Bareil takes Kira hostage and demands a ship. Sisko orders everyone back, and the pair make the long walk to an airlock. Along the way, Bareil confirms Kira's suspicion that he's from the Mirror Universe. Once they arrive at a ship, Kira notes that his disruptor has been broken the whole time. With the help of Odo and his security forces, they subdue him and throw him in the brig. There, he reveals that he's a simple thief who acquired a personal transporter to get into this universe, and he'd rather stay here, even if it means living in a work camp. Kira takes pity on him and refuses to press charges, allowing him to remain and keep his freedom.
Kira and Bareil start forming a bond together, and Sisko warns her from past experience not to let her love of her own Bareil color her relationship with this one. Kira insists that she knows what she's doing and invites Bareil to dinner with Dax and Worf. There, Bareil charms Dax and Kira with his picaresque adventures, even managing to impress Worf by proving that he can steal a Klingon warrior's mek'leth. But later, he also opens up about losing the love of his life in a bar fight. Having done some soul-searching after learning that his alternate universe version was a vedek, Bareil attends a Bajoran holy ritual and peppers Kira with questions about an Orb used in the ceremony. She pulls some strings to get him his own experience with the Orb.
Dazed from his vision with the orb, which involved him and Kira, Bareil returns to his quarters to discover that Intendant Kira from the Mirror Universe is waiting for him. It turns out that the two are conspiring to steal the Orb from this universe and take it back home to unify Bajor under the Alliance, with Bareil as their king. Bareil and Intendant Kira are lovers, but Bareil has become conflicted and refuses to go to bed with her. Drowning his sorrows at Quark's, Bareil brushes off the Ferengi's proposed scheme to pass him off as a holy man. Later, Quark bumps into Kira and notes how tortured Bareil is, having seen him lingering around the Bajoran temple for a while after leaving the bar.
With Intendant Kira passing herself off as Major Kira, the two thieves set about their plan. Bareil breaks into the Bajoran temple, but Major Kira confronts him there, having anticipated what he might do. But Intendant Kira gets the drop on her. She mocks Major Kira for not seeing Bareil as the scoundrel he is. But when the Intendant demands that Bareil confirm his moral failings, he stuns her instead. Bareil tells Major Kira that he's going to return to the Mirror Universe with the Intendant and talk his way back into her good graces. When she asks why he can't stay, he admits that his orb vision depicted him and Major Kira living on Bajor happily, but he's decided that his nature would eventually ruin their domestic bliss, and he'd rather that not happen. He beams himself and the Intendant back to the Mirror Universe, leaving Kira alone.
Tropes
- All There in the Script: A cut line from the script would have revealed that Worf served aboard the starship Hawk as an ensign. The line also stated that the Hawk was hit by an unknown anomaly on Worf's second day out of port.
- Becoming the Mask: In pretending to have feelings for Kira, Bareil ends up falling for her for real and betrays the Intendant.
- Betty and Veronica: A sci-fi version, when Bareil has to chose between the Intendant and Kira. Kira on the other hand has her memories of Bareil versus the Mirror version.
- Big Eater: Mirror Bareil, seemingly used to very little food, eats almost constantly while on Deep Space 9, even grabbing a biscuit to munch on after taking Kira hostage. By contrast, Kira notes that Vedek Bareil only ate two meals a day.
- Birds of a Feather: It's Quark who realises that Bareil is up to no good and tips off Kira about it.
- Bizarre Alien Biology: Aside from the oft-mentioned Captain Boday and his transparent skull, Kira and Jadzia discuss a fellow with at least three eyes. Kira doesn't find either trait particularly attractive.
- Brandishment Bluff: Bareil takes Kira hostage with a broke disruptor, which she ultimately notices. It turns out that failing in his hostage gambit was part of the plan.
- Call-Back:
- Sisko understands Kira's dilemma regarding Mirror Bareil, as he went through something similar when he met Mirror Jennifer.
- Captain Boday nets another mention during Dax and Kira's discussion about a dinner date.
- Kira reminds Quark that he also had an experience with an Orb of the Prophets.
- Continuity Nod: Worf's bat'leth trophy is visible in his quarters, which he won the in TNG episode "Parallels."
