To get the nagging out of the way first, Garibaldi's "I looked up Sheridan's files and ZOMG he's such a brilliant military leader and we need a soldier now, not a diplomat!" practically screams "writer tells viewers they're to be impressed by Sheridan". It just feels like an un-Garibaldi statement besides.
On the good side of things: A Day in the Strife is Narn-centric, with Vir and Londo given the subplot, which practically guarantees it's good. I like that Na'Far isn't presented as evil or unsympathetic. (Non-evil characters with different viewpoints to main good guys always being a rarity on this or other shows.) The whole issue - which is more effective, non-stop resistance plus mass executions or time of cooperation, then big strike - also isn't settled, not in this episode and not by the show. (Since the way Narn is freed has nothing to do with the Narn resistance in general and is specifically dependent on Londo's and G'Kar's relationship.) JMS doesn't really deal with the whole planet-under-occupation scenarios intimately; that would be the focus of my other beloved space station show, DS9. (If Na'Toth had continued to be a regular, maybe there would have been a subplot about her on Narn?)
Seeing Ta'Lon back was a welcome surprise during first broadcast and sort of justified the mostly dull episode where he first showed up; I really like the character.
Garibaldi showing up when G'Kar is packing is another building stone for their strengthening friendship. Aw.
This is one of the episodes excellent for demonstrating you can want to punch Londo and hug him within the same episode. His deliberate humilation of Na'Far is arguably his darkest scene on the entire show bar one (the one coming in And the rock cried out, no hiding place); following it up with his scene with Delenn and then the temporary goodbye from Vir was a masterstroke. We had some indications Londo came to care for Vir before, such as his insisting on keeping Vir as his aide in season 2 (and the off screen talk with Vir's uncle), but this is the first time we get proof that what he feels is more than casual affection. His sending Vir away to Minbar is paradoxically the kindest and most selfless thing he's done for Vir. (That it's also wrong for Londo is another matter.)
Every time we get one of the few scenes between Londo and Delenn I'm frustrated the show didn't provide us with more of them, for they are invariably good, and there would have been much more to explore, given the starts-a-bloody-war/ends-up-in-close-relationship-with-archenemy parallels. This scene here is I think where Londo's dream image of Delenn as the not-to-be-swayed truthteller in The Very Long Night Of Londo Mollari hails from. Someone, I forgot who, once pointed out to me that what Londo does here - sending his aide away for what he perceives to be the aide's own good - is what Delenn can't bring herself to do in s5 (though Lennier leaves and then returns on his own). Different reasons, but I thought the comparison was interesting.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2009-12-07 07:16 pm (UTC)On the good side of things: A Day in the Strife is Narn-centric, with Vir and Londo given the subplot, which practically guarantees it's good. I like that Na'Far isn't presented as evil or unsympathetic. (Non-evil characters with different viewpoints to main good guys always being a rarity on this or other shows.) The whole issue - which is more effective, non-stop resistance plus mass executions or time of cooperation, then big strike - also isn't settled, not in this episode and not by the show. (Since the way Narn is freed has nothing to do with the Narn resistance in general and is specifically dependent on Londo's and G'Kar's relationship.) JMS doesn't really deal with the whole planet-under-occupation scenarios intimately; that would be the focus of my other beloved space station show, DS9. (If Na'Toth had continued to be a regular, maybe there would have been a subplot about her on Narn?)
Seeing Ta'Lon back was a welcome surprise during first broadcast and sort of justified the mostly dull episode where he first showed up; I really like the character.
Garibaldi showing up when G'Kar is packing is another building stone for their strengthening friendship. Aw.
This is one of the episodes excellent for demonstrating you can want to punch Londo and hug him within the same episode. His deliberate humilation of Na'Far is arguably his darkest scene on the entire show bar one (the one coming in And the rock cried out, no hiding place); following it up with his scene with Delenn and then the temporary goodbye from Vir was a masterstroke. We had some indications Londo came to care for Vir before, such as his insisting on keeping Vir as his aide in season 2 (and the off screen talk with Vir's uncle), but this is the first time we get proof that what he feels is more than casual affection. His sending Vir away to Minbar is paradoxically the kindest and most selfless thing he's done for Vir. (That it's also wrong for Londo is another matter.)
Every time we get one of the few scenes between Londo and Delenn I'm frustrated the show didn't provide us with more of them, for they are invariably good, and there would have been much more to explore, given the starts-a-bloody-war/ends-up-in-close-relationship-with-archenemy parallels. This scene here is I think where Londo's dream image of Delenn as the not-to-be-swayed truthteller in The Very Long Night Of Londo Mollari hails from. Someone, I forgot who, once pointed out to me that what Londo does here - sending his aide away for what he perceives to be the aide's own good - is what Delenn can't bring herself to do in s5 (though Lennier leaves and then returns on his own). Different reasons, but I thought the comparison was interesting.