"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

[4thofeleven.livejournal.com]

I agree; there is, I think, something faintly disturbing about B5's regular portrayal of the media and elected politicians as a threat to society - generally because they have the temerity to request Our Heroes occasionally justify their actions.

(I've always really disliked the sub-plot in "Rumors, Bargains and Lies", where Sheridan intentionally makes use of the Voice of the Resistance to mislead the league worlds into signing on to his new alliance; an alliance which, it must be noted, does very little to justify its existence for the rest of the show...)

And the use of the trope here is particularly unsubtle (like most of the episode, really). The reporter here serves no purpose to the story other than to show up, be unlikable, and get in the way... How dare she try and claim the people have 'a right to know' about the Ikaran weapon's attacks? Next she'll be claiming the people have a right to know about who funded the excavation of the weapon, or what happened to it after the episode!

[selenak.livejournal.com]

How dare she try and claim the people have 'a right to know' about the Ikaran weapon's attacks? Next she'll be claiming the people have a right to know about who funded the excavation of the weapon, or what happened to it after the episode!

Shocking, isn't it! Yes, exactly that. It also reminds me of the attitude towards historians in the s4 finale - how dare they critisize Sheridan for being a lousy President and making the wrong decision regarding telepaths on the station! Except then the show proceeds to show Sheridan as a lousy President and, etc. Or the s2 interview with Delenn - how dare the nasty reporter make Delenn cry! Except, of course, this is the same Delenn who goes head to head with Neroon, Shadows, Drakhs etc without crying, and intimidates the hell out of everyone when she wants to, so this is just cheap emotional manipulativeness on the writing's part.

The funny thing is, it's not like JMS is incapable or writing an episode that shows Our Heroes from the perspective of someone critical to them. The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father is an example of this. We get a scene we've seen before - Bester arrives at the station in pursuit of a telepath gone rogue, tells Zack as the representative of station security that the guy has killed a Psi Cop, and Zack replies "and that is bad because...?" It's the kind of reply Garibaldi, Sheridan or Ivanova have made before, only then we were in their pov, mocking the evil Psi Corps. In this case, we've seen the murdered man's widow crying over his dead body in the preceding scene, so Zack's remark looks callous and bigoted instead of cutting-Bester-down-to-size. Just imagine if we'd gotten episodes from a reporter pov which weren't about how great Our Heroes are or how unfair the media is...

[swashbuckler332.livejournal.com]

Or the s2 interview with Delenn - how dare the nasty reporter make Delenn cry! Except, of course, this is the same Delenn who goes head to head with Neroon, Shadows, Drakhs etc without crying, and intimidates the hell out of everyone when she wants to, so this is just cheap emotional manipulativeness on the writing's part.

In this one instance, I have to say that I had thought that was foreshadowing Delenn's own guilt about her role in the genesis of the Earth/Minbari war as elaborated upon in "Atonement."

Otherwise, I agree that the show could have been more responsible about how it portrayed certain professions. Wait until we get to "A View From the Gallery."