Mark Watches ‘Babylon 5’: S02E13 – Hunter, Prey

In the thirteenth episode of the second season of Babylon 5, this show is TOO MUCH, and I am very nervous about the future. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Babylon 5. 

Look, this batch of episodes in particular really feels like Babylon 5 has become a completely different show. That transformation happened very suddenly at the start of season two, yes, but the dark and twisted plots that now comprise the greater story arc are just… a lot??? This show got so intense! It’s now about government corruption and warfare and genocide and secret plots and mysterious organizations and destiny and there is SO MUCH GOING ON AT ONCE. It’s serialized, but in such a complex way; there isn’t just a single, overarching story, either! And with “Hunter, Prey,” the story of President Clark’s ascension takes a dark path, one that demonstrates just how far the current government on Earth is willing to go to remain in power. 

This story is filtered down through Dr. Jacobs, the then-vice president’s personal physician, and the person with hard evidence that President Clark lied about his viral infection that kept him off Earthforce One. And to be honest, once Cranston showed up, I actually expected that Dr. Jacobs had more than just info on Clark’s health. The show of force brought to Babylon 5 suggested that Dr. Jacobs possessed some HUGE secrets. That’s not to suggest this isn’t a big secret, but I thought it would be bigger. But that’s not a criticism of the text; I actually think this story works better this way. It’s a demonstration of how utterly desperate they are. They’re willing to lie to Sheridan and search every corner of the station for something that is circumstantial at best. But they need to eliminate all threats to stay in power, and that’s what Dr. Jacobs represents. 

It’s also not lost on me how openly subversive this show is about authority. We’re barely halfway through the second season, and a major plot involves the four senior staff members working very hard to defy their superiors and their government. They’re working with a secret coalition of people to prevent the spread of a conservative, neo-fascist element of their world leaders. And we haven’t even dealt with Psi Corps and their influence on all this! How much are they in league with President Clark? Thus, this episode feels like a vital step in the development of this resistance force. (AND IT IS TERRIBLY RELEVANT TO OUR MODERN POLITICAL LANDSCAPE. Which makes this both good writing and REALLY FUCKING UNFORTUNATE.) The team has to work against their own teams in order to save Dr. Jacobs, and the show makes it clear what a huge risk this is. It’s just… deeply entertaining? And compelling as hell??? Because this shit is JUST THE START. That’s the other thing, y’all. It’s only going to get more complicated from here on out. And what if the Babylon 5 staff gets even more damning evidence? What will Clark’s people do? What if Psi Corps discovers the ruse that Talia set up? I hate asking this, but: When will the other shoe drop?

Now, if “Hunter, Prey” had been only about this one plot, I promise that I would have been satisfied with this episode. I do love stories about how resistance organizations form, and watching this unfold in such a deeply complicated setting is a lot of fun. But there’s another subplot here, one seeded all the way back in The Gathering, that is coming to fruition in an unexpected way. The mystery of the Vorlons is almost a running joke at this point, but I don’t mean that as an insult. We just all accept that their bodies are probably non-corporeal and most certainly are so hard to conceive of that they rarely, if ever, show others what they look like. It’s also clear that they are advanced observers, and we know that because of how infrequently they ever get involved in anything. 

And in terms of technology, they’re obviously so, so much more advanced than pretty much any other race we’ve seen on the show. Kosh’s ship, which we get to see for the first time in this episode, is just unreal. It’s an organic creature, one which is alive and sentient and thinking, and it provides the means for the command staff to hide Dr. Jacobs. And while that’s very cool, I am DEEPLY invested in Kosh’s bizarre relationship with Sheridan. We’d seen previously in “All Alone in the Night” that Kosh could communicate to Sheridan’s mind. Whether it was through a dreamscape or from telepathy is left a mystery. But it’s there, and Sheridan finally gets to confront Kosh about it here, and GUESS WHAT. IT ONLY MAKES THINGS MORE COMPLICATED. I really don’t have a theory here, but there’s got to be a reason why Kosh is willing to go on this journey of discovery with Sheridan. Why is Kosh so interested in him? What is there for Kosh to teach Sheridan about himself? 

I don’t know, y’all. I didn’t think I could handle yet another mystery on the show, but I THOUGHT WRONG. It helps that I, too, desperately want to know more about the Vorlons, and I’m hoping that Sheridan’s journey here will shed some light on this species and their culture. MY BODY IS READY.

The video for “Hunter, Prey” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

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