Star Trek Continues ”Fairest of Them All” - Detailed Analysis & Review

Today's episode of Star Trek Continues, "Fairest of Them All" takes us back to the mirror universe, for a direct sequel to the original Star Trek episode "Mirror Mirror". We get to see what happened next after prime Kirk planted the seeds of change in mirror Spock's mind. It's a fun and meaningful story. Let's dig in and talk about it.

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Transcript

Welcome to Nerd Heaven. 

I'm Adam David Collings, the author of Jewel of The Stars.

And I am a nerd.

 

This is episode 97 of the podcast.

Today, we’re talking about the Star Trek Continues episode “Fairest of Them All”

 

The description on StartrekContinues.com reads

In the Mirror Universe, Spock faces a choice that determines the future of the Terran Empire.

 

The teleplay was written by James Kerwin and Vic Mignogna

Based on a story by Vic Mignogna

It was directed by James Kerwin

And it first aired on 15th of June 2014.

 

You’ll notice as we go along, that many episodes of Star Trek Continues are sequels, either direct, or subtle, to TOS episodes. This is the second one that is a direct sequel, in this case, to Mirror Mirror.

 

The mirror universe is an interesting thing. When you start to think about it, the idea breaks down quickly. The more the universes diverge, the less likely it would be to see the same people. For example, how astonishingly unlikely, in this universe, that Sarak still married Amanda, a Terran, and brought Spock into the world.

 

At its core, the mirror universe is silly. I’ve heard some argue that because of this, mirror universe episode should be campy. I strongly disagree with that. Mirror Mirror, while built on the somewhat silly premise, was serious drama. The only hint of campiness, to me, was mirror Kirk’s over-acting, but even that was done for dramatic effect. When DS9 started doing mirror universe episodes, it also took the premise seriously and made gritty drama about it. Sadly, as these episodes went on, they got progressively sillier, the last of them, in season 7, being a Ferengi comedy.

 

People point to Spock’s beard, claiming this is a campy idea, but I think that’s mainly just because it’s become such a meme. At the time, putting a goatee on Spock served a very practical purpose. Not only did it make him look more menacing, but it very quickly and effectively showed us, visually, that something was different. This wasn’t our Spock.

 

Even the trend of having other mirror universe Vulcans wear the same beard doesn’t feel like a campy move to me. We know that vulcans are creatures of tradition. They practically all have the same hairstyle, so it’s only reasonable to assume that having a goatee would be a cultural imperative for mirror Vulcans. Look at the real-world culture of the Amish, who all grow a beard after they marry.

 

So, yeah, my point is, I’m up for treating the mirror universe as fodder for serious drama. And this episode follows its predecessor in just that.

 

The episode begins with Kirk’s closing speech to Spock at the end of Mirror Mirror. It’s a great speech. He has some very compelling words for Spock. It was always a favourite part of that episode. And I love how at the end of it, Spock says “I shall consider it.”

 

And with that note of hopefulness, We follow Kirk and his crew back to the prime universe.

 

But in this episode, we instead stay in the mirror universe with Spock, to see what he does next.

 

And I have to say this is a brilliant move.

From the moment I first heard Intendant Kira tell the story of how Mirror Spock had dismantled the Terran Empire, turning it into a more reasonable and peace-loving organisation, and then its subsequent conquest by the alliance, I’ve been enthralled by the idea of seeing that play out.

 

During early DS9, Leonard Nimoy was still young enough to play this. I imagined a TV movie, set during the TOS movie era, where an older Spock had risen to emperor and was taking the dangerous steps of trying to change the culture. This episode of Star Trek Continues is the closest we’ll likely ever get to that. But this tells the very beginning of the story. Spock’s first steps into the light.

 

The return of mirror Kirk is bad news for the Halkans. Our Kirk did everything he could to try to spare them, but now that this universe’s Kirk has returned, his first order of business is to destroy their city.

