B5 Rewatch: Babylon Squared and Chrysalis
Jun. 21st, 2010 09:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
icepixieYay, I'm done with the first season! You know, it wasn't as bad as I remembered it. (Possibly this is because I skipped the three worst offenders...) Maybe knowing that the Humans' acting got much better later on helped. Oooh, and searching for clues to what happens later, that helped a lot too.
Babylon Squared
Confession: I really sort of hate both parts of "War Without End." (Yes, I realize this is like saying I'm a Shakespeare fan who despises Hamlet. I also loathe "Comes the Inquisitor," so I may be incurable.) So while I do generally like this episode on its own merits, I don't like that it constantly reminded me WWE was coming up in S3. Perhaps that one will make more sense this time around.
I did find it amusing how insistent Delenn was that Valen's prophecy was ABOUT HER, DAMMIT. I mean...she's right, but still, she doesn't know that. Andrivendellrose, I see what you mean about JMS pushing the Sinclair/Delenn angle here. She's all I WILL CHANGE MYSELF FOR YOU, and he buggers off to Minbar, so she gets to latch on to Sheridan. Anyone remember when they learned O'Hare wasn't coming back? The Lurker's Guide says this one was filmed late in S1, so I would have thought they'd know by that point that the five-year plan was going to have to be revised. Hmmm. Maybe he left over the summer or something.
Speaking of that prophecy, I think G'Kar's comment about the universe being run by the complex interweaving of energy, matter, and enlightened self interest has a big role in it. There's really very little reason for Sinclair to know the roleSheridan the Humans are going to play in the Shadow War; he tells the Minbari of 1,000 years ago that the Humans have a special destiny partly to save his own skin. (Although for that matter, why the hell didn't he just tell them he came from the future? Perhaps they reference this in WWE. I remember very little of it. I think the reason why Zathras says Sinclair isn't The One--yet, anyway--is explained in it, though, which is good, because at the moment I don't remember why he does that.) It's interesting that in her paean to them, Delenn says the Humans being ruled by passion is very different from the Minbari, because, uh, she's kind of EXHIBIT A for that, you know?
Anyway, in general this episode is made faintly hilarious by of knowing Sinclair's gonna become Valen. "You have a destiny" indeed. And also by knowing that the war Zathras refers to is in the past--as well as in the future.All of this has happened before... I see "We live for The One, we [would] die for The One" makes an appearance much earlier than I remembered, too.
But of course, the best part: the practical joke Garibaldi and Sinclair play on poor, poor Ivanova. Also known as another chapter in the ongoing flirtation between Michael and Susan, since it was obviously his idea and he just got Jeff to play along so that he could more effectively tease, and thus flirt, with Susan. (They are so pulling each other's pigtails throughout S1 and S2. Maybe even through S3. You will not convince me otherwise.) I keep wanting to write something where she takes EPIC REVENGE on him, but I can't think of anything epic enough. You know she's devious enough to really screw with him somehow.
Chrysalis
aka the episode where I fell in love with Delenn/Lennier. Oh, Lennier. You are so transparent, and I kind of adore you for it.
It's also the episode where Shit Really Begins To Happen. I'd forgotten how much they packed into it--Morden comes back, we see his Shadow associates, Delenn cocoons herself, Garibaldi gets shot, and of course Santiago dies and Clark gets sworn in, whereupon he promptly reveals his human-centric agenda.
If I end up sniffling every time Londo and Morden chat, I'm going to be kind of annoyed by the end of the Shadow War. Yeah, it got me again this time. Oh, Londo. I love that he tries to protect Vir, though, even though he's not yet entirely sure from what.
Kosh's "and so it begins" can be read about both the Shadow and Civil Wars, can't it? Not that he would know or much care about the Earth war. It's really fascinating watching this and realizing the Vorlons basically look on this as a really high-stakes live chess game, with the other races as the pieces. At the moment, Kosh is dictating Delenn's actions--well, the prophecy is, but he's the one telling her to chrysalize now, and since Sinclair only knew to prophesize it because he saw it happen (or possibly because he read the prophecy while he was on Minbar? I don't remember now), it kind of can be traced back to Kosh. And I assume he knows about Morden's involvement with Londo, and thus the nature of the attack on the Narn outpost, so he can see the beginning of his opponents' strategy.