- Contrived Coincidence: As per usual with Mirror Universe episodes. It turns out Mirror Bareil is Mirror Kira's lover, just like Vedek Bareil was Kira's, even though the circumstances that caused Vedek Bareil and Kira to meet in the regular universe do not exist in the Mirror Universe. Then again, if Bareil even visited the station in the past, the odds of Mirror Kira sleeping with him are fairly good.
- Delicious Distraction: In the middle of exchanging death threats with Sisko and taking Kira hostage, Bareil snatches a biscuit to eat.
- Doppelgänger Replacement Love Interest: Bareil Antos.
- Fanservice: Bareil gets a Shirtless Scene while in bed with Kira.
- Foil: Mirror Bareil for Vedek Bareil; while our Bareil was a disciplined, humble holy man, Mirror Bareil is a scruffy Lovable Rogue who has no problem bragging and has trouble wrapping his head around spirituality.
- The Guards Must Be Crazy: The Bajoran deputy doesn't seem to notice that "Kira" is acting more overtly sexual than usual. Could be a Refuge in Audacity situation, considering that it's unlikely many people are aware of the full details of the Mirror Universe and hence are unaware of even the possibility of Kira's double coming to the station.
- Heel–Face Turn: Bareil had initially come over to steal the Orb of Prophecy and Change for Intendant Kira, but after developing feelings for Major Kira, he can't go through with it.
- Hypocritical Humor: Jadzia claims after Kira remarks on her poor taste in men that she'll be certain to tell Worf she feels that way. When Worf catches the tail end of the remark and asks what she's talking about, Jadzia tells him not to be nosy. Later, immediately after chiding Bashir for wanting to know how Kira's evening with Bareil went, Jadzia asks about it herself.
- It's What I Do: Mirror Bareil was tempted by the future he saw in the Orb but accepts that he'd only ruin things if he settled down with Kira, and he belongs in the Mirror Universe as a thief.
- It Works Better with Bullets: Bareil's disruptor has a cracked power cell. Kira points this out right before kicking his ass.
- Kansas City Shuffle: Bareil holds Kira hostage until she notices that his weapon is useless, and she beats him up. But failing his hostage gambit was part of his real plan to steal the Orb.
- Loveable Rogue: Mirror Bareil.
- Reset Button: Bareil goes back to the Mirror Universe at the end of the episode, despite having no reason to do so and being much safer in the prime universe.
- Show Some Leg: The Intendant gets a Bajoran guard to massage her shoulders, then elbows him in the gut.
- Standard Female Grab Area: Subverted; at first Bareil is holding Kira in front of him as a Human Shield. By the time he grabs her this way, Kira is a Play-Along Prisoner, knowing that Bareil's weapon doesn't work and he won't make it off the station anyway.
- The Starscream: To no great surprise, the Intendant schemes about rallying an army to wage war on the Alliance. Much like the Trope Namer, her ability to follow through on such schemes is a bit lacking.
- Supermodel Strut: The Intendant keeps walking with a sultry strut. Particularly noticeable, she does it even when she dresses like Kira.
- Tap on the Head: Intendent Kira knocks the Bajoran guard out cold with an elbow to the gut and a punch to the head.
- Thanks for the Mammary: Downplayed — when Bareil is holding Kira hostage, his hand goes a little farther up her torso than would be appropriate.
- This Cannot Be!: Kira's reaction to meeting Bareil.
- Touché: After Worf calls bullshit on Bareil's story about stealing a Klingon's mek'leth without him noticing, Bareil produces Worf's own mek'leth and uses it to cut the dessert. Worf admits that Bareil's a better thief than he gave credit for. This seems like it might be a Stealth Insult, but then he pours Bareil another cup of bloodwine, showing that he's actually impressed.
- Was It All a Lie?: Lampshaded in the confrontation between Kira and her evil counterpart. Afterward, Bareil confesses that no, it wasn't a lie... and he wishes it could have worked out.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Bareil is confident that he can talk the Intendant out of executing him, but we never see him again, so it's possible that he didn't. One of the short novels in the story collection Obsidian Alliances does establish that he joins the Terran Rebellion, but whether this is along with the Intendant (see her scheme described under The Starscream) or in order to evade her wrath is not explained.
- Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Intendant Kira likes that Bareil is an unscrupulous rogue, but hearing her describe him as such is what pushes him over the edge to morality.
