Recap and Discussion: 3 X 11 Ceremonies of Light and Dark

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

It's the Party Episode! Everyone loves a party, but mostly it's Delenn who wants to throw one. She calls her party a 'ceremony' and a 'ritual' but whatever. And, sadly, no one wants to come.

All kidding aside, I found re-watching this episode profoundly thought-provoking with both personal and political ramifications still to be digested. Worth the effort, even with the distraction of realizing this is an episode primarily about Marcus and his back-story. It sets up Marcus' fate, and Lennier's. They really are mirror images in many ways.

Apparently it's not just the episode where John admits his fe-e-elings. Who knew?

The last of the NIghtwatch is off to Earth, along with many others going home or looking for a safe place to ride out the war. Garibaldi hurt himself in the battle, his arm in reality, besides his leg in non-reality. People are uneasy but okay with everything except the com channels being shut down. Bread and circuses, people! They can’t open those because EarthForce can use a password to override everything, including defense and life support. Garibaldi, natch, has a solution. He has the codes himself and can re-set the password. They discuss Sheridan’s lack of uniform and he declares that his hypocrisy only goes so far.

Sheridan goes for a walk, making himself a target. Garibaldi wants him to take an armed escort but no go says our intrepid Captain.

Delenn speaks to the Minbari who rescued the station from the EarthForce attack telling them there is a long road ahead but they have made an honorable beginning. History will remember them with reverence.

Lennier says Fleet Captain Lennan would like to see the station. Delenn will meet him herself. She asks Lennier what he things of everything that has gone on. He smiles and opines: ‘Opinion does not enter into this. What is, is.’

She tells him "Prophecy is a poor guide to the future. You only understand it when the events are already upon you. And, not all of the prophecies are good ones. There is darkness and fire still ahead of us. There are no guarantees that any of us will survive it."

Foreshadowing much?



Sheridan is in the sights of a sniper on his walkabout. The Sniper (his character's name) is stopped by a man with a scar. ‘Take him down he’s a martyr. 500 men will stand up where he fell.’ They have a plan.

Delenn and Lennier meet Marcus, who does not care that they have broken free from Earth. Delenn brings up the Na’fa’cha, or Rebirth ceremony. Marcus thinks it’s not a good time, that other ceremonies will be taking up people’s time. We break to a funeral led by Captain Sheridan. They send out the coffins of the multiethnic casualties into the sun.

‘From the stars we came, to the stars we will return. From now until the end of time. And so we commit these bodies to the deep.’

Lord Refa comes for a visit. Londo offers him a drink. And asks for an explanation. ‘Only an idiot fights a war on two fronts. Only the heir to the throne of the kingdom of idiots fights a war on twelve fronts.’ Londo confronts Refa with the knowledge that he has made an alliance with Mr. Morden. Londo thinks this is a bad idea; he has a bad feeling about this. He tells Refa to break up with Morden.



And to make sure Refa does what he wants, he has poisoned his drink. A two part poison that he can activate at any time. Back off on the endless wars, strengthen the defenses around Centauri Prime, and break off the deal with Mr. Morden.

Garibaldi is ready to re-set the password. The command staff has to give their serial numbers and security codes by voice. John Sheridan: Obsidian. Susan Ivanova: Gryphon.  Michael Garibaldi: Peekaboo.

Delenn has come to Sheridan to explain the Rebirth Ceremony. It is a way to move beyond pain and turmoil of a change into a new life, with new possibilities.

The really obviously evil cadre of Nightwatch leftovers has a plan. While most of the NIghtwatch undiscovered by Security are to lay low, this group has a job to do. They will kill Delenn in such a way so Sheridan is blamed by the Minbari, who will then leave the station undefended, so EarthForce can come back and take over.



The Sniper, forward referred to as Nutjob, tells a story about how he killed a Minbari during the war, taking seven days of dismemberment to finish the job. He sings a little song to demonstrate how it’s done.



Delenn tracks Marcus down in a wretched hive of scum and villainy Downbelow to ask him why he is so set against the Rebirth Ceremony. Honestly, aside from Lennier, she is not getting a good response to her party invitations. And Lennier would cheerfully attend even if he was to be ritually dismembered as part of the ceremony.



