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[personal profile] alexcat
Rewatch for Season 2, Episode 22 – The Fall of Night

That’s all she wrote for Season 2 - As [personal profile] vjs2259 says in her recap and the season ends with a bang, a prayer and the sound of beating wings.

Here are the recaps:
Dreamwidth
And
Livejournal
And a very long analysis and lots of JMS talk at The Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5.

*

There is a lot of stuff in this episode:
*Nightwatch comes back and we see just how insidious they are becoming, especially with the reference to ‘peace in our time’ – what Chamberlain said when the UK signed a nonaggression pact with Nazi Germany. Welles is not the pretty face of Nightwatch – he’s the ugly truth of it.
*Keffler goes shadow hunting and instead is shadow fund and as JMS said, he becomes an Ex=Keffler. But the video he shot of the shadow vessel gets to ISN and maybe alerts the shadows that they’re not acting in complete secrecy anymore.
*The Centauri fire on a Narn vessel that has asked for sanctuary on B5, and B5 fires back.
*Kosh comes out of his encounter suit to save Sheridan when some Centauri bomb Sheridan’s tram. Everyone sees something different. Do any of them really see Kosh, though?


*

1. JMS promises that we will really see Kosh eventually. Do we? I don’t remember if we do.
2. Did you recognize John Vickery from his other character the first time you saw him?
3. Did you find Ivanova’s conversation with Lantze a little creepy?
4. Were you surprised that Earth decided to sign an appeasement pact?
alexcat: (Babylon5)
[personal profile] alexcat
Rewatch for Season 2, Episodes 21 – Comes the Inquisitor

Here is the recap:
Dreamwidth
Livejournal
And read about it here:
The Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5

This is the Jack episode! I find the episode sort of disconcerting. I don’t watch torture scenes very well…

Sebastian comes at the bequest of the Vorlons to make sure Delenn (and perhaps John as well) is the right person for the job she has to do. Evidently Sebastian has been doing this for the Vorlons for quite a while. Is this the real reason he comes?

21_Jack
21_jack2

And in other plotlines – G’kar is trying to lead the Narn and they decide he has to prove himself to them before they will follow him. They ask that he, within 48 hours, get word from one of their families. If he can do this, then they will follow him and do as he advises them to do.

He goes to Sheridan and asks if there is any way that he can help. Sheridan sets this as his first task for the Rangers, who have put themselves at his disposal.

Sebastian finds Delenn up to her job, as is Sheridan. He tells them, "At last, my job is finished. Yours is just beginning. When the darkness comes, know this: you are the right people, in the right place at the right time.”

The Rangers do get a message from the Narn and the Narn on the station pledge themselves to G’kar.

If you pay attention, when John is asking Ivanova to check out Sebastian, he says West end of London but they dubbed East into it.

*

1. Did Sebastian staring at the women in the Zocalo give you the creeps? It did me.
2. Why would the Vorlons take someone like him?
3. Did he come to test Delenn or did he come to solidify both Delenn’s and John’s commitments?
4. Did you know that Wayne Alexander is also Lorien? (I didn’t).
alexcat: (LondoG'kar)
[personal profile] alexcat
Rewatch for Season 2, Episode 19 – The Long, Twilight Struggle

Another one of [personal profile] vjs2259’s excellent recaps:
Dreamwidth
Livejournal
And an analysis and JMS’ at The Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5.

*

It’s getting deep and really bad now.

Here is the main bit from this episode:


This is another one of those OMG episodes… The Centauri cross the line into pure evil and we finally hate Londo completely, when they use Mass Drivers on the Narn Homeworld.

And G’kar makes this speech:


And John finally meets the Rangers.

And the real S** t is about to the fan!

I really don’t have a ton to say – there was a lot of build-up with Epsilon 3 that never really did much of anything. There is a lot of that in B% and I suppose some were red herrings but some were just – how many plot threads can you tie together in the end?

Things are moving fast! Y’all hang on to something!

1. Did you notice that Londo gets louder the meaner he becomes?
2. Is he so isolated on B5 that he doesn’t see how bad Centuari Prime has gotten? He does seem shocked at Refa’s plans.
3. What did you think of G’kar’s freedom speech?
4. Zathras? Where did HE come from?
5. Just what does the Great Machine do other than have Jedi feelings and feel when the Centauri attack Narn with the Mass Drivers?
alexcat: (Babylon5)
[personal profile] alexcat
Rewatch for Season 2, Episode 19 – Divided Loyalties

Here are your recaps:
Dreamwidth
Livejournal

And a very long detailed analysis at The Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5.

