WHY WE LIKE IT: Alternate realities!
WHY WE DON'T: They kind of forget their own justifications there for a minute.
REVIEW: We've done tribbles, I guess it's the Mirror Universe's turn. Let's hit all the iconic Trek bits before the end. But that would be too dark for Prodigy, surely! The way they get out of it is being making it only one of several parallel realities, and even then using Voyager characters, but not the Prodigy kids (which allows them to be pretty consistent with the MU vibes from past series). Basically, this is "Shattered" (Chakotay even remembers those similar events) with a twist. It's pretty interesting at first that each deck is a reality based on a choice the kids might have made - where Janeway died trying to save Chakotay and Jellico is in command, where the virus destroyed Starfleet and Okona is raiding Voyager, where the fan aliens were brought to the Alpha Quadrant and crew the ship - and that's a clever way to explore the history of the show without having all events occur on, in this case, the Protostar (as per "Shattered").
We could even buy the reality that has a Captain Tuvix since Chakotay's choices should be part of the matrix. But it certainly doesn't explain the Mirror Universe deck! Well, if you're gonna sit Voyager on a crack in space-time, you might as well check in with Trek's most famous alternate (sorry Kelvin!). And it's fun enough to ignore the betrayal of the premise as stated. Janeway with a Borg eyebrow. Bearded Chakotay (leading to grease paint Chakotay and bearded Murf). The two obviously in a sexual relationship. An evil humpback whale. Murf (the cute one) easily trouncing evil Chakotay. The Loom looking cool attacking Mirror Voyager... And it looks like a "new Terran fleet" now exists post-DS9. There are stories there that need to be told!
There are some weak points, but they are few. It certainly seems like Bribble is a useless creature here left aboard the Protostar (and definitely not called Quest - I thought maybe the previous episode's title would materialize here). Rok is sidelined AGAIN this season. And I think Janeway should have questioned Chakotay's Terran uniform - how does she know he's the real deal? But mostly, this is a fun what if of a romp.
LESSON: Only in the Mirror Universe do all your 'ships work out.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium-High: Both halves - the tour of past episodes and MU Voyager - are quite cool.
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