What do you want? The man in the suit asks. You don’t know what he means. What you do you want? The man in the suit asks again. You tell him you don’t want anything. What do you want? The man asks for a third, and final, time. You tell him everything you want. Everything in your heart. Everything you keep hidden.
The man smiles. You shiver.
Welcome my friends. This is the story of the last of the Babylon stations. The year is 2258. The name of the place is Babylon 5.
Spoilers ahead.
1. Four Ways to Forgiveness
“Signs and Portents” might be one of the strongest episodes of the season so far. It juggles four different plot threads – the eye, the battle of the line, the raiders, and Mr. Morden – all of which intersect, converge and complicate one another. The episode is also briskly paced, packed with information and filled to the brim with mystery and intrigue. It certainly delivers on its title, in more ways than one. As I said last week, this is the episode that gives the season it’s banner.
It’s a fitting title, seeing as how much of season one is laying the groundwork for what is to come for the characters and the many story threads that unspool from the actions and events of season one. Episode thirteen is a perfect encapsulation of this, hence the title marriage. All four plot threads this week are ones that tease and hint at the future of the show.
The Eye for Centauri political machinations. The Battle of the Line for Sinclair’s purpose on Babylon 5 and his relationship to Delenn, the Grey Council, and Delenn’s presence as Minbari ambassador. The Raiders for the status quo, the perils of space and the complicated games at play between the various parties on and off the station. Finally, Mr. Morden for the Shadows and the powerful mysteries surrounding him.
2. The Dispossessed
It’s been a while since we’ve gotten to see Delenn or Kosh, most of the last few episodes focusing on Londo and G’kar’s ever expanding conflicts and the other members of the B5 crew. It doesn’t help that these two are also the most mysterious of the main cast, harboring secrets from everyone including the audience.
It’s also interesting to note that it is Kosh and Delenn who scare and are scared by, respectively, Mr. Morden while the other two, whom we have spent more time with, have similar, all too real, reactions. They have both been harmed by the other. This manifests in petty and humorous ways, such as their bickering by the elevator with a poor station member trapped between them, and in ways most tragic, as when they spill their desires to Mr. Morden.
3. The Eye of the Heron
One thing that this episode does beautifully is building tension through indirect means. Of all the plot threads, Londo’s jewel and the political machinations of the Lord Kiro seem pretty distant from all the others going on. But, other than finding out that Lord Kiro was working with the raiders to consolidate power on Centauri Prime, this thread also raises the stakes for the audience through clever misdirection. The show places Lady Ladira’s prediction of fire and destruction up against a suspicious man radioing the raiders, connecting the two in our mind, and making it seem like the stakes of the episode are much higher than they actually are. For the characters, no one gives Ladira’s predictions much clout, and thus making the burden of this “knowledge” fall onto the audience.
By episode’s end, we know that what she described couldn’t have been connected to the raiders but when she says it has not gone away, it creates a ticking clock. The station will blow up, it is an inevitability, or at least a possibility that will stick in the back of our minds during each subsequent episode, it’s only a question of when.
4. The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
We don’t know why Sinclair was chosen, only that he was. We don’t know why Delenn is the ambassador, only that she is. We don’t know why there are secrets locked in Sinclair’s brain, only that soon, those secrets will come to light. This is one of those plot threads that begs speculation so, if anyone here is following along and hasn’t seen the rest of the show, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below on what’s going on here. Same goes for who Mr. Morden is and what his eerie eerie deal is.
Continued below5. The Left Hand of Darkness
Speaking of Mr. Morden and the heavy but damn effective use of lighting on him, this guy gives me the willies. Ed Wasser’s performance is *chef hand kiss* perfect. Instead of chewing the scenery, he blends in with it. He absolutely nails the character and despite the subdued performance, is instantly memorable. His smile is unsettling, like an animal baring its teeth, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. Plus, the mystery surrounding him is so intriguing.
How’d he get the eye back? Who is he working for/with? Why is Delenn afraid of him and why is he so afraid of Kosh? How’d he even hurt Kosh? What does he want with everyone and what will he ask of Londo next time? Questions about with him and I cannot wait to find out more.
That about does it for now. Join me again next week for a delve into Ivanova’s past, a mediation on grief, and a Rabbi on the station that wraps humans and aliens in two million, five hundred thousand tons of spinning metal . . . all alone in the night. This is Elias. Signing out.
Best Exchange of the Night:
G’kar: “Wait. What do I want? The Centauri stripped my world. I want justice.”
Mr. Morden: “What do you want?”
G’Kar: “To suck the marrow from their bones. Grind their skulls to powder.”
Mr. Morden: “What do you want?”
G’Kar: “To tear down their cities, blacken their sky, sow their ground with salt. To completely, utterly erase them.”
Mr. Morden: “And then what?”
G’Kar: “I don’t know. As long as my Homeworld’s safety is guaranteed, I don’t know that it matters.”