They should have called it Trapdoor!

And this is THE famous episode in so many ways. There was much made over Talia and Ivanova. There are several huge revelations in this episode as well.
1. Susan and Talia are a thing.
2. Susan is a latent telepath.
3. Talia is a sleeper agent – Control.

19_IvanovaTalia

JMS said, at the time, that he needed to throw in a surprise, when in truth, he mostly wanted to be rid of Andrea Thompson. Andrea had been making noises about wanting Talia to have a greater role in the series. She evidently pissed him off. Her departure was sloppy and left lots of plot holes that were never fixed – for example, the whole Jason Ironheart bit. Why didn’t he find the other person inside her? Or, why didn’t the VCR find Control?

Susan has to tell them why she doesn’t want to be scanned. She is a telepath. But not much of one, according to her.

Lyta’s scene with Kosh was much more shippy than I realized. She’s practically drooling when she asks to see him again. I always wondered why I saw Lyta/Kosh fics… this scene is it! I love the sound of his wings… I’d never noticed it until this rewatch (not sure how many times I’ve seen it!).

OH and the attempt on Lyta’s life – was it Talia? Are we sure? How did she just happen to be there when they were taking Lyta to her cell. I still wonder if there weren’t more people involved – maybe some of Night Watch and I don’t remember if we ever find out.

1. Did this shock you when you saw it the first time?
2. Did it have the feeling of a last moment script change?
3. Do you think Talia leaving left a hole in the ARC?
4. Did Susan and Talia shock you or had they given enough hints?
5. Did you trust Lyta?
alexcat: (Babylon5)
[personal profile] alexcat
Rewatch for Season 2, Episode 18 – Condessions and Lamentations

Read vjs2259’s most excellent recaps:
Dreamwidth
Livejournal

And the Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5.

*

This one is one of the saddest episodes of Babylon 5 and sort of timely as it is about disease spread. JMS has some interesting things to say in his comments because some of the commentors at the time were saying he was making a political statement about AIDS and this is a quote from him: The whole point of the episode is NOT political; it says that if you make a disease political on either side, you're gonna die.

As unlikely as this one might have seemed to us years ago, perhaps we have a better idea what a pandemic is now. I guess we are lucky that ours is not as fatal this one.

I actually did not rewatch this one and may not – the child with the dead father simply is more than I can take. And then when she finds her mother and, well, you know the rest.

Delenn and Lennier insist on ministering to the Markab. Sheridan does not want her to go but she says Don’t look away, Captain. All life is transitory, a dream. We all come together in the same place at the end of time. If I don’t see you again here, I will you see you in a little while, in the place where no shadows fall. If that doesn’t knock your socks off, nothing will.

*

I’m not even sure what to ask…
1. Did the hopelessness depress you as much as it did me?
2. Did you have a new appreciation for Delenn and Lennier?
3. Did you feel as bad for Franklin as I did?
alexcat: (LondoG'kar)
[personal profile] alexcat
Rewatch for Season 2, Episode 17 – Knives

Links to recaps:
Dreamwidth
Livejournal
And
The Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5.

This episode has only 2 plotlines, which is pretty unusual for the show. We have John and his ‘visitor’ and we have Londo’s old friend Urza.

John finds out about the B5 Triangle and can’t resist checking it out himself. He gets zapped and evidently a being of some kind pops into his body. He decides to go to where B4 disappeared to take it back.

Vir and Londo sing opera! Londo’s old dueling buddy, Urza, shows up and we find out eventually that he has come for Londo to kill him so his family will be protected as he has been accused of treason by Refa and his cohort.
urza_17

Plus John plays baseball!
17_BBall

The stories did not seem so important except for a few details:
This is how we show John Sheridan the B4 information from Babylon Squared. Garibaldi kept a copy of all the files when Earthdome had them all sent there.
Refa is consolidating his power under the new emperor and getting rid of all the ones who know he had the Prime Minister killed.

1. Did this whole episode seem a bit of a throwaway?
2. Did Londo seem rather cavalier about the whole thing until he had to kill his friend?
3. Did you note how upset Vir was at the prospect of Londo being hurt or killed?
4. How about that baseball stuff? I thought it was quite neat… wish we’d gotten more things like that in the show.
alexcat: (Babylon5)
[personal profile] alexcat
Rewatch for Season2, Episode 16 – In the Shadow of Z’ha’dum

Here are the recaps:
Dreamwidth
And
Livejournal

And the Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5 has a lot of info for this episode.

