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selenakAnd thus starts my favourite sequence of episodes in the show.
The Hour of the Wolf
Not sleeping very well these days, I empathize with Ivanova's framing narration. The season 4 opener doesn't immediately resolve the two cliffhangery mysteries left from s3 - what became of Sheridan, and what happened to Garibaldi? -, but it quickly establishes the new status quo on the station - everyone on B5 is still reeling, the alliance is threatening to break apart, the Vorlons are planning something (and Kosh II has zero interest in rescue operations), G'Kar is the only one on the station who wants to go after not Sheridan but Garibaldi. Most importantly for this reviewer, though, my favourite subplot for the next few episodes kicks off as Londo arrives on Centauri Prime, meets Emperor Cartagia, realizes he's crazy, meets Crispy!Morden, has the dubious joy of seeing part of his visions play out in real time as Shadow vessels arrive on Centauri Prime, decides action is called for and calls Vir to start a two men conspiracy against the Emperor.
(Note that this time, he does tell Vir what's going on from the get go. Including the fact that this will involve murder.)
Cartagia is one of the few all-evil villains of the show, and one wouldn't want him another way. Worthan Kimmer's performance and JMS' writing are both blatantly influenced by I, Claudius' version of Caligula, specifically by John Hurt's performance in the tv version, and it works beautifully in a Centauri context. As with Hurt's (and Robert Graves') Caligula, it's not just the crazy that's so chilling, it's the crazy in combination with the capriciousness, and the intelligence, because Cartagia isn't stupid, and Londo has to be on top of his game to survive. Also, unlike with Caligula, the fact Cartagia is Emperor at all is partly Londo's responsibility, as Morden reminds Londo in this episode: "If there's a madman on the throne, it's because you and Refa put him there." (Refa's original description of Cartagia to Londo back in the s2 day was "the Emperor's nephew, a young man who is malleable and sees things the way we do". Ha.) Meaning: the Shadows being there and Cartagia being there are both on Londo. Not exclusively, but mostly. And the need to step up and deal with it was never greater.
Meanwhiile, Vir is an angel in Centauri form, and doesn't even make Londo sweat waiting for his reply. See, Londo, if you treat him as an equal and ask instead of plot first, tell later, he'll do anything for you. (Well, as long as the end goal isn't genocide.) It's the first time Londo uses the term "friend" to describe their relationship. Morden uses the same term earlier in the incredibly spooky (even upon rewatch) scene they have earlier, but with Morden it's more like Vizzini calling something "inconceivable" in The Princess Bride.
What I was wondering back in the day, and what I'm still curious about: if the Shadows are able to save/resurrect Morden (not in immediately healthy form, he does look like a walking corpse, and he's clearly not in the best mental condition, either, but still, he's there) from being in the blast zone of a thermonuclear bomb, shouldn't they be able to do that for themselves as well? Or are humans simpler organisms than Shadows and thus easier to resurrect? Anyway, Morden still being around is a pretty big hint, in addition to him still being in the credits, that Sheridan isn't dust in the wind, either, even before the final scene. I hadn't expected him to be permanently gone, so I wasn't exactly surprised, but I was worried about Garibaldi, whom we didn't see at all in the season opener. G'Kar deciding to go after him has been narratively well prepared through their growing friendship through the third season (and is really instrumental for the ensuing plot to happen), but it does strike me that G'Kar really is the only one making such plans. I mean, it's understandable Zack can't, as Garibaldi's second he's needed right now, and yes, Sheridan is more important in the war, but you'd think that Ivanova considers doing something as well. (Not go after him herself - she really can't, even less than Zack, because going after Garibaldi is not going to be a quick trip with the White Star - but maybe send one of the pilots?) Then again, given the sheer amount of pressure she's under, it probably helps to focus on just one thing at a time.
