazing line:

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DS9 Season 3: "Through The Looking Glass"
DS9 Season 4: "Shattered Mirror"
DS9 Season 6: "Resurrection"
DS9 Season 7: "The Emperor's New Cloak"
DIS Season 1: "The Wolf Inside"
DIS Season 1: "Vaulting Ambition"
DIS Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue"
DIS Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 1"
DIS Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"
DIS Season 5: "Mirrors"
LD Season 2: "I, Excretus"
PRO Season 2: "Cracked Mirror"
Feature: "Star Trek: Section 31"

 

[Sakonna]

"Terra Firma, Part 1" was my favorite of Disco's forays to the MU. It was great to finally actually see Mirror Burnham, Captain Killy, etc.

DS9 Season 3: "Through The Looking Glass"
DS9 Season 4: "Shattered Mirror"
DS9 Season 6: "Resurrection"
DS9 Season 7: "The Emperor's New Cloak"
DIS Season 1: "The Wolf Inside"
DIS Season 1: "Vaulting Ambition"
DIS Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue"
DIS Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"
DIS Season 5: "Mirrors"
LD Season 2: "I, Excretus"
PRO Season 2: "Cracked Mirror"
Feature: "Star Trek: Section 31"

 

[Farscape One]

Repairing "SHATTERED MIRROR".

The Defiant battling Klingons across Terok Nor was simply glorious!

And that hug at the end... that bond between them is just supreme.



DS9 Season 3: "Through The Looking Glass"
DS9 Season 6: "Resurrection"
DS9 Season 7: "The Emperor's New Cloak"
DIS Season 1: "The Wolf Inside"
DIS Season 1: "Vaulting Ambition"
DIS Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue"
DIS Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"
DIS Season 5: "Mirrors"
LD Season 2: "I, Excretus"
PRO Season 2: "Cracked Mirror"
Feature: "Star Trek: Section 31"

 

[MarcKle1964]

As an aside, I'd have loved to see how vicious tribbles were in the MU. Lots of teeth, their screeches weaponized, as immune to the effects of space as Tardigrades, etc...

They could even call an episode about them 'Tribble, Tribble'

 

[Detached Nacelle]

Mirrors was a fun use of the SNW set and it was nice Detmer and Owo got to fly an old well ancient by that point Constitution.

Will make an interesting exhibit in the fleet museum.

DS9 Season 3: "Through The Looking Glass"
DS9 Season 6: "Resurrection"
DS9 Season 7: "The Emperor's New Cloak"
DIS Season 1: "The Wolf Inside"
DIS Season 1: "Vaulting Ambition"
DIS Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue"
DIS Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"
LD Season 2: "I, Excretus"
PRO Season 2: "Cracked Mirror"
Feature: "Star Trek: Section 31"

 

[Qonundrum]

“Mirror, Mirror”, they should’ve stopped there.

Definitely seconded. Once was enough to explore and the almost whimsy-induced way the episode bypasses the technicalities of their doubles, where they were in the ship, etc, etc, is too inconsistent in-story to swallow. Never mind the magical death machine that's used on every redshirt except Sulu because the writers couldn't have been thinking that the audience would conflate evil-Sulu with our Sulu?! Naah, they wanted to keep a slight challenge and not make it a cakewalk. Given that parallel universes weren't "a thing" back then, it's more likely a justifiable concern back then than four decades later. Even "Sliders" from 1995 had critics lambasting the show, misunderstanding it becuase they thought it was about our world (good grief...)

But the best of Trek sometimes used the transporter as a plot crutch, as with "The Enemy Within". to get to the real story they wanted to tell. TEW did it better, but MM definitely had some shrewd moments.

The original series, the only one to discuss the message of "What kind of people are we?" which is all the concept can really be used for, definitely was the best in terms of the philosophical angle.

I think some of the franchise returning to the well of Mirrorland had some moments, but it did start to get way too convenient and silly and arguably missing the point, if not remembering it. It's been forever since I've seen every episode of spinoff going there, but the last time I tried it felt like crowd-pleasing fanservice.

Voyager sorta did the idea of showing evil versions of characters without actually going to Mirrorland for another exciting romp. Glad TNG didn't go there on screen in an official episode, though I can't help wondering what an evil O'Brien, Dr Crusher, Troi, or even Lwaxana could have been like.