This episode is another jam packed and maybe the MOST important episode so far. It tells us finally what is happening and ties together many of the hinted at mysteries of the last 2 seasons.

JMS said this and it’s the one truth about this show:
The key, again and always, is that nothing is what it seems on Babylon 5. And even if it looks like it IS what it is, you have to look at WHY it is what it is...and maybe at that point it isn't.

We have Morden’s encounter with Vir. Vir is actually the one true good man who is always good through the whole series, even when he had to do a bad thing.


Sheridan sees Morden in the crew list for Anna’s ship, the Icarus and has him held on the station. Morden gives him no answers and he refuses to let him go. Delenn and Kosh are forced to tell Sheridan what is going on finally. And they convince him to let Morden go so the Shadows won’t know they’re on to them.
16_MordenShadows

Also, we meet the representative of the Ministry of Peace… and we see the Night Watch armbands. We have our Nazis at last. They’re offering 50 credits a week to anyone who will spy on their neighbors and report bad thoughts and actions. Zack joins for the credits.
16_Piercemacabee

So we are set up for the rest of the season! Hang on! All hell is about to break loose!
alexcat: (LondoG'kar)
[personal profile] alexcat
Rewatch for Season 2, Episode 15 – And Now for a Word

Links to recaps at
Dreamwidth
And
Livejournal
Read questions, answers and JMS’ thoughts at The Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5.

JMS touted episode as the controversial and subversive. I guess it was though I suspect my view of it is colored by having seen it so many times. I wanted to slap Cynthia Torqueman several times. ISN seemed to be on board with President Clark…and to be honest, it reminded me a bit of FOX news here in the US today. It did not let the truth get in the way of its agenda.
15_Cynthia_Torqueman

We had the Centauri using B5 space to transfer arms and the Narn determined to stop them and that made for some drama!

There were some crazy bits:
The subliminal Psi Corps commercial, which JMS said was cut out in the version shown in France because of regulations against subliminal messages. It said, "The Psi Corps is your friend. Trust the Corps."
15_Trust_the_Corps
The one senator they talked to seemed determined to undermine any good done at B5. His name was very similar to a guerilla leader from the American Civil War, William Quantrill. This put him in juxtaposition with Sheridan, a descendant of Phil Sheridan – a Union General (and one of the men who waged a genocidal war against Native Americans).
We see IPX again, they figure in all the problems of the galaxy eventually. In an episode of Crusade, there are hints that IPX is much more than just a bioweapons supplier.
Delenn became very emotional – something new for her.

At the end of the day, I found this episode to be very timely.

1. What is your favorite tidbit of info given in this episode?
2. Have the Centauri been using B5 as a transfer for weapons since before the war?
3. Was this episode a harbinger of things to come on B5 or in the real world?
4. Did you expect Ivanova (or Ivan – ova as Cynthia said it) to deck her? I did.
alexcat: (LondoG'kar)
[personal profile] alexcat
Rewatch for Season 2, episode 14 – There All the Honor Lies

Recaps are here:
Dreamwidth
And
Livejounr nal

The Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5 always has some interesting tidbits and some stuff from JMS.

The craziness in this episode overshadows the serious issue and I don’t really have a problem with that. To be honest, I found the frameup of Sheridan to be dull compared to merch on the station, Londo dolls and the singing monks in one moment of ‘perfect beauty’. Did I mention that the Centauri want to recall Vir because he’d too dull to be the cool Londo’s assistant?
14_Londodoll

Oh and Na’toth is Sheridan’s lawyer!
14_GuinevereCorey

There are a bunch of radicalized Minbari and one of them martyrs himself to frame Sheridan, who simply won’t go down without a fight and he wins, as usual. The Minbari are strange and mysterious, but they don’t lie… except to save face, which Londo tells to Sheridan. This gets him out of his trouble and all is sort of well at the end.

*

1. Who exactly sent Sheridan’s lawyer? The real details are a bit vague.
2. Do you think the chanting monks were Pak’ma’ra?
3. So are there different castes in a family? Or group? Were the dudes from Lennier’s clan all of the same caste?
4. Wouldn’t you love a Sheridan bear? OR an anatomically correct Londo?
14_bear
alexcat: (Babylon5)
[personal profile] alexcat
Rewatch for Season 2, Episode 13 – Hunter, Prey

Another one with characters we never see again. Here are the links to the recaps for those:
Dreamwidth
Livejournal
And then there’s the Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5 that gives you some more detail and JMS’ words about it.

