"The Long Dark" discussion

[ruuger]

This is the discussion post for the episodes 2X05, "The Long Dark". Spoilers for the whole of the series, including the spin-offs and tie-ins, are allowed here so newbies beware.

Summary:
A ship with a cryogenically frozen crew, sent out to search for extraterrestrial life over a hundred years ago, arrives on B5.

Extra reading:

The article for "The Long Dark" at Lurker's Guide.

Comments

Two things

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

The final shot of the demony thing in G'Kar's book really creeped me out the first time I watched this.

In my opinion, the only decent B5 episode to feature anything that can be described as a "monster". (Compare Infection, Grail, Gray 17 Is Missing... All crap.)

[selenak.livejournal.com]

You know, I had no memory of this episode and might actually have not watched it during the original run (and when rewatching, I usually go directly from Geometry of Shadows to Soul Mates, skipping the in betweens).

A better episode than last week's; I found several of Garibaldi's scenes with Amis genuinenly moving (this episode showed Garibaldi at his best), and well, I have a soft spot for Dwight Schultz in Sci Fi anyway (Barclay!). The Londo and G'Kar cameos are short but very them. On the other hand, the Franklin part of the plot suffers from the problem I tend to have with poor Steven's love interests of the week, i.e. that, except for Number One, I don't find them very interesting. Also, and here's a problem I would not have had had I watched this ep during the original run, I've seen the "woman/man out of time" plot done on various sci fi shows now, and several times found it more affecting then here. (Two Torchwood eps from s1 and s2 respectively come to mind, as well as good old TNG's Relics.)

In tandem with other early s2 episodes, this one strikes me as emphasizing how dangerous and full of mysteries unexplored space can be; a theme abandoned once we've actually met the Shadows, probably because they're supposed to be the climax of the strange old beings waiting out there, or maybe because B5 is a space station, and not a ship (presumably he'd have gone back there a lot more for Crusade if it hadn't been cancelled).

[nolivingman.livejournal.com]

Like selenak, I never remember a lot about this episode. Much of my problem with this one is that the Franklin romance plot just really pissed me off to a degree that makes me not like the rest of the episode. It's just so very inappropriate, and him saying so doesn't make me excuse him. And in my mind it's unrealistic as well, because to her mind her husband hasn't been gone for years; it's been one long sleep. I just don't see falling for some other dude that fast.

I do like the ending a lot; the feeling that something bad is happening and that it ties back to the ancient evil.

Also, the Markab break my heart every time I see them now, knowing what is to come.

I enjoyed the Amis and Garibaldi parts of the episode a lot; sometimes I am surprised we don't see more PTSD from the Minbari war, but frankly there probably weren't enough combat survivors to have PTSD.

[4thofeleven.livejournal.com]

I found myself really enjoying this episode – it’s not one that I’d remembered particularly well, and I think I had mentally placed it in the same category as the other couple of ‘monster of the week’ episodes B5’s done. But, as other people have said, this isn’t an “Infection” or a “Grey 17”, and it’s actually my favourite of the season so far.

It’s got two things going for it – number one, it’s damned atmospheric. The whole episode’s got a real sense of impending doom to it even before the monster is revealed, which is something that episodes like “Infection” or “Grail” desperately needed. Hell, there’s something vaguely creepy about just the Copernicus’ automated greeting in the teaser. It probably helps that we never get to see what the Monster looks like – personally, I’ve always felt “Grey 17” only really falls apart when we actually see the Zarg…

The other thing it’s got going for it is enough appearances by G’Kar and Londo and the League Worlds and ominous foreshadowing to make this feel like a proper part of the series, and not just a standalone that could have happened on any show. It’s rather nice to see a show where the main characters aren’t ridiculously sceptical in the face of pretty clear evidence, and that Sheridan was paying attention to G’Kar in “Revelations”, even if he’s still not sure how much he should believe.

Minor notes:

- Whats-her-name, the Copernicus survivor, must win some sort of award for the least interesting of Franklin’s never-seen-again love interests. Doesn’t help her that the episode itself stops focusing on her fairly early on – understandable; the Amos plot is more interesting and better tied into the B5 setting, but she ends up feeling more like a red-herring than an integral part of the story.

- So, just how intelligent was the Soldier of Darkness? Smart enough to set course for Z’ha’dum, sure, but dumb enough to think hitchhiking on sublight ships was a better option than waiting for another ship to pick up Amos. It would have been lucky to reach the rim before the *next* Shadow War started!

- I really like the look of the picture in the Book of G’Quan at the end of the episode.

[alexcat.livejournal.com]

I like this episode a lot. I think it's one of the best so far, despite the awful Stephen romance of the week. I agree with others that here we see Garibaldi at his best. He takes the Lurker seriously enough to find out just exactly what his past was and to try to understand.

Sheridan is a surprise here. I didn't expect him to take the whole 'something out there' thing so seriously. Every time I watch the series, I get a whole new feeling about Sheridan. I am watching him grow this time, seeing what a good leader he really is and seeing what sort of amn he is becoming. And I like him.

Just hearing the words 'Z’ha’dum' makes me shiver to think of the future. And one of my favorite scenes in the entire series is when G'kar looks in his book and sees the drawing of the shadow. It's not a subtle foreshadowing by any means but it still kicks ass!

[marphilly.livejournal.com]

A very strong episode, especially with Dwight Schultz, a great favorite of mine.

[imhilien.livejournal.com]

A good and creepy episode, and I agree with others that the Stephen Romance was inappropriate. :(

I know I got a chill when I saw a picture of the alien in G'kar's book at the end. That book is fairly thick, too, and made me wonder after the first viewing how many other 'warnings' were in there.

In 'Babylon Squared', when Sinclair had a flash-forward to a bad future where the station was being attacked, I think people were yelling about things 'coming through the walls'. Brr.

The episode also confirmed that some species like their food so fresh, it will crawl off the plate if it can. Oh dear...

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

Not much to add. This is one of my least favorite episodes. I liked the Amis/monster part better this time, but still felt it was overdone. The best bits with Amis for me, and the saddest ones, were when he regained lucidity. Those brief interludes, when he couldn't remember what he'd been doing, but knew he'd done something--that must be terrifying.

I also kept flashing back to Grail. And forward to Knives.

Did G'Kar have a foretaste of what it would be like when he will be the one opportuning people in the Zocalo to 'Beware!' Nice juxtaposition.


Stephen seemed totally out of character. We've only had flashes of him yet; it's like they couldn't figure out what to do with him. The first time through, I kept expecting the thing to pop out of the girl, and reveal that it had been using her to get at Stephen. Another odd thing that stood out was his mooning over 'having a family'. That just seems odd to me; kids? Aside from his fondness for the little boy in Believers, had this ever come up before, and does it again?

And lastly, why isn't ISN all over this woman! She'd be the story of the century! And what the hell does she plan to do back on Earth? Get a job? Doing what? Did she leave money in a bank account and can live off 100 years worth of interest? Who's paying for her ticket? Why isn't the military de-briefing her? What happened to the Copernicus?

Okay, more questions than answers. Did not like.