The military sucks, the station is threatened with BOOM at least twice, and the military sucks. 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. Two Fast, Two Furious
After our first “Last time on…” segment, we get the resolution to last week’s cliffhanger! Turns out, an Earth heavy cruiser (read battleship IN SPACE) comes out of the warp gate, essentially threatening the station to hand over jurisdiction of the planet to them. It doesn’t set a great tone for the Earth military and combined with our previous encounters with them, as well as with Psi Corps and the changing whims of the senate, it continues to portray just how different and special Babylon 5 is. They stand for peace and diplomacy, when much of Earth doesn’t. They want to understand the universe, not horde its resources for itself or for any perceived military advantage.
It’s funny because technically, the station management is made up of military officers but all of them have been at odds with the main governmental and military structures for one reason or another. Ivanova because of her hatred of Psi Corps, Garibaldi because of his drunken past and for being the only good cop in a rotten place, Sinclair because of his penchant for putting people, not self-serving, corrupt policies, first and Talia Winters because of her ambivalence towards the good Psi Corps truly does. Doctor Franklin is the only one that doesn’t fit the mold but his status as station doctor forces him to make choices that those back on Earth might not like.
We’re already positioned to not like Pierce and his constant disregard for the lives of those on the station as well as the warnings of the officers on board serves to strengthen that dislike. His appearance also allows for us to watch the militaristic posturing that other space media indulges in, *cough* Star Trek *cough,* from the outside. It’s scary and tense which makes all the attempts by the B5 crew to defuse the situation or delay it all the more important and creative.
2. Planet Sized Boom
It’s amazing how quickly this particular situation escalated between the end of the last episode and this one. There’s the aforementioned Pierce asserting command of the station as well as fighting with the exiles from the Varn, the alien from the machine’s, planet and then there’s that planet GETTING READY TO BLOW UP. It even gets so bad that Sinclair and Ivanova begin the process of evacuating the station. Echoes of the prophecy are more overt this week, with Ivanova’s repetition of “boom” and the first discussion of evacuation since the show began. Crisis is averted by the end but the lingering shadow of that declaration continues to hang over their heads, whether they remember it or not.
3. A Centauri and Two Minbari Walk into a Medlab
Babylon 5 likes to shake up its dynamics, specifically between the ambassadors, and sets them up in really great, natural ways. In part 1, one of the opening scenes is Londo and Delenn negotiating on behalf of their respective governments. Then, Draal, Delenn’s old mentor, Londo and Sinclair are visited by the spectre of Varn asking for help. Now, Londo, Delenn and Draal all get together to sneak down to the planet with Varn in order to stabilize the planet. So far, we haven’t seen much Londo Delenn interaction, making their presence together, and the tone of their story, all the more interesting.
It also leads to a few of my favorite moments in the episode, both the somber ones and the silly ones. On the silly end, there’s Londo’s joy and glee at sneaking around, flying the ship past the blockade and trying to figure out where the landing thrusters are. On the somber end, there’s the whole conversation about their lives and finality of it all. Draal and Londo are both willing to give themselves up to the machine in order to save the rest of the station, although I suspect Londo was more willing to brave the journey knowing it wasn’t him who would end up remaining. We didn’t know Draal for very long but he will be missed. Delenn’s send-off of him was perfect too, showing the growth of the acting and writing of the show.
Continued below4. Space Battleship Hyperion 2258
Probably the best space battle of the show so far takes place in this episode. Between Londo’s mad-dash to the planet, Garibaldi’s chasing of him, Pierce’s ship fighting with Takarn (the exiled butts who want to steal the planet) and the B5 fighter, it’s an action-packed few minutes. I caught myself wondering just how impressive this was when the show first aired. Was it well received or was it slogged off? Nowadays, the CGI is horribly dated but it is apparent that the creators knew how to work with their limited tools for designs and utilized very effectively. The composition of the battle was fantastic and while it certainly didn’t look “real,” it had a verisimilitude that kept everything unified.
5. Lise and the Witch’s Forest
I didn’t talk so much about this last week but Garibaldi’s fretting over Lise is another great subplot for the two-parter. It’s small comparatively but it works on a whole host of levels to further our understanding of Garibaldi and to move his character arc forwards. Much of Garibaldi’s persona, and much of his job, is built on appearing strong and decisive so anytime he allows himself to open up, usually to Sinclair, it’s a moment of importance and the show treats it a such. He’s very introspective and speaks to a fear that is more prevalent today than it was back then; the fear of failing to reach out.
Today, we have so many varied ways of contacting those around us that to not do so, especially when it’s someone we care about, can feel like a colossal failure that builds over time. Once communication is lapsed long enough, the fear of what awaits you on the other end, of who that person is, of who they believe you are, takes over, paralyzing any further attempts to reestablish contact. The mind constructs a life, maybe varied lives, and can convince itself that now that it has been so long, they have probably forgotten all about you. That you have changed too much and any contact would feel hollow, like old friends at a high school reunion who discover that their tastes have drifted too far or who discover their high school friendship was a result of proximity and not compatibility. The ties which bound them together, once slack, are discovered to be brittle and shatter.
That is what Garibaldi fears. It is what makes the revelations at the end, that Lise is happily married, all the more gut wrenching. Because it confirmed Garibaldi’s fears. That life moves on. It is sad but it is the nature of all things. Yet, in the act of reaching out, he found a new bond. In the shattered remains of what came before, there is a new thread, one he stitched together by reaching out. His fears, which were multitudinous and varied and conflicting, amounted to little more than a passing moment of awkardness. He accepted them and, in turn, found peace even while being broken hearted. Well, maybe peace is the wrong word considering his griping about who Lise married but acceptance, at least, is there.
That about does it for now. Join me again next week for Babylon X Babylon, the magic triangle of power and magic, and mysteries in the jumpgate near 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 Line of the Night:
Garibaldi: “What am I supposed to do? I’ve never felt this helpless before. The one woman who meant anything to me is on Mars. Maybe she’s alive, maybe not. Either way, I can’t do a thing. This planet is about to blow up. What can I do? Arrest it?”