We meet Kosh’s ship and it’s alive. I didn’t find that a surprise but it was a very neat thing. I liked the way it wrote the message to Kosh when he came out and looked at it. Interesting. And it sings!

Earth Force Special Intelligence Agent Cranston shows up to find President Clark’s former doctor, who has all of a sudden become a traitor. They plan to use Br’s security to help find Dr. Jacobs.
Cranston
13_cranston
Dr, Jacobs
13_jacobs

John is visited by a woman from - whatever she is from within the government – from Hague, I suppose. She says the doctor has evidence that Clark was not sick when he left the president’s ship, as he claimed.

End of the day, they save the doc and foil the bad guys and Kosh helps!

Oh and here is Garibaldi;s secret message:
13_Message

And I did not spot the Ranger. Did you?

1. Am I the only one who wondered if Sheridan saved a copy of the Data crustal he gave to the woman?
2. So what did you all think of the Vorlon ship?
3. About John’s ‘conversation’ with Kosh?
4. Did you ever wonder what happened to the doctor?
5. An did you find Richard Moll a dumb gangster?
alexcat: (LondoG'kar)
[personal profile] alexcat
Rewatch for Season 2, Episode 12 – Acts of Sacrifice

First off, here are the links to recaps:
Dreamwidth
Livejournal
And the Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5 post.

This episode has arguably one of the most bizarre scenes in the entire series. JMS called it “Ivanova’s Dance”. The Lumati got the last laugh on that one with the note and gift that the ambassador sent her when he left.
12_Lovedance
212_cap542

Aside from Ivanova’s sacrifice, what others did we see?

The Narn ship sacrificed itself to save civilians when the Centauri attacked. From this action, several things happen. G’kar goes to Sheridan and Delenn and asks for aid from Earth and Minbar. Unrest on the station causes fighting among the Narn and Centauri population, with one group of Narn deciding to kill all the Centauri on B5. The Minbar and earth refuse to help the Narn though Delenn and Sheridan do agree to send humanitarian aid and to try to move refugees.

We see short tempers all over the station. Sheridan yells at G’kar about the violence. G’kar is angry and upset and finally cries in the privacy of his own quarters after practically begging for help and having to settle for what little Sheridan and Delenn can offer.

Londo seems fairly calm through all this but he does get the memorable lines:

He complains to Vir that he is now “a wishing well with legs.”

And this little exchange with Garibaldi at the end:
Londo: "It is good to have friends, is it not, Mr. Garibaldi? Even if maybe… only for a little while."
Garibaldi: "Even if only for a little while."
I almost cried at that one, knowing what is coming.

*

1. Do you think Earth refused to get involved with the Narn/Centauri war because of Clark’s connections with the Shadows? Or do you believe there was another reason?
2. Would the Lumati, with their ideas about their own superiority, even make good allies anyway?
3. I almost felt sorry for Londo… do you?
kanadka: neroon, not looking amused, kind of a default neroon look (b5: neroon)
[personal profile] kanadka
There's a lot of really cool stuff in this episode and it's one of my favourites for all of them. (Not just for the obvious Neroon cameo ... but yes also for the Neroon cameo. I will once again attempt to contain my love for Neroon.)

Here's a quick (plot-based) recap of the episode, and here's the Lurker's Guide page.

I love how much Babylon 5 stuffs into an episode and still manages to make it feel like Monster Of The Week, and this episode is no exception:
Episode Subplot A: Sheridan is kidnapped by a race called the Streib and narrowly escapes death. He brings back a friend!
Episode Subplot B: Delenn is called back to Minbari space (well, to the Grey Council ship, wherever that's floating) and finds that she's been replaced on the Council. You'll Never Guess Who's Taken Her Place (Priests Hate Him!)
Overarching Plot Addition: General Hague arrives at Babylon 5 with important information about homeworld relating to Santiago's demise, Clarke's rise to power, and the Psi Corps' involvement. Sheridan puts together what will eventually be the human component of the Army of Light.
Overarching Plot Addition: Sheridan's Dream is in this episode.

I didn't take any screencaps myself, but here are some I've shamelessly linked-to under this cut. )

Fun Facts and Tidbits: I brought loads this time!
  • In the intro to this script, JMS shamelessly admits the A-plot is a ploy to get Sheridan out of the station "to show what a big, manly, studly guy he is". Contain your lust, JMS. Contain nothing, we support you.
  • In the intro to the script, JMS also tells you what he had in mind when he wrote Sheridan's Dream. It's not quite the same as what the Lurker's guide has, but it's a little too long to type up at the moment. If anyone's curious I can give details in comments later!
  • Ta'Lon was not named in this episode, but is identified when we meet him again in Season 3. He was intended to be a replacement aide for Na'Toth after Season 2's Na'Toth was let go due at least in part to artistic differences in how the character should be played. Even though we didn't quite wind up with a full arc for Ta'Lon like Vir or Lennier, I love so much how this subverts expectations of usual episode of the week style particularly in a later season, mid-season: you totally expect Sheridan to be the only person getting off that ship. Not only is someone else saved besides The Hero Protagonist Action Man, we actually see that guy come back in a non-trivial way. Even if it was accidental, it's great.
  • We find out in either the script or the novelisation of In The Beginning (I forget which, possibly both) that no one - council members included! - is allowed to speak in the Council before unveiling their hoods. Kind of a transparency thing, I take it. Neroon very blatantly shoots his mouth off before he unveils himself - in fact, Delenn makes a point of it by saying she can't identify him. (As if Neroon isn't identifiable alone by voice alone.) Guy's been here two weeks and he's already breaking rules.
  • A deleted scene reads: "Delenn inquires about Sheridan and Ivanova says he'll be on his feet any time. She thanks Delenn for her help. Delenn says that she'll get more involved with things on B5 in the future. She'd hesitated until now because last time, when she went to Sinclair, she was too late. She doesn't intend to be late again. After Ivanova exits, Delenn turns to Lennier and confirms that he'll always be with her."
  • The Streib are sometimes implied to be Shadow allies, but the most support for that isn't in the show, it's in the technomage trilogy books. Prior to 2258, a technomage named Burell notices increased traffic through her planet of Zafran VII - mostly Drakh, Streib, and Wurt. They're all heading to the rim (presumably towards the part of the rim where Z'ha'dum lies). In 2260, Galen lands on Z'ha'dum himself, and observes that some of the Shadow thralls are Streib.
  • Despite this, JMS suggests they don't have an explicit connection to either side (Earth/Minbari and later Vorlon, vs Shadow) even though they do look a lot like the Shadow surgeons we see in 3x14 - Ship of Tears (but they're not), and also given their tactics as described by JMS, you could make the inference that not wanting to go up against a force could push them into the arms of another, greater force more clearly positioned to win.
  • The Streib are also not to be confused with the Vree whom we've seen before on the show. It's also not clear whether a) the Streib are members of the League of Non-aligned Worlds at all, or b) if they have ever made a diplomatic appearance on Babylon 5 before now.
  • The fact that the Minbari, by Delenn's own admission, have a) encountered Streib who tried similar tactics with Minbari (i.e., kidnapping, experimentation, and ultimately making them fight), and b) tracked them back to their homeworld to 'make them aware of their mistake', does seem to imply that Minbari Holy Wars don't completely exterminate a race, as a rule. Or maybe the Streib's offence wasn't as bad as the Humans' offence and it didn't merit the Holy War designation.

A Slight Critique and a Fic Rec
Personal opinion time: there's one of the more obvious 'writer is writing writingly' moments in this episode which I think negatively affects the dialogue and makes it sound incredibly stilted, and it's this exchange between Delenn and Sheridan after she returns from the Grey Council back to Babylon 5:
      Sheridan: I used to think there was nothing worse than being all alone in a crowd.
      Delenn: But there is. Being all alone in the night.
I find it cheesy, it feels like it's supposed to be A Profound Moment because Oh Wow Isn't That The Episode Title, but I feel it falls flat. 'All alone in the night' - is this a cliche misapplied? Is this a mistranslated Minbari expression that never gets outed as part of the cultural worldbuilding? Is this trying to be more evocative and poetic than it actually is able to be? Do people really talk like this? I'm not sure, all I know is it's one of (many) places where I love JMS' writing - I really do - but not like this.
So I'm reccing this fab fanwork: Never Alone by [personal profile] vjs2259. I really like this fic because I think it helps bring a lot more emotional punch and nuance to what that moment could have been, and also brings more of the John/Delenn feels that I think should have been more central in that moment but (for me anyway) weren't.
alexcat: (Babylon5)
[personal profile] alexcat
Rewatch for Season 2, Episode 10 – Gropos

You can read recaps from the wonderful [personal profile] vjs2259 at:
Dreamwidth
and
LIvejournal

The Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5 has a very short post about this one. It id answer one question I dound myself asking when I saw it last night.

Well, this is a fan favorite for some reason.

Main plot points are the Franklin has a father and he’s a general (played by Paul Winfield). The two do not get along. They disagree on most things, but it boils down to the fact that Franklin blames his father for never being there when he was growing up and he worries about his father when he is off at war.
10_genfrank

The second is the 25,000 troops who come with Gen. Franklin on a stopover on their way to Akdor to help out in a civil war. Apparently, the war between the Centauri and Narn has sabers rattling everywhere. We meet a few of these soldiers and we get attached, which we should know is a bad idea.

Oh, and the weird Garibaldi/Dodger thing. She wants to have sex and he’s reluctant because reasons.
10_Dodger

The episode is a reminder of the price of war. Franklin, we learn, is constantly worried about his father’s safety. He also feels that the military took his father from the whole family – a bit of that two masters thing, really. We also see the cost in lives. Garibaldi’s friend, dodger, is killed, as are the two soldiers who room with Keffer: an older warrior who’s been around a long time and a brand new recruit in his first battle. Even the troublemaker is among the dead on the field.

1. Did you find Garibaldi’s encounter as odd as I did? Who was the second woman he mentioned when he made his excuses to Dodger?
2. Did you find yourself singing Emily Dickinson Poems to the tune of The Yellow Rose of Texas?
3. So Earthforce is nosing into other planet’s civil wars? Does this remind us of anyone?
4. Franklin’s family dynamic reminded me of The Great Santini, though there is no indication he was as much of an ass as that father. What did it remind you of?
5. Were the station weapons upgrades a payback to allowing 25000 troops to hang there? Why wasn’t B5 already well armed?
6. Is this one of the only instances where we see actual battle on B5?
alexcat: (LondoG'kar)
[personal profile] alexcat
Rewatch for Season 2, Episode 9 – The Coming of Shadows

The skies are darkening over Babylon 5!

Read the recaps here: Dreamwidth and Livejournal.

Read the inside story at The Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5.

For Londo, this one is the tipping point and he knows it. But it’s also a turning point for G’kar and perhaps for Sheridan as well.

The elderly (and as it turns out, dying) Centauri Emperor comes to Babylon 5.
09_sheridanemperor
He bids his Prime Minster goodbye and takes two of his telepaths. Refa is in league with others to make sure the old man is discredited and his nephew is placed on the throne and he asks Londo to join in this conspiracy. Londo goes him one better and has Morden have the Shadows attack the Narn colony in sector 14.
09_war

G’kar decides kill the old man and is thwarted when he collapses.

The Narn declare war on the Centauri.

The emperor dies.

And Garibaldi gets a visitor sent from someone he knows…

Oh, did I mention Londo’s visions?

*

1. Did you think the mystery visitor was good or bad when you first saw him?
2. What did you think of the old emperor?
3. Did you understand when you saw this one the first time how important this episode was?
4. What did you think about Londo’s dreams? Go read JMS’ comment about the dream… it’s kind of creepy.
alexcat: (Babylon5)
[personal profile] alexcat
Rewatch for Season 2, Episode 8 – A Race Through Dark Places

Our recaps this week are done by the wonderful [personal profile] vjs2259 and you can read them here:
Dreamwidth
Livejournal

Also get the notes from JMS at The Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5.

This is the episode with the “dinner date.”
08_delennjohn

But lots more happens. And a lot of it is totally useless to the actual story arc. This episode is about telepaths – their origin, the “Underground Railroad” and how much power they truly have. This episode would have you believe that Talia was going to be VERY important to the rest of the show. Hah!

We get evil Bester again and as much as I love Walter Koenig, I hate Bester with a deep and abiding passion. And if you know me, you also know I reallllllly don’t like telepaths in general.

I digress.

Nearly everything that we find out in this episode is eventually debunked. Telepaths do not come from where we think, Talia is not what we think, Jason Ironheart and his gifts were not that important after all… all of it, tossed out the window.

This point came up in the discussion at the Lurker’s Guide – why were there so many military vessels passing through at B5? Earth wasn’t at war yet. Perhaps it had to do with all the attacks on shipping that the Shadows were carrying out.

But there are some interesting questions:
1. What does Psi Corps do with all the rogues they bring home to help? Do they help them or kill them?
2. Who told Bester than Sheridan would be more sympathetic to Psi Corps?
3. Didn’t Delenn kick ass in that black dress?
4. Does anyone actually lay around their quarters in such gorgeous blue pajamas as Ivanova’s?
5. What was your favorite part of the episode?
6. Do you think Bester figured o9ut he’d been had?

08_tepsl
alexcat: (Babylon 5G_D_L)
[personal profile] alexcat
Rewatch for Season 2, Episode 7 – Soul Mates

You can read the recap at these links:
Dramwidth
Livejournal

Read JMS’ comments and more at The Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5. There is also some bonus commentary by Peter David, who wrote the episode.

This was a fun episode, I thought. I adored Timov and the wives all together were a hoot. According to David, Daggair was Pestilence. Timov was Famine. Mariel was Death.
07_wives
They all come to B5 for Londo to divorce them. The emperor granted him this on the 30th anniversary of ascension with the caveat that he keep one of the three.

Talia’s ex-husband also comes aboard – Matt Stoner, who may or may not be still working for Psi Corps. He is selling artifacts and promising Talia he can fix her and become a non telepath like he says he is. Garibaldi ain’t buying it at all when he sees him manipulating people’s minds. He goes after Stoner.

There is a party to celebrate and Mariel gives Londo a statue she got from Stoner and it shot poison darts into Londo (and Timov secretly saved him). G’kar shows up with his boots on (an insult) and is ignored and after we see him and Mariel in his quarters discussing what happened to Londo and who is responsible.

Then there is Delenn and her hair!
07_delenn

Quote:
"The secret of our marriage's success is our lack of communication, Londo. You have jeopardized that success and I would know why!"
– Timov

1. Who, in your opinion, is responsible for the attempt of Londo’s life? Mariel? Psi Corps? G’kar?
2. It occurred to me that since Delenn is mostly human now, wouldn’t she be pretty rough looking if all she’d done was use something that made her skin come off? She seems to be mostly human now…
3. Was Stoner an agent of Psi Corps?
4. Why did he come to take Talia away?
alexcat: (Babylon5)
[personal profile] alexcat
Rewatch for Season 2, Episode 6 – A Spider in the Web

You can read the recap at Dreamwidth
or at Livejournal

Read JMS’ comments and some other interesting tidbits at The Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5

This was a crazy episode that really seems to go nowhere in some ways…

A businessman comes to B5 to make a deal with Mars (represented by Amanda Carter) that might help Mars become independent without a lot of bloodshed but Earthgov doesn’t want this and contacts Sheridan to stop it. He pretty much refuses. The senator who calls him says something very chilling to me: "These are volatile times: practicality is more important than principles."

A man kills the businessman and blames Free Mars.

It’s all twisty and turny – we learn of a project in which people were experimented on with cybernetics. The project was a failure but the experiments continued. Abel Horn was a dead member of Free Mars and he was a subject of this AI.

We find out about an agency called Bureau 13, which is also not mentioned again though we do eventually find out who the contact on B5 was. They do seem to be headed by a dead psicop.

There is also a lot of hubbub about an alien race called the Tikar (Or T’kar) who might play a big role in the future but we never see them nor do we ever hear of them again.

Anyhow, the solve the murder, the Ai/Abel Horn blows up, leaving no evidence for anyone to examine.

We find out a little about Sheridan, Garibaldi and Miss Winters in this episode. Sheridan collects secrets. Garibaldi is full of crap and Miss Winters is little pathetic since her only family was a woman who was assigned to take care of her when she joined PsiCorps when she was a small child.

My husband loves Adrienne Barbeau so there’s that.

And this is the first appearance of Zack Allan.
06_Zack_Allan

1. Did you find this episode almost a throwaway?
2. Speaking of such, are you annoyed by throwaway races and characters? For example, the Tikar, who are supposedly very interesting yet we never hear of them again.
3. Did you notice what drink Sheridan ordered in this episode? Coincidence?
4. Did the glove remind you of shadows?
5. Did you find it odd that Sheridan mentions a spider in a web AND we already know the Shadow ships and the Shadow’s themselves look like spiders?
6. Anything else YOU noticed that I left out?
alexcat: (Babylon5)
[personal profile] alexcat
Rewatch for Season 2, Episode 5 – The Long Dark

This week’s episode it The Long Dark – OR 100+ year old widow loves Franklin!

A ship from when interstellar travel was done on sleeper ships comes to B5, bearing a live human woman and a something, we aren’t sure what it is.

You can read the recap at Dreamwidth
OR Livejournal
Hop on over to the Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5 for some inside info and more details about this episode.

Dwight Schultz is Amis in the this one – a man who has encountered the thing that rode in on the Copernicus. He’s brilliant as the crazed, tortured man who tells of being the only survivor of 47 men who encountered this thing on a moon during the war.
05_Amis

The human survivor is Mariah Cirrus and she falls ass over teakettle for Franklin almost as soon as she opens her eyes, even though her husband was killed by the thing that was on their ship.

The thing starts to eat the insides of people on B5, just like it did Mariah’s husband. Amis says it’s still in his head and he wants to be rid of it. They all kill it.

We see G’kar looking a picture that looks just like it in the Book of G’Quan. We find out that it had been headed out to the Rim to Z’ha’dum.
05_BookofGquan

When Mariah’s meets G’kar earlier, he says to her: Take my advice and go back to the time you came from. The future isn't what it used to be.

1. Did you think the whole Franklin/Mariah romance was a little gratuitous?
2. I liked compassionate Garibaldi much better than jerk Garibaldi. Did you?
3. What was your general impression of this episode?
alexcat: (Babylon 5G_D_L)
[personal profile] alexcat
Rewatch for Season 2, Episode 4 – A Distant Star

You can find [personal profile] vjs2259’s excellent recaps at Dreamwidth and at Livejournal. she even has a recipe for Bagna Cauda.
You can read what JMS said at The Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5. It has Garibaldi’s recipe.

And here is Delenn at her most quotable. And when she begins to get Sheridan’s interest:


And Sheridan’s quotable ‘Egyptian Blessing:’ God be between you and harm, in all the empty places where you must walk.

Another busy episode.

Franklin puts everyone on the command staff on a diet. Sheridan and Garibaldi are to eat less and he wants Ivanova to eat more. She prefers salad evidently. Bah! She doesn’t strike me as a lettuce eater!

John’s first commander, Jack Maynard, comes in with his giant explorer class ship and sort of chides John for settling for a desk job. When he sets back out into hyperspace, they have some sort of explosion and lose their ability to navigate out of H-space.

Sheridan to the rescue!

The Minbari are all whiny about Delenn – Are you a Minbari? Are you a human? We’re going to pout!

Maynard has seen a shadow ship! Corwin sees one too! God, they’re menacing!

And all’s well that ends well – Garibaldi ends up sharing his Bagma Cauda with Franklin.

This is also the last ep that DC Fontana wrote for the show.

1. What did you think of Stinky (Capt Maynard)?
2. Why did the shadow let Corwin go? Did it think he was dead?
3. Have you ever had Bagna Cauda?
4. What was YOUR favorite part of this episode?
alexcat: (excalibur)
[personal profile] alexcat
Rewatch of Season 2, Episode 3

Read the recap at Dreamwidth
Or at Livejournal
And read JMS’ thoughts at the Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5

Purple and Green!!!

And technomages!

And we see Lord Refa.

Purple and green is not as funny as it once was to me – but it does put government in a whole new prospective. I am not particularly fond of the Drazi either…
03_DraziPurpleGreen

The technomages I always found interesting. Of course, we do find out much, much later where they were going and why but as of now, they’re just very mysterious. I always rather liked Michael Ansara and he made a very mysterious character.
03_tmage

Lord Refa has come to congratulate (and grill) Londo about his recent successes and to feel him out about joining a group of them who want to fill the power void that they feel will come soon with their aging emperor losing his only son. Londo agrees to this but still doesn’t tell Refa how he accomplished the things he did.

There is also a subplot about Londo wanting the endorsement of the technomage to enhance his image. The mage refuses and gives him a rather dire prediction of his future.

Garibaldi is depressed and waffling about whether he wants to come back to work or not. Everyone would have been better off had he not, in my opinion.

My favorite bit is this nod to Tolkien, uttered by Elric: “Do not try the patience of wizards for they are subtle and quick to anger.”

1. Was there a real point to the Purple/Green argument? Did Ivanova offer a real solution?
2. Did Garibaldi’s ‘depression’ seem a little overdone to you? JMS has said he was near suicidal and I thought he was being a drama queen… but that’s just me.
3. Was Refa there to offer Londo a part of their group or was he mostly just trying to find out what Londo did?
4. What did you think of the technomages?

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