 

Rather than just destroying one city with the phasers, Kirk decides to use a full spread of photon torpedoes. The radiation of which is likely to make the entire species extinct.

Spock argues for leniency and diplomacy. Prime Kirk’s words are already having an effect on him.

But mirror Kirk isn’t interested. He does, however, have his first hint that his prime counterpart has sowed seeds of revolution in Spock’s mind.

 

This episode takes a page out of Enterprise’s book and creates specific mirror-universe opening titles, much as “In a Mirror Darkly” did. It was awesome in Enterprise, and it’s awesome here.

 

Note also that this is the first episode that doesn’t have Larry Nemechek as McCoy. We have a new actor - Chuck Huber.

 

I wondered what the reason for the cast change might have been. I found a Facebook post by Star Trek Continues, stating that Nemecek filled in for Chuck Huber in the first two episodes. This suggests that Larry was never intended to be the long-term actor in this role, but maybe Chuck Huber wasn’t available for the first two? I don’t know.

 

It’s also the first appearance, in Star Trek Continues, of Smith, a character we last saw as a yeoman in “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” In that episode, Kirk kept calling her Jones. It seems mirror Kirk is still making that mistake all these years later.

 

The original series had a pretty male-dominated cast. Continues adds in a few more female characters to be regulars and semi-regulars. We already know it’s added McKenna, as a brand new character, but I like how they went back to the well and used this old character. This episode won’t be the last we’ll see of her.

 

You’ll notice Spock is the clear protagonist of this episode. We get a personal log from Spock, rather than a captain’s log from Kirk.

 

There’s a really interesting dynamic going on between these two, even now. Kirk confronts Spock for questioning his orders. Spock again tries to point out the logic of his alternate approach. When Kirk asks Uhura to make his report back to the empire, he makes it very clear that he personally destroyed the Halkens, and he asks Uhura to include Spock’s objections. On the surface, this may seem like he’s respecting Spock’s opinion, but of course this is the opposite. Kirk is letting his superiors know that Spock made a very controversial suggestion. A suggestion that could get him in a lot of trouble. A suggestion that might make them question giving him a command of his own. This is a subtle power play against Spock, and I’m sure Spock is aware of it.

 

New twist, something planted in the planet by the Halkens means that the torpedo barrage is setting off a chain reaction that could destroy all of that precious dilithium the empire wants to strip mine out of the planet.

 

All of a sudden, Spock is looking like the more reasonable person, and Kirk’s overkill is going to cost them a lot. And that message has already been sent to the Empire.

Very interesting.

 

Kirk does his best to turn things around again, by insisting that Spock should have detected that the dilithium was rigged to explode. But it sounds a little hollow.

 

Uhura sounds a very valid warning. Kirk’s enemies don’t stick around very long.

Spock already knows about the device in Kirk’s quarters, and that’s just where Kirk is headed.

 

If Spock isn’t careful, he may disintegrate.

 

So two Andorian ships arrive, and we know from Discovery that the mirror Andorians were part of a rebellion with the Tellarites and Vulcans, but this was written before discovery.

The Andorians say they witnessed the destruction of the Halkens and no longer recognise the authority of the Terran Empire.

I think you can make this work. While many Andorians were rebels, years earlier at the time of Discovery, I’m not sure all of them were. Some were probably willing subjects of the empire. I mean, Spock himself is first officer of a Terran ship, and he’s Vulcan, who were also part of the rebellion, (which features Spock’s own father).

 

But the more important thing here is that Kirk’s prediction is already coming true. Other races are rebelling against the empire. It doesn’t line up exactly because it implies there hasn’t been any rebellion up until now.

 

And we hear the computer voice, which in the mirror universe, is Male. Excitingly, the voice is Michael Dorn, who, of course, played Worf. That’s a nice touch.

 

When Kirk orders Spock to attack the Andorian ships, he openly refuses to obey. 

