Lower Decks

I really enjoyed this episode, despite the fact that on the surface it seemed to be a rehash of a plot used in plenty of other television shows (not to mention movies and books) and didn’t live up to its potential. The episode guest starred Erica Cerra and Niall Matter from Syfy’s Eureka, making it the third episode to include an actor or actress from another Syfy show (after Battlestar Galactica‘s Tricia Helfer in “Resonance” and Stargate: Atlantis‘s Joe Flanigan in “Elements”). Once again, I can’t say I was all that impressed with these special guest stars, and I’m a big fan of Erica Cerra. Their characters were simply too undeveloped and underutilized to add anything to the episode.

“Duped” unraveled in flashback form (which I find frustratingly pointless) after opening with a confrontation between Myka and Pete. Some fourteen hours earlier, the two are arguing about Artie in the warehouse when Myka pushes Pete into a mirror. The two are able to keep the mirror from crashing to the floor but a giant disco ball does hit the ground, sending out a bright light that seems to freeze Pete and Myka. Artie comes a’runnin’ but before he can learn anything from Myka, she walks off.

Right off the bat it was obvious that somehow Myka would have been affected by the disco ball and the mirror in some combination. Along with Pete, she is sent to Las Vegas to figure out how a pair of gamblers are winning big. The gamblers (played by the aforementioned Erica Cerra and Niall Matter) have a special coin that allows them to see into the future just long enough to place the right bets. Myka soon realizes what is going on but lies about it to Pete.

Meanwhile, back at the warehouse, Artie, Claudia and Leena discover that Myka’s image is in the mirror. Artie dismisses it as nothing more than a whisper but Claudia wants to try to talk to it so she builds a contraption to do just that. The mirror, it turns out, is connected to author Lewis Carroll and the real life “Alice” was trapped inside. Also, she may or may not be psychotic. Now, though, she’s free and in Myka’s body and Myka is trapped in the mirror.

There are some obvious scenes in which Myka is shown to be acting out of character. She’s edgier and sexier and apparently parting her hair on the other side. Pete doesn’t pick it up at first. But he eventually realizes what’s going on (a big clue was the fact that Myka kissed him, ostensibly to keep the gamblers from catching on). We finally return to the opening scene when Mirror Myka shoots Pete. She then returns to the warehouse to destroy the mirror so she can never be placed back inside but Artie and the others are waiting for her. Alice is sent back through the looking glass and Myka gets out. Happy ending for all involved.

Again, though, I think Erica Cerra and Niall Matter were sadly underused in this episode. There was no need for the gambling plot and, in fact, I think it would have been much more interesting to have additional scenes in which Pete slowly realized that Myka wasn’t herself. Even better, what if the episode ended with Mirror Myka still loose. That would have made for some terrific plots down the road. Instead, “Duped” wrapped things up nice and neat and in the process ruined what could have been so much better.