The way the episode ensures Londo is wearing his s1 purple coat - not the black coat he's been sporting since s2 - when his "Shadows over Centauri Prime" vision fulfills itself makes me smile. As for the sight itself, I remember gasping the first time I saw it. Considering this particular image first showed up in The Coming of Shadows (after Londo has requested the Shadows should attack the Narn outpost and thus started a war, but before word of this event arrives on the station), and it's another example of JMS planting something which he expects the audience to recall in detail seasons later, and this working beautifully. (And chillingly.)
Lastly: the scene between Delenn, Kosh 2 and Lyta. "Respect is irrelevant." Quite.jesusisbatman thinks the true purpose of the Sebastian test/torture back in s2 was to ensure Delenn would do anything for the cause and accept Vorlon authority uinquestioningly, and there's a lot to that, but if it was the case, that test failed, because Delenn means what she says here. And just in case the audience misses how ominous the Vorlon's behavior is, we get treated to another transfer from Lyta to the encounter suit, but where with original Kosh, Lyta was looking ecstatic when this happened, here she looks shaken and, dare I say it, abused. Speaking of Lyta, that she's willing to risk life, limb and sanity to go with Delenn and Ivanova to Z'ha'dum (in fact, it's her idea) on the miniscule chance they might hear from Sheridan is something to keep in mind half a season later, in the episode Epiphanies. More then.
Whatever happened to Mr. Garibaldi?
Nothing good, that much is clear from the moment when we finally see him near the end of the episode. Which isn't in a Shadow vessel anymore, but in human custody. I don't renemember whether I realiized the guy entering the room after Garibaldi has been knocked out is wearing a Psi Cop uniform the first time I watched, because they're not the only ones wearing black, but I do now.
The G'Kar and Marcus combination has not been since since A Late Delivery from Avalon, and it's entertaining. Were it not for the fact that I know where G'*Kar is going, I'd regret they only get a few scenes on their Garibaldi seeking quest, but as entertaining as these scenes are, they can't compete with G'Kar/Londo. Seriously, did I mention this sequence of episodes (the first six of this season) form my favourite sequence of episodes in this show? Londo, Vir AND G'Kar on Centauri Prime, having to work together - it doesn't get better than that. Writing or acting wise. This is my personal fannish Nirvana. The scene where G'Kar is dragged before Cartagia and Londo and Londo's expression! And then their scene in the cell! This time, we do see how Londo makes his pitch when suggesting to G'Kar to join a murderous plot of his (now a conspiracy of three), and the intensity is already fantastic while he monologues, but what makes it even better is G'Kar's naming conditions for his help. (Note: the way Londo says "you're not in a position to bargain, G'Kar" always strikes me as containing a note of delight - that G'Kar does bargain, isn't just agreeing. He would not be G'Kar otherwise.) And of course G'Kar goes for broke - the freedom of Narn vs his cooperation in Operation Cartagia. It's another sign of the changing tiimes and how serious this is that Londo doesn't bargain and simply accepts, making that promise. (Which, btw, is als implicitly promising something else - Londo will only be able to fuilfill such a promise if he's the most powerful person on Centauri Prime. "Advisor" certainly isn't going to cut it.)
Meanwihle on the station: Delenn is starving herself until Franklin revives her spirit with a Sheridan recording, and then she comes up with a Sheridan-style plan for a near suicidal assault on Z'ha'dum. Here I have changed my mind on various rewatchs. Back in the 90s, I didn't like it (i.e. the depth of her despair, that she was actually willing to die to reunite with Sheridan, because there was a war going on), but now I think it was necessary to show how guilty she felt and how desperate she was because I think Delenn herself didn't realize how much she'd come to love John Sheridan, the person (as opposed to Sheridan, good ally and necessary to fulfill her prophecy) until their argument in the s3 finale. Delenn has seen herself as chosen for a destiny for most of her life, and this is her moment of complete desparation, which most of the characters go through - but she also comes out of it again.
