Garibaldi is pissed off at this for some reason. I’m not sure what he expected would happen.
Agreed, but some of your subsequent criticisms are a bit nit-picky.
Thing I do not get #1: Weapons and ID belonging to soldiers and cops are state-issued. Presumably EarthGov issued Garibaldi’s gun and ID. I mean, he wouldn’t have bought it himself. So Sheridan has the right to demand it back. But whose property is it? The station’s?
Yup, the station seceded and is now it's own sovereign government. The badge and the weapon come with the job either way. The thing is, he still has his grandmother's police pistol. Maybe he has no bullets for it and wouldn't shoot it on the station, but he could at least bluff with it. But then, how did grandma get to keep her side arm?
Thing I do not get #2: With the quarantine, how is the “contact from Earth” supposed to get to B5?
Shady people have shady ways. Also, I presume there were many Earthlings already doing business in space prior to B5's breaking away. They would not be coming from Earth, but from the alien worlds they were doing business with. They would be on alien transports or their own ships coming from the opposite direction than Earth. But they can probably still get messages from Earth and may have been advised to stay away until this business blows over.
Thing I do not get #3: Why Garibaldi is not more paranoid. Is this a side effect of being mind controlled?
I agree. Perhaps being self-employed has made him cocky.
Thing I do not get #4: Why Garibaldi would even think this would work.
a) It's Zack, who is not the sharpest pencil in the box, b) He probably figured he could get in and out before Zack or anyone else noticed, and c) he might have imagined that Zack would look the other way after being guilt-tripped about the link and weapon. Also, see previous comment about being cocky. Perhaps he felt he could bully/manipulate his way out with Zack. After all, he is in dry drunk "you are either for me or against me" asshole mode now.
Thing I do not get #5: So the computer records everyone getting on and off of a shuttle and going through customs. It knows the exact number. We’ve seen that everyone carries digital ID. Why does the computer then not automatically report who was on the shuttle but didn’t go through customs? At least it should have come up with a fake name.
Yup. You are correct. This is a plot hole you could fly the station through. Red flags are by definition not something you put off looking at until tomorrow if your job is security and protocols would certainly flag that automatically.
They can’t use the Great Machine to fight a war, but they can use it to power a TV station.
Well, it was their ace up the sleeve, which the Shadows might have blown up. Earth Alliance doesn't have planet killers.
She did get to tell me, because it’s not a spoiler, about Mira Furlan’s experiences during the breakup of Yugoslavia and how she drew on that to create Delenn’s emotional reaction to the civil war on Minbar and that makes her monologue at the beginning about a million times more powerful. Holy shit.
This.
So if I was the ambassador of wherever and Sheridan asked to patrol my borders, I probably wouldn’t jump on board.
Priorities. Apparently, they trust holy Sheridan with their lives, but not their wallets. Their governments are in charity-begins-at-home mode and unwilling to expend any effort to help their former allies.
So Bester tries to recruit her into the PsyCorp in exchange for helping her with the references problem.
I kept wondering why she didn't get hired by the station. With a full-out war with Earth looming, they don't need a resident telepath? That said, the contract scene with Bester was good.
DIGRESSION! How are Lyta’s Earth-based clients getting past the quarantine? Also Bester. How is Bester getting past the quarantine on a regular basis?
See comment above. Also, Psi Corps is tight with Clark. Who is going to question what Bester is doing?
no subject
Agreed, but some of your subsequent criticisms are a bit nit-picky.
Thing I do not get #1: Weapons and ID belonging to soldiers and cops are state-issued. Presumably EarthGov issued Garibaldi’s gun and ID. I mean, he wouldn’t have bought it himself. So Sheridan has the right to demand it back. But whose property is it? The station’s?
Yup, the station seceded and is now it's own sovereign government. The badge and the weapon come with the job either way. The thing is, he still has his grandmother's police pistol. Maybe he has no bullets for it and wouldn't shoot it on the station, but he could at least bluff with it. But then, how did grandma get to keep her side arm?
Thing I do not get #2: With the quarantine, how is the “contact from Earth” supposed to get to B5?
Shady people have shady ways. Also, I presume there were many Earthlings already doing business in space prior to B5's breaking away. They would not be coming from Earth, but from the alien worlds they were doing business with. They would be on alien transports or their own ships coming from the opposite direction than Earth. But they can probably still get messages from Earth and may have been advised to stay away until this business blows over.
Thing I do not get #3: Why Garibaldi is not more paranoid. Is this a side effect of being mind controlled?
I agree. Perhaps being self-employed has made him cocky.
Thing I do not get #4: Why Garibaldi would even think this would work.
a) It's Zack, who is not the sharpest pencil in the box, b) He probably figured he could get in and out before Zack or anyone else noticed, and c) he might have imagined that Zack would look the other way after being guilt-tripped about the link and weapon. Also, see previous comment about being cocky. Perhaps he felt he could bully/manipulate his way out with Zack. After all, he is in dry drunk "you are either for me or against me" asshole mode now.
Thing I do not get #5: So the computer records everyone getting on and off of a shuttle and going through customs. It knows the exact number. We’ve seen that everyone carries digital ID. Why does the computer then not automatically report who was on the shuttle but didn’t go through customs? At least it should have come up with a fake name.
Yup. You are correct. This is a plot hole you could fly the station through. Red flags are by definition not something you put off looking at until tomorrow if your job is security and protocols would certainly flag that automatically.
They can’t use the Great Machine to fight a war, but they can use it to power a TV station.
Well, it was their ace up the sleeve, which the Shadows might have blown up. Earth Alliance doesn't have planet killers.
She did get to tell me, because it’s not a spoiler, about Mira Furlan’s experiences during the breakup of Yugoslavia and how she drew on that to create Delenn’s emotional reaction to the civil war on Minbar and that makes her monologue at the beginning about a million times more powerful. Holy shit.
This.
So if I was the ambassador of wherever and Sheridan asked to patrol my borders, I probably wouldn’t jump on board.
Priorities. Apparently, they trust holy Sheridan with their lives, but not their wallets. Their governments are in charity-begins-at-home mode and unwilling to expend any effort to help their former allies.
So Bester tries to recruit her into the PsyCorp in exchange for helping her with the references problem.
I kept wondering why she didn't get hired by the station. With a full-out war with Earth looming, they don't need a resident telepath? That said, the contract scene with Bester was good.
DIGRESSION! How are Lyta’s Earth-based clients getting past the quarantine? Also Bester. How is Bester getting past the quarantine on a regular basis?
See comment above. Also, Psi Corps is tight with Clark. Who is going to question what Bester is doing?