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icepixieSo. This group of episodes. I truly have little to say on them, because it's all very much moving the pieces around on the board in preparation for the next three episodes. Riveting the first time through; less so the second. They're also Garibaldi-heavy, and it's a little hard to care about him this season because he's not really Garibaldi, and so all of his actions, while they're going to provide much angst for him after the end of "Face of the Enemy," aren't really doing much to develop the real Garibaldi. And everyone else's reactions to him, while certainly giving us information on how they deal with these situations, are going to become moot pretty soon, so, you know.
Plus there is a lot of Edgars and Wade talking long and improbably about ethics and philosophy, and that always rings my "show, don't tell" alarm.
No Surrender, No Retreat
On the other hand, this one does at least give us Londo and G'Kar Not Having A Detente (Except That They Actually Are). Awww, Londo wants to do better by his friends. And he kind of wants G'Kar as a friend.
And haha, Vir essentially follows Londo because even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
The XO of the Heracles strikes me as basically the kind of officer Susan would've been had she not run into Sheridan and His Fulcrum of Destiny.
Possible plot holes:
1. How are the League ambassadors going to sell breaking the treaties with Earth to their governments? I mean, we've seen that most people thought B5 was a backwater at the beginning of things, and I'm guessing these people, who presumably have been here since S1, are not the Brakiri or Gaim Secretaries of State, if you know what I mean. Do they actually have the kind of power turning over a treaty is going to take?
2. Before the various EA ships joined up, where were the thousands of Starfuries refueling and reoxygenating? I got the impression that the White Stars don't have fighter bays, though I could be wrong. (Basically, it has long struck me that Sheridan & Co. needed the equivalent of some freaking battleships and aircraft carriers, as opposed to a fleet made entirely of the destroyer-type White Stars, nifty as they are.) Although he did say at some point that other EA ships had joined up with them; perhaps they just hadn't gotten to Proxima III by the time the fighting broke out. Hmmm.
Exercise of Vital Powers
Consider everything I said at the beginning of this entry repeated here, with especial emphasis on the eye-rolly "Corporations control everything MWA HA HA!" speech Edgars gets.
Also, Michael, last time you ran into Lise you said you were over her. Now you're trying to make her cheat on her husband. Make up your damn mind. (Although of course you know I hope you'll get the hell over her.)
As for Wade...no. Look, I'm not his biggest fan either, but you are doing Derrida wrong. Deconstruction does not mean nothing exists; it just means that we cannot necessarily describe what exists (the signified) with words (signifiers). Alternately, according to Terry Eagleton, "Deconstruction...insists not that truth is illusory but that it is institutional." So shut up.
One thing I like about this episode is that Franklin finally gets Sheridan to get off his need-to-know soapbox and actually fill him in on important shizz.
The Face of the Enemy
Yeah, it's painful, but I'm going to chortle a bit at the fact that Garibaldi's comparison of himself to Judas makes Sheridan Jesus.
Sheridan is also really foolish. I can't quite bring myself to blame him, but dude, that was dumb. (And Delenn...can tell when he does stupid things? Is telepathically linked to him? Was cut to because they had an extra few seconds to fill?)
The science in this episode continues to be ridiculous. An airborne genetic disease! That works instantly! Ow, my head.
Since I ship everyone/everyone, I suppose it surprises no one that I totally see Franklin/Lyta in this episode. That would probably last about as long as Lyta/Zack.
And finally...oh, Michael. That is some kind of hell to have to go through. (Yeah, so there's a reason I will probably never write a story set in S4 or S5 from Michael's POV for my little AU. At heart, I'm a happy fun fluff writer, and Garibaldi's head at this point is definitely not a happy fun fluffy place to be. And to be honest, in my personal canon, he never really gets over this, even if he does eventually learn to live with it; there's sort of a forgiven-but-not-forgotten thing going on.)
Hmmm. I feel like anything else would just be repeating myself, so I'll move on.
Intersections in Real Time
Where marriage of convenience is my bulletproof narrative kink, extended psychological torture is my bulletproof narrative bore, so as I said last time, this episode is approximately as interesting to me as watching paint dry. So I skipped it.
Plus there is a lot of Edgars and Wade talking long and improbably about ethics and philosophy, and that always rings my "show, don't tell" alarm.
No Surrender, No Retreat
On the other hand, this one does at least give us Londo and G'Kar Not Having A Detente (Except That They Actually Are). Awww, Londo wants to do better by his friends. And he kind of wants G'Kar as a friend.
And haha, Vir essentially follows Londo because even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
The XO of the Heracles strikes me as basically the kind of officer Susan would've been had she not run into Sheridan and His Fulcrum of Destiny.
Possible plot holes:
1. How are the League ambassadors going to sell breaking the treaties with Earth to their governments? I mean, we've seen that most people thought B5 was a backwater at the beginning of things, and I'm guessing these people, who presumably have been here since S1, are not the Brakiri or Gaim Secretaries of State, if you know what I mean. Do they actually have the kind of power turning over a treaty is going to take?
