Babylon 5 2x11 - 2x16
Dec. 4th, 2014 10:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
schneefinkMore Bab5, it's been too long!
If anyone knows where I can get icons for this show without being spoiled for anything, that'd be appreciated. I'd either like one of Susan Ivanova or just an image of the station.
All Alone in the Night: I expected a bit more from an episode named after a great line in the intro voice-over. It was a bit of a set-up episode. When Sheridan woke up on the ship he then got experimented on, bound in a way and in a room that reminded me a hive ship, I thought "ah, here's the John Sheppard lead guy whump ep." It seems like these are the aliens early Earth got its UFO stories from, maybe. I guess they'll show up again.
Lennier's loyalty to Delenn was great to see, and how close they've become. The Grey Council becoming unbalanced, especially in favor of the bloodthirsty warrior caste, is a worrying development, I wonder how exactly it happened.
I was a bit confused by the general, at first I thought he and Sheridan had talked about this before but then I wasn't so sure, at least not in detail. At least Sheridan is more clued in now, it's confirmed that the Psi Corps is probably behind it, and he decided to bring his officers aboard, yay. I'm just relieved that there is an active "resistance" on Earth.
Acts of Sacrifice: G'Kar :( His laughing/crying at the end :( Support for civilians is better than nothing, but still. I also loved the moment when Delenn told him that it's hard for others to support the Narn because of the Narn's stated intentions to wipe out the Centauri. Delenn used excuses not to get involved in the past, but here she has a point.
It's logical that there'll be conflicts between the Narn and the Centauri living on the station and it's great that they showed that. G'Kar trying to tell his people that if they want to fight they should join the military, here they need peace, even getting injured in the fight for authority, and then being disappointed by his allies, ouch.
I liked Londo looking for friends and finding only Garibaldi, and then being reasonable in one case probably because of him. Yes, Londo, when Garibaldi tells you that nobody knows you anymore and people are afraid of you, might that be because you caused the deaths of thousands of people and started a war? People at least suspect some of it.
Ivanova and the social darwinists: yeah, alliances with races whose philosophy you don't agree with can be hard. The "sex scene" was on the one hand funny (I swear I've read something like that in several fic before), but also cringeworthy and I couldn't watch all of it. Sure, she could have gotten out of that situation, but she felt forced into doing something because she wanted to finish the negotiations, and silly dances are better than sex but I bet she didn't like doing it.
Hunter, Prey: Hard evidence for what we all basically knew, that now-president Clark knew what was going to happen to president Santiago.
When Sheridan said "a living ship" I immediately heard "a ship - a living ship" and thought of Moya :) I love living ships, I hope we get to see more of this one. (Though I wonder why they didn't discover that with their scanners before now. And why they sent it away if hiding the doctor onboard would have been enough for the scanners not to detect him.) I also wonder why Khosh is interested in Sheridan specifically, how he's special. Since as far as we know Khosh didn't have anything to do with his appointment here it's most likely coincidence that they even met.
There All the Honor Lies: Forbidding the gift shop just because of one teddy bear is extremely stupid. Not only can the station use the extra money, it would also be extra money that would help them be more independent of Earth financial support.
Shouldn't humans already know about something as important as accusing a Minbari of lying is grounds for them to kill you? It also in hindsight makes Lennier lying for Londo more important.
Lennier! <3 Willing to sacrifice his honor and that of his clan for what's right. Loyal to Delenn, even though Ashan calls her a freak and no longer one of the Minbari. I wonder how many of the Minbari share his sentiment...
I liked Vir ranting at Londo how lost he feels and how much the secrets weigh on him. And Londo arranged for him to stay, at least that's something.
And Now For a Word: Ugh, I hate reporters who try to interrupt people in the process of saving lives just to get a better story. What a terrible day on the station, even almost going to war with the Centauri. It was hilarious that the reporter couldn't pronounce Ivanova's name right. And the bridge officer who kept looking at Ivanova when he said that no, work climate is very good and nobody ever gets angry *g*
The senator on Earth is a slimy idiot. Sheridan's reaction when the reporter said they didn't lose the war, the Minbari surrendered - yeah, right, damn I forgot people can be so stupid.
