![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
alexcat.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
b5_revisitedSeason 1, Episode 8 – And the Sky Full of Stars
The episode title is derived from a line from Babylon 5's pilot: "…and the sky was full of stars, and every star was an exploding ship — one of ours."
*
The episode opens with a man coming aboard the ship. We’ll call him #1. He nods to another man, #2, who follows him.
Two other men beat up an officer for a debt.
#2 man comes to #1’s cabin and they identify Sinclair as their target. We see them working on some sort of device and they talk about a power source.
Benson turns out to be the indebted officer and Garibaldi and Sinclair confront him about his gambling problem. He denied everything and is suspended from duty.
Franklin is examining Delenn and tells her about burning his notes on aliens rather than letting the military use them for biological warfare. He asks Delenn what she did in the war and she declines to tell him.
Denson gives #1 and #2 an energy pods for their device. They pay him. They say they’re ready.
Sinclair is having a dream of the Battle of the Line. He awakens and h=e can’t find anyone aboard, until he gets to the red sector and realizes someone is with him and that they are really inside his head. #1 questions him about his memory loss at the Battle of the Line and accuses him of collusion with the Minbari.
Sinclair's captor makes a very Donald Trump-ish statement then: "Look at Earth: Alien civilization. Alien migration. Aliens buying up real estate by the square mile. What they couldn't take by force, they corrupted! Inch by inch!"
They try to force Sinclair to remember. He blacks out and Benson comes in and is killed and dumped outside the ship.
Meanwhile, Delenn reports Sinclair missing after he doesn’t show up for a meeting with hi, Ivanova and Garibaldi join in and everyone is looking.
Sinclair tells them again that he doesn’t remember what happened after the ship caught him. Sinclair hits #1 inside the Virtual reality and it disrupts the cybernet.
Garibaldi, Ivanova and Franklin discuss what to do and they send someone outside to search for a body. Delenn offers her help.
Sinclair’s captors decide to escalate the questioning, not caring if they kill Sinclair.
He finally does remember and remembers Delenn in the Grey Council. He is able to break the net and escapes #1. He escapes, thinking he is still captive on the Minbari ship.
There is chasing and shooting and Delenn speaks to him and he tells her he knows her then shoots #2.
Later, Garibaldi tells Sinclair the man is being taken back to Earthforce.
Delenn asks him if he remembers anything and he lies and says no. After he leaves, another Minbari comes out and tells Delenn that he must be killed if he ever remembers.
He does tell his log what happened at the Battle of the Line: I remember. I was taken inside a Minbari cruiser. Interrogated. Tortured. Was that - the Grey Council? Maybe. Maybe. Before they surrendered, they must have blanked my memory and let me go. And Delenn, what was she doing there? What is it they don't want me to remember? I have to find out. I have to.
*
Questions:
1. Do you believe these two men are connected to Homeguard or are they acting alone? Why?
2. Do you see parallels today? In the 90’s?
3. Why was the other Minbari hiding while Delenn talked to Sinclair? Do you think she summoned him?
*
This episode is full of things to come in many ways. The increasing unease on Earth over aliens, and unease that seems to be encouraged by some politicians. The strange emerging truth about the Minbari, Delenn, Sinclair and the Battle of the Line.
I liked this episode but found the two men to be beyond creepy and they actually remined me of the inquisitor sent by the Vorlons to talk to Delenn in a much later episode.
While I do think that JMS had an arc for the whole series, I do think there was a lot of experimentation as well in the first season and I think he tweaked on the arc quite a lot in the first and perhaps second season. I think that perhaps episodes like this one spawned the jack the ripper episode much later.
I will stop there so as not to go into too many spoilers.
Sources:
The Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5: http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/guide/008.html
The Babylon Project Wikia: http://babylon5.wikia.com/wiki/And_the_Sky_Full_of_Stars#Summary
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0517629/trivia?tab=qt&ref_=tt_trv_qu
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_the_Sky_Full_of_Stars
The episode title is derived from a line from Babylon 5's pilot: "…and the sky was full of stars, and every star was an exploding ship — one of ours."
