Babylon 5 5x05 - 5x10, and other
More Bab5, and I didn't even have to wait months, this is great!
Learning Curve: Garibaldi, seriously, you have this conversation with Lochley in the mess hall? *sigh*
After Byron pointed it out it was very obvious that Garibaldi didn't even thank the telepaths. Singing about reaching peace in a circle with candles everywhere, you can't get a more cult-like picture.
I liked the Rangers here and the friendly ~rivalry between the two teachers from the religious and the warrior caste respectively.
Strange Relations: Yesss Lyta you tell Zack! "You should stop seeing him", wtf. I still don't think Lyta agrees with Byron on telepaths being inherently superior, but the feeling of being valued must be very appealing. Plus he wants the best for his people, tries to find non-violent solutions, and is good-looking. No wonder she develops a crush. Lyta vs. PsiCorps, I love her being badass :)
Sheridan did not think things through when he gave the telepaths permission to stay on Babylon 5, even though that is his job. Telling poor captain Lochley to deal with it doesn't make that better. I'm not sure if the show meant to portray Sheridan as well-meaning but definitely not competent enough in his important role, but they did.
That Sheridan and Lochley used to be married makes the power structure even more incestuous. Sheridan and Delenn being married and the heads of the Alliance and the Rangers is already problematic.
I used to find Garibaldi's need to know everything amusing, but now it's annoying and I'm definitely on Lochley's side on this one. Garibaldi has no right to know everything about her background, and he has to remember his position and the rules. So does Sheridan. I sympathize with Lochley having to cooperate with Bester because Earthdome demands it.
The easiest solution nobody seems to consider is offering the telepaths asylum. Or is that not allowed under the Alliance constitution? Hard to believe, with the far-reaching power the Alliance has elsewhere.
Secrets of the Soul: Lyta's vision of the Vorlons' experiments on humans was creepy. So now Byron knows.
Other than that there was Franklin working on his project about cross-species illnesses and discovering a hidden genocide, and G'Kar agreeing to accompany Londo to Centauri Prime as a bodyguard. On the one hand I agree with Delenn that a free Narn coming to Centauri Prime would be a symbol, but on the other hand it could also be seen as a Narn serving a Centauri, it's a delicate balance.
LK and I suspect that this episode and the next are in the wrong order: in this one Londo and G'Kar leave to Centauri Prime, in the next one they are on Babylon 5, in the one after that they are on Centauri Prime.
Day of the Dead: Garibaldi met a former lover, Londo met Adira (poor Londo.) Captain Lochley meets an old friend who she ran away with who committed suicide, I liked this look at her past. G'Kar hides out in C&C.
But the most interesting meeting was Lennier meeting Morden. That was a surprise! Morden prophesies that Lennier will betray the Rangers. Lennier says he would never, but I can see it.
Kosh gives Lochley a message for Sheridan, interesting. "Return to the end of the beginning", Z'ha'dum, again?
LK told me the comedians that show up are RL comedians too, nice, but I didn't know them. Zoot-zoot.
In the Kingdom of the Blind: Finally the parasites show up again. Poor Regent. I wonder what the parasites want with Londo that they save his life against that other guy who tried to have him killed.
G'Kar on Centauri Prime was great. The reactions to seeing him and the assumptions that he was here as a prisoner and toy and Londo saying he was free, and then trying to provoke him into whipping the guard. Flirting with Centauri ladies, "animal magnetism", heh.
So the Centauri are increasing weapons production and nobody knows what their army is doing, at the same time unknown but very competent fleets attack trade ships, I would be surprised if it wasn't connected.
The Drazi (or the Praciri, I forgot) ambassador said about the Alliance threatening to attack them if they attacked each other "this is not what we signed up for." Uh, this is exactly what you signed up for, you signed the constitution. If you really thought that the Alliance would not use the power they have you are naïve. This is why writing a real constitution is much more complicated than shown on the show.
Byron, seriously, blackmailing the Alliance council? Why? That's not a good opening move. As telepaths with few ethics there must be much better ways for them to get their way and/or at least take stock of the situation first. Lyta could have talked to Sheridan, for example, and reminded him of what she did for all of them like she did Zack. I loved that Delenn can see their view of the issue.
A Tragedy of Telepaths: Na'toth! I didn't think we'd see her again! Two years imprisoned on Centauri Prime, ouch. I liked Londo's plan to get her out.
