The Babylon 5 First-Timer's Watch Log.
Okay, for some reason I'd thought there'd be more on the final disc. Two episodes to go means I'm probably not going to see Vir become Emperor, or see anyone figure out Londo is being controlled by the Drakh, and I've probably seen my last of Lyta and G'Kar as well.
Gods I hope I'm wrong, that's like...most of the cast that I liked, that I was able to muscle through this show for.
But okay, here we go.
Objects at Rest
We begin with people apparently mourning the end of the show. Oh, they're talking about moving the diplomatic stuff to Minbar, but let's be real here; half the cast is already off the set, this is the show saying goodbye to itself. Meh.
And then, Ta'Lon is the recipient of G'Kar's last message. He is to be the next Narn Ambassador. Hm. He's a good choice, I think, in that while I doubt he's much in common with Vir, at least he isn't likely to blame Vir for everything under the sun.
Oh jeez. And we're also getting to see the doc choose his replacement. I swear, we're maybe five minutes in and already this episode feels like the last day of school. It's eight hours until you're actually FREE, but everybody knows fuckall is getting done and yet are required to go through some kind of motion anyway. SOMEBODY BLOW SOMETHING UP ALREADY.
Ten minutes in and now it's Delenn packing. But we have some interesting signs of something potentially skuzzy, or at least uncomfortable, from Lennier.
Garibaldi's way of running a business makes me grin. I'm not sure if it'd actually work (I mean in a bottom line sense) but it's a nice change regardless.
...Aaaand the doctor slips away quietly. Lessee. That leaves Sheridan and Delenn and (in theory?) Vir and Ta'Lon.
I just realized - probably hugely belatedly - that Lennier is wearing monkish bathrobes. DRAT YOU JEFF RYAN.
*snorts* He knows, because he was watching ISN too, that the whole universe now knows exactly when he's leaving. And still faced with the (almost completely human) crowd who want to hear words of farewell, he puts his pregnant half-Minbari wife on the spot. Sheridan, you ass.
Ah, I got it reversed. It's not Sheridan and Delenn saying goodbye, it's Captain Lochley and Zack, who're staying with Babylon 5.
Wait. Why are the ambassadors staying on B5 if the alliance HQ is moving to Minbar?
Ahhh. And at last, Lennier's obsession gets the better of him. Gollum has tried to bite the Ring off Frodo's finger in the heart of Mount Doom, and don't think that's not exactly the parallel I suspect the showrunners were going for, because otherwise I'm stuck with "what the fracking fuck did you have him lose his shit in the penultimate episode for, were you that starved for plot?" I dunno if he's gonna get tossed into Mount Doom for this but Sheridan's probably first in line to take a big damn bite out of Lennier's ass. He's got star immunity.
Although I am currently wondering what the fuck Sheridan was thinking, given the door was sealed for quite a good reason and now that seal is broken without the underlying cause for the seal having been addressed.
Yah. That's Sheridan's "you're dead" look. Not that I blame him. Somebody trying to kill you is a perfectly sound reason to want to kill them in my book. Although taking a shuttle and trying to run away is not speaking to Lennier being in a normal frame of mind.
Okay, Delenn's ability to sense Shadow-aligned things (and people) is really, really neat. Pity she's pregnant and thus half of what she sees can be put down to "hormones".
mmm. I realize that a lot of people will want to kick Lennier's head in, and he does deserve it, but this is probably the only thing the show's done pretty well. Lennier is obsessed. That's not a rational state of mind. He's been obsessed with Delenn from day one. And he's done remarkably well in keeping that obsession from hurting her, or anyone around her, or himself, up until this point. And I call it to his credit that he realizes that what he did crossed a line (not just 'upset Delenn', but crossed a line) and that his solution is to stay the fuck away from Delenn until he's atoned. (And, quite likely, has managed to mentally let go of her.) Anybody who doesn't think that's difficult is invited to go watch a few of the early seasons of Criminal Minds. Me, I can talk about it because been there done that, so in this alone I will give Lennier props. Getting the fuck away from that with which you are obsessed is the first and hardest step to getting over it. He cannot be near Delenn. He knows it. Now, he says he has to "redeem himself in her eyes" but...that alone wouldn't be enough. He'd want to do that where she could see. Personally I suspect his time away, among the Rangers, has started to crack that obsession's hold a bit. Because otherwise, her saying things like "don't go" and "I can't imagine a life without you in it" would do some dangerously BAD shit to his head.
Poor Londo. No liquor, no ability to beg for help. And he probably set that whole trip up just to try to beg for help, too. And...they really think that in the sixteen years between now and this unborn baby coming of age, that Londo's not going to do something so egregious that they question just GIVING their kid an urn from him without examining it first? Okay maybe, because Sheridan is kind of deeply stupid at times, but...really?
And we get a long, LONG speech from Sheridan to the unborn baby. Hooboy.
Sleeping in Light
So...Sheridan dreams of death, gets up, puts on...what, full Ranger regalia to go wandering? Seriously? What happened to bathrobes? (Well. Ranger regalia IS bathrobes, just bathrobes with more pins.)
Ah, he's to die soon. So all the old gang must be gathered. In, apparently, varying amounts of agetype latex.
VIR IS EMPEROR! Please tell me he doesn't have a keeper on him.
Rangers of the future, I see, are not so big on robes, and have instead gone for longcoats. This, I can cope with.
Okay, so we've seen all the old crew, thankfully in a minimum of latex, now where is Sheridan and Delenn's kid?
G'kar gone too? Aww.
Okay. I frankly do not feel sorry for Sheridan. Knowing how much time he has, he has time to make sure he can die with no regrets. But for Delenn this is pure torture. Her, I feel sorry for. She's the one that has to live with the empty spaces.
And Sheridan goes to vanish in light, and the Babylon 5 station gets blown up because Reasons.
And that's it. End of series.