Marcus has consistently dodged this particular ritual and gives weak excuses in a charming manner, but Delenn is not having any of that, thank you. They will talk of this again. Threat or promise?

Meanwhile, back in Security, Mr. Garibaldi is re-booting the computer and discovers he has accidentally activated an AI subroutine that was terminated back in the day for being obnoxious. Susan is amused.

Delenn and Lennier invite Londo to the party.



He is both obnoxious AND amused. Lennier reveals that as part of the ritual you have to tell someone a secret you have never told anyone else before, and give away someone that is of great value to you.



G’Kar gets his invite and is also not impressed. He is busy. He will try to drop by. Marcus overhears, is snitty about her being turned down. Delenn in her turn is snitty and says she’ll have the party by herself if need be. Lennier reminds her she has an appointment with the Minbari captain who wants a tour. She tells Lennier that Marcus will accompany her, as it will give them a chance to ‘talk’. They discuss his reluctance about the ceremony.



He tells her he has nothing left to give, that it is all gone. His brother, his colony, a woman he was quite fond of, all destroyed by the Shadows. It is why he joined the Rangers. Delenn tells him he has to give up his pain and guilt and regret before he can move forward. That he has to forgive himself…for being alive.

Marcus leaves her alone to greet Lennan, fleeing her words to ‘let Security know’. And that is when they strike, killing one guard and wounding another, kidnapping Delenn and the Minbari Captain.



Susan gives Garibaldi the news over the com while the AI drones on.

Sheridan, Garibaldi, Ivanova and Marcus are waiting for news. Marcus wallows in guilt some more. Corwin announces they have a message (It’s coming from inside the house!)



It’s Boggs, who Garibaldi recognizes. Boggs tells them that the Minbari cruisers have to withdraw to allow Earth to come back in. And that they still have people embedded in Security. To make sure they know it’s serious, they kill the wounded aide in front of the hostages. As Delenn cries out in horror, Marcus explodes in fury and leaves the room.



He deals himself into the Syndicate’s never-ending card game, explaining that he wants to know whatever they might know about Delenn’s whereabouts. He makes them an offer they do refuse, although they really, really shouldn’t have.

Delenn and Lennon exchange words in Minbari but Nutjob understands them. Delenn explains her philosophy and some history to Nutjob, who doesn’t appreciate it. He decides to kill her then and there, Lennan intervenes and is shot, and Delenn narrowly misses being killed as well. Boggs comes in and stops Nutjob, promising he’ll have the captives to play with later, once they get what they want.

Meanwhile back in the dive bar, Marcus has flattened almost everyone. Okay, everyone. Lennier comes in, nattering on about the Rebirth Ceremony. He comments on Marcus’ training as he looks around at the havoc.

“Well, they said I was carrying around a lot of repressed anger.”
“And?”
“I’m not repressed anymore.”



Marcus challenges Lennier’s priorities and Lennier stops short of taking off his head. Then, since as part of the Rebirth ceremony Lennier has to tell a secret, he tells Marcus he loves Delenn. This surprised Marcus, and they discuss the kinds of love there are and Lennier dives head-first into a sea of denial.



His is a pure love, and he knows she is destined for another and he has accepted that in his heart. Nonetheless he has vowed to stay by her side and he will. Marcus tells him that is a dangerous promise.

One of the goons moans and Marcus is on him in a flash. He offers to give him a break, an arm, a leg…but “We’re fresh out of broken hearts, we’ve had a run on those.”

And another pithy aphorism:
“It’s like I always said. You get more with a kind word and a 2 X 4 than you can with just with a kind word.”

Ivanova has isolated a sound in the tape of the kidnapper’s call which Garibaldi identifies as the cooling unit for the fusion reactor, which is in Grey Sector. Marcus enters saying he has information about equipment being delivered to Level 14 but he doesn’t know what sector. Ivanova pulls up a map and discovers section 14A in Grey Sector has been restricted by Security under Garibaldi’s orders. Never happened, and so we have our location. It’s isolated, fortified, hard to approach without notice. Marcus’ info came with a detailed description of a Security guard involved in the equipment delivery. There is one hour left on the deadline, so Sheridan decides to surrender.

