Londo personally faces the consequences of his actions, Proxima-III becomes a staging ground, and Garibaldi considers getting the fuck out of Dodge. Welcome my friends. This is the story of the last of the Babylon stations. The year is 2261. The place: Babylon 5.
Spoilers ahead.
1. War. War Never Changes.
We open “No Surrender, No Retreat” on the most militaristic we’ve seen the command of Babylon 5. Sheridan tells the League their treaties with Earth are null and void but that all they have to do is be bystanders in B5 actions against Earth Gov and then preps the station’s crew for training regiments and shows of force via patrols in order to set the stage for their confrontation of some of Clark’s forces by Proxima-III. It’s odd to see and “No Surrender, No Retreat” clearly shares my ambivalence at this decision. From Garibaldi’s decision to leave the station to the roundtable discussion the command staff has about Clark’s actions, there’s a sense that the only person who’s truly, 100% on-board with going to war is Sheridan.
Even he, though, is conflicted. He does everything he can to find out which ships are following the letter of the orders but not taking the added, cruel & inhumane steps that Clark wants taken, like shooting down civilian transports trying to escape the blockade. One could argue that their participation in the blockade is already morally compromising but there is a difference between compromising and fanaticism. It is far simpler to return from one than the other, as we see with General MacDougan versus his second-in-command who, when having to choose between moral disobedience and immoral obedience, chooses the latter.
Getting back to Sheridan & the crew, I get the sense that JMS is trying to thread the needle on showing the necessity of this war without leaning too hard into a glorification of militarism. Babylon 5 is suspicious of the people who jump at the chance to go to war, to command others to kill, and so, as Sheridan and crew go to war again, the show turns its eyes to them as well. One must be careful to not become the thing they fight and Sheridan is, and has always been, the most susceptible to those impulses. Time will tell how well he fights them.
2. I Can Do This All Day
I’m also really interested in seeing how Babylon 5 contrasts the natures of the Shadow War and this new war with Earth. Throughout the Shadow War, B5 was kept on the back foot, attempting to make secret plans and prevent the war from ever coming about. They prepared to fight but it was always against a mostly unknown and wildly powerful enemy who was about as “other” as one could get. Hell, the Shadows operated like literal demons with trick bargains and vast webs of manipulation in order to impose their order on the universe. It’s not hard to see why one would fight against them but on the matter of Earth Gov, it’s trickier for a number of reasons.
For one, everyone on staff has a personal connection – they’re fighting former allies, after all. For another, this is all the result of an administration change rather than their core mission in perpetuity. The goal is not to vanquish but to overthrow and then facilitate a transfer of power because the worst thing they could do is establish perpetual military rule. Finally, they know that many on the other side feel conflicted about their duty, the morals, and their loyalty to the people of Earth. Many are convinced Earth Gov is in the right because of a steady diet of propaganda and a lack of an environment where this can be pushed back on. But, as we see with Sheridan asking Franklin to ready the Shadow telepaths just in case, the line of how moral one is in a fight is a fuzzy one.
I like that we’re now getting to ask these questions about the purpose of war, the necessity of violence, and what happens when one goes from a complete underdog fighting literal and existential destruction to what is more akin to a civil war. It also continues to remind us that this war isn’t about just one thing. It’s a far more layered conflict, especially with the inclusion of Proxima-III & Mars who both want to self-govern, one in the wake of Clark’s choices and the other as part of a long-standing desire. As the conflict rages on, Sheridan will have to reckon with these aspects. Here’s hoping he does it well.
Continued below3. And the Battle Rages On
After the episode opened on a pretty firm declaration of war, I was not surprised we ended up getting a big battle during the episode. What I didn’t expect was for them to win so quickly and for Proxima-III to be nothing more than a backdrop for the opening salvos of this war. It’s nice that the battle isn’t drawn out but I was hoping to get a little more development on the ground of the planet since it’s been a pretty important part of the background noise of Babylon 5 for a good while.
