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ruuger: My hand with the nails painted red and black resting on the keyboard of my laptop (Kosh - modsquad)
[personal profile] ruuger posting in [community profile] b5_revisited
This is the discussion post for the episode 5x16, "And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder". Spoilers for the whole of the series, including the spin-offs and tie-ins, are allowed here so newbies beware.

Summary:
The Alliance declares war against the Centauri.

Extra reading:
The article for "And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder" at The Lurker's Guide.

Date: 2011-02-14 06:55 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kathrid.livejournal.com
Without doubt one of the best episodes of the season, largely because of Londo.

For a long time I doubted Londo. I liked him, and even when I disagreed with him I understood his decisions. But I always wondered why he was a diplomat when he never seemed to make the kind of inspiring speeches the others made, instead delivering flat, boring and usually insincere governmental statements.

Of course, in part that's due to the Centauri governmental style. He's simply not allowed to deviate far from what the Emperor wants him to. It's also in part due to the writing, which becomes increasingly Narn-sympathetic through the series. G'Kar gets many chances to shine, while Londo doesn't.

Until now. Here, for the first time, you see Londo's diplomatic quality in full glory, showing exactly the talent that got him so far, and that the Drakh want to use against the Alliance. It's a forerunner of the speech he's going to make over Centauri Prime after the war - dramatic and inspiring. The only thing it lacks is knowledge, which is what immediately undercuts his effort to stop the accusation. This is rectified by the next time we see his speak publicly, which I will comment on when that episode comes up.

Date: 2011-02-15 07:15 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] selenak.livejournal.com
It's one of the episodes that break my heart every time, and worse is to come. Perhaps the only part where I am inclined to be critical is that Garibaldi is supposed the only observer (even were he at top condition and not drinking, surely he has to sleep at some point?), but in another way it works for me. Just as Lennier's dedication and eagerness to come through for Delenn results in him getting the evidence to condemm the Centauri (evidence which turns out to be a set-up, and depending on being found), Garibaldi's big weakness, his alcoholism and unwillingness to admit he needs help, drives the nail in the coffin. (Conversely, it's going to be Vir's quiet strength and perserverance, based on his compassion - wanting to do right by the dead bodies - that finds the evidence to clear the Centauri, albeit too late to save his homeworld.)

Favourite detail only caught during repeated rewatching: when Londo makes his big speech and throws up the papers, G'Kar reacts and stands up, and he and Londo have this brief exchange of looks.

Speaking of reactions: the Londo/G'Kar scene when G'Kar visits him at his quarters and says he won't testify. I just...guh. Every time.

Still as chilling upon rewatch: Londo and G'Kar looking up to the sky after arrival on Centauri Prime.

Date: 2011-02-15 09:06 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] alexcat.livejournal.com
Londo is masterful in this episode and even now he is beginning to see just how ouot of the loop he really is. The clues have been there and while Londo has seen then, there was little he could do about them. To see Londo march home to straighten it all out is heartbreaking... and I think back to how this was set in motion so long ago by a simple question from Morden. "What do you want?" I guess one must be careful what he wishes for.

G'kar was his usual sparkling self and he offered the only releif from the angst and sadness that were almost overwhelming in this ep. I always love his smartass remorks to Londo... they do seem like an old married couple.

Garibaldi just annoys me. His actual usefulness in the series died when Sincalir was sent to Minbar. He did provide some comic relief at times but now, he's just a waste.

And we begin the long downhill slide...

Date: 2011-02-17 05:18 am (UTC)
ext_20885: (Default)
From: [identity profile] 4thofeleven.livejournal.com
Sorry I haven’t been around the last few weeks; honestly, I don’t really enjoy watching the last half of season five. I mean, they’re good episodes, but they’re just… not fun, you know?

The thing that makes this whole sequence of episodes agonizing to watch is that, for once, the horrible things happening are not the result of Londo’s own decisions. He’s ended up back where he was in season one, completely out of the loop, unable to do anything to represent his people’s interests, powerless to improve his own situation. Ironically, of course, he’s ended up here more due to his efforts to correct his previous bad decisions than the bad decisions themselves – had he been more like Lord Refa, and openly embraced the opportunities for power the Shadows offered rather than turning against them in the end, it’s likely none of this would have happened…

I do find it interesting how different the series feels as a whole than it would have had season five not been made – season four ends quite optimistically, with the focus on Earth’s liberation and the formation of the Alliance. This half of season five then undermines that, returning the focus to the far more tragic Centauri story, while showing the Alliance as just as vulnerable to outside manipulation as the League of Non-Aligned Worlds was.

(It’s another reason why this part of the season is hard to watch – its fundamental message seems to be that things never really change and you’d be naïve to think otherwise, and even Sleeping in Light doesn’t do much to lighten things…)

So, does Alliance Intelligence actually employ anyone other than Garibaldi? Because if he’s being expected to handle everything by himself, I’m not sure if it’s the booze that’s making him tired…

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