Re: the engagement dinner: Would that we all got to say such a complete and heartfelt speech to our best friends before we get shot and the friend buggers off to another planet, eh?* And poor, poor Catherine. Sucks to be you. I need to read that book about her someday, because I hate that this is the last we see of her. I thought it was amusing the way, at the beginning of the episode, she was obviously thinking, "Christ, Jeff, just ask me already, will you?" The guys don't do marriage proposals well on this show, not well at all.
Hmmm. Maybe now I want Catherine and Lennier to form a jilted/unrequited lovers support group down at the bar.
* I did not realize that Garibaldi and Sinclair had only met twice before they went to B5! I was thinking they had known each other for a couple years at least.
Babylon Squared
Confession: I really sort of hate both parts of "War Without End." (Yes, I realize this is like saying I'm a Shakespeare fan who despises Hamlet. I also loathe "Comes the Inquisitor," so I may be incurable.) So while I do generally like this episode on its own merits, I don't like that it constantly reminded me WWE was coming up in S3. Perhaps that one will make more sense this time around.
I did find it amusing how insistent Delenn was that Valen's prophecy was ABOUT HER, DAMMIT. I mean...she's right, but still, she doesn't know that. And
rivendellrose, I see what you mean about JMS pushing the Sinclair/Delenn angle here. She's all I WILL CHANGE MYSELF FOR YOU, and he buggers off to Minbar, so she gets to latch on to Sheridan. Anyone remember when they learned O'Hare wasn't coming back? The Lurker's Guide says this one was filmed late in S1, so I would have thought they'd know by that point that the five-year plan was going to have to be revised. Hmmm. Maybe he left over the summer or something.Speaking of that prophecy, I think G'Kar's comment about the universe being run by the complex interweaving of energy, matter, and enlightened self interest has a big role in it. There's really very little reason for Sinclair to know the role
Anyway, in general this episode is made faintly hilarious by of knowing Sinclair's gonna become Valen. "You have a destiny" indeed. And also by knowing that the war Zathras refers to is in the past--as well as in the future.
But of course, the best part: the practical joke Garibaldi and Sinclair play on poor, poor Ivanova. Also known as another chapter in the ongoing flirtation between Michael and Susan, since it was obviously his idea and he just got Jeff to play along so that he could more effectively tease, and thus flirt, with Susan. (They are so pulling each other's pigtails throughout S1 and S2. Maybe even through S3. You will not convince me otherwise.) I keep wanting to write something where she takes EPIC REVENGE on him, but I can't think of anything epic enough. You know she's devious enough to really screw with him somehow.
Chrysalis
aka the episode where I fell in love with Delenn/Lennier. Oh, Lennier. You are so transparent, and I kind of adore you for it.
It's also the episode where Shit Really Begins To Happen. I'd forgotten how much they packed into it--Morden comes back, we see his Shadow associates, Delenn cocoons herself, Garibaldi gets shot, and of course Santiago dies and Clark gets sworn in, whereupon he promptly reveals his human-centric agenda.
If I end up sniffling every time Londo and Morden chat, I'm going to be kind of annoyed by the end of the Shadow War. Yeah, it got me again this time. Oh, Londo. I love that he tries to protect Vir, though, even though he's not yet entirely sure from what.
Kosh's "and so it begins" can be read about both the Shadow and Civil Wars, can't it? Not that he would know or much care about the Earth war. It's really fascinating watching this and realizing the Vorlons basically look on this as a really high-stakes live chess game, with the other races as the pieces. At the moment, Kosh is dictating Delenn's actions--well, the prophecy is, but he's the one telling her to chrysalize now, and since Sinclair only knew to prophesize it because he saw it happen (or possibly because he read the prophecy while he was on Minbar? I don't remember now), it kind of can be traced back to Kosh. And I assume he knows about Morden's involvement with Londo, and thus the nature of the attack on the Narn outpost, so he can see the beginning of his opponents' strategy.
Re: the engagement dinner: Would that we all got to say such a complete and heartfelt speech to our best friends before we get shot and the friend buggers off to another planet, eh?* And poor, poor Catherine. Sucks to be you. I need to read that book about her someday, because I hate that this is the last we see of her. I thought it was amusing the way, at the beginning of the episode, she was obviously thinking, "Christ, Jeff, just ask me already, will you?" The guys don't do marriage proposals well on this show, not well at all.
Hmmm. Maybe now I want Catherine and Lennier to form a jilted/unrequited lovers support group down at the bar.
* I did not realize that Garibaldi and Sinclair had only met twice before they went to B5! I was thinking they had known each other for a couple years at least.
