The Mirror Universe version of Vedek Bareil crosses over, stirring feelings in Kira and (re?-)kindling a romance between them. But this Bareil is an accomplished thief and is secretly here on a job. Kira may lose him all over again... and Bajor may lose something rare indeed.
Show runner Ira Steven Behr makes this good point: "I knew we were going to get hammered for whatever show we came up with after the war arc and the wedding episode." He may well be right that nothing they could have put on the air could follow the proverbial "tough act" they'd created so far in season six. Still, much of "Resurrection" feels actively crafted to be contrary -- the opposite of what anyone would be excited to see.
That includes actress Nana Visitor, who said in interviews that she felt it out of character for Kira to so completely trust someone she'd just met -- and that Kira had already had more than enough time to move beyond the death of Bareil. Nevertheless, she gamely gives a solid performance as Kira (and, as always, a deliciously playful one as the Intendant). A lot of what Visitor does here, she does without little dialogue: playing hostage for Bareil when she knows she's in no danger, reacting to Sisko's meaningful story about his encounter with a mirror version of a loved one, conveying the weight of Kira's religious devotion more with how she speaks than what she says, and the performance-within-a-performance of Intendant Kira posing as Major Kira.
But one big problem with it all is that, unfortunately, Bareil remains fairly vacant even in this ostensibly more rugged version of the character. When he first beams into Ops in the teaser, he doesn't seem remotely dangerous. When he's contemplating his orb experience, he seems just as distant as he did before. What little chemistry there is between him and Kira seems to be Nana Visitor doing the heavy lifting, not guest star Philip Anglim.
To be fair, though, not all of this is Anglim's fault. He is given a couple of good moments, like regaling newlyweds Worf and Dax with a story over dinner (and a little table magic), and drunkenly yelling at the gawkers in Quark's. But mostly, the writing isn't helping here, whether is the strangely downbeat pillow talk of Bareil's "loved and lost" story, or his change in appetite being the only real marker f character growth.
The biggest problem with Bareil, though, is that the episode doesn't show us his orb experience. Sure, Kira says these things are private and personal. But we've seen inside the visions of characters before (including the original Bareil!), and doing so here would have gone a long way to explaining his decision at the end of the episode. Somehow, that vision moves him from reluctant schemer to reluctant hero, and his explanation of how that's so is rather paltry. I think in this case, seeing might have been believing.
Speaking of what we don't see here: the Mirror Universe. It seems to me the entire point of these episodes, going all the way back to Leonard Nimoy in a goatee, is to watch the actors we know and love cutting loose and vamping for the camera. Sure, Nana Visitor gets back in the catsuit for a scene (not coincidentally, the funnest scene in the episode)... but there's no "Smiley" O'Brien, no brazenly-evil Garak, no "Regent Worf," no joy here. Mirror Universe episodes are supposed to be play time, a romp. This one is so dour.
But, at the margins, there are a handful of good moments. Getting a better look at a Bajoran religious ceremony is nice. Quark's attempt to craft a scam with Bareil is on-brand, and the next scene in which he shatters Kira's romantic illusions really works -- even though Quark would normally be the last person Kira would take advice from. There are even a couple of small... well, smiles, if not laughs: we get more descriptions of the transparent-skulled Captain Boday, an awkward attempt by Bashir to get the latest gossip, and fun rapport between Dax and Worf.
Other observations:
- A scene cut for time from the top of the episode would have shown Dax in Kira's quarters, looking at some of Ziyal's art. Kira having an opportunity to talk about the loss she felt from a recent death might have helped a lot in explaining her behavior in this story.
- During the "hostage standoff" early in the episode, they're said to be heading to a runabout on Landing Pad A. When we get a glimpse outside the station, we see a runabout docked at an upper pylon instead.
- Mirror Bareil totally "Googles himself" to learn about his Prime Universe counterpart.
- Bareil's given name is revealed in this episode as Antos. Ira Steven Behr said this was chosen as an homage to West Side Story, and Tony's real name "Anton." Because Bareil and Kira are star-crossed lovers of a sort, I suppose.
- They detect Bareil's beam-in from the Mirror Universe. How does the Intendant get there undetected?
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