Comments | nhpw: 5.02 vs. 5.02(b) - The Episode that Could Have Been.

nhpw

5.02 vs. 5.02(b) - The Episode that Could Have Been.

Sep 18, 2010 12:00

Like everyone else, I am not extremely excited by Season 5, especially early on. It gets better after Byron dies later, I think, but my rewatch is not that far yet.

That being said - despite recent discussions about Sheridan's orange hair, which then turns into old-man hair, and is actually decent-looking for very little of the season, I find ( Read more... )

b5, musings

Comments 11

kungfuwaynewho September 18 2010, 21:05:22 UTC

I had read so much about how S5 sucked before I started it, and was fairly disappointed in "No Compromises." So when I watched this, I was like, well, those whiners were all stupid. S5 is gonna be just fine.

Then I kept watching, and Byron kept existing, and I kinda got it. I still don't necessarily hate S5 with a passion like some people do, but it really doesn't start clicking till Byron checks out.

I was disappointed that they didn't take the opportunity to make dream sequence Delenn really super awesome and sexy, but what else is new.

nhpw September 19 2010, 14:12:37 UTC

I don't HATE S5. Really, I don't. There are some very good parts about it. Byron is not one of them.

I dunno, I thought Dream Sequence Delenn was pretty cool, being all mysterious with her tarot cards and whatnot. Though I will confess, while I do like this episode a lot, I really don't get the symbolism. I don't get the tarot-card-covered-in-blood symbolism, and I don't get the Sheridan-changes-clothes symbolism, and I don't get the empty-bottles-at-the-bar symbolism. So if somebody wants to clue me in on some of that, I'd be forever grateful.

enigmaticblues September 19 2010, 02:27:05 UTC

1. So much YES on the Domesticated!Sheridan thing. Men being domestic are SUPER sexy, and in spite of the orange hair, he is very sexy in S5.

2. I really want to see your rewrite of S5, because seriously, Byron can die, like, yesterday. PLEASE.

nhpw September 19 2010, 14:08:36 UTC

Re: Domesticated Sheridan. After I wrote this yesterday, I may or may not have returned to my rewatch and subsequently fallen asleep on the couch in front of "The Paragon of Animals." Fail.

But I was awake for the part where Sheridan can't sleep, and he gets up, and then G'Kar rings the bell and runs away, leaving behind his Declaration of Principles. And the way Sheridan gets all considerate about not waking Delenn and comes up to close the glass french doors to the bedroom before he whispers, "Open" -- I may have squeeeeed a little. Just a little.

Here is the one thing I DON'T like about Domesticated!Sheridan in Season 5: It makes me do stupid things like turn to my husband when he's being a douche and say, "Why can't you be more like THAT?" Yeah. I have an open-mouth-insert-foot history a mile long.

kungfuwaynewho September 21 2010, 02:24:56 UTC

But I was awake for the part where Sheridan can't sleep, and he gets up, and then G'Kar rings the bell and runs away, leaving behind his Declaration of Principles. And the way Sheridan gets all considerate about not waking Delenn and comes up to close the glass french doors to the bedroom before he whispers, "Open" -- I may have squeeeeed a little. Just a little.

I looooooooove that scene. And also where she comes out to join him and tucks her little bare feet up underneath her. There was so, so not enough domestic married cutesy shit in S5, seriously.

xphilehb September 19 2010, 03:21:46 UTC

Hmmm...you might be onto something with domestic!Sheridan. However, I find that I just love his face. No matter what you do to his hair and his clothing, his face is still his face, and I love it.

Oh Lennier. I love Lennier. I literally screeched with joy when he first showed up in Season 1 on my rewatch with the roomie. But boy does he make some dumb decisions in Season 5. Of course, I find myself often just getting pissed with Delenn's reaction to him in Season 5. Oh Delenn, just ignoring it will not make the problem go away. STOP BEING ALL AFFECTIONATE BECAUSE YOU KNOW HE LOVES YOU AND THAT'S JUST MEAN!

And very interesting thoughts on the would-be Season 5. I admit that I am completely clueless about what the end of Season 4/Season 5 if there had not been the threat of cancellation.

nhpw September 19 2010, 14:02:58 UTC

Oh Delenn, just ignoring it will not make the problem go away. STOP BEING ALL AFFECTIONATE BECAUSE YOU KNOW HE LOVES YOU AND THAT'S JUST MEAN!

I love Delenn, but yes. She doesn't do Lennier any favors in Season 5. "Pssst, Lennier! Come meet me in a bar in down below to talk about this super-secret mission! ...No, it's too crowded here. Let's move this conversation to a dark alcove in a deserted corridor." Seriously? I mean, I don't think she means anything by it, really, but she's being dense. I chalk this up to not having a lot of experience with romantic relationships before this, but still. Get a clue, woman, and give the guy a break.

kungfuwaynewho September 21 2010, 02:32:35 UTC

Nah, can't agree with Delenn being dense. She played Sheridan like a cheap violin, and had him wrapped around her little finger pretty much right off the bat. And I think she's always been very perceptive, and I can't see Lennier just being in her blind spot. I think she just vapor-locked, and didn't know of any way to just be blunt or tell him to knock it off that wouldn't have been tremendously shameful for him. So she just decided to act like everything was normal, full steam ahead, and hoped that they could just keep their relationship as it was.

I think she was selfish, too. She could have easily found a way to disengage herself from him, like Londo tried to do with Vir when he sent him to Minbar. But she knew she could rely on him for anything and took advantage of that. I wish we could have seen more of the fall-out of Lennier deciding to leave Sheridan to die, because I think she would have had to have felt guilty, at least in part.

nhpw September 21 2010, 02:52:33 UTC

Dense, selfish, same thing.

She was not dense about Sheridan because she was a woman on a mission. Objective #1 with a bullet was to figure out if he could be the right man to lead the fight against the Shadows. And then I think it was sort of, "Oh... PS, I think I'm really falling in love with him, and here's the rest of the prophecy that says we're asposed to get married and make a race-bridging baby."

But she was dense about Lennier times a billion because - WTF? You don't belong in the prophecy and I don't know what to do with you!

Thread 5

chozen_rogue September 11 2011, 06:46:07 UTC

So I know I'm totally late to the party of this post... But I've been working my way through your journals and I saw this and wanted to leave a comment ( ... )