Londo and G'Kar are both very good at talking to the media. Delenn, on the other hand, did poorly - I could have done that better! It really must have hit her hard, and I get the impression that she's overall struggling a lot with her new appearance and status.
The ad for the Psi Corps was great. With subliminal messages! "The Psi-Corps is your friend. Trust the Corps." Hah!
I was just relieved that the broadcast ended on at least a somewhat positive note, with so many statements of why Babylon 5 matters, because otherwise it would have been depressing. As long as public opinion favors Babylon 5 budget and resources cuts will be slower.
Knives: More Centauri politics! It was time. I love that we see different political factions on each planet. And that one of Londo's old friends is part of the faction that recognizes the coup for what it was and that the Centauri caused the war, I wish he'd have tried more to convince Londo before letting himself be killed in the duel to safe his family from the consequences of him being convicted as a traitor, but the circumstances were bad. (AV recognized him as the actor of Jacob Carter, that was fun.) At least Londo is more interested in Centauri politics again and starts thinking about and even doubting his choices - Vir was so happy - but he thinks that now he's chosen his path and can't deviate. Damn it, so close.
My favorite part of the B-plot with the alien lifeform invading Sheridan is that when he suspects he might hallucinate (at least the second time) he goes to see the doctor. Yes! Smart! I wonder what it says about the shows I watched that I wasn't sure he'd go.
In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum: Befor LK reminded me what Z'ha'dum stood for I thought of Khazad-dûm - drums, drums in the deep...
Vir openly antagonizing Morden - go, Vir! Maybe not the smartest thing, but it takes guts.
Wow, Sheridan became completely obsessed with getting Morden to talk. Even Garibaldi resigning because he didn't think it was right didn't stop him. Interestingly when pressed Ivanova said that she probably would do the same thing, or at least couldn't not do it. I think it made a large difference that Garibaldi felt more personally responsible in his position.
In theory Sheridan now has many pieces: he knows that the Shadow's homeworld is Z'ha'dum, he knows that G'kar thinks that world has something to do with the Narn-Centauri war, he knows that the Centauri have a strong interest in Morden. But he's so fixated on his wife I wonder if he'll put it together. I wasn't even surprised he asked Khosh to teach him how to fight the Shadows. He lied to Garibaldi at the end: he doesn't regret what he did, and if he hadn't been convinced that it was for the greater good...
If I remember correctly Delenn said that the crew of the Icarus "awakened" the Shadows, I don't like that phrasing because it sounds like it was in some way their fault. I like to think they meant "disturbed" or "encountered", possibly accelerated their plans because now they had more intelligence plus they got one of the crew to serve them as an agent.
They now have a way to scan for Shadows, in theory! Great.
The Shadows already know that the Vorlons know they're active again, they fought Khosh. So it's just the level of their knowing that the Vorlons and Minbari are trying to hide.
"Night Watch"? Ministry of Public Morale, Ministry of Peace - damn, Earth is growing closer to 1984 all the time. Employing civilians to look out for anyone having thoughts that would disturb the "peace" and report them, ouch.
If anyone knows where I can get icons for this show without being spoiled for anything, that'd be appreciated. I'd either like one of Susan Ivanova or just an image of the station.
All Alone in the Night: I expected a bit more from an episode named after a great line in the intro voice-over. It was a bit of a set-up episode. When Sheridan woke up on the ship he then got experimented on, bound in a way and in a room that reminded me a hive ship, I thought "ah, here's the John Sheppard lead guy whump ep." It seems like these are the aliens early Earth got its UFO stories from, maybe. I guess they'll show up again.
Lennier's loyalty to Delenn was great to see, and how close they've become. The Grey Council becoming unbalanced, especially in favor of the bloodthirsty warrior caste, is a worrying development, I wonder how exactly it happened.
