Star Trek: Discovery review, Season 5 Episode 5, "Mirrors"

This week, we go on a slower-than-expected trek through the Star Trek universe. This episode had all the ingredients for an interstellar roller coaster but instead, we kind of just... hovered there.

We kick off with Book reminiscing about his old mentor, Book Cleveland the 4th, channeling all those mentor-y vibes about choices and redemption. Seems like he’s got a soft spot for Moll and wants to pull her back from the dark side. Admirable, but also, yawn; can something about their connection be done already? I feel like we're being set up for major disappointment when it comes to Book and his allegiance, or that he'll put everything on the line for this "family member" of his he didn't know was alive until now instead of Michael, whom he actually belongs with. I love Book and Michael together. I really, really do.

Next, we're hunting for clues through a wormhole that wasn’t there before, or so says Stamets. Cue the classic hidden-in-plain-sight-until-the-radars-are-calibrated trick! Kind of gave me Garrus from Mass Effect vibes with the calibrations. Michael, ever the daredevil, decides to leap through this space oddity with Book, and nobody else. Because who needs a security team when you have personal connections and plot armor, am I right? Flash to inside the wormhole: bumpy, comms cutting out, and what’s that? Debris? That’s never a good sign in space, folks. Turns out we're not just anywhere; we're in the mirror universe, staring at what's left of the Enterprise. I actually love how that wormhole looked — creepy space vibes.

To their surprise, they find Moll and L'ak's ship, or what's left of it, and come face to face with a semi-destroyed USS Enterprise. While Book and Michael play space detective aboard the ghostly Enterprise, the rest of the crew is having a less-than-stellar time back on the Discovery. Culber’s acting off, Adira’s bogged down by guilt over the time bug that threw the ship into a crazy time loop in the previous episode, and Rayner’s trying to act like he’s got a handle on things. Honestly, it’s a bit of a mess without the main duo, but Rayner has this. I have complete faith in him.

Back on the Enterprise, the rescue mission turns into a hide-and-seek game with holograms and a sick bay showdown. Turns out Moll and L'ak aren't just galactic fugitives; they're star-crossed lovers (literally) tangled up in a mess of mutinies and hidden motives. Cue a revelation about Moll’s royal Breen beau L’ak and his demotion-inspired revenge plot. It’s all very dramatic, but the villains? Kind of a letdown with that weak sauce backstory, I hate to admit. The actors are fantastic, the characters seemed interesting... but it's the love over everything plot again and we've seen that so often before. Badass assassins with a legitimately tragic backstory would have been a little more interesting.

After some near-death experiences, phaser fights, and a heart-to-heart about choices (again with the choices!), Moll decides not to shoot Book, because of "last family ties" or something like that. Michael manages to snag a fake clue-turned-real, and somehow, amidst all the chaos, they hitch a ride back to the Discovery.

As for the Discovery crew, they pull together under Rayner’s shaky command to retrieve the Enterprise from the wormhole. It’s a moment of teamwork that feels like it’s setting Rayner up for more and I love it. He's a truly interesting character and I am enjoying his rapport with the crew, especially with Michael. And at the end of the day, despite the slow pacing and the lackluster villains, there’s a glimmer of hope that the action will pick up in the remaining episodes.

So here’s hoping the next episodes bring back the zing, with more twists, turns, and maybe some proper villainy that’ll make our space trek worth the wait!

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