All that said, the best thing that came from the mirror universe were sampled snippets for songs, like these:

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etc

 

[Sakonna]

I know we're all supposed to hate it, but saving "Star Trek: Section 31." I had fun with it! I liked it's grubby B movie vibe.

DS9 Season 3: "Through The Looking Glass"
DS9 Season 6: "Resurrection"
DS9 Season 7: "The Emperor's New Cloak"
DIS Season 1: "The Wolf Inside"
DIS Season 1: "Vaulting Ambition"
DIS Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue"
DIS Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"
LD Season 2: "I, Excretus"
PRO Season 2: "Cracked Mirror"

 

[Farscape One]

Saving "THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS".

It was an emotional mission for Sisko. Also underscores how well Colm understood the idea of the Mirror Universe, like Nimoy did in "MIRROR, MIRROR".

They aren't evil. They are essentially the same people, simply unfettered with their baser instincts. Smiley is a decent man, but has no problem doing shady things to get things done. Like Mirror Spock: same persona and logical, only more ruthless in its application.



DS9 Season 6: "Resurrection"
DS9 Season 7: "The Emperor's New Cloak"
DIS Season 1: "The Wolf Inside"
DIS Season 1: "Vaulting Ambition"
DIS Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue"
DIS Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"
LD Season 2: "I, Excretus"
PRO Season 2: "Cracked Mirror"

 

[Victoria]

Playing these games has made me feel that I am a bit of an outlier with my likes and dislikes...so here comes another weird one.

I have saved "The Emperor's New Cloak" before and I am saving it again. I don't like the character of Ezri but here she is written as an adult doing grown-up things and is much better. It's nce to see Brunt as something other than a pantomime villain and Coombs does very well portraying the pathos. As for a universe where lesbianism is just normal - what's not to like about that?

DS9 Season 6: "Resurrection"
DIS Season 1: "The Wolf Inside"
DIS Season 1: "Vaulting Ambition"
DIS Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue"
DIS Season 3: "Terra Firma, Part 2"
LD Season 2: "I, Excretus"
PRO Season 2: "Cracked Mirror"

 

[Detached Nacelle]

Terra Firma 2. A satisfying conclusion to that chapter of Georgiou's story and a showcase of the character's growth and complexity.

DS9 Season 6: "Resurrection"
DIS Season 1: "The Wolf Inside"
DIS Season 1: "Vaulting Ambition"
DIS Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue"
LD Season 2: "I, Excretus"
PRO Season 2: "Cracked Mirror"

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

Disco's "What's Past Is Prologue" isn't exactly my favourite episode of the series... but second place isn't bad. The series returned to the 'big fight scene on the spaceship while Discovery is blowing stuff up outside' well a few times over its run, but that's because it worked and for me the sequence where the ship blows up the core and rides the energy into a spore jump is one of the highlights of modern Trek.

DS9 Season 6: "Resurrection"
DIS Season 1: "The Wolf Inside"
DIS Season 1: "Vaulting Ambition"
LD Season 2: "I, Excretus"
PRO Season 2: "Cracked Mirror"

 

[Seven of Five]

I enjoy Resurrection because it was the one time that the MU visited our side.

Season 1: "The Wolf Inside"
DIS Season 1: "Vaulting Ambition"
LD Season 2: "I, Excretus"
PRO Season 2 Cracked Mirror

 

[Victoria]

The second season of Prodigy was heavily serialised which makes it difficult to pick out individual episodes as particularly worthy (or unworthy) of notice. In practice, it's hard to think of any episodes that weren't good. "Cracked Mirror" bounces between universes and has lots of referencing to other episodes and events.


DIS Season 1: "The Wolf Inside"
DIS Season 1: "Vaulting Ambition"
LD Season 2: "I, Excretus"

 

[Farscape One]

Saving "I. Excretus".

Because I like this FAR more than DISCO.


DIS Season 1: "The Wolf Inside"
DIS Season 1: "Vaulting Ambition"

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

The remaining two episodes aren't much different in quality I reckon, but Wolf Inside's writing is a little more bizarre and its direction just a little bit (okay a lot more) over the top, so I'm going to save "Vaulting Ambition".

DIS Season 1: "The Wolf Inside"