selenak

Point of no Return

Aka the one where Majel Barrett Roddenberry visits and our heroes have their showdown with Night Watch. I have to say, while I was hoping Zack would make the right decision when watching this the first time, I couldn‘t be sure, which made him doing so ever so much more satisfying. (Still does upon rewatch.) Something that changed due to external circumstances: in the 1990s, the whole Night Watch business reminded me of course as intended of the Gestapo and how quickly the regular police was folded into it in 1933. (Rather, how the Gestapo - which stands for Geheime Staatspolizei, Secret State Police - was created out of an amalgan of the regular police and the secret service. This is why the post 1945 constitution is pretty firm on the police forces and the various secret services needing to be kept apart by all means.) Not all, there were individual heroic figures, but the majority. So younger me thought the Zacks were in the minority in such a scenario and I thought JMS showing a considerable part of the security guys being Team Night Watch - hence the importance of G‘Kar‘s idea and the Narns coming through - was pretty realistic.

However, younger me did not expect an attempted coup instigated by a US President to happen within two decades, or that the military not being on board with this might have contributed to saving democracy (for now), or that the Republicans would transform into an authoritarian party still supporting said guy afterwards and half the country with them. That a second attempt might succeed. Instead of the 1930s, I‘m associating the immediate past and the possible future, and that makes for yet another viewing experience. Corwin‘s „how could this happen? What did we do wrong?“ is extra haunting this way.

Meanwhile, in another plot line: Majel Barrett als the widow of the late Centauri Emperor was inspired casting. I wonder whether JMS would simply have brought back the seeress from s1 if he hadn‘t been able to get her. Back in the day, there were a lot of discussions about what Londo‘s three chances at redemption might be, and I‘ll provide my own headcanon after some spoilery space, since it‘s impossible to talk about them without spoiling the rest of the show, but for now, another question, re: the two previous chances he already wasted. No.1 seems obvious to me - The Coming of Shadows. I would say Turhan‘s heart attack provided both G‘Kar and Londo with a chance, since it put a halt to both their plans that far. (G‘Kar‘s plan to assassinate the Emperor, and Londo having been talked by Refa into making a gung ho Emperor attacking speech with a few predictions which would subsequently become true.) Both were confronted with the opportunity to look at what they‘d been doing and correct their course (or not). G‘Kar, after hearing from Franklin what the Emperor truly wanted to achieve, abandoned all assassination plans and instead was willing to accept the apology and the peace offer, even reaching out to Londo. Who, however, previously had donee just the opposite. The whole „speech“ idea had been Refa‘s. Londo‘s idea when faced with the fact that the Emperor would die soon was to organize the attack on a Narn outpost which he knew would start another war. If he hadn‘t done that, if he had reconsidered or just waited instead post Turhan‘s heart attack, he would have heard G‘Kar‘s offer without war on his hands, and it would have been a very different personal and political history from that point on. So far so clear.

However, what was the second wasted chance at redemption? Because several come to mind. Urza‘s death as a wake-up call? The mass bombardment of Narn? (A certain s5 episode would suggest that at least Londo‘s own subconscious regards the later as a crucial point.) Something else?

Now, on to the three opportunities Lady Morella predicts which are yet to come. Newbies, jump to the next episode.

How

Will

It

End?

„Save the eye which does not see“ during first broadcast caused some speculation that it was referring to the „Eye“ from s1, the Centauri artifact Morden retrieved for Londo in his debut episode. Only a few, me not among them, had taken note of the fact that in Londo‘s death vision, G‘Kar is without an eye, and thus said eye could be the one meant, until s4 showed G‘Kar being blinded on said eye and made the meaning evident. However: given G‘Kar in the same episode is his now enlightened self, „does not see“ does not really apply, so I‘m not sure about the phrasing. „Do not kill the one already dead“ - would work for both Morden and Sheridan at different points, but my own choice is for Morden, because satisfying as Morden‘s death was, if Londo hadn‘t killed him, a Morden who found himself left behind by the Shadows might have warned him of the Drakh and the Keepers. „Give in to your greatest fear and let it destroy you“ - works for the death vision, but not really, because I don‘t think that death is Londo‘s greatest fear at that point of his life. (He was ready to die years earlier.) So my choice for this was always what Londo does in The Fall of Centauri Prime - sacrifice himself for his people, not by dying but by volunteering for a hellish life where he knew every moment would be a torment.

Three

More

Chances

!

Severed Dreams

As I recall from conventions, fannish lore has it that when they were shooting this episode and the scene came where Sheridan asks „Where is General Hague?“, some joker replied „he was detained at Deep Space 9“, referring to the actor indeed being busy shooting a two parter there, playing a Starfleet admiral who also is engaged in an attempted coup, this time on the villainous side. Anyway, Hague hadn‘t made much of an impression on me back in the s2 day, so I can‘t say I missed him, then or now. What struck me this time around is that until Sheridan hears the news of his death, he really does cling to the hope this all could still end with Clark & Co. arrested and without civil war. But then it sinks in that this won‘t be a brief temporary rebellion, even if everyone gets out alive. What he wanted to avoid in Messages from Earth, he won‘t be able to avoid anymore - he and everyone else on his side will have to shoot on their own people.

The brief scene in which we see the staff at Ops react to Sheridan‘s offer to leave, with one doing so while Corwin upon Ivanova‘s question confirms he‘s good is a good balance, I thought and think, because everyone being ready to join the rebellion would have felt too slick, while Corwin having rethought his „orders are orders“ dogma under the impression of the last few days and deciding to stay is a neat pay off for his scenes with Ivanova a few episodes earlier. However, if and when the rebooted B5 does anything like this particular storyline, I hope that a certain season 5 character will be introduced earlier, because I always felt having at least one fleshed out non fascist character on the Clark side while the war is still raging could have been interesting (but also then in the aftermath, living with the decision), and the spoilery s5 character could be used for that purpose.