I suspect this was due to the condensed nature of the season but I can also see how Straczynski would want to push forward and center the conflict not on the ground but on the blockade in space. This changes the narrative purpose of the battle from liberating the world to establishing how this fighting is going to go and firmly showing how different a war it will be from what came before. It also gave us a couple new characters and made the world feel more lived in than we’ve felt in a while.
Being stuck on B5 is great but there are only so many times we can see the same corridors and aliens before you begin to wonder if the rest of the universe is even real, you know?
4. The Representative From Security Disrespectfully Abstains
It looks like Garibaldi’s growing distrust of the B5 crew has finally come to a head and he’s chosen to leave the stations for redder pastures. I can’t say I’m surprised but it still kills me to watch, especially because it’s both in and out of character for Garibaldi. It’s odd because this solitary schtick he’s had is so at odds with the guy who was fighting alongside the command crew just half a year ago. It tracks, though, because of the fissure he’s had with Sheridan and the way he feels that HE’S been alienated for daring to question Sheridan. It isn’t one thing that gets him to leave, just like it wasn’t one thing to get him fighting with Sheridan, but instead a terrible combination of things, fed by whatever was done to him at the start of the season.
It’s really good writing and set up, even as it makes me want to scream at the guy for being so stupid and stuck in his head. Sheridan really did need Garibaldi at his side, keeping him honest, just as Garibaldi needed Sheridan so they could act as checks on each other. By separating the two, they’re each going to end up in a worse place than before and someone, probably Bester, is going to take advantage of that.
I also wanted to draw attention to how much I appreciate the little developments JMS includes without making them central to the narrative, like Vir being drunk and haunted by his role in the death of Emperor Cartagia. It’s a short scene but a fantastic one, thanks also to Stephen Furst’s acting. So much heavy lifting was done in those couple minutes AND in the couple minutes at the end, juxtaposing the joint statement announcement and Garibaldi leaving for Mars. Such a well-put together season.
5. Londo & G’Kar at the Bar
I could have spent all the space I’ve spent on the war on the one conversation G’Kar and Londo have, it’s just that good. Londo wants to help Sheridan by having the Centauri and the Narn issue a joint statement in support of B5 to give it some legitimacy and to potentially pledge more ships to the force. This is a monumental shift for Londo, not least of which because he’s asking G’Kar for his help, but also because this is something without a clear angle that benefits him.
This is a moment where Londo’s growth is apparent, even if he still remains bitter, cantankerous, and hateful. He is paternalistic and imperial when it comes to the Narn and that has not changed but he does know that while he may not be able to change, he can swallow his pride and work to ensure, even in the smallest of ways, his hatred does not get passed on.
Continued belowG’Kar, on the other hand, refuses his overtures of reconciliation, though perhaps reconciliation is too strong a word. Londo is offering up an apology and a token of that atonement and G’Kar refuses both. He does not want what amounts to words, as full as they may be of remorse and truth, after the agony he was put through personally and via his people. It is exactly what Londo deserves, as hard as it is to watch Londo get rebuffed. Because Londo is smart and understands people, he does not get angry at G’Kar for his refusal, as he might once have. Because he is being sincere, he knows that this is STILL far better than he deserved and that, once, G’Kar may have accepted without hesitation but now, after all Londo did, that goodwill has been burnt, beaten, and broken.
G’Kar owes Londo nothing and so he gives him nothing. Later, though, he gives Londo a concession because it will benefit Sheridan. It is on his own terms and makes it clear that, in this, they are willing to agree but not align. It’s small but important, and those are often the biggest decisions of all.
That about does it for now. Join me again in a week for Lyta revelations, Garibaldi’s trip to Mars, and the forward motion of the White Star Fleet on the station where everything changed in the year of destruction and rebirth.
This is Elias. Signing out.
Best Line of the Night:
Sheridan (to Marcus): “Thank you for that ray of sunshine. Next time I need to be depressed, I’ll remember to give you a call.”
