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alexcatRecap and discussion for The River of Souls
This is one of those episodes where JMS asks is there a hereafter? Eternal life? Heaven? And as usual, the answer is either none knows or the truth is however it is perceived by each person.
We open with Dr. Bryson stealing an orb from a room full of orbs on an archaeological dig. We remember those orbs… Soul Hunter! We remember Delenn sitting on the floor freeing all the trapped souls.
Off to B5 we go. Capt. Lochley is happy that the place is calm since Garibaldi and Sheridan are gone. But calm doesn’t last when Garibaldi shows up. Someone complains about the safety of the holobrothel he visited, which is news to the station, and unbeknownst to Lochley, Dr. Bryson and his orb have also come aboard.
The captain sends Zack to get rid of the holobrothel. The guy who runs it has the vagueness of the law on his side.
Garibaldi talks to Bryson, who worked for Edgars. He decides the guy is a nutbag. Bryson starts to contact the people inside the orb and they begin to control him.
A Soul Hunter shows up, hunting the orb… he says they captured a billion brings at the moment of their death and placed them in one orb and they want it back. (He’s played by Martin Sheen)
In the middle of all this, the holobrothel owner sues Lochley and the station. He has a very slimy lawyer.
Some of the ‘spirits’ get loose and start making problems and one nearly kills Lochley so he can talk to her. They were not dying, they were shedding their physical bodies and becoming beings of light when the Soul Hunters nabbed them and imprisoned them.
She tells the Soul Hunter and he believes her.
All the Soul Hunters show up to take the orb back. They beings get into the electrical conduits and go to the holobrothel. Violence ensues and finally the Soul Hunter gives his life as a bond that the rest of the Soul Hunters will help them regain their freedom gradually.
Lochley tells the slimy lawyer that they are not liable for damages during a military action and also that she can countersue for the guy suing her image without permission. (Her hologram was quite popular).
Everyone leaves but Garibaldi promises to visit soon.
*
Quotes:
Faith is good but sometimes, faith is blind. ~ Soul Hunter
*
Questions:
1. Was this one good or awful? Did you find it religious in nature? Do you find it interesting the way JMS handles religious questions, considering that he is an atheist?
2. Holobrothel? Opinions? Did you find the treatment of it judgmental?
3. Have you noticed the mad scientist trope in B5? Bryson here, Thirdspace, and others? Does there seem to be a prejudice against scientists?
*
Sources:
The Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5: http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/114.html
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0146247/quotes/?tab=qt&ref_=tt_trv_qu
The Babylon Project: https://babylon5.fandom.com/wiki/River_of_Souls
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon_5:_The_River_of_Souls
Cap-that.com: http://www.cap-that.com/b5/river-of-souls/
This is one of those episodes where JMS asks is there a hereafter? Eternal life? Heaven? And as usual, the answer is either none knows or the truth is however it is perceived by each person.
We open with Dr. Bryson stealing an orb from a room full of orbs on an archaeological dig. We remember those orbs… Soul Hunter! We remember Delenn sitting on the floor freeing all the trapped souls.
Off to B5 we go. Capt. Lochley is happy that the place is calm since Garibaldi and Sheridan are gone. But calm doesn’t last when Garibaldi shows up. Someone complains about the safety of the holobrothel he visited, which is news to the station, and unbeknownst to Lochley, Dr. Bryson and his orb have also come aboard.
The captain sends Zack to get rid of the holobrothel. The guy who runs it has the vagueness of the law on his side.
Garibaldi talks to Bryson, who worked for Edgars. He decides the guy is a nutbag. Bryson starts to contact the people inside the orb and they begin to control him.
A Soul Hunter shows up, hunting the orb… he says they captured a billion brings at the moment of their death and placed them in one orb and they want it back. (He’s played by Martin Sheen)
In the middle of all this, the holobrothel owner sues Lochley and the station. He has a very slimy lawyer.
Some of the ‘spirits’ get loose and start making problems and one nearly kills Lochley so he can talk to her. They were not dying, they were shedding their physical bodies and becoming beings of light when the Soul Hunters nabbed them and imprisoned them.
She tells the Soul Hunter and he believes her.
All the Soul Hunters show up to take the orb back. They beings get into the electrical conduits and go to the holobrothel. Violence ensues and finally the Soul Hunter gives his life as a bond that the rest of the Soul Hunters will help them regain their freedom gradually.
Lochley tells the slimy lawyer that they are not liable for damages during a military action and also that she can countersue for the guy suing her image without permission. (Her hologram was quite popular).
Everyone leaves but Garibaldi promises to visit soon.
*
Quotes:
Faith is good but sometimes, faith is blind. ~ Soul Hunter
*
Questions:
1. Was this one good or awful? Did you find it religious in nature? Do you find it interesting the way JMS handles religious questions, considering that he is an atheist?
2. Holobrothel? Opinions? Did you find the treatment of it judgmental?
3. Have you noticed the mad scientist trope in B5? Bryson here, Thirdspace, and others? Does there seem to be a prejudice against scientists?
*
Sources:
The Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5: http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/114.html
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0146247/quotes/?tab=qt&ref_=tt_trv_qu
The Babylon Project: https://babylon5.fandom.com/wiki/River_of_Souls
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon_5:_The_River_of_Souls
Cap-that.com: http://www.cap-that.com/b5/river-of-souls/