Lorien: used to be a character I didn't like for being too much of a plot device/literal deus ex machina, but I must have mellowed, for verily, he and his philosophical musings do not annoy me the way they used to on earlier occasions. The idea of a First One predating both Vorlons and Shadows, uniting the "Who are you?'" and "What do you want?" questions, fits with the more Tolkienesque elements of B5 - if the Vorlons and Shadows are Maija, Lorien is a Valar, and of course his name is another Tolkien giveaway. Speaking of the Maia, I compared "Jump! Jump now!" with "Run, you fools!" in my last review. Now, Gandalf survive his jump and tete a tete with a Balrog because he's a Maia, and even so, it is a kind of death/rebirth thing. Sheridan evidently isn't a Maija, he's a human being... but one with a piece of Kosh inside him, as Lorien points out. The Vorlons, as could be seen most recently when Kosh 2 transferred from Lyta back into his encounter suit, are in their raw form energy creatures, so within a fictional universe, it's possible they'd survive a thermonuclear blast, or at least survive it in the sense that Gandalf did his Balrog experience, i.e. go from Gandalf the Grey to Gandalf the White, who is and isn#t the same afterwards....
"Do you have anything worth living for?" as opposed to "worth dying for" is a good question, and given that Lorien and Sebastian/Jack the Ripper are played by the same actor, carries an additional level. And lastly, another reason why I'm not so irritated by Lorien anymore: "this character dies or almost dies and in the state between life and death has a few realisations" is awfully difficult to visualize, so giving Sheridan someone to talk to to externalize the process for the audience was probably the only way. All this being said? I still stand by my heretical claim which is spoilery for the rest of the show.
Do
you
have
anything
To wit, that Sheridan's personal character development is over now, and that he could have remained dead, with his plot functions in the remaining show divided between Delenn and Ivanova. At some point, someone really should write that AU.
Worth
living
for?
The other episodes
The Hour of the Wolf
Not sleeping very well these days, I empathize with Ivanova's framing narration. The season 4 opener doesn't immediately resolve the two cliffhangery mysteries left from s3 - what became of Sheridan, and what happened to Garibaldi? -, but it quickly establishes the new status quo on the station - everyone on B5 is still reeling, the alliance is threatening to break apart, the Vorlons are planning something (and Kosh II has zero interest in rescue operations), G'Kar is the only one on the station who wants to go after not Sheridan but Garibaldi. Most importantly for this reviewer, though, my favourite subplot for the next few episodes kicks off as Londo arrives on Centauri Prime, meets Emperor Cartagia, realizes he's crazy, meets Crispy!Morden, has the dubious joy of seeing part of his visions play out in real time as Shadow vessels arrive on Centauri Prime, decides action is called for and calls Vir to start a two men conspiracy against the Emperor.
(Note that this time, he does tell Vir what's going on from the get go. Including the fact that this will involve murder.)
Cartagia is one of the few all-evil villains of the show, and one wouldn't want him another way. Worthan Kimmer's performance and JMS' writing are both blatantly influenced by I, Claudius' version of Caligula, specifically by John Hurt's performance in the tv version, and it works beautifully in a Centauri context. As with Hurt's (and Robert Graves') Caligula, it's not just the crazy that's so chilling, it's the crazy in combination with the capriciousness, and the intelligence, because Cartagia isn't stupid, and Londo has to be on top of his game to survive. Also, unlike with Caligula, the fact Cartagia is Emperor at all is partly Londo's responsibility, as Morden reminds Londo in this episode: "If there's a madman on the throne, it's because you and Refa put him there." (Refa's original description of Cartagia to Londo back in the s2 day was "the Emperor's nephew, a young man who is malleable and sees things the way we do". Ha.) Meaning: the Shadows being there and Cartagia being there are both on Londo. Not exclusively, but mostly. And the need to step up and deal with it was never greater.
Meanwhiile, Vir is an angel in Centauri form, and doesn't even make Londo sweat waiting for his reply. See, Londo, if you treat him as an equal and ask instead of plot first, tell later, he'll do anything for you. (Well, as long as the end goal isn't genocide.) It's the first time Londo uses the term "friend" to describe their relationship. Morden uses the same term earlier in the incredibly spooky (even upon rewatch) scene they have earlier, but with Morden it's more like Vizzini calling something "inconceivable" in The Princess Bride.
