"Infection" discussion [spoilers]

[ruuger]

This is the discussion post for the episode 1X04, "Infection". Spoilers for the whole of the series, including the spin-offs and tie-ins, are allowed here so newbies beware.

Extra reading:

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

Comments

[haelij.livejournal.com]

When I realized what episode this was, I groaned aloud. I went into it hoping that I'd get into it and find that it was not as bad as I remembered, like when I rewatched The Gathering. Not this time. I still think it's the worst episode in the entire series.

It does have a few small redeeming qualities. We get a little more background for Garibaldi's character, for example - we knew he'd had problems in the past, bounced around from assignment to assignment, but I think this is the first time we hear any specifics. And the bit at the beginning, where he buys the root from the vendor - it's really funny! And I always forget what episode it's in, because I usually skip over this one.

There are some big insights into Dr. Franklin, as well. His career ambitions, for example, and the fact that he is a workaholic.

The best part of the episode, IMO, is the speech Sinclair gives at the end, about why we need to go to the stars, to preserve all of human history. It's a very thoughtful, fascinating speech. This episode really does tell us a lot about him, from his tendency to throw himself into dangerous situations, to the deeper wisdom he shows through his comments at the end.

I much prefer to remember this poignant speech from him, rather than the scene with the Ikarran thing. ON and ONNN and ONNN~NNN~NNNN. Ugh. The racial purity theme is a heavy subject to tackle - and in this episode, it's pretty heavy-handed. It's done much better in later episodes.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I still think it's the worst episode in the entire series.

For me, "Gray 17 is Missing" takes that dishonour. So boring and pointless. Most eps have some good bits though; in TKO for example I FFed to Ivanova's scenes so it wasn't a total loss.

[haelij.livejournal.com]

See, Gray 17 was one of the first episodes I ever saw, so I have a sort of stubborn fondness for it. And it has some good character stuff for Marcus and Delenn. Just like TKO has some really good parts for Ivanova's background and character development. Infection, to me, doesn't have any of that. I know, I just cited a few things I liked, but I really had to stretch to find any redeeming value in this episode.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I vaguely recall that Grey 17 had a good Ivanova line about pizza, but that's about it. Yeah, Infection isn't exactly memorable. I'd even forgotten it had David McCallum in it till I watched it a few months ago.

[widsidh.livejournal.com]

Grey 17 was a bit like TKO, half good (well, all right anyway) and half highly fast-forwardable rubbish.
Infection could happily be reduced to the last 10 minutes or so, everything worth saying is said in those, and the rest isn't even entertaining.

Apparently jms once said that he wished the episode would go away and never come back (can't remember the exact words)...

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Ha, yes! It could be expunged and we'd lose nothing. Definitely a filler. I still wasn't quite as bored as I was in the A stories of TKO and Grey 17.

I really must make a B5 icon.