Argh, Byron. He means well, but he is a cult leader with a narrow point of view and prejudices that he passed on to his followers without thinking about it. I can see why Lyta stays with him. At first I thought it was strange that she is so passive, but then I thought back and from what I remember Lyta in general is not a person to step forward and act first. With the possible exception of when she insisted to be taken to the Vorlon homeworld, she usually only acts when she feels cornered or when she's asked. I'd have to rewatch to check.
I feel for Lochley here too, trapped in a bad situation and with very little support. She tries her best, and calling in Bester is understandable.
I'd have expected more examples to come up of how other races treat their telepaths, as alternatives to what the Psi Corps does. Byron speaks about telepaths as a whole but everyone around him is human. Some of the people with him also must be quite powerful, they have at least one telekinetic, though not like Lyta and not enough to fight Psi Corps.
I have to roll my eyes when Sheridan and others (Londo etc.) say things like "why are things falling apart now." Remember one year ago, the Shadow War, where whole planets were being blown up? There's nothing wrong with being annoyed at new problems and that after winning the war not everything is perfect, but there's no need to lose perspective.
People are already publishing their Yuletide letters and I enjoy reading them. I know which fandoms I'm going to request, I'm not sure yet about all that I'm going to offer. No Hockey RPF this year because I want to try something different, and I'm contemplating a few fandoms that would be a bit of a challenge but could be interesting.
Pens vs. Leafs tonight! I'm definitely not staying up to watch it. What little self-control I have should at least be sufficient for that. I need sleep. Tomorrow I'll go with friends to an all-you-can-eat jazz brunch, it would be a shame if I fell asleep in the middle.
My mom finally started listening to "Hamilton", and I got LB interested too. I started reading the biography by Chernow, so far it is very interesting.
capsized compiled some great quotes from letters Hamilton and Laurens wrote to each other here.
And for the less entertaining parts of life, I need to figure out how to get back to working on my thesis. I haven't done much the past few weeks and it's past time.
("figure out how to" instead of just "get back to" because I'm back at that stage where it feels like it just... doesn't work. >.< "I just have to do it" is so easy to say and so hard to, well, do.)
Crossposted from Dreamwidth.
comments there.
Learning Curve: Garibaldi, seriously, you have this conversation with Lochley in the mess hall? *sigh*
After Byron pointed it out it was very obvious that Garibaldi didn't even thank the telepaths. Singing about reaching peace in a circle with candles everywhere, you can't get a more cult-like picture.
I liked the Rangers here and the friendly ~rivalry between the two teachers from the religious and the warrior caste respectively.
Strange Relations: Yesss Lyta you tell Zack! "You should stop seeing him", wtf. I still don't think Lyta agrees with Byron on telepaths being inherently superior, but the feeling of being valued must be very appealing. Plus he wants the best for his people, tries to find non-violent solutions, and is good-looking. No wonder she develops a crush. Lyta vs. PsiCorps, I love her being badass :)
Sheridan did not think things through when he gave the telepaths permission to stay on Babylon 5, even though that is his job. Telling poor captain Lochley to deal with it doesn't make that better. I'm not sure if the show meant to portray Sheridan as well-meaning but definitely not competent enough in his important role, but they did.
That Sheridan and Lochley used to be married makes the power structure even more incestuous. Sheridan and Delenn being married and the heads of the Alliance and the Rangers is already problematic.
I used to find Garibaldi's need to know everything amusing, but now it's annoying and I'm definitely on Lochley's side on this one. Garibaldi has no right to know everything about her background, and he has to remember his position and the rules. So does Sheridan. I sympathize with Lochley having to cooperate with Bester because Earthdome demands it.
The easiest solution nobody seems to consider is offering the telepaths asylum. Or is that not allowed under the Alliance constitution? Hard to believe, with the far-reaching power the Alliance has elsewhere.
Secrets of the Soul: Lyta's vision of the Vorlons' experiments on humans was creepy. So now Byron knows.
Other than that there was Franklin working on his project about cross-species illnesses and discovering a hidden genocide, and G'Kar agreeing to accompany Londo to Centauri Prime as a bodyguard. On the one hand I agree with Delenn that a free Narn coming to Centauri Prime would be a symbol, but on the other hand it could also be seen as a Narn serving a Centauri, it's a delicate balance.