*
The episode opens with a man coming aboard the ship. We’ll call him #1. He nods to another man, #2, who follows him.
Two other men beat up an officer for a debt.
#2 man comes to #1’s cabin and they identify Sinclair as their target. We see them working on some sort of device and they talk about a power source.
Benson turns out to be the indebted officer and Garibaldi and Sinclair confront him about his gambling problem. He denied everything and is suspended from duty.
Franklin is examining Delenn and tells her about burning his notes on aliens rather than letting the military use them for biological warfare. He asks Delenn what she did in the war and she declines to tell him.
Denson gives #1 and #2 an energy pods for their device. They pay him. They say they’re ready.
Sinclair is having a dream of the Battle of the Line. He awakens and h=e can’t find anyone aboard, until he gets to the red sector and realizes someone is with him and that they are really inside his head. #1 questions him about his memory loss at the Battle of the Line and accuses him of collusion with the Minbari.
Sinclair's captor makes a very Donald Trump-ish statement then: "Look at Earth: Alien civilization. Alien migration. Aliens buying up real estate by the square mile. What they couldn't take by force, they corrupted! Inch by inch!"
They try to force Sinclair to remember. He blacks out and Benson comes in and is killed and dumped outside the ship.
Meanwhile, Delenn reports Sinclair missing after he doesn’t show up for a meeting with hi, Ivanova and Garibaldi join in and everyone is looking.
Sinclair tells them again that he doesn’t remember what happened after the ship caught him. Sinclair hits #1 inside the Virtual reality and it disrupts the cybernet.
Garibaldi, Ivanova and Franklin discuss what to do and they send someone outside to search for a body. Delenn offers her help.
Sinclair’s captors decide to escalate the questioning, not caring if they kill Sinclair.
He finally does remember and remembers Delenn in the Grey Council. He is able to break the net and escapes #1. He escapes, thinking he is still captive on the Minbari ship.
There is chasing and shooting and Delenn speaks to him and he tells her he knows her then shoots #2.
Later, Garibaldi tells Sinclair the man is being taken back to Earthforce.
Delenn asks him if he remembers anything and he lies and says no. After he leaves, another Minbari comes out and tells Delenn that he must be killed if he ever remembers.
He does tell his log what happened at the Battle of the Line: I remember. I was taken inside a Minbari cruiser. Interrogated. Tortured. Was that - the Grey Council? Maybe. Maybe. Before they surrendered, they must have blanked my memory and let me go. And Delenn, what was she doing there? What is it they don't want me to remember? I have to find out. I have to.
*
Questions:
1. Do you believe these two men are connected to Homeguard or are they acting alone? Why?
2. Do you see parallels today? In the 90’s?
3. Why was the other Minbari hiding while Delenn talked to Sinclair? Do you think she summoned him?
*
This episode is full of things to come in many ways. The increasing unease on Earth over aliens, and unease that seems to be encouraged by some politicians. The strange emerging truth about the Minbari, Delenn, Sinclair and the Battle of the Line.
I liked this episode but found the two men to be beyond creepy and they actually remined me of the inquisitor sent by the Vorlons to talk to Delenn in a much later episode.
While I do think that JMS had an arc for the whole series, I do think there was a lot of experimentation as well in the first season and I think he tweaked on the arc quite a lot in the first and perhaps second season. I think that perhaps episodes like this one spawned the jack the ripper episode much later.
I will stop there so as not to go into too many spoilers.
Sources:
The Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5: http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/guide/008.html
The Babylon Project Wikia: http://babylon5.wikia.com/wiki/And_the_Sky_Full_of_Stars#Summary
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0517629/trivia?tab=qt&ref_=tt_trv_qu
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_the_Sky_Full_of_Stars
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}