Comments on Babylon 5 S5 "Day of the Dead"
I can't imagine why anyone would have a problem with this episode. Granted, I am a Neil Gaiman and Penn & Teller fan, so in any situation I would probably love it.
My obsession out of the way first: Londo and Adira. I was so happy to see her again, even for this short time. It was so sad not to see her in the episode where she died. For such an intrinsic character I think it was important for her to get one last appearance. And I also sob a bit in retrospect that Londo got his one last night of happiness with her.
My secondary obsessions: Lennier. Having Morden show up was indeed an interesting twist. Not necessarily who I would have expected for him (perhaps Valen/Sinclair?) but in a way fitting. Morden is the ultimate dark prophet, ignored at the peril of others. Everything he has said has come true, and Lennier should not have assumed that just because one is evil one is a liar. But then again, that is the nature of Greek tragedies. One can hear the entirety of one's future, and it won't matter. Even if Sheriden had told Londo his future it probably still would have occurred, because in the avoidance we create the conditions to make it true.
I wish we had seen Vir. Mentally I have Flora's story "Strange Meeting" in which Vir sees Cartagia in my head, and I'm stickin' to it. G'kar also would have been interesting. I've seen some criticism that he did not appear. On the one hand I agree that he of all people should have been open to revelations from the dead. Would he have seen his father? The Centauri Emperor? G'Quan? Who knows. In my head canon, he knew (or had cultural reasons to believe) the dead always lie, or twist the truth maliciously. This belief is present on Earth, that any use of magic or necromancy will have negative consequences. I like to believe that as much as G'kar would have liked to speak to a shade from his past, his belief system held that anything he would hear would be a lie, or somehow twisted, and thus it was better not to hear anything at all. Why tempt fate and prophecy by hearing things you cannot avoid? Lennier might have done well to head that lesson, and Londo (regarding Adira's statement that none would understand him like her).
Now, the part that surprised me was Lochley, insofar as I truly enjoyed it. Generally speaking with B5 I prefer the aliens to the humans by far, with some rare exceptions as storyline goes. However the Zoe plotline was consummate Gaiman. I'm sorry, but there was no question that Zoe and Lochley were lovers at some point, one cannot read "Sandman" without seeing the patterns with which Neil thinks. Why else would Lochley run away from her father, a strict military man, except for a lover affair with another girl? Why else would she have that life-long trauma, why else that faint relief when a life gone hard and sour with Zoe suddenly ended? Seeing them as lovers brought enormous pain to watching this episode, anyone who remembers teenage love knows it never really leaves you, and combined with a guilt like Lochley's over Zoe's suicide she will live with it forever. To an extent I better understand her torrid love affair with Sheriden. She joins the military as her father always wanted, finds the perfect guy to bring home to the family who is the exact opposite of everything Zoe was, and the acceptance is exhilarating. However it wasn't meant for her, and she wasn't meant for him. Once the anti-rebellion died away I think they realized it was a crush gone over the top and separated amicably. I also think that Sheriden was away from home and looking for a partner and jumped at the chance of Lochley, much the same way many boys I saw in college jumped at the first girl who showed interest. But I suppose that's a fanfic for another time.
Anyway, this episode was so wonderful and unique. Thanks for listening to me gush about it.
My obsession out of the way first: Londo and Adira. I was so happy to see her again, even for this short time. It was so sad not to see her in the episode where she died. For such an intrinsic character I think it was important for her to get one last appearance. And I also sob a bit in retrospect that Londo got his one last night of happiness with her.
My secondary obsessions: Lennier. Having Morden show up was indeed an interesting twist. Not necessarily who I would have expected for him (perhaps Valen/Sinclair?) but in a way fitting. Morden is the ultimate dark prophet, ignored at the peril of others. Everything he has said has come true, and Lennier should not have assumed that just because one is evil one is a liar. But then again, that is the nature of Greek tragedies. One can hear the entirety of one's future, and it won't matter. Even if Sheriden had told Londo his future it probably still would have occurred, because in the avoidance we create the conditions to make it true.
I wish we had seen Vir. Mentally I have Flora's story "Strange Meeting" in which Vir sees Cartagia in my head, and I'm stickin' to it. G'kar also would have been interesting. I've seen some criticism that he did not appear. On the one hand I agree that he of all people should have been open to revelations from the dead. Would he have seen his father? The Centauri Emperor? G'Quan? Who knows. In my head canon, he knew (or had cultural reasons to believe) the dead always lie, or twist the truth maliciously. This belief is present on Earth, that any use of magic or necromancy will have negative consequences. I like to believe that as much as G'kar would have liked to speak to a shade from his past, his belief system held that anything he would hear would be a lie, or somehow twisted, and thus it was better not to hear anything at all. Why tempt fate and prophecy by hearing things you cannot avoid? Lennier might have done well to head that lesson, and Londo (regarding Adira's statement that none would understand him like her).
Now, the part that surprised me was Lochley, insofar as I truly enjoyed it. Generally speaking with B5 I prefer the aliens to the humans by far, with some rare exceptions as storyline goes. However the Zoe plotline was consummate Gaiman. I'm sorry, but there was no question that Zoe and Lochley were lovers at some point, one cannot read "Sandman" without seeing the patterns with which Neil thinks. Why else would Lochley run away from her father, a strict military man, except for a lover affair with another girl? Why else would she have that life-long trauma, why else that faint relief when a life gone hard and sour with Zoe suddenly ended? Seeing them as lovers brought enormous pain to watching this episode, anyone who remembers teenage love knows it never really leaves you, and combined with a guilt like Lochley's over Zoe's suicide she will live with it forever. To an extent I better understand her torrid love affair with Sheriden. She joins the military as her father always wanted, finds the perfect guy to bring home to the family who is the exact opposite of everything Zoe was, and the acceptance is exhilarating. However it wasn't meant for her, and she wasn't meant for him. Once the anti-rebellion died away I think they realized it was a crush gone over the top and separated amicably. I also think that Sheriden was away from home and looking for a partner and jumped at the chance of Lochley, much the same way many boys I saw in college jumped at the first girl who showed interest. But I suppose that's a fanfic for another time.
Anyway, this episode was so wonderful and unique. Thanks for listening to me gush about it.