Did Philippa Georgiou's removal from the Mirror Universe in Star Trek: Discovery inadvertently help the parallel version of James T. Kirk rise to power? It's no secret that every Star Trek fan loves a good mirror episode. Since 1967's "Mirror, Mirror," this alternate dimension has allowed for thrilling adventures and curious "what if?" scenarios that the Prime Universe simply can't provide, while the concept of evil doppelgangers plays neatly into Star Trek's philosophical leanings. The Mirror Universe has endured the test of time far better than Sulu's shirtless fencing or the casual 1960s sexism, and remains a key setting even in the modern era with Star Trek: Discovery.
Star Trek: Discovery season 1 shockingly revealed that the titular ship's Captain Gabriel Lorca was an impostor from the Mirror Universe, attempting to instigate a coup on the Terran Emperor, Philippa Georgiou. The Discovery crew were dragged into Lorca's scheme, and while Jason Isaacs' villain was eventually defeated, Emperor Georgiou was brought back into the Prime Universe as a souvenir, forced to build an entirely new life in more peaceful surroundings. Georgiou temporarily returned to the Mirror Universe in Star Trek: Discovery season 3, when the distance between her body and her home world began to tear the former Emperor apart.
This latest trip between universes drew a number of parallels between Georgiou and Kirk, most of which were purely thematic, such as trying to blend into violent surroundings without compromising morality or arousing suspicion. However, Star Trek: Discovery season 3 also revealed a more tangible common thread between Michelle Yeoh's Georgiou and William Shatner's Kirk - and it's not their preferred temperature for Kelpien steak.
The Tantalus Field In "Mirror, Mirror"
In Star Trek: The Original Series, the ISS Enterprise is equipped with various gadgets and features that can't be found on the ship's Prime Universe counterpart. The uniforms come with golden sashes, there are agonizer booths for the purposes of torture, and inside Captain Kirk's quarters is a deadly piece of equipment known as a Tantalus Field. Hidden behind a secret panel, the Tantalus field allows Kirk to spy on his enemies and kill them with the push of a button, and this plays a major role in Terran Kirk's rise to power. "Mirror, Mirror" reveals that Kirk actually killed his predecessor, Christopher Pike, to seize control of the Enterprise, but it's the Tantalus field that has allowed him to become a true force within the Empire.
Mirror Kirk's female companion (soon to be Prime Kirk's too, naturally...) sheds some light on where this omnipotent weapon came from, but only refers to an unknown scientist on an unspecified planet. At some point during his reign, Kirk attacked and plundered a science lab, happened upon the Tantalus field by chance, and has been using the weapon in secret ever since. As for the scientist in question, audiobooks and novels offer differing accounts of who Kirk stole from, but their definitive identity remains ambiguous. At the end of "Mirror, Mirror," Prime Kirk informs Mirror Spock about the Tantalus field, and the Vulcan uses the machine to overhaul the Empire for the better.
Mirror Georgiou Also Has A Tantalus Field (Before Kirk)
Star Trek: Discovery season 3's "Terra Firma Pt 2" finds Georgiou returned to the Mirror Universe and attempting to steer Michael Burnham away from betraying her. After sending her adopted daughter to an agonizer, Georgiou watches on from her Discovery quarters using a screen eerily similar to Kirk's Tantalus field. The layout and distinctive pear-shaped button are unmistakable, and confirm that Emperor Georgiou possesses the same type of all-seeing weapon as Kirk in "Mirror, Mirror." Captain Killy also comments that Georgiou could finish Burnham at the touch of a button if she wanted, alluding to the same Tantalus field power that Mirror Kirk will one day hold. But what happens to Georgiou's device after her departure? Are Captain Kirk and the Terran Emperor's Tantalus fields one and the same?
When the Discovery crew travel to the Mirror Universe, they move through dimensions, but not through time, meaning the parallel world events of Star Trek: Discovery season 1 take place approximately a decade prior to the "Mirror, Mirror" transporter accident on the Enterprise - long before Kirk's Terran heyday. In Star Trek: Discovery's debut season, the ISS Discovery swaps places with Prime Discovery and is destroyed by Klingons who understandably assume the ship belongs to the Federation. However, the ISS Discovery's debris is left floating through space, and there's enough left for Starfleet to assume the original Discovery has been destroyed. Since the Prime and Mirror Discovery ships swapped places on the first trip, it's possible they do the same for the return journey, and when the USS Discovery springs back to the Prime Universe in "What's Past Is Prologue," the debris of its Mirror counterpart might return home also. This would mean Georgiou's Tantalus field and any other surviving Terran gadgets were dumped back into the Mirror Universe just waiting to be picked up.
"Terra Firma Pt. 2" is set even further back in the timeline thanks to the Guardian of Forever giving Georgiou a chance to change history. Whether these events replace Star Trek: Discovery season 1's Mirror arc, create a new timeline, or don't really happen at all is left somewhat ambiguous, but in either case, the Tantalus field is left unattended in the Mirror Universe.
Does Kirk Find Georgiou's Tantalus Field?
While it's simpler to assume that Kirk and Georgiou possess two separate Tantalus fields, these devices must be incredibly rare, maybe even one-of-a-kind. If the weapon could be bought on the Terran black market, the entire Empire likely would've Tantalus-ed themselves into extinction long ago. Furthermore, Spock wouldn't have been able to use the Tantalus field against the Empire so effectively if there was more than one in existence. Some would argue that since the two machines don't look exactly the same (that's 60 years of production value improvements for you), they must be different models. But, then again, Ethan Peck doesn't look exactly like Leonard Nimoy, and they're both Spock.
As the Emperor, Georgiou possessing an omnipotent death machine makes sense, and she doesn't appear to keep her Tantalus Field a total secret, since Tilly and Saru both know the truth. Perhaps, then, it can be assumed that only the Emperor should rightly have access to such a devastating weapon. This would explain why Kirk is far more coy about his machine. But if the Tantalus Field is so rare, and usually wielded by the Emperor rather than mere captains, how did Kirk get his hands on one? Assuming the wreckage of the ISS Discovery was returned to the Mirror Universe when the Prime Discovery returned, it makes sense that the scraps would be plucked from space by a random scientist and taken back to his lab for experimentation. Mirror Kirk might've picked up this unusual temporal anomaly, which is why he ransacked that specific lab - looking for something otherworldly and discovering Emperor Georgiou's lost Tantalus field.
Although there's nothing concrete to connect Kirk and Georgiou's Tantalus fields right now in Star Trek: Discovery season 3, the connection would add a fascinating piece of backstory if true. Had the Discovery's Terran adventure not occurred and Georgiou hadn't switched universes, Mirror Kirk might never have become the formidable figure he was in Star Trek: The Original Series.