Naturally, Kirk assumes Spock is making some kind of play, because that’s how things work in the Mirror Universe, but he also recognises that his Prime universe counterpart has had some influence on Spock, and maybe on Moreau as well.

 

He turns on the tantalus field, and spies Spock speaking of mutiny with Uhura. But when he pushes the button to kill Spock, it fritzes out and dies. It’s not working.

 

I think Kirk suspects Moreau of doing something to the device at first, but stops short of having her taken away by security.

 

Spock’s next target is Scotty. He tries to recruit him, appealing to the peace he witnessed in the prime universe. Scotty saw that peace as weakness, but is he just parroting the party line? His biggest concern is not a fundamental disagreement with Spock, but fear of committing mutiny, which is a very dangerous game in the mirror universe.

 

I don’t think Spock was successful in recruiting Uhura, but she’s wishing she wasn’t on the ship. If I have one criticism of this episode, it’s that, other than Kirk, none of the crew are really mirror-universe enough. I’m not seeing the angry bloodthirsty callousness that I’m expecting, I’m mainly seeing fear. But then, fear would be a natural state for most people living in a world like that.

 

We actually get our first real glimpse of this with McCoy. He’s injecting a security officer with something. He casually remarks “I’ve never used this much before.” Then grins and says “I wonder what will happen.”

I think doctors provide the best opportunity for highlighting the difference between mirror and prime characters. Because Doctors have such strong ethics in our world, and a doctor without ethics is terrifying.

This idea is so powerful that the showrunners of Star Trek Discovery’s first season said they would never show a mirror universe version of Culber, because it would be so dark it would tarnish the memory of that character. Of course, that didn’t stop them showing a version of Georgaeu who would eat the meat of sentient lifeforms.

 

Now that Kirk knows where Spock is, the only thing keeping him alive is the malfunction in the tantalus field.

Checkov is wise to join Spock’s side when given the chance.

Spock’s use of the stun setting on his phaser is a powerful statement that really gets Checkov thinking. “Murder is the way of the empire. The captain’s way.”

Kirk put Checkov in the front lines as cannon fodder to die. He has much better hope for a future with Spock than with Kirk, even if he doesn’t share Spock’s values.

Of course, I am surprised that a mirror universe phaser would even have a stun setting, but perhaps it could be useful occasionally. After all, you can’t torture someone who is dead.,

 

Spock gives a rousing speech over the comm system. He’s getting through to Uhura. You can see it on her face.

 

Moreau joins Spock in Auxiliary Control. She tells him their best hope is to get to Kirk’s quarters. The tantalus field is the key, just as Prime Kirk said it would be.

 

Kirk is starting to realise the seriousness of his situation. Crew are not reporting for duty. They’re starting to switch sides.

Smith is willing to serve Kirk, but his anger at her is eroding any goodwill she has for him.

He does something really stupid. He relieves her of her commission and tells her to report to the brig.

She was one of the few allies he had, and he’s just given her to Spock because she’s unable to do what would be reasonably accepted to be impossible in her situation.

 

Kirk realises his mistake when Sulu arrives and reports that Checkov has turned. He tells Smith to resume her post, but the damage is already done. She’s not going to respect Kirk anymore. The only thing that’s been holding her here is fear, and that fear will continue to erode as Spock gains more and more power.

 

We get confirmation that Moreau sabotaged the tantalus field. Now she offers it to Spock.

When Moreau says “Yes, she is the captain’s woman, but not this captain,” I believe she’s thinking about prime Kirk. He changed her way of thinking. He gave her a new hope. She’s doing this based on his example, and possibly even out of love for him.

 

But Spock isn’t willing to use it.

“No revolution can succeed using the same methods that failed in the previous one.”

Wise words.

There may come a day when Spock has to use this device to protect himself, but he’s not going to stoop to Kirk’s level. He’s not going to become the monster he’s trying to defeat.

The key is not using the device himself, but ensuring that Kirk can’t use it.

 

Moreau wants to be sent to the prime universe, something Spock can’t do. But together maybe they can recreate something of the prime universe here.