What I was wondering back in the day, and what I'm still curious about: if the Shadows are able to save/resurrect Morden (not in immediately healthy form, he does look like a walking corpse, and he's clearly not in the best mental condition, either, but still, he's there) from being in the blast zone of a thermonuclear bomb, shouldn't they be able to do that for themselves as well? Or are humans simpler organisms than Shadows and thus easier to resurrect? Anyway, Morden still being around is a pretty big hint, in addition to him still being in the credits, that Sheridan isn't dust in the wind, either, even before the final scene. I hadn't expected him to be permanently gone, so I wasn't exactly surprised, but I was worried about Garibaldi, whom we didn't see at all in the season opener. G'Kar deciding to go after him has been narratively well prepared through their growing friendship through the third season (and is really instrumental for the ensuing plot to happen), but it does strike me that G'Kar really is the only one making such plans. I mean, it's understandable Zack can't, as Garibaldi's second he's needed right now, and yes, Sheridan is more important in the war, but you'd think that Ivanova considers doing something as well. (Not go after him herself - she really can't, even less than Zack, because going after Garibaldi is not going to be a quick trip with the White Star - but maybe send one of the pilots?) Then again, given the sheer amount of pressure she's under, it probably helps to focus on just one thing at a time.
The way the episode ensures Londo is wearing his s1 purple coat - not the black coat he's been sporting since s2 - when his "Shadows over Centauri Prime" vision fulfills itself makes me smile. As for the sight itself, I remember gasping the first time I saw it. Considering this particular image first showed up in The Coming of Shadows (after Londo has requested the Shadows should attack the Narn outpost and thus started a war, but before word of this event arrives on the station), and it's another example of JMS planting something which he expects the audience to recall in detail seasons later, and this working beautifully. (And chillingly.)
Lastly: the scene between Delenn, Kosh 2 and Lyta. "Respect is irrelevant." Quite.
jesusisbatman thinks the true purpose of the Sebastian test/torture back in s2 was to ensure Delenn would do anything for the cause and accept Vorlon authority uinquestioningly, and there's a lot to that, but if it was the case, that test failed, because Delenn means what she says here. And just in case the audience misses how ominous the Vorlon's behavior is, we get treated to another transfer from Lyta to the encounter suit, but where with original Kosh, Lyta was looking ecstatic when this happened, here she looks shaken and, dare I say it, abused. Speaking of Lyta, that she's willing to risk life, limb and sanity to go with Delenn and Ivanova to Z'ha'dum (in fact, it's her idea) on the miniscule chance they might hear from Sheridan is something to keep in mind half a season later, in the episode Epiphanies. More then. Whatever happened to Mr. Garibaldi?
Nothing good, that much is clear from the moment when we finally see him near the end of the episode. Which isn't in a Shadow vessel anymore, but in human custody. I don't renemember whether I realiized the guy entering the room after Garibaldi has been knocked out is wearing a Psi Cop uniform the first time I watched, because they're not the only ones wearing black, but I do now.
The G'Kar and Marcus combination has not been since since A Late Delivery from Avalon, and it's entertaining. Were it not for the fact that I know where G'*Kar is going, I'd regret they only get a few scenes on their Garibaldi seeking quest, but as entertaining as these scenes are, they can't compete with G'Kar/Londo. Seriously, did I mention this sequence of episodes (the first six of this season) form my favourite sequence of episodes in this show? Londo, Vir AND G'Kar on Centauri Prime, having to work together - it doesn't get better than that. Writing or acting wise. This is my personal fannish Nirvana. The scene where G'Kar is dragged before Cartagia and Londo and Londo's expression! And then their scene in the cell! This time, we do see how Londo makes his pitch when suggesting to G'Kar to join a murderous plot of his (now a conspiracy of three), and the intensity is already fantastic while he monologues, but what makes it even better is G'Kar's naming conditions for his help. (Note: the way Londo says "you're not in a position to bargain, G'Kar" always strikes me as containing a note of delight - that G'Kar does bargain, isn't just agreeing. He would not be G'Kar otherwise.) And of course G'Kar goes for broke - the freedom of Narn vs his cooperation in Operation Cartagia. It's another sign of the changing tiimes and how serious this is that Londo doesn't bargain and simply accepts, making that promise. (Which, btw, is als implicitly promising something else - Londo will only be able to fuilfill such a promise if he's the most powerful person on Centauri Prime. "Advisor" certainly isn't going to cut it.)
