Mark Watches ‘Babylon 5’: S03E11 – Ceremonies of Light and Dark

In the eleventh episode of the third season of Babylon 5, JESUS CHRIST, THIS SHOW IS TOO MUCH. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Babylon 5.

Trigger Warning: For discussion of addiction, grief, racism, and xenophobia.

It’s gotta be said: this episode tackles like ten subplots at once, and it’s masterful. It doesn’t feel overcrowded, it doesn’t feel rushed, and I am in awe at the way JMS’s script balances each of these things with care. There’s lots to talk about, so LET’S GO.

Two Parts

After Londo’s prophecy was given to him, my main interest was in seeing his reaction to it. Knowing that he only had one chance left to avoid the “fire” that was coming for him, would he behave differently? Would he seek redemption or goodness, or would he pursue himself instead? It’s fascinating to think of his arc in “Ceremonies of Light and Dark” with this in mind because we’re given a character who is working to prevent a disaster, but who still suffers from the same problems—namely a lack of empathy—that got him in this dark place at the start. So, this episode sort of answers that question: Londo is trying, but it’s going to take a lot more than this for him to find the right path.

But let’s start with his poisoning of Lord Refa, which carries an ironic weight to it. In order to move forward, Londo relies on the “old” ways, which in this case is the Centauri love of poisoning rivals and competitors. However, the reason Londo does this is a perfect example of the contradiction of his character: it’s both admirable and self-centered at the same time. He is absolutely pushing Lord Refa to distance the Centauri Empire away from Mr. Morden and the Shadows because he suspects that they are truly The Worst. But even that framing of them is so faulty because… dude, they annihilated an entire military station in seconds in Quadrant 37. Londo knows exactly how destructive, violent, and powerful they are, so he kinda softballs it here. Regardless, his reasoning is solid: Morden’s associates are going to carve a great and terrible hole in the universe, and allying with them is a mistake.

At the same time, he wants this to happen to save Centauri, right? His prime concern is that the Shadows will turn on Centauri one day, and that’s why they’re splitting up Centauri forces into multiple conflicts. Like… he’s not wrong??? I definitely believe that’s why the Shadows are doing what they’re doing! Londo lacks care for what Centauri is doing to other races and cultures, though! He’s still fine with an expanding empire, he still peddles in xenophobia and has no problem being a force of oppression to other people. And there’s the contradiction: there’s a poison deep in Londo’s soul, one that is utterly worse than what he gave Lord Refa. I love the dual nature of that poison because I think it works perfectly as a metaphor for Londo’s characterization. He long ago devoured half of a poison that’s been waiting for its companion. Will Londo avoid drinking the other half, or is he barreling towards a future in which it is inevitable that he consumes it?

Letting Go

I’m continuing to warm up to Marcus, and this episode was a huge help for me to understand who he is. Indeed, “Ceremonies of Light and Dark” is like a giant episode of group therapy, and I love this sort of character examination in my fiction. What are the reasons why these people are the way they are? With Marcus, his introduction felt hasty, but the show is now filling in the pieces in ways that feel substantial. I say that because it’s not like his backstory—explaining his motivation for joining the Raiders—is a new thing. We heard it very early on! But this episode gave it a weight: Marcus’s guilt over failing to listen to his brother sits upon his soul, and it torments him. His sense of grief is so intense that he literally believes he has lost everything in his life, that he has nothing left to give for Delenn’s Ceremony of Rebirth. 

In terms of craft, this Ceremony is a BRILLIANT means of exploration. For Marcus, it allows the audience to experience his act of letting go, one that is later hinted at during Garibaldi’s confession as the thing he fears will destroy him. And I like that contrast: what sets Marcus free might be the thing that undoes Garibaldi. So, how will Marcus change in the future? How has this affected him?

Remainders

There’s a cutting and scathing line from Delenn in the middle of this episode. I’m learning that in moments of high pressure and tension, Delenn is not afraid to speak the truth, first of all, and it’s so goddamn pleasing to see her stand up to others, knowing that the cost might be her life. It’s so invigorating! And that’s the case with the unnamed Sniper (literally how he was listed in the opening credits) in this episode. This episode felt intentional about something else: the notion of lone actors of terrorