B5, S04E08-11
Apr. 2nd, 2012 08:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sabotabbyLong recap post is long. Also check me out—halfway through Season 4 and I finally got a relevant icon, thanks to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
funnel101
The Illusion of Truth:
It’s another fake news episode! I’m a sucker for a Red Scare allegory, and we get that (literally—Mars is the new Red Scare, and the enemy aliens are actual aliens). Plus we get an inside look at how FOX News works.
Another ISN reporter comes to B5 for an inside story. The first half of the episode is played beautifully; he is just morally ambiguous enough that I believed he might be telling the truth about subverting the new ISN from within. He goes around and interviews people, and everyone is quite careful about what they say (except Garibaldi, because he’s being mind-controlled, and also because he’s Garibaldi). He leaves with Sheridan almost convinced that absolutely nothing that anyone said can be manipulated to make them look bad.
The second half is a wonder of editing, where all of the footage from the first half is manipulated to make everyone look bad. The reporter’s take is that there are secret genetic experiments where people from Down Below are cryogenically frozen and then made into Minbari-human hybrids.
There are a few bits that are too obvious—once someone buzzed Franklin about the cryo units and Delenn and Sheridan talked way too openly about their relationship, it was clear where the episode was going to go. But it was overall very clever. And to add in a note of subtlety, the reporter manages to get at least one bit of important information across: Sheridan’s family farm has been burned down and his father is missing.
Okay, show, give me at least one episode set on Earth with President Clark’s dictatorship and curfews and disappearances. I am so cheap when it comes to dystopias.
On a different note, I appreciate how they still need to deal with fallout from the Shadow War. Nothing is neatly tied up—there’s the telepathsicle problem and obviously the Earth problem, and while no one knows about it yet, a huge Centauri problem. And they haven’t let us forget about it so far (hell, there is still fallout from the Minbari-Earth War over a decade ago). Which is realistic, and also lets the writers throw plot curveballs all over the place.
A last notable thing: a sign that the student may be surpassing the master, as Sheridan amends one of Ivanova’s oddly specific death threats. She takes the criticism rather in stride and endeavors to follow the correct line from now on.
Atonement:
OH MY STARS I AM SO GLAD THAT SINCLAIR AND DELENN NEVER HOOKED UP.
Ahem.
This is a rare thing: a Space Elf plot that I actually like. It even makes extensive use of flashbacks. But it’s a cool plot and there is a lot of Lennier so that’s good.
(I just realized in watching this that my three favourite characters right now are all aides/second-in-commands. I wonder why that is. It’s not that I dislike Sheridan, Delenn, or Londo, but they’re all such big personalities that I find the people who have to live in their shadows so much more fascinating.)
Anyway, it opens with Lennier being a prick to Zack. Yay! The Minbari find the recurring “Zack hates his uniform” routine as irritating as I do. Anyway, Lennier being an asshole is nearly as awesome as Vir being a badass. Also, shut up, Zack.
So Delenn needs to go back to Minbar and she’s not telling Sheridan why. I don’t blame her, because the reason is incredibly stupid even by Space Elf standards. Apparently Minbari are kind of like my Jewish grandmother in that they are incredibly displeased if you date outside of the Tribe, and they’ve summoned Delenn back to give her the kind of reckoning that the aforementioned Jewish grandmother gave me when I was sixteen and she met my first boyfriend. Who was Not Jewish. And black. And had long hair. And is a super-nice guy and was back then too, not like my grandmother even bothered to find out before she flipped her shit. I may be relating to Delenn a little too much in this episode is all I’m saying. Shut up, Delenn’s clan.
Like all Minbari rituals, what Delenn has to go through is extremely dangerous and she may never return, blah blah blah, so she wears a slinky black dress and gloves and invites Sheridan to dinner and the last night of the creepy Minbari sleep ritual that keeps getting interrupted by plot. Obviously he figures out that something’s up. She tries to sneak out anyway. Lennier catches her and is like, “Where are you going without me.” But not in a creepy Nice Guy way, more in a really loyal friend way.
It is less boring than the usual Minbari rituals because it’s even more of a direct reference to Sandman than the Gaim is. I mean, it’s called the Dreaming. Way to give me a nerdboy boner, show. Basically Delenn and Lennier drink something that I’m fairly certain is hallucinogenic and then Delenn relives memories that will lead her to understand why she’s so keen on boning Sheridan. This seems like a lot of trouble—have they even slept together yet? And by “slept together,” I don’t mean shared a bed. I mean I’m unclear as to whether they have had The Sex.
These memories all involve Delenn’s early days as an acolyte to Dukhat, the Minbari leader whose death sparked the war with Earth. I am disappointed that they did not get Marc Alaimo to play this character just to fuck with people. I’m also sort of surprised that he has a goatee. Have we even seen Minbari with facial hair before? Dukhat’s and Delenn’s relationship was a lot like Delenn’s and Lennier’s relationship, even down to Dukhat having to order Delenn to make eye contact. He also isn’t too ethical to avoid using her as a pawn against the more close-minded members of the Grey Council. Through her, he advocates making first contact with humans, but gets outvoted, even though she raises a good point that it’s better to know who you’re dealing with than be surprised. Predictably, their lack of curiosity leads to miscommunication when humans make first contact with them instead. We’ve seen the human side of the miscommunication already—the Minbari approach with their gun ports open, the humans interpret this as an act of aggression and open fire, killing Dukhat. The Minbari side is even more revealing. Their approach—showing their weapons—is a sign of openness and respect, and they can’t possibly understand the human reaction. Dukhat dies in Delenn’s arms and she can’t make out his last words. Her vote decides the Grey Council’s reaction. And her vote is to kill the shit out of the humans.
Oh. I did not see that coming at all. And I am impressed that the show has dropped hints that make this all make total sense for four seasons but held out until now. That is really cool.
So from this, Lennier concludes—or rather, thinks that Delenn’s clan will conclude—that Delenn has felt guilty for ten years and is shtupping a human to make up for it. She insists that this isn’t the case, but it takes a sleepless night for her to figure out what the flashback was actually about. She goes back into the Dreaming, this time taking Callenn, her main accuser, along, and makes him listen to Dukhat’s last words.
Bombshell #2: “You are a child of Valen.”
And this is why it is a relief that Sinclair and Delenn never got together, because she’s his descendent.
This provides her with an out that’s convenient—if she’s related to Sinclair, then she already had some human DNA, and so do tons of other Minbari because Sinclair apparently fucked merrily after being zapped to the past and had shitloads of descendants. Heh. Which Callenn already knew but didn’t want getting out amongst the Minbari public who think they’re all racially pure. Hee hee hee. For some reason this makes me think of one of my favourite Irish drinking songs:
Callenn comes up with a really weak historical precedent where victorious clans used to offer up a woman to the clans they defeated as a symbol of life, and suggests that she might sacrifice herself as a consolation prize to the humans. Hee hee hee hee. You are the worst ever Jewish grandmother, Callenn.
There are exciting B-plots in this too. G’Kar gets his new prosthetic eye, which is blue. He is not too keen on the colour (KEEP IT! IT LOOKS COOL!) but much happier when Dr. Franklin tells him to shut it off when he cleans it or it will keep transmitting what it sees to his brain. G’Kar promptly does what every single one of us would do, which is whip it right out and look at his own face. That thing is never going to be in his actual eye socket, is it? I mean, he’s going to use it to watch Londo. He can even claim it’s for political reasons but we’d all know better.
The other B-plot (C-plot? I dunno) is that Sheridan sends Franklin and Marcus off to Mars to meet with the resistance and establish channels to Earth that get around the quarantine. Okay, let me say that this makes no sense. It makes sense in terms of me being entertained, because the only time I find Franklin interesting is when he’s in fighting the Man mode, and because Marcus could have on-screen chemistry with a tree stump. But it makes no sense to send the chief medical officer who is always too busy doing doctor-type things as is. But whatever. Franklin deserves a good plot after two seasons of having the worst plot of any character on the show. And their one scene together is priceless. They’re in some kind of transport ship and Marcus is bored and can’t stop playing with his Denn'Bok (no, not like that; the actual weapon) and Franklin threatens to shoot him, so Marcus starts singing “The Major-General’s Song” and just give these two a spin-off already.
I am also pleased to report that Ivanova is still Green Drazi Leader. They invite her to some sort of thing and get her drunk and it’s not explained but it looks like it’s a good time. I would also like a spin-off about Ivanova’s Green Drazi Leader duties.
Racing Mars:
Marcus and Franklin’s Big Gay Road Trip to Mars gets a lot gayer when they meet a smuggler named Captain Jack who sets them up with fake IDs as a young married couple. Marcus is clearly enjoying this too much, and by “too much,” I mean “exactly the right amount. Also, I love that they slip in that gay marriage is a thing that exists in the future and no one thinks it’s a big deal or anything. Mostly, though, I suspect a million fanfics were launched from this.
Are you picturing this?
Or this?
Because it's actually this:
Alas, their rendezvous with the Mars Resistance does not go well, as Captain Jack has one of those eyeball things growing on his shoulder (I refuse to call it a keeper, though that’s what Wikipedia wants me to call it) and screws up their identification process with the Mars Resistance hillbillies. Fortunately, the head hillbilly—a very distressed but hot woman who seems to have swallowed Xanax by the wee fistfuls—saves the day, and Marcus manages to shoot the eyeball thing off Captain Jack’s shoulder. And dissects it. Yuck. Captain Jack gets away and rather than letting the thing grow back, explodes himself with a stolen grenade. (Don’t worry—I have it on good authority that he can survive that sort of thing.)
Franklin’s 5 o’clock shadow deserves its own starring credit, by the way.
Meanwhile, Ivanova does some hardball negotiations with smugglers, which is entertaining to watch. The weapons dealer is also really hot, or would be if it weren’t for an unfortunate facial tattoo.
Sheridan is having relationship problems. He gets in a fight—first verbal, then physical—with Garibaldi, and man have I had those circular arguments that go on forever and the first scene with them was immensely painful to watch. Then Sheridan tries to apologize and work things out, but a woman who thinks he’s the Second Coming gets in the way, and then Garibaldi decks him and signs on with some sketchy people who claim to want to save Sheridan from himself.
That’s awkward, but not as awkward as Sheridan’s relationship with Delenn. She wants to have yet another ritual with him. He doesn’t like the sound of this until she tells him that yes, this is a ritual that involves The Sex. She neglects to tell him that the kinky Minbari sex ritual involves a lot of Minbari meditating and praying outside the bedroom while they do it and hahahaha. Oh God. This is the most awkward thing in the world. One of the Minbari is Lennier.
I take it back. This is the most awkward thing in the known universe. The next morning Lennier and Sheridan are stuck in a lift together and Lennier is like, “Woo hoo?” I love this show.
Lines of Communication:
Both Earth and Minbar are now slipping into civil war. Sheridan watches nonstop broadcasts of ISN propaganda, Marcus and Franklin attempt to form an alliance with the Mars Resistance (now with 50% less stubble and homoerotic subtext, unfortunately), and Delenn flies out to Minbari terrority to remind us all that she’s perfectly capable of being a badass, thank you very much.
So Marcus and Franklin rally the troops, winning the respect of the motley crew of ruffians on Mars. Franklin particularly impresses Number One (really? She doesn’t get a name), who is looking very hot in a Mad Max kind of way. They hook up and Marcus is left playing with his Denn'Bok again and I can’t believe I’m having to type this. Use your imagination.
Delenn has less fortune, though she gets to be more kickass. Apparently since she broke up the Grey Council, the warrior caste has struck out on its own and purged some religious caste people. And a mysterious new race is blowing up planets that the Minbari have traditionally protected, including the pak'ma'ra. (Oh, leave them alone!) It turns out that Forell, who asked for her help with this problem, has been working with the mysterious new race, called the Drakh, and has lured Delenn and Lennier out to where a bunch of their ships are to convince her to convince the religious caste to accept their aid. Uh. Did we not go through this with Londo and the Shadows already?
However, one quick meeting with the Drakh emissary and Delenn figures out that theirs were the ships last seen leaving Z’ha’dum. The fact that the Drakh looks like Skeletor is also a fairly good indication that they’re fucking evil.
So Delenn orders the shit blown out of them before they can suddenly and inevitably betray her. It’s too late to save Forell but we didn’t really care about him anyway. Then she hightails it back to B5 to call Sheridan out on his weird denial of the 20-year problem and general aloofness and isolation.
And what has Sheridan been doing, you might ask? Redecorating the war room to look like a TV studio. You wish I were kidding.
funnel101The Illusion of Truth:
It’s another fake news episode! I’m a sucker for a Red Scare allegory, and we get that (literally—Mars is the new Red Scare, and the enemy aliens are actual aliens). Plus we get an inside look at how FOX News works.
Another ISN reporter comes to B5 for an inside story. The first half of the episode is played beautifully; he is just morally ambiguous enough that I believed he might be telling the truth about subverting the new ISN from within. He goes around and interviews people, and everyone is quite careful about what they say (except Garibaldi, because he’s being mind-controlled, and also because he’s Garibaldi). He leaves with Sheridan almost convinced that absolutely nothing that anyone said can be manipulated to make them look bad.
The second half is a wonder of editing, where all of the footage from the first half is manipulated to make everyone look bad. The reporter’s take is that there are secret genetic experiments where people from Down Below are cryogenically frozen and then made into Minbari-human hybrids.
There are a few bits that are too obvious—once someone buzzed Franklin about the cryo units and Delenn and Sheridan talked way too openly about their relationship, it was clear where the episode was going to go. But it was overall very clever. And to add in a note of subtlety, the reporter manages to get at least one bit of important information across: Sheridan’s family farm has been burned down and his father is missing.
Okay, show, give me at least one episode set on Earth with President Clark’s dictatorship and curfews and disappearances. I am so cheap when it comes to dystopias.
On a different note, I appreciate how they still need to deal with fallout from the Shadow War. Nothing is neatly tied up—there’s the telepathsicle problem and obviously the Earth problem, and while no one knows about it yet, a huge Centauri problem. And they haven’t let us forget about it so far (hell, there is still fallout from the Minbari-Earth War over a decade ago). Which is realistic, and also lets the writers throw plot curveballs all over the place.
A last notable thing: a sign that the student may be surpassing the master, as Sheridan amends one of Ivanova’s oddly specific death threats. She takes the criticism rather in stride and endeavors to follow the correct line from now on.
Atonement:
OH MY STARS I AM SO GLAD THAT SINCLAIR AND DELENN NEVER HOOKED UP.
Ahem.
This is a rare thing: a Space Elf plot that I actually like. It even makes extensive use of flashbacks. But it’s a cool plot and there is a lot of Lennier so that’s good.
(I just realized in watching this that my three favourite characters right now are all aides/second-in-commands. I wonder why that is. It’s not that I dislike Sheridan, Delenn, or Londo, but they’re all such big personalities that I find the people who have to live in their shadows so much more fascinating.)
Anyway, it opens with Lennier being a prick to Zack. Yay! The Minbari find the recurring “Zack hates his uniform” routine as irritating as I do. Anyway, Lennier being an asshole is nearly as awesome as Vir being a badass. Also, shut up, Zack.
So Delenn needs to go back to Minbar and she’s not telling Sheridan why. I don’t blame her, because the reason is incredibly stupid even by Space Elf standards. Apparently Minbari are kind of like my Jewish grandmother in that they are incredibly displeased if you date outside of the Tribe, and they’ve summoned Delenn back to give her the kind of reckoning that the aforementioned Jewish grandmother gave me when I was sixteen and she met my first boyfriend. Who was Not Jewish. And black. And had long hair. And is a super-nice guy and was back then too, not like my grandmother even bothered to find out before she flipped her shit. I may be relating to Delenn a little too much in this episode is all I’m saying. Shut up, Delenn’s clan.
Like all Minbari rituals, what Delenn has to go through is extremely dangerous and she may never return, blah blah blah, so she wears a slinky black dress and gloves and invites Sheridan to dinner and the last night of the creepy Minbari sleep ritual that keeps getting interrupted by plot. Obviously he figures out that something’s up. She tries to sneak out anyway. Lennier catches her and is like, “Where are you going without me.” But not in a creepy Nice Guy way, more in a really loyal friend way.
It is less boring than the usual Minbari rituals because it’s even more of a direct reference to Sandman than the Gaim is. I mean, it’s called the Dreaming. Way to give me a nerdboy boner, show. Basically Delenn and Lennier drink something that I’m fairly certain is hallucinogenic and then Delenn relives memories that will lead her to understand why she’s so keen on boning Sheridan. This seems like a lot of trouble—have they even slept together yet? And by “slept together,” I don’t mean shared a bed. I mean I’m unclear as to whether they have had The Sex.
These memories all involve Delenn’s early days as an acolyte to Dukhat, the Minbari leader whose death sparked the war with Earth. I am disappointed that they did not get Marc Alaimo to play this character just to fuck with people. I’m also sort of surprised that he has a goatee. Have we even seen Minbari with facial hair before? Dukhat’s and Delenn’s relationship was a lot like Delenn’s and Lennier’s relationship, even down to Dukhat having to order Delenn to make eye contact. He also isn’t too ethical to avoid using her as a pawn against the more close-minded members of the Grey Council. Through her, he advocates making first contact with humans, but gets outvoted, even though she raises a good point that it’s better to know who you’re dealing with than be surprised. Predictably, their lack of curiosity leads to miscommunication when humans make first contact with them instead. We’ve seen the human side of the miscommunication already—the Minbari approach with their gun ports open, the humans interpret this as an act of aggression and open fire, killing Dukhat. The Minbari side is even more revealing. Their approach—showing their weapons—is a sign of openness and respect, and they can’t possibly understand the human reaction. Dukhat dies in Delenn’s arms and she can’t make out his last words. Her vote decides the Grey Council’s reaction. And her vote is to kill the shit out of the humans.
Oh. I did not see that coming at all. And I am impressed that the show has dropped hints that make this all make total sense for four seasons but held out until now. That is really cool.
So from this, Lennier concludes—or rather, thinks that Delenn’s clan will conclude—that Delenn has felt guilty for ten years and is shtupping a human to make up for it. She insists that this isn’t the case, but it takes a sleepless night for her to figure out what the flashback was actually about. She goes back into the Dreaming, this time taking Callenn, her main accuser, along, and makes him listen to Dukhat’s last words.
Bombshell #2: “You are a child of Valen.”
And this is why it is a relief that Sinclair and Delenn never got together, because she’s his descendent.
This provides her with an out that’s convenient—if she’s related to Sinclair, then she already had some human DNA, and so do tons of other Minbari because Sinclair apparently fucked merrily after being zapped to the past and had shitloads of descendants. Heh. Which Callenn already knew but didn’t want getting out amongst the Minbari public who think they’re all racially pure. Hee hee hee. For some reason this makes me think of one of my favourite Irish drinking songs:
Callenn comes up with a really weak historical precedent where victorious clans used to offer up a woman to the clans they defeated as a symbol of life, and suggests that she might sacrifice herself as a consolation prize to the humans. Hee hee hee hee. You are the worst ever Jewish grandmother, Callenn.
There are exciting B-plots in this too. G’Kar gets his new prosthetic eye, which is blue. He is not too keen on the colour (KEEP IT! IT LOOKS COOL!) but much happier when Dr. Franklin tells him to shut it off when he cleans it or it will keep transmitting what it sees to his brain. G’Kar promptly does what every single one of us would do, which is whip it right out and look at his own face. That thing is never going to be in his actual eye socket, is it? I mean, he’s going to use it to watch Londo. He can even claim it’s for political reasons but we’d all know better.
The other B-plot (C-plot? I dunno) is that Sheridan sends Franklin and Marcus off to Mars to meet with the resistance and establish channels to Earth that get around the quarantine. Okay, let me say that this makes no sense. It makes sense in terms of me being entertained, because the only time I find Franklin interesting is when he’s in fighting the Man mode, and because Marcus could have on-screen chemistry with a tree stump. But it makes no sense to send the chief medical officer who is always too busy doing doctor-type things as is. But whatever. Franklin deserves a good plot after two seasons of having the worst plot of any character on the show. And their one scene together is priceless. They’re in some kind of transport ship and Marcus is bored and can’t stop playing with his Denn'Bok (no, not like that; the actual weapon) and Franklin threatens to shoot him, so Marcus starts singing “The Major-General’s Song” and just give these two a spin-off already.
I am also pleased to report that Ivanova is still Green Drazi Leader. They invite her to some sort of thing and get her drunk and it’s not explained but it looks like it’s a good time. I would also like a spin-off about Ivanova’s Green Drazi Leader duties.