LK and I suspect that this episode and the next are in the wrong order: in this one Londo and G'Kar leave to Centauri Prime, in the next one they are on Babylon 5, in the one after that they are on Centauri Prime.
Day of the Dead: Garibaldi met a former lover, Londo met Adira (poor Londo.) Captain Lochley meets an old friend who she ran away with who committed suicide, I liked this look at her past. G'Kar hides out in C&C.
But the most interesting meeting was Lennier meeting Morden. That was a surprise! Morden prophesies that Lennier will betray the Rangers. Lennier says he would never, but I can see it.
Kosh gives Lochley a message for Sheridan, interesting. "Return to the end of the beginning", Z'ha'dum, again?
LK told me the comedians that show up are RL comedians too, nice, but I didn't know them. Zoot-zoot.
In the Kingdom of the Blind: Finally the parasites show up again. Poor Regent. I wonder what the parasites want with Londo that they save his life against that other guy who tried to have him killed.
G'Kar on Centauri Prime was great. The reactions to seeing him and the assumptions that he was here as a prisoner and toy and Londo saying he was free, and then trying to provoke him into whipping the guard. Flirting with Centauri ladies, "animal magnetism", heh.
So the Centauri are increasing weapons production and nobody knows what their army is doing, at the same time unknown but very competent fleets attack trade ships, I would be surprised if it wasn't connected.
The Drazi (or the Praciri, I forgot) ambassador said about the Alliance threatening to attack them if they attacked each other "this is not what we signed up for." Uh, this is exactly what you signed up for, you signed the constitution. If you really thought that the Alliance would not use the power they have you are naïve. This is why writing a real constitution is much more complicated than shown on the show.
Byron, seriously, blackmailing the Alliance council? Why? That's not a good opening move. As telepaths with few ethics there must be much better ways for them to get their way and/or at least take stock of the situation first. Lyta could have talked to Sheridan, for example, and reminded him of what she did for all of them like she did Zack. I loved that Delenn can see their view of the issue.
A Tragedy of Telepaths: Na'toth! I didn't think we'd see her again! Two years imprisoned on Centauri Prime, ouch. I liked Londo's plan to get her out.
Argh, Byron. He means well, but he is a cult leader with a narrow point of view and prejudices that he passed on to his followers without thinking about it. I can see why Lyta stays with him. At first I thought it was strange that she is so passive, but then I thought back and from what I remember Lyta in general is not a person to step forward and act first. With the possible exception of when she insisted to be taken to the Vorlon homeworld, she usually only acts when she feels cornered or when she's asked. I'd have to rewatch to check.
I feel for Lochley here too, trapped in a bad situation and with very little support. She tries her best, and calling in Bester is understandable.
I'd have expected more examples to come up of how other races treat their telepaths, as alternatives to what the Psi Corps does. Byron speaks about telepaths as a whole but everyone around him is human. Some of the people with him also must be quite powerful, they have at least one telekinetic, though not like Lyta and not enough to fight Psi Corps.
I have to roll my eyes when Sheridan and others (Londo etc.) say things like "why are things falling apart now." Remember one year ago, the Shadow War, where whole planets were being blown up? There's nothing wrong with being annoyed at new problems and that after winning the war not everything is perfect, but there's no need to lose perspective.
People are already publishing their Yuletide letters and I enjoy reading them. I know which fandoms I'm going to request, I'm not sure yet about all that I'm going to offer. No Hockey RPF this year because I want to try something different, and I'm contemplating a few fandoms that would be a bit of a challenge but could be interesting.
Pens vs. Leafs tonight! I'm definitely not staying up to watch it. What little self-control I have should at least be sufficient for that. I need sleep. Tomorrow I'll go with friends to an all-you-can-eat jazz brunch, it would be a shame if I fell asleep in the middle.
My mom finally started listening to "Hamilton", and I got LB interested too. I started reading the biography by Chernow, so far it is very interesting.
capsized compiled some great quotes from letters Hamilton and Laurens wrote to each other here.
And for the less entertaining parts of life, I need to figure out how to get back to working on my thesis. I haven't done much the past few weeks and it's past time.
("figure out how to" instead of just "get back to" because I'm back at that stage where it feels like it just... doesn't work. >.< "I just have to do it" is so easy to say and so hard to, well, do.)
Crossposted from Dreamwidth.
comments there.