When Bashir suggests that he may be near a breakthrough that could release Sarina from her catatonic state, her friends Jack, Patrick, and Lauren impulsively bring her to Deep Space Nine for a surgical procedure. Though it's successful, a normal life for Sarina is a daunting prospect. Complicating matters, Bashir is developing feelings for her.
Early attempts at a new "Jack Pack" story flopped in the planning, until the writers decided to center the script more on Sarina rather than Jack himself. They followed a story avenue only made possible because in the previous episode to feature Sarina, a scene had been cut that actually did have her speak. If actress Faith C. Salie had been disappointed at that result, she got a nice apology in the form of this far more substantial role. (Though reportedly, the production did ask her to come back in and read for her old part to confirm she'd be up for the challenge.)
Not only was she up for it, she's actually quite good in the episode. Her early vocalizations as Sarina literally finds her voice are convincing without seeming like a tasteless parody, she has good chemistry with Alexander Siddig as Bashir (even though, quite explicitly, her character is not reciprocating his romantic feelings), and she's quite nimble with all the "super-genius" technobabble.
She's also thrown the challenge of being the star singer in an a cappella quartet. It's kind of a make-or-break sequence for the episode, and I'm sorry to say that for me personally, it doesn't quite work. (But not because of Salie's performance.) A musical number is just such a curve ball for this show, and though it's given so much time and space, it still doesn't feel like enough to plausibly transform Sarina from tone-deaf "infant" to accomplished soprano. (The actual tone-deafness, say those involved, was actor Tim Ransom as Jack, who couldn't carry a tune. He ultimately was dubbed by another singer, and you can totally tell it's not his voice.)
I think what doesn't quite work for me is that the episode also transforms into a romance in that scene -- and a fairly uncomfortable one at that. O'Brien raises the specter of the medical/ethical conflict in Bashir pursuing Sarina, but no one really points out the "age" difference between them, what with Sarina being a guileless, newborn person wholly unequipped to navigate a relationship. And while the episode does try to bridge the gap by making Sarina intelligent and wise and observant, I can't help but feel something awkward and inappropriate is going on here. At least in the end, Bashir respects Sarina's wishes and lets her go despite his feelings. (In a fairly recent interview, Faith Salie said she thought this episode had a strong message that today we'd recognize as MeToo affirming: Sarina "was not required to reciprocate his affection, just because a) he wanted her, and b) she owed him.")
The episode may have started out in search of a way to bring back the Jack Pack, but the other three characters really have to settle for just one or two good, small moments. Patrick's are the most fun, as he pompously adopts the role of a Starfleet Admiral (convincingly enough to make Nog quite nervous). Jack gets a little run of comedy in worrying about the eventual death of the universe. The best material for Lauren (who actually gets to stand up this episode) is not the endless flirtation, but the rounding out of her character -- we see how empathetic she is with Sarina before the surgery, and she's the only one of the group who seems at all happy for her after.
There are a couple of nice moments sprinkled in for the other characters too. Ezri's counseling by way of emotional beatdown may seem harsh, but it does feel like a friend telling Bashir what he needs to hear. Quark deftly diffuses a situation at the dabo wheel. And Miles gives Julian both good advice and good comfort -- even if he never does actually get to hear the words "you were right."
Other observations:
- In the first "Jack Pack" episode, there was a joke made about Bashir wanting to go "play with his friends." This episode opens with none of those friends being able to "play" -- O'Brien is with his family, and Odo and Kira have a date night.
- In a fun homage to Scotty, O'Brien actually says the phrase "I can't break the laws of physics."
"Chrysalis" is not bad, though not as impactful to me as "Statistical Probabilities." I give it a B-.
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