Racing Mars:
Marcus and Franklin’s Big Gay Road Trip to Mars gets a lot gayer when they meet a smuggler named Captain Jack who sets them up with fake IDs as a young married couple. Marcus is clearly enjoying this too much, and by “too much,” I mean “exactly the right amount. Also, I love that they slip in that gay marriage is a thing that exists in the future and no one thinks it’s a big deal or anything. Mostly, though, I suspect a million fanfics were launched from this.
Are you picturing this?
Or this?
Because it's actually this:
Alas, their rendezvous with the Mars Resistance does not go well, as Captain Jack has one of those eyeball things growing on his shoulder (I refuse to call it a keeper, though that’s what Wikipedia wants me to call it) and screws up their identification process with the Mars Resistance hillbillies. Fortunately, the head hillbilly—a very distressed but hot woman who seems to have swallowed Xanax by the wee fistfuls—saves the day, and Marcus manages to shoot the eyeball thing off Captain Jack’s shoulder. And dissects it. Yuck. Captain Jack gets away and rather than letting the thing grow back, explodes himself with a stolen grenade. (Don’t worry—I have it on good authority that he can survive that sort of thing.)
Franklin’s 5 o’clock shadow deserves its own starring credit, by the way.
Meanwhile, Ivanova does some hardball negotiations with smugglers, which is entertaining to watch. The weapons dealer is also really hot, or would be if it weren’t for an unfortunate facial tattoo.
Sheridan is having relationship problems. He gets in a fight—first verbal, then physical—with Garibaldi, and man have I had those circular arguments that go on forever and the first scene with them was immensely painful to watch. Then Sheridan tries to apologize and work things out, but a woman who thinks he’s the Second Coming gets in the way, and then Garibaldi decks him and signs on with some sketchy people who claim to want to save Sheridan from himself.
That’s awkward, but not as awkward as Sheridan’s relationship with Delenn. She wants to have yet another ritual with him. He doesn’t like the sound of this until she tells him that yes, this is a ritual that involves The Sex. She neglects to tell him that the kinky Minbari sex ritual involves a lot of Minbari meditating and praying outside the bedroom while they do it and hahahaha. Oh God. This is the most awkward thing in the world. One of the Minbari is Lennier.
I take it back. This is the most awkward thing in the known universe. The next morning Lennier and Sheridan are stuck in a lift together and Lennier is like, “Woo hoo?” I love this show.
Lines of Communication:
Both Earth and Minbar are now slipping into civil war. Sheridan watches nonstop broadcasts of ISN propaganda, Marcus and Franklin attempt to form an alliance with the Mars Resistance (now with 50% less stubble and homoerotic subtext, unfortunately), and Delenn flies out to Minbari terrority to remind us all that she’s perfectly capable of being a badass, thank you very much.
So Marcus and Franklin rally the troops, winning the respect of the motley crew of ruffians on Mars. Franklin particularly impresses Number One (really? She doesn’t get a name), who is looking very hot in a Mad Max kind of way. They hook up and Marcus is left playing with his Denn'Bok again and I can’t believe I’m having to type this. Use your imagination.
Delenn has less fortune, though she gets to be more kickass. Apparently since she broke up the Grey Council, the warrior caste has struck out on its own and purged some religious caste people. And a mysterious new race is blowing up planets that the Minbari have traditionally protected, including the pak'ma'ra. (Oh, leave them alone!) It turns out that Forell, who asked for her help with this problem, has been working with the mysterious new race, called the Drakh, and has lured Delenn and Lennier out to where a bunch of their ships are to convince her to convince the religious caste to accept their aid. Uh. Did we not go through this with Londo and the Shadows already?
However, one quick meeting with the Drakh emissary and Delenn figures out that theirs were the ships last seen leaving Z’ha’dum. The fact that the Drakh looks like Skeletor is also a fairly good indication that they’re fucking evil.
So Delenn orders the shit blown out of them before they can suddenly and inevitably betray her. It’s too late to save Forell but we didn’t really care about him anyway. Then she hightails it back to B5 to call Sheridan out on his weird denial of the 20-year problem and general aloofness and isolation.
And what has Sheridan been doing, you might ask? Redecorating the war room to look like a TV studio. You wish I were kidding.
no subject
Date: 2012-04-03 04:44 pm (UTC)