Boggs is getting antsy at the 10-minute mark. Nutjob tells him to ‘always bet on stupidity.’ The Security guard calls in on the com and tells them the Minbari are leaving, showing them footage of a cruiser hitting the jump gate. He also says that the Minbari blame Sheridan and will hold him responsible if anything happens to Delenn.

Suddenly there is an explosion! 'They're coming in!', declares Nutjob, but Boggs isn’t sure. They hear noise in the corridor, people yelling and running. Opening the door, they stop a fleeing worker who tells them there’s a leak in the fusion reactor. So they take the hostages and leave the safe room. Everything happens pretty quickly then.

Security in riot gear behind Garibaldi, with a broken arm, attack. Sheridan and Ivanova, not wearing any protective gear, join the fray. Ivanova wings Boggs, Garibaldi gets one, Sheridan wings Nutjob. Lennan frees himself and then Delenn. ‘Cover me,’ says Sheridan, stepping out to check the downed kidnappers. Nutjob has a knife! (Of course he does.) Delenn screams his name to warn John, who turns as the knife flies and she darts towards him, taking the knife in the back.



Okay I admit it. I slowed down this segment to try and read Sheridan’s lips as he speaks to Delenn, as she lies fainting in his arms sigh. He says ‘You’ll be okay. It’s going to be okay.” Now we can return to your regularly scheduled recap.

Susan and Garibaldi are aghast, Susan telling John she’ll take care of her. And Sheridan goes ballistic chasing down Nutjob. “He’s mine!” And he is. A few roundhouse punches later he tells him ‘No more.’



Susan asks Lennier how Delenn is and he tells them she’ll be fine. Sheridan asks about the Rebirth Ceremony but Lennier says it’s too late to have it, and Delenn is in no shape to conduct it any way.

Garibaldi is off working with the techies to purge the AI from the computer. We see him wearily listening in the elevator to it drone on and on. Then he shoots the speaker shutting off the sound, and smiles.

Lennier is attending Delenn in MedLab. He hasn’t slept since she was wounded. Sheridan comes in the door, carrying his folded EarthForce uniform. Lennier excuses himself and Sheridan tells her he is bringing the Rebirth Ceremony to her. He is giving up his uniform, and tells her that he loves her. Okay, not in those words exactly, but I am not going to sit here and transcribe the speech which you know I know by heart already.





Next, Michael tells her he is afraid, all the time, of what he might do if he ever lets go.



Then Susan enters with her uniform and tells Delenn that she loved Talia.



Finally comes Stephen who admits he has a problem. Presumably with stims.

Delenn says nothing through all these confessions and we are left to infer that she does not speak as part of the ceremony. Lennier stops them to tell them Delenn has left them presents in their quarters.



Having guessed they would give up their uniforms, she has made them new ones. Spiffy ones.



“What’s the matter? Haven’t you ever seen someone who’s been reborn before?”
More foreshadowing!

And Babylon 5 is (re)open for business.

Thoughts (and some future plot spoilers):

Marcus and Lennier and unrequited love. Discuss.

The Rebirth Ceremony. Too soon or too alien? Boring or worth it?

In my opinion, The Secrets in the ceremonial scene in MedLab are set-ups for the eventual resolution of each character's arc--also Lennier's confession to Marcus and Marcus' to Delenn. Why put them here? Why now?

Why will 500 people stand up in Sheridan's place if he is gunned down, but the whole Minbari revolution will fall apart if Delenn is killed? Are the kidnappers just assuming that or just generalizing about the Minbari and their own species?
--Does Delenn's description of how Minbari act as one support Boggs' theory?
--Doesn't this situation eventually reverse with Sheridan becoming the indispensable man, the public face of the battle against the Shadows?
--Was this what Sebastian was asking both of them (but Delenn especially) to accept?
--Does Delenn maneuver the Minbari into continued relevance by ceding the reins to Sheridan (at least as co-leader in the Shadow War) while ensuring the Alliance eventually is run out of Minbar?
--JMS has said that he could see Susan or Michael taking over the reins of the revolt--do you agree or disagree?