I was a bit confused by the general, at first I thought he and Sheridan had talked about this before but then I wasn't so sure, at least not in detail. At least Sheridan is more clued in now, it's confirmed that the Psi Corps is probably behind it, and he decided to bring his officers aboard, yay. I'm just relieved that there is an active "resistance" on Earth.
Acts of Sacrifice: G'Kar :( His laughing/crying at the end :( Support for civilians is better than nothing, but still. I also loved the moment when Delenn told him that it's hard for others to support the Narn because of the Narn's stated intentions to wipe out the Centauri. Delenn used excuses not to get involved in the past, but here she has a point.
It's logical that there'll be conflicts between the Narn and the Centauri living on the station and it's great that they showed that. G'Kar trying to tell his people that if they want to fight they should join the military, here they need peace, even getting injured in the fight for authority, and then being disappointed by his allies, ouch.
I liked Londo looking for friends and finding only Garibaldi, and then being reasonable in one case probably because of him. Yes, Londo, when Garibaldi tells you that nobody knows you anymore and people are afraid of you, might that be because you caused the deaths of thousands of people and started a war? People at least suspect some of it.
Ivanova and the social darwinists: yeah, alliances with races whose philosophy you don't agree with can be hard. The "sex scene" was on the one hand funny (I swear I've read something like that in several fic before), but also cringeworthy and I couldn't watch all of it. Sure, she could have gotten out of that situation, but she felt forced into doing something because she wanted to finish the negotiations, and silly dances are better than sex but I bet she didn't like doing it.
Hunter, Prey: Hard evidence for what we all basically knew, that now-president Clark knew what was going to happen to president Santiago.
When Sheridan said "a living ship" I immediately heard "a ship - a living ship" and thought of Moya :) I love living ships, I hope we get to see more of this one. (Though I wonder why they didn't discover that with their scanners before now. And why they sent it away if hiding the doctor onboard would have been enough for the scanners not to detect him.) I also wonder why Khosh is interested in Sheridan specifically, how he's special. Since as far as we know Khosh didn't have anything to do with his appointment here it's most likely coincidence that they even met.
There All the Honor Lies: Forbidding the gift shop just because of one teddy bear is extremely stupid. Not only can the station use the extra money, it would also be extra money that would help them be more independent of Earth financial support.
Shouldn't humans already know about something as important as accusing a Minbari of lying is grounds for them to kill you? It also in hindsight makes Lennier lying for Londo more important.
Lennier! <3 Willing to sacrifice his honor and that of his clan for what's right. Loyal to Delenn, even though Ashan calls her a freak and no longer one of the Minbari. I wonder how many of the Minbari share his sentiment...
I liked Vir ranting at Londo how lost he feels and how much the secrets weigh on him. And Londo arranged for him to stay, at least that's something.
And Now For a Word: Ugh, I hate reporters who try to interrupt people in the process of saving lives just to get a better story. What a terrible day on the station, even almost going to war with the Centauri. It was hilarious that the reporter couldn't pronounce Ivanova's name right. And the bridge officer who kept looking at Ivanova when he said that no, work climate is very good and nobody ever gets angry *g*
The senator on Earth is a slimy idiot. Sheridan's reaction when the reporter said they didn't lose the war, the Minbari surrendered - yeah, right, damn I forgot people can be so stupid.
Londo and G'Kar are both very good at talking to the media. Delenn, on the other hand, did poorly - I could have done that better! It really must have hit her hard, and I get the impression that she's overall struggling a lot with her new appearance and status.
The ad for the Psi Corps was great. With subliminal messages! "The Psi-Corps is your friend. Trust the Corps." Hah!
I was just relieved that the broadcast ended on at least a somewhat positive note, with so many statements of why Babylon 5 matters, because otherwise it would have been depressing. As long as public opinion favors Babylon 5 budget and resources cuts will be slower.
Knives: More Centauri politics! It was time. I love that we see different political factions on each planet. And that one of Londo's old friends is part of the faction that recognizes the coup for what it was and that the Centauri caused the war, I wish he'd have tried more to convince Londo before letting himself be killed in the duel to safe his family from the consequences of him being convicted as a traitor, but the circumstances were bad. (AV recognized him as the actor of Jacob Carter, that was fun.) At least Londo is more interested in Centauri politics again and starts thinking about and even doubting his choices - Vir was so happy - but he thinks that now he's chosen his path and can't deviate. Damn it, so close.
