Now, someone’s been murdered on DS9: To track him down, do we rely on the dogged investigator who we’ve seen always gets his man? Have one last great Odo investigation before the show ends? Nah, let’s just have Ezri do it. And have her bring back Joran. He’s introduced in a dream sequence with SLOOOOOOOOOOOOW…

Certainly not the writers this season.

In a world where there's a flesh and blood Vic Fontaine running around, perhaps things like Bashir's genetic disabilities aren't perfectly identical between the universes either.

Quark and Rom are also just uniquely awful entry points for the mirror universe. Sisko worked by making our lead a swashbuckling comic book hero. Kira and Bashir worked in a ‘world turned upside down’ situation. Quark and Rom are just so far out of their element that Quark doesn’t work as much of a schemer. They…

Remember how sensitive DS9 was to same sex relationships in Rejoined and Rules of Acquisition? Remember how clever it was that Mirror Kira was into herself in Crossover because it was the ultimate expression of her narcissism? Well forget all that, because it’s time for the Lipstick Lesbianism Fun Hour! That’s right.…

Luckily, I don't think he's got a real bad episode left after this.

Next time, on Mad Space Nine…

Yeah. But Zack realizing Norvo was Ted Chaough made me realize not using Prodigal Daughter was also a missed opportunity to role in some of Ted's lines.

I would imagine for people who play aliens, you rank your favorite episodes by:

The A.V. Club

Revenge is a dish best served without so many appetizers, franchise.

Geordi was a big fan of the fucking computer.

Including the Federation, with tiny tiny pickaxes.

Perfect Strangers already did that.

"In a Mirror Darkly" is just pure fan service and nostaliga pandering. It's the end product of the slide DS9's mirror universe episodes went down from the serious work of Crossover to the lipstick lesbian camp awfulness of "Emperor's New Cloak." But it's better made and funner than the last episode, even if it's…

From his speech to Sisko back in “Heart of Stone” Nog dedicated himself to being the model Starfleet officer, and in AR-558 he saw the real consequences of it. It’s not surprising that the first shot we see of Nog after his arrival is him in civilian clothing. Have we seen him in Ferengi fashions since he left for the…

Of course, both of those take place in alternate timelines or the far future—nowhere near actual Voyager.

And there are more coming next week!

Of course, Ezri's shittiness at counseling here isn't just getting outdone in her job by a lightbulb, it's that at the end of the episode, she decides Nog is now ready to leave the holosuite (and makes an effort to drive him out) without observing or talking to him in the slightest.

I do love how perfect the title (and title song) of "It's Only a Paper Moon" is for the story. The song’s about a flim flam merchant on Coney Island, who suddenly falls and love and starts to take the world seriously. Vic’s someone who always gently accepted his world was phony and didn’t care. But Nog gives him a…