Without question, though, my favourite scenes in this episode belong to Delenn. Not just the famous „Only one Captain has ever survived battle with a Minbari fleet. He is behind me. You are in front of me. If you value your lives, be elsewhere“, though that‘s deservedly classic, but her earlier scenes on the Grey Council‘s ship, both the confrontation with the guardian and then with her former collagues, followed by her breaking of the Grey Council. Last season, we‘ve seen Delenn hurt and vulnerable to the rejection she experienced from the Council and some other of her fellow Minbari. She‘s done with that now, and moved on to cold fury. The woman who told Neroon to submit in season 1 is back, but where in s1 her pulling rank came across as somewhat arrogant, here that same conviction („they WILL see me“) feels righteous. Of course, it‘s a very different situation. The Brammer bodysnatching crisis in s1 was something Delenn herself had engineered. Whereas here, the isolationism is something she has always worked against, and of course what‘s at risk is so much more. And Mira Furlan plays it so well you can see why she carries the day and the majority of the now broken Grey Council follows her instead of ignoring her. This is Delenn in Warrior Queen mood, and you can see why she was „the Chosen of Dukhat“.

(Incidentally, I think this is the first time it‘s explicitly said that not only was she present when Dukhat died - which we knew before - but that he died in her arms. It makes what‘s revealed in s4 about ensueing events logical, but I can‘t say I figured it out at this point.)

Because this is a show with consequences, we‘ll see the long term effect the breaking of the Grey Council has on Minbari society in seaons to come, but for now, it certainly saved Sheridan & Co from being court martialed and put into a gulag. The scene where Sheridan calls his Dad has changed for me in the ensueing decades. Back in the day, I thought it was a bit too much, more kitsch than sentiment. This time around, I found it genuinely touching, and „never start a fight, but always finish it“ made me go „aw“ instead of rolling my eyes, not least because I‘ve encounted the line in other JMS works. I think another thing that changed is that by now I‘ve watched so much media with male characters who have terrible relationships with their fathers that the fact Sheridan, like Benjamin Sisko, truly likes his Dad and vice versa feels like welcome relief.

Showing the wounded and the dead at the end, thus concluding the episode on a somber instead of a „fuck yeah!“ mode, is something I appreciate in this show and would call humane if not for this being a misleading term in a sci fi context, because JMS is so good at making us care about various non-human characters in similar situations as well. (The Shadows always excepted.)

Lastly, ISN being invaded and taken over by goverment soldiers: leaving aside the „only one news station“ thing that is very 1990s, it these days associates the few remaining independent or semi independent Russian media and the way they were shut down at the start of the Russian war against Ukraine.

Ceremonies of Light and Dark

To start with a very slight nitpick - I get wanting some comic relief in the third part of a very serious three parter, but the "annoying AI" gag just doesn't work for me, even if he's voiced by Harlan Ellison. I thought then, and I think now: what's the problem? Why not keep the personality?

Otherwise, hostage subplot not withstanding, this is the quiet character epilogue to the previous drama. Oh, and it has one of my favourite Londo scenes of the show, to wit, his conversation with Refa. "...and because I've just poisoned your drink" was such a well delivered punch line. All jokes aside, I think Londo outmanouevring Refa this way makes an important point. It's not that we haven't seen Londo inflict damage and do ruthless things before, but in his scenes with Refa and Morden, they usually came across as the senior partners, so to speak, and also as the ones able to pull the strings. Certainly, Refa thought Londo was a blustery tool, but not someone to take seriously (beyond the Shadow military backup he was able to provide for a time). Here, Londo shows he can scheme with the best of them, that he's quite aware starting wars with everyone else is a terrible long term policy even from a moral-less, pragmatic pov, and that he's willing and able to do something about it. (Not a "good" deed - Londo doesn't do it for the Drazi, etc., but for the Centauri - but one that works, for now.)

The scene with Delenn is also good. As some of you know, I have a theory re: why Londo was on top of Delenn's invite-to-a-reconciliation-ceremony list (other than for the reason she provides), and I'll talk about it in spoilery space, but I'm not surprised he doesn't accept it at this point. He would have if the additional reason is what I think it is, I guess, but despite meaning well, Delenn comes across as patronizing here, and so he declines. Meanwhile, G'Kar has just had his own enlightenment, and also declines, just a bit nicer. Neither of them is there yet.

The villains of the week are on the one hand caricature Evil McEvils, but otoh, the clichés they embody are reality based, so to speak. As we've seen a plenty. They're mainly around as a MacGuffin anyway.

Lennier telling Marcus he loves Delenn "with a higher, perfect love" which is content to remain unspoken and unrequited: oh, Lennier. You're setting yourself up right there. I have no idea how I thought it would end the first time I watched. Anyway, Marcus' own angst by contrast feels a bit over the top. But then Marcus is an operatic character.

Speaking of angst: "I think I loved Talia". See, that's the kind of quiet romantic heartbreak that works for me. Now, as to my spoilery personal headcanon for Delenn's second reason for wanting Londo at that rebirth ceremony.

Will

you

follow

me

It's based on the flimsly fact that a) Londo is the narrator in "In the Beginning" where he knows all about Delenn's actions in the Earth/Minbari war, and b) the fact Delenn was on Centauri Prime before time-travelling Sheridan arrived there. So my theory is that Delenn wanted to tell someone what she never told anyone before, and what she will tell Lennier in s4 - the extent of her culpability in the Earth/Minbari war. If there is someone who is absolutely not in a position to judge her for starting a near genocidal war, it's Londo Mollari.

Into

Darkness

and

Fire?

The other episodes