"Hunter, Prey" discussion

[ruuger]

This is the discussion post for the episode 2X13, "Hunter, Prey". Spoilers for the whole of the series, including the spin-offs and tie-ins, are allowed here so newbies beware.

Summary:
A fugitive with sensitive information about the Earth government flees to Babylon 5.

Extra reading:
The article for "Hunter, Prey" at Lurker's Guide.

Comments

[4thofeleven.livejournal.com]

This is one of the few times we get Hague’s conspiracy actually working secretly against Clarke – it’s nice to see that Sheridan’s contact seems to be a civilian. I felt the information here was a bit too minor to really care about; it’s nice that they saved Dr. Jacobs, but his information doesn’t seem like something that would convince anyone who wasn’t already sure there was a conspiracy. Obviously, they couldn’t blow the lid on the whole thing now, but I think it would have been more interesting if the data crystal had been, say, leads on who Clark was working with or something.

It’s funny watching this episode and remembering just how much of a mystery the Vorlons still were at this point in the series – this is the first time we learn they have organic technology, and it still hasn’t been firmly established how old they are compared to everyone else.

Kosh’s bits about the ‘song’ are still pretty ambiguous even on a rewatch – when he says that this has happened once before, does he mean to Sheridan, to himself, or in general? The mention of Kosh’s ship ‘singing’ implies that we’re meant to interpret the song as equivalent to speech, to communication in general. In that case, the ‘Song’ Kosh refers to could mean the Vorlon teachings or philosophies in general – and, of course, the Streib ship was almost a microcosm of the Shadow war, with a powerful alien race trying to force various species to fight and Sheridan opting instead to try and work together with an alien to overcome them.

Which, of course, raises the possibilty that the Streib were actually agents of the Vorlons, setting up a controlled experiment purely to test how various species would react when encouraged or forced to fight...

Minor notes:

- It occurs to me there’s a potential interesting story could be written about Dr. Kyle meeting Dr. Jacobs and comparing notes on their experiences with Vorlons...

- Hey! It’s Garibaldi’s horrible shirt from “Survivors”!

- So, to protect against kidnapping, members of the president’s staff are implanted with tracking crystals… that let security sort of track them from a distance of almost an entire room away! Brilliant!

[selenak.livejournal.com]

it’s nice to see that Sheridan’s contact seems to be a civilian.

Good point; it shows Hague's group isn't all-military.

Vorlon mystery: I forgot this in my comment - the episode does a great job of enhanding this. I've rewatched the show (or selected eps of same) countless times now, and I still found myself captivated by the "mystery of the Vorlons" aspect here.

Streib: wow, that's a great idea. Given the Vorlons employ Jack the Ripper as a test of character, it would totally fit the pattern and would make the Streib episode less random.