313. MeloraFORMULA: Ensign Ro + The Little Mermaid
WHY WE LIKE IT: The Klingon chef.
WHY WE DON'T: The massive chip on Melora's shoulder.
REVIEW: It's official, through the last four episodes, Bashir has been totally redeemed and redefined as a character. The tradition of having him fall in love with patients and lose their love in the process of curing them starts here, and though I'm not a big fan of the plot device, it does allow him to shine here. Not only is he a brilliant, honorable and innovative doctor, but check out how he totally disarms the incredibly defensive Melora. She's only ever palatable when he's around.
Because Melora in general is a problem. Leaving aside the ridiculousness of the mechanics of low-gravity worlds and resulting biology as presented, Melora's attitude is just grating. The issue of accessibility for the disabled is a worthy one, but gets lost in the Little Mermaid metaphor. Melora isn't actually disabled, she's just not built for Class-M living. Her defensiveness strains our patience and makes her less than likeable in key early scenes. She doesn't really grow on you later, but you can't help but like Bashir and Dax (also doing better this season) when they interact with her.
The Quark subplot is weaker than we're used to, with a former business partner coming back to kill him. I diligently waited for the twist, but there was none. It might have been more interesting if his only objective was to make Quark sweat and maybe get some financial compensation, but no, he goes for the proverbial pound of flesh. There's nothing memorable about this storyline though it features some shocking dabo girl "neathage", and a very trite flying sequence where Melora uses her "disability" to defeat the bad guy.
Overall, I think the episode is more memorable for its creation of the Klingon chef who wins us over with his exuberance. In a single appearance (well, two), it's become the Mot the Barber of Deep Space 9. Here's hoping we go there again soon. We also learn a fair bit more about our doctor's youth, his father, his attempt at a tennis career, and his reasons for becoming a doctor. Good background stuff.
LESSON: They don't give zero-G training to young, foolish doctors.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium-Low: There are some bright spots, but Melora and the Quark B-plot are annoyances that are hard to get over at times.
Comments
The zero-G stuff annoys me because Melora is from a low gravity world, not zero gravity. She shouldn't be flying around like that. And the idea that there's no zero-G training for Starfleet officers is ridiculous.