Is Londo trying to correct what he's done in the past, or is he just going further down the same path?

What do you think Delenn's secret would have been, and who would she have told?

Comments

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Ugh, I meant to start rewatching with you and then I didn't and now I'm HOPELESSLY behind.

I also learned, reading this, that I remember so very little about this show that isn't John/Delenn related. I'm the worst.

What do you think Delenn's secret would have been, and who would she have told? One of the worst unresolved narrative threads in this show was Delenn's role in the Human/Minbari war. We learn she's the deciding vote in Atonement, and she seems to come to terms with it and her transformation and all of that, but that's it. That is such a HUGE revelation, and it basically goes nowhere. The only conflict involved is solely internal - Delenn's - and it's resolved in a single episode. I don't know if her secret would have been something along those lines - maybe like, "the war was my fault." Something cryptic, that might have taken John off-guard (especially if she had told such a secret after his professing of feelings). And so that would have been this mystery, a dangling thread, that JMS could have easily played with until we finally get the reveal in Atonement. (And then, of course, it should still actually GO SOMEWHERE; how that isn't what the main conflict between John and Delenn was in S5 instead of stupid another marriage whatever, IDK.)

He is giving up his uniform, and tells her that he loves her. Okay, not in those words exactly, but I am not going to sit here and transcribe the speech which you know I know by heart already.



Ugh, they all look so much better in their new uniforms. It's unbelievable.

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

Yes! I agree! It would have been the ideal place for Delenn to admit that, yes! And what a nice turn/twist to their story! I especially like the idea of it being a half-admission leaving John confused and maybe on guard. He might not have been so blind-sided by Anna's return if he had begun to doubt Delenn, which would have led to some interesting possibilities...Stop right there. I have to get to work.

Though I sometimes think Delenn might have admitted it to Londo rather than John...there are interesting parallels in their both being instigators of war. Did I write that at some point? I can't remember.

The new uniforms are SO much better. Slimming and sexy. Only Garibaldi ever looked good in his old one and it had that UPS look to it that detracted from his many, um, assets.

As for being behind, start anywhere. It will all come back to you. And I had a thought. Coming up real soon now I have volunteered to recap War Without End, Parts 1 and 2 (All right. I admit it. I BEGGED for those two episodes). Would you care to do a joint recap with me? I was envisioning doing both a J/D recap and a Everything Else that Happened recap for both episodes but well, that's a lot. It's scheduled for February 13th and 20th. Think about it!

My next one is Late Delivery from Avalon which I have a fondness for although I think they overdid the flashbacks. It's King Arthur in Space! Almost as good as Dinosaurs in Space! And I've loved Michael York every since The Three Musketeers. Though at the time Oliver Reed was the main attraction. Brooding and intense, that's the ticket when you're a teenager.

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

That sounds like fun! I'm actually off all this next week so I might have time to do something for a change.

I have to admit, I wasn't that fond of Late Delivery the one and only time I watched it, but that may partially be because I was ripping through S3-4 like a woman possessed and really begrudged the jarring stop in plot development. I may enjoy it better if I were to watch it again.

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

I pretended I would give myself a week for recapping--watch the episode and take notes, then screencap, then adjust the caps (minimal adjustment, I am not a whiz at computer graphic stuff) and upload them, then put it all together, edit, and post.
In fact I generally forget about it until Friday or even Saturday then do all that but in one day or so. Gets squishy.

Avalon has some lovely stuff with G'Kar and Arthur, with Marcus, and especially with Stephen being a jerk (harks back to Believers). And I liked the background stuff about the war. Imagine if we'd had your reveal about Delenn in Ceremonies, then the almost-kiss in Sic Transit Vir, THEN this episode. Can of worms, cracked right open!

I will PM you early February about WWE. Maybe you would like to cover the J/D angle? I have SO many thoughts about Sinclair, and Londo, and Zathras who I love, and time travel in general!

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Oh jeez, it would have been helpful if I'd ever replied to you - I came back here to check the dates. I'd love to do the J/D recaps! (If you haven't already done them already, haha.)