 

Kirk is learning. He’s realising that screaming and ranting is not going to get him anywhere.

So he’s trying a more reasonable approach. At least, an approach that seems reasonable.

He tells Spock that he sees the merit in his logic.

He’s lying, obviously, but he’s calmed down enough to be able to try this tactic.

 

Moreau cautions against this. It’s obviously a trap. Scotty knows this. Spock knows this.

But if there is any hope for the empire to change, he must give Kirk the opportunity to change as well.

So he walks into what is almost certainly a trap. Because he has to give Kirk a chance.

It’s interesting. I can see his logic.

Scotty and Moraeu are right. This is a foolish step that can likely achieve nothing. But this is exactly what Spock has been preaching. Sit down and talk rather than fight. To refuse would be to go against the essence of the message he’s preaching.

And I think Kirk knows this.

 

I couldn’t help but notice the camera shot panning up from the chessboard to Spock and then seeing Kirk  enter. Very symbolic of the chess game Kirk and Spock are currently engaged in. A game in which they are currently locked in a stalemate.

 

Kirk brings up the valid point that there are many other ships out there loyal to the empire. Even if Spock wins control of the Enterprise, he’ll still have a very difficult fight ahead of him. A fight against the odds.

 

When Kirk tries to shoot Spock, we learn that Scotty has put an energy dampening forcefield on the entire deck. Spock has given Kirk his chance, but also given him a chance to prove he cannot be trusted.

 

The dilithium on the planet is overloading. They have to warp away to avoid being destroyed.

 

Spock is offering the crew an alternative. Kirk shows what he really thinks of them. “They’re pawns. They don’t need alternatives. Pawns need a king. He sees no intrinsic human value in any of them. And this is why Kirk will lose.

 

This happens sooner than expected when we realise that Spock had activated the intercom. The entire crew heard Kirk ranting about them.

Uhura and Smith already have knives at Sulu’s throat.

Security arrive in the rec lounge to take Kirk into custody.

 

Spock demonstrates compassion by giving Kirk and his followers a shuttle, sparing their lives. Part way through this scene I got a little excited when I realised they’d built a shuttle for this show. You see, I get so caught up in this that sometimes I just think I’m watching TOS. And then I realise, oh yeah, this is a fan show. Fans had to build that life-size shuttle. I’m sure the hanger deck itself is CG, but it looks as it should.

 

Apparently there were some Halken survivors. I’m surprised by that. I thought Kirk slaughtered them all.

 

I think the Halkens would be glad to know, survivors or not, that their sacrifice had helped to secure the end of the empire, and the beginning of peace. At least, until the Klingons and Cardassians form the Alliance, but that’s a whole other story.

 

So Spock orders a speed of warp 2 with no heading, prompting Checkov to ask for the heading.

Spock replies “forward.”

This reminded me of Kirk’s “first star to the right” quote from Peter Pan at the end of Star Trek 6. And I get it. It’s poetic. That’s nice and all. But…..what exactly is Checkov supposed to do with that? Spock is there waiting for the ship to move. Checkov pushes some buttons. Is he just making up his own course? Maybe plotting for the nearest Maccas fly-through? These moments kind of bother me.

 

So, the Enterprise flies off into the sunset, having taken the very first step into a better future.

 

I really enjoyed this one. It was a great script, exploring how Spock took Kirk’s advice and made changes in the mirror universe.

 

It’s the kind of episode I’m not sure they could have done in “real” Star Trek. It doesn’t actually move the story forward in our world at all. But it’s a perfect story for a fan series to explore. Not so much a ‘what-if’ story, but certainly a side quest, but a very meaningful one.

 

Next time, we’ll be talking about an episode that I don’t really remember - The White Iris.

Looking forward to it.

 

Don’t forget to check out my original science fiction at AdamDavidCollings.com/books

 

In the meantime, have a great two weeks, live long and prosper

Make it so.