Meanwihle on the station: Delenn is starving herself until Franklin revives her spirit with a Sheridan recording, and then she comes up with a Sheridan-style plan for a near suicidal assault on Z'ha'dum. Here I have changed my mind on various rewatchs. Back in the 90s, I didn't like it (i.e. the depth of her despair, that she was actually willing to die to reunite with Sheridan, because there was a war going on), but now I think it was necessary to show how guilty she felt and how desperate she was because I think Delenn herself didn't realize how much she'd come to love John Sheridan, the person (as opposed to Sheridan, good ally and necessary to fulfill her prophecy) until their argument in the s3 finale. Delenn has seen herself as chosen for a destiny for most of her life, and this is her moment of complete desparation, which most of the characters go through - but she also comes out of it again.
Lorien: used to be a character I didn't like for being too much of a plot device/literal deus ex machina, but I must have mellowed, for verily, he and his philosophical musings do not annoy me the way they used to on earlier occasions. The idea of a First One predating both Vorlons and Shadows, uniting the "Who are you?'" and "What do you want?" questions, fits with the more Tolkienesque elements of B5 - if the Vorlons and Shadows are Maija, Lorien is a Valar, and of course his name is another Tolkien giveaway. Speaking of the Maia, I compared "Jump! Jump now!" with "Run, you fools!" in my last review. Now, Gandalf survive his jump and tete a tete with a Balrog because he's a Maia, and even so, it is a kind of death/rebirth thing. Sheridan evidently isn't a Maija, he's a human being... but one with a piece of Kosh inside him, as Lorien points out. The Vorlons, as could be seen most recently when Kosh 2 transferred from Lyta back into his encounter suit, are in their raw form energy creatures, so within a fictional universe, it's possible they'd survive a thermonuclear blast, or at least survive it in the sense that Gandalf did his Balrog experience, i.e. go from Gandalf the Grey to Gandalf the White, who is and isn#t the same afterwards....
"Do you have anything worth living for?" as opposed to "worth dying for" is a good question, and given that Lorien and Sebastian/Jack the Ripper are played by the same actor, carries an additional level. And lastly, another reason why I'm not so irritated by Lorien anymore: "this character dies or almost dies and in the state between life and death has a few realisations" is awfully difficult to visualize, so giving Sheridan someone to talk to to externalize the process for the audience was probably the only way. All this being said? I still stand by my heretical claim which is spoilery for the rest of the show.
Do
you
have
anything
To wit, that Sheridan's personal character development is over now, and that he could have remained dead, with his plot functions in the remaining show divided between Delenn and Ivanova. At some point, someone really should write that AU.
Worth
living
for?
The other episodes
no subject
Date: 2022-06-26 01:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-06-26 05:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-06-26 03:43 am (UTC)Me, during the end of 4x01/beginning of 4x02: And like even before we got the reveal Sheridan was still alive I was all "...you went to Z'ha'dum, stuck around for approximately ten seconds, didn't hear anything from a guy who had just fallen from a two-mile height, and you were like 'eh, now we're convinced he's dead'?" Oh wait. I guess she didn't hear him because HE'S DEAD. APPARENTLY. Like how does he NOT HAVE A PULSE? What does that EVEN MEAN? Is he some kind of... Shadow-animated... zombie? Is he gandalf?
Me at Delenn: YES DELENN, YOU SHOULD HAVE LOVED HIM LESS AND TRUSTED HIM MORE. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A GOOD IDEA.