My favorite part of the B-plot with the alien lifeform invading Sheridan is that when he suspects he might hallucinate (at least the second time) he goes to see the doctor. Yes! Smart! I wonder what it says about the shows I watched that I wasn't sure he'd go.
In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum: Befor LK reminded me what Z'ha'dum stood for I thought of Khazad-dûm - drums, drums in the deep...
Vir openly antagonizing Morden - go, Vir! Maybe not the smartest thing, but it takes guts.
Wow, Sheridan became completely obsessed with getting Morden to talk. Even Garibaldi resigning because he didn't think it was right didn't stop him. Interestingly when pressed Ivanova said that she probably would do the same thing, or at least couldn't not do it. I think it made a large difference that Garibaldi felt more personally responsible in his position.
In theory Sheridan now has many pieces: he knows that the Shadow's homeworld is Z'ha'dum, he knows that G'kar thinks that world has something to do with the Narn-Centauri war, he knows that the Centauri have a strong interest in Morden. But he's so fixated on his wife I wonder if he'll put it together. I wasn't even surprised he asked Khosh to teach him how to fight the Shadows. He lied to Garibaldi at the end: he doesn't regret what he did, and if he hadn't been convinced that it was for the greater good...
If I remember correctly Delenn said that the crew of the Icarus "awakened" the Shadows, I don't like that phrasing because it sounds like it was in some way their fault. I like to think they meant "disturbed" or "encountered", possibly accelerated their plans because now they had more intelligence plus they got one of the crew to serve them as an agent.
They now have a way to scan for Shadows, in theory! Great.
The Shadows already know that the Vorlons know they're active again, they fought Khosh. So it's just the level of their knowing that the Vorlons and Minbari are trying to hide.
"Night Watch"? Ministry of Public Morale, Ministry of Peace - damn, Earth is growing closer to 1984 all the time. Employing civilians to look out for anyone having thoughts that would disturb the "peace" and report them, ouch.
no subject
Date: 2014-12-05 03:24 am (UTC)And Now For a Word: The thing is, both Londo and G'Kar have more experience with other races in general and humans in particular than Delenn does. IIRC, both had been posted to Earth at some point in their careers prior to ending up on B5. This is because both the Narn and the Centauri value relations with other races, and so have strong diplomatic ties. The Minbari ... pretty much, no. They are very insular, and the higher you go up the chain the less contact you have with both non-Minbari and with your own people. Think about the way the Grey Council lives: on their ship, isolated, meeting in a dark room with their hoods drawn. It's the perfect symbolism for how their leadership lives. I'm pretty sure Delenn had no personal diplomatic experience before she showed up on the station. Made decisions on what diplomats should do, yeah, but never done it herself. And Minbar has nothing like a free press. One is told what one needs to know and one does one's job and takes one's place in the proper order of things. Questions (at least, the kinds of questions a reporter asks) are discouraged. One can ask questions of one's teachers that are related to one's studies, but you don't ask about other peoples' work and you certainly never question that those in authority are the right person doing the right thing at the right time. So Delenn has no experience with anything like that interview. She has no clue what she's going to face. It's no wonder she flubs it so badly.
Vir is a lot braver than people generally give him credit for. I mean, people on the show, fandom has long known how awesome he is. That wave is not the least of the reasons. Remember it as things get more fraught as time goes on.
Ministry of Peace: you're also supposed to get Nazi overtones from what's going on. One of the points of the series is to show how easy and "natural" that kind of slide into evil is.
no subject
Date: 2014-12-05 09:31 am (UTC)I get that Delenn had less diplomatic experience than the others, but she's been on Babylon 5 for over a year and she's always been very composed. Not knowing how to answer that question, but crying, even? That was an uncharacteristic slip-up. But it showed how sensitive she is about her change.
no subject
Date: 2014-12-05 10:11 pm (UTC)