The Babylon 5 First-Timer's Watch Log.
The Corps is Mother, The Corps is Father
BESTER! Evil Chekov, it's a delight to start a new disc with you in it.
Awww. And they introduce him to 'Chen Hikaru'. Pretty sure that isn't an accident; the fans may think B5 and ST are at war, but the show clearly never has.
Okay, probably not as many notes on this ep as I have put in on many others, but.
The renegade of multiple personalities bit. I kind of get the feeling the entire point of this part of the story is to tell the audience that Bester isn't pure evil, that he really does care about telepaths, that he's got reasons to feel as he does, and all I can think is "dude. Show runner. Please stop effing assuming I'm a moron here." I've sat through four goddamn seasons of telepaths being 99 percent wonderful people in absolutely shitty situations. I am frankly at the point where even the PsiCorps mother ship in hyperspace seems both justified and reasonable given the crap telepaths have faced and continue to face.
And if you expected me to be horrified that the cadet both understood the mundane had to die, and was willing to personally oversee it...again I am at "please stop effing assuming I'm stupid here". That is what happens when, by rhetoric and treatment, you convince someone that someone else is not human. Bester genuinely believes that mundanes are less than human. This is not a belief unique to him, it is endemic throughout PsiCorps, and yes you can absolutely get entirely normal-around-each-other human beings who still treat human-beings-who-are-not-their-tribe like absolute shit. I point you to racists, sexists, anti-semitists, fundamentalists of every stripe, etc. Human beings can very easily learn to treat other human beings like they're not human at all, and even believe those other human beings are not human at all, and that is the danger of isolating groups of humans from each other and rhetoric of exceptionalism.
I expected the background notes to refer to Himmler's speech at Posen, because THIS ENTIRE EPISODE IS SHOUTING THAT KIND OF THINKING IN BIG BOLD LETTERS, but apparently the showrunner didn't realize just how anvilicious his anvil episode is, and just noted "Hitler painted roses". So help me if I meet the showrunner for Babylon 5, I am going to need someone to hold me back from punching him out of sheer aggravation.
Meditations on the Abyss
And we open with Delenn sneaking out of bed to go meet with someone, and someone else deciding they can lay claim to her. I do so love reminders that Delenn honestly needs no one to rescue her from anything. Bonus points for the broken finger.
That said, that torch Lennier's carrying for her is about the size of Lady Liberty's at this point, and only Delenn could fail to see it. I commend Lennier for trying to get the fuck AWAY from the source of his obsession, because that is NOT easy. But I wince for him, nonetheless.
OMG VIR YOU NEVER CEASE TO BE MORE ADORABLE EVERY APPEARANCE.
"Just borrowing this, I'll be right back"....DEATH TO THE FRUIT STAND! (death to all oppressive vegetable sellers!) Vir, you're ever so adorable, you really are.
And we close on Garibaldi demonstrating why drinking alone is a bad idea.
Darkness Ascending
Garibaldi's subconscious is so overt it could audition for Silent Hill.
And I am having a very hard time believing his line that he's not losing his shit to the drink. Honestly if he's lapsed more than once, you'd think he'd notice the signs.
...Sheridan is much more intelligent when Delenn is being his brain.
Lyta, Lyta...at last you're taking an approach that the rogue telepaths should've taken from day one - deal directly with the nonhuman powers. G'Kar's a very good place to start, but you might be too late. He's changed kind of a lot...
Lennier...you may be only doing this to impress Delenn, but fuck if you are not wholly impressive. You are a cunning and devious and dangerous bastard and I for one salute you. You're still never going to get into Delenn's pants, because life does not work that way, but you're still a damned impressive bastard.
And Londo, if you can't hear that and think "we did it and they're about to prove it", something's fucking with your head.
G'kar you are so awesome I would happily hug you.
OKAY SERIOUSLY? SERIOUSLY PEOPLE? YOU HAVE A SEKRIT MEETING AND INVITE EVERYONE EXCEPT THE GUY YOU'RE GOING TO ACCUSE? Maybe it's just my years on a mush, and a few in mush administration, but THAT NEVER GOES WELL. And it's ALREADY not going well. Way to shoot yourselves in the feet.
And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder
And continuing my last comment, Londo is exactly right to say he has every right to see the evidence against his people, and every right to address that evidence. Locking him out is not heroic. It's flat out cowardly. ESPECIALLY since Sheridan and company have every reason to believe Londo has no idea what's going on.
Oh, Londo. You are not that stupid. But I will freely concede that you truly have no other option than to deny. By shutting you out, they've given you no chance to defend yourself. And you're definitely right to be pissed about that.
Yeah. That video is kind of ...unquestionably damning. The bit about having children on board makes it a bit anvilicious, but...well, I don't expect subtle from this show anymore, so yeah.
...Withdrawing before you can be kicked out is a statement, but not much of one. Done that one myself more than once. It's basically a dignity-saver.
Oh ffs. Is this the 'adult ambassadorial' version of "if you leave now don't think of ever coming back"? Come ON.
G'kar...there really is no scene in which you are not awesome anymore, is there? *hugs* You're darling.
Oh, Garibaldi, shut it. Just fucking shut it. I'm not hearing 'great character' I'm just hearing 'alcoholic', and i don't waste my breath or time on that.
Zack...you covered for an alcoholic because he's your friend, and now he's been assigned a critical mission. If his drinking fucks this up there aren't going to be enough "I'm sorry"s in the UNIVERSE for you.
Oh my gods G'kar on Centauri Prime. I just want to put my chin in my hands and griiiin, and waaatch, and griiiin. And cheer.
Zack, pucker up and get your knee pads on, 'cos you're gonna be taking this one up the ass and owing lots of others plenty of kissing. Never, ever, cover for an addict.
Sheridan, losing your shit like that is...understandable, albeit mainly for someone at least ten years younger than you are. It's also stupid, and unproductive, and pointless. And if you weren't the star of this show you'd have been assassinated for it.
At least, Londo, this time you stood up for G'kar. And frankly a cell is probably the safest place for you at the moment.