"Eyes" discussion [spoilers]

[ruuger]

This is the discussion post for the episode 1X16, "Eyes". Spoilers for the whole of the series, including the spin-offs and tie-ins, are allowed here so newbies beware.

Summary:

Sinclair is put under an internal affairs investigation because of his recent actions.

Extra reading:

The article for "Eyes" at Lurker's Guide.

Comments

[lazulidragon.livejournal.com]

Whoo, finally caught up again. Well, I mostly like this episode, for Lennier and the motorcycle if nothing else.

Harriman Grey is adorable, and I want to pat him on the head. I have this mental image of him as a shy, scrawny young kid with his little model ships and his stutter and I feel so sorry for him. He gets to be a military liason, sure, but I suppose he's too much of a nice guy and too far out of Bester's circle to, say, fly the Black Omega starfuries?

Speaking of Bester, it's interesting that he chose Grey of all people for this assignment. You would think that he'd want someone loyal to him, or at least more loyal to the Corps.

The thing with the bike always cracks me up, but I sort of wonder how Garibaldi managed to fit all those parts in his quarters, and where it ended up after this episode. It does demonstrate that Lennier's a pretty quick study, too. Had he already learned Japanese, or was he picking it up right then? I'm afraid I wasn't paying enough attention to notice.

At one point Garibaldi says "if I knew where God was, I'd thank Her," did I hear that right? I never noticed that before, but it tickled me.

While I like the concept of Sinclair being taken to task for all the rule-bending he does running the station, it only works if there's some possibility that he might be in the wrong, or at the least, not entirely perfect and above the law just because he's the hero and the investigator is crazy.

Finally, Mars. It's easy to forget everything else in the deluge of CLARK IS EVIL EVIL in later seasons, but it's obvious here that Clark himself isn't the root of the problem. There are a lot of people who think like he does, and all the extremist groups that later become allies of the Alliance are just a bunch of terrorists right now. Santiago may not be putting everyone under martial law, but I don't think he's an ally of Babylon 5, either.

[4thofeleven.livejournal.com]

Yes, I was thinking that too - especially when watching "By Any Means Necessary". We sorta assume - or at least I did - that Santiago was a good guy - but there's really not that much evidence for that. The EA is clearly going downhill even in the first season, and presumably Clark and Santiago are of similar politics, considering they ran on the same ticket.

(On the other hand, both "Survivors" and "And Now For a Word" do mention that Santiago was a big supporter of the Babylon Project. Could be he saw it more as an example of Earth power and influence than as a diplomatic resource, though...)

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

They also mention that Santiago is a big booster of trade and tourism with other races at one point--I think right after the election. He seems to be one of the good guys, if maybe a little wishy-washy, or intimidated by the powers that disagree. Someone (Malcolm?) mentions that there are aliens all over Earth, acting like they own the place (presumably tourists, diplomats, business people, maybe even exchange students!)

[widsidh.livejournal.com]

Which goes to show how differently an essentially similar political line can be put into practice!
no way was that accidental ;-)

[lazulidragon.livejournal.com]

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he's not an all of our heroes, then? I'm always confused about who on earth says what, my memory is terrible and we don't see the politicians' faces enough.