2. Before the various EA ships joined up, where were the thousands of Starfuries refueling and reoxygenating? I got the impression that the White Stars don't have fighter bays, though I could be wrong. (Basically, it has long struck me that Sheridan & Co. needed the equivalent of some freaking battleships and aircraft carriers, as opposed to a fleet made entirely of the destroyer-type White Stars, nifty as they are.) Although he did say at some point that other EA ships had joined up with them; perhaps they just hadn't gotten to Proxima III by the time the fighting broke out. Hmmm.
Exercise of Vital Powers
Consider everything I said at the beginning of this entry repeated here, with especial emphasis on the eye-rolly "Corporations control everything MWA HA HA!" speech Edgars gets.
Also, Michael, last time you ran into Lise you said you were over her. Now you're trying to make her cheat on her husband. Make up your damn mind. (Although of course you know I hope you'll get the hell over her.)
As for Wade...no. Look, I'm not his biggest fan either, but you are doing Derrida wrong. Deconstruction does not mean nothing exists; it just means that we cannot necessarily describe what exists (the signified) with words (signifiers). Alternately, according to Terry Eagleton, "Deconstruction...insists not that truth is illusory but that it is institutional." So shut up.
One thing I like about this episode is that Franklin finally gets Sheridan to get off his need-to-know soapbox and actually fill him in on important shizz.
The Face of the Enemy
Yeah, it's painful, but I'm going to chortle a bit at the fact that Garibaldi's comparison of himself to Judas makes Sheridan Jesus.
Sheridan is also really foolish. I can't quite bring myself to blame him, but dude, that was dumb. (And Delenn...can tell when he does stupid things? Is telepathically linked to him? Was cut to because they had an extra few seconds to fill?)
The science in this episode continues to be ridiculous. An airborne genetic disease! That works instantly! Ow, my head.
Since I ship everyone/everyone, I suppose it surprises no one that I totally see Franklin/Lyta in this episode. That would probably last about as long as Lyta/Zack.
And finally...oh, Michael. That is some kind of hell to have to go through. (Yeah, so there's a reason I will probably never write a story set in S4 or S5 from Michael's POV for my little AU. At heart, I'm a happy fun fluff writer, and Garibaldi's head at this point is definitely not a happy fun fluffy place to be. And to be honest, in my personal canon, he never really gets over this, even if he does eventually learn to live with it; there's sort of a forgiven-but-not-forgotten thing going on.)
Hmmm. I feel like anything else would just be repeating myself, so I'll move on.
Intersections in Real Time
Where marriage of convenience is my bulletproof narrative kink, extended psychological torture is my bulletproof narrative bore, so as I said last time, this episode is approximately as interesting to me as watching paint dry. So I skipped it.
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no subject
Date: 2010-09-25 11:56 pm (UTC)The wasn't much of a rational decision-making process involved. They were stressed-dirty-hungry-tired and when Marcus said something about "life getting back to normal," eventually, Lyta snorted.
She intends to say Normal? What's that like? but Stephen speaks first ("It'd be nice to just, I don't know, work a regular day and go on a date,") and when it's her turn to talk, she says: "I haven't had sex in four years."
"So?" Marcus asks.
Stephen gives her a once-over. "So, not since-" She glares at him. "Well, we all have dry spells."
"I'm going to leave now," Marcus announces.
Her mouth still operating independently from her brain, Lyta suggests, "I should probably be checked by a doctor."
Stephen: "I hope that's not a pick-up line."
"I'M LEAVING," Marcus repeats, and walks out.
She has sex with Stephen and, while it's not the sort of event where the stars align or her soul telepathically merges with anyone, the physical release is... nice. Surprisingly ordinary, for being stuck in a cave on Mars awaiting armageddon. She didn't experience any Vorlon side effects; that was good.
Stephen turns away from her as he's putting his pants back on. "That was..."
She picks up the rest of the thought telepathically, but it mirrors her feelings exactly, so she cuts him off and says it out loud: "... a really bad idea."
**
"Two?" Marcus is saying. They didn't tell him, specifically, but it would hardly take Ranger-level powers connect-the-dots. "Two in one week? Good lord, Stephen, this isn't the Martian pleasure dome!"
"I am standing right here," Lyta says crossly. "And no, it isn't the Martian pleasure dome."
Stephen looks like he's about to agree with her before saying, "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
"Can we not talk about this right now?"
Stephen looks back at Marcus. "I wouldn't repeat this to-" he jerks his head toward the main compound.
"Oh, I'm not going to tell Number One. I want to see Saturday."
Lyta frowns. "It is Saturday. Besides, she wouldn't care, she's been doing the same thing."
Stephen and Marcus both gape.
"Not with me." Lyta wonders if this would get any more awkward if she just blanketed them both with a telepathic suggestion of Shut the hell up. "I can't believe you!"
"Believe me?" Marcus still looks like he swallowed a bug. "You people are aware that there's a war going on here, yes? Is this some kind of new sex weapon you're practicing to deploy back on Earth?"
Stephen looks chastened. Lyta rolls her eyes. "Don't you have something to guard?"
"Oh, I see how it is-"
Lyta walks off, laughing.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-26 12:26 am (UTC)!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!
Dude! That is both awesome and hilarious! I love how matter-of-fact Lyta is about it all (and Lyta/Number One is kind of making me go "Oooh." now...), and also Marcus is so cute when he's horrified.
Yay! \o/