Me at Cartagia: Cartagia is giving Londo a gift?? Probably a Shadow ship or somethimg, knowing Cartagia. Oh no, is it the "keeper"?? OH NO IT'S G'KAR! OMG, G'kar, still asking about Garibaldi <333333
Me at the Londo/G'Kar scene in the cell: OMG, this is why people are obsessed with Londo & G'Kar.
Me: ...there's more? ...of course there will be more! AGH.
As for the sight itself, I remember gasping the first time I saw it.
agh, yes! And it's something where it works better watching with other people, as you mentioned it as a prophecy yet to be fulfilled, which I would have completely forgotten about otherwise.
I don't renemember whether I realiized the guy entering the room after Garibaldi has been knocked out is wearing a Psi Cop uniform the first time I watched, because they're not the only ones wearing black, but I do now.
I didn't!
no subject
Date: 2022-06-26 05:55 am (UTC)And who is this Lorien dude????
Jack the Ripper. Just kidding, but it is the same actor who played Sebastian in "Comes the Inquisitor", just covered under latex and make-up.
Me at the Londo/G'Kar scene in the cell: OMG, this is why people are obsessed with Londo & G'Kar.
Well, their relation fascinated me before that, but those scenes on Centauri Prime certainly kicked it into yet another gear! And yes, lots more to come. This is why Bruce Boxleitner (Sheridan) said that while you had to be at your best with having a scene with either Peter Jurasik or Andreas Katsulas alone, if you were in a scene with both of them in the same room, interacting, you might as well be the wallpaper in terms of audience attention. Londo/G'Kar forever! :)
no subject
Date: 2022-06-28 05:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-06-28 05:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-07-01 06:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-06-26 10:55 am (UTC)Anyway, I don't really have any new thoughts right now, but these episodes are superb as always. Sometimes I feel like we're all living in the Hour of the Wolf these days.
no subject
Date: 2022-06-26 11:44 am (UTC)Aside from being enjoyable from a B5 pov, this rewatch brought back a lot of memories of our discussions back then, and how you coined the term brachiarte. :) I even found our Very Special Episode Guide again!
no subject
Date: 2022-06-27 08:39 am (UTC)Indeed. Reality really jumped the shark back in 2016 and now this pandemic storyline is dragging on forever and the behaviour of many of the villains has become completely cartoonish and implausible!
Aside from being enjoyable from a B5 pov, this rewatch brought back a lot of memories of our discussions back then, and how you coined the term brachiarte. :)
I swear there are people on tumblr using brachiarte to describe Centauri tentacles who don't even know who I am! Truly, my most lasting contribution to fandom. (Honestly, I'll take it.)
I even found our Very Special Episode Guide again!
Great Maker, I had completely forgotten this :D. "G'Kar serenades Londo as they share close space. Things get really hot" is still my favourite.
no subject
Date: 2022-07-01 06:37 pm (UTC)OMG, this is amazing!
no subject
Date: 2022-06-27 06:15 pm (UTC)>>from being in the blast zone of a thermonuclear bomb, shouldn't they be able to do that for themselves as well? Or are humans simpler organisms than Shadows and thus easier to resurrect?<< Theory, with no back up, the bomb was used to set something else off that was more deadly to Shadows?
>>And just in case the audience misses how ominous the Vorlon's behavior is, we get treated to another transfer from Lyta to the encounter suit, but where with original Kosh, Lyta was looking ecstatic when this happened, here she looks shaken and, dare I say it, abused.<< Yes (gah!). Given they had very little dialogue (or anything else) to work with, it's a very quick way of getting the audience to know that new Kosh is not our Kosh.
Spoilery reply to spoilery question - the show sort of does later on, with the thing with the thing that they have to do after the other thing happens. (It's very sort of. If you squint, a lot). [Vague statement is vague to avoid spoilers]
no subject
Date: 2022-09-25 07:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-09-26 07:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-09-26 09:40 am (UTC)