17 is the new 13, Delenn is given a position she really doesn’t want, and a surprise guest arrives to make sure Marcus has a particularly crappy day. Welcome my friends. This is the story of the last of the Babylon stations. The year is 2260. The name of the place is Babylon 5.
Spoilers ahead.
1. Eternal Darkness of the Stimless mind
Poor Dr. Franklin.
Of all the difficulties of this season, and the tragedies of this episode, the hardest to watch was that one scene between Ivanova and Franklin. Franklin has crashed. Hard. Last episode, he seemed fine, which I attributed to him already having gone through withdrawal and being on the other side of it, but it turns out he had yet to feel the full effects of it. Ivanova finds him when he’s on his way down and it’s not pleasant. He’s surly and frustrated and pushing his friends away.
He’s cutting them out in a moment of despair, perhaps because he doesn’t want their pity, perhaps because he isn’t thinking straight. Perhaps because he knows that if he’s with them, he won’t actually get better because he would get lost in the work again. I am confident we will see Richard Biggs again but how and why, I can’t say. Franklin is in pain and there is nothing we can do about it. Tragic doesn’t even begin to cover it.
2. Being Robert Englund
OK. I knew an episode that had a horror bent would be weird but I did not expect a man to get monched by a hole in the floor in the hauntedest section of the station, leaving nothing but his clothes behind, which leads to Garibaldi discovering a secret 17th floor only to be shot by a creepy Punch (at least I think it’s Punch) doll with a tranq. Then, THEN he awakens to see a group of people living on the floor, led by their religious leader Robert FUCKING Englund. You know, Freddy “Welcome to prime time, bitch” Kreuger? And that’s not even the best part of this plot.
No, no. The best part is that the man who got monched? He was taken by a Zarg, which is haunting the spookiest part of the spookiest section of the spookiest sector, and the Zarg, from the one or two glimpses we get, looks JUST LIKE A PREDATOR WITHOUT ITS MASK ON. After the very heavy last few episodes, I’m glad B5 can still give us fun, campy bullshit with nary a hint of irony, although from reading up on it, this was not actually how JMS wanted it to go so. . .whoops! If they actually used a Predator costume because they were on the lot to save money, I would be even more pleased by this.
Anyway, despite the plot not actually going anywhere and the philosophizing being utterly boring, this is the best part of the episode by far and I challenge you to tell me that Garibaldi being “I’m too fucking tired for this spooky shit” isn’t a ton of fun to watch.
3. I’m Thinking of Entil’Zhaing Things
Fun fact: Google Docs, which I do much of my writing in since it’s portable, must have a huge B5 fan on its spell check team because every word from the series has been corrected when I get it wrong. Why bring this up here? No real reason, other than it is a great help. But what is an Entil’Zha?
Well, it was Sinclair, until he went and got all Valen-y. Apparently it’s a title given to the leader of the Rangers. I thought for a while it was Sinclair’s title as an honorary Minbari and someone of respect but NOPE. There’s a passing on ceremony and everything to make sure it is official when transferred. Now, clearly Sinclair can’t do it since he’s, well, 1000 or so years dead but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a big todo for when Delenn accepts the position.
This was a no-brainer and not a big shock. What was surprising was how little Delenn actually factors into her own plot. Much of the ceremony is not shown and the central conflict is not whether or not she will accept it, nor her fending off a challenger, but Lennier and Marcus conspiring to make sure there ISN’T a challenge. It’s rather odd but is also indicative of Delenn’s position.
Continued belowShe cannot say no and while she may have reservations, none are strong enough to warrant exploration beyond her initial reticence. She’s doesn’t want the power but she’s also very aware of why she is the only one who can take the position. The conflict has to come from an external source and, because she is not truly conflicted in wanting to accept the position, the representation of that fight must come from elsewhere.
4. To the Death, Mysterious Corridor
Marcus fighting Neroon on behalf of Delenn is thematically appropriate. Delenn’s purpose as Entil’Zha is to be a uniter and her great strength is in motivating others to unite and fight for a better world. Neroon, oh, did I forget to mention Neroon was back, on the other hand, only fights for his own glory. He wants the power because it’s “rightfully his” as a leader of the warrior caste. He feels he is entitled to the position because that is how it was done, not because he is qualified nor because he deserves it.
Lennier and Delenn point out that the old rules of engagement were thrown out when the warrior caste broke them to install their own justices, I mean, members on the Grey council over the ones who should have been put on from the religious caste. The balance was shattered by Neroon and his followers and so it should be no surprise that what was once true no longer is and that to take back what was stolen, a new playbook must be adopted.
Back to Marcus, his fight is also important for his own, personal arc. His presence as a member of the Rangers was because of the death of his brother. He didn’t feel the call to duty and so his presence was always tenuous at best. He was committed, sure, but to what extent we could never be sure. Now we’re sure. He was willing to die for Delenn and her vision of the future. He was willing to fight for her and to protect her culture by making sure Neroon could not kill her, thus breaking 1,000 years of no Minbari killing another.
That’s dedication to the cause right there.
5. Direction
I haven’t talked technicals in a while, mostly because I’m not all that well versed in the specifics of shot direction and lighting and whatnot. I wanted to point out that this episode did some really cool things with its direction and choices and I liked how they enhanced the mood of the episode. Specifically with regards to the fight scene between Neroon and Marcus. It’s dark and cramped yet fierce, with shadows and shafts of light being broken by smoke and pillars.
The fight itself has a desperate edge to it and this is probably the best one-on-one fight choreography the show has had yet. I was genuinely afraid Marcus was going to be killed off this episode and the fight sold me on his potential demise. It didn’t happen but damn if I wasn’t worried. Well done Babylon 5 team. The episode may have been very disjointed but the parts that worked, worked well.
That about does it for now. Join me again in a week for the start of the final three, more war talk, and a lot of political intrigue on the station that, in the year of the Shadow War, became something greater.
This is Elias. Signing out.
Best Line of the Night:
Garibaldi: “Thin air? Why’s it always thin air? Never fat air. Chubby air. Mostly fit but could stand to lose a few pounds air.”
Supervisor: “I’m sorry sir, but that’s not my department.”
