Star Trek: Discovery Episode 3.9 Review: Ups And Downs From Terra Firma Part 1
2. Fleshed Out Mirror Universe (UP)
The last third of this episode manages to do something that the second half of the first season failed to do and that is it shows us the MIrror Universe in a way that feels interesting, well-written and fleshed out. They're almost all there - Captain Killy, Mirror Burnham, Stamets and, returning for the first time since the first season, Rekha Sharma appears as Landry.
Georgiou, thrust back into her role as Emperor, has very clearly changed. It is excellent to see as seeing her change in the Prime Universe has been both slow and a little frustrating - lacking real depth.
Yet here, she is clearly affected by what would have been everyday acts around her. There are attempted assassinations, casual violence and constant cries of glory. And its obvious, not just to the audience, that she is not here for that anymore. She listens to Killy, who warns her of Burnham (and Lorca's) plot to overthrow her. She is flanked by Owosekun, the head of her honour guard. She attempts to reason with Burnham, who we finally meet for the first time. She is just as nasty as a mirror version would be.
Georgiou prevents Burnham from killing the mirror version of Saru, taking him under her wing as her own personal spy. It is an act that raises many eyebrows in the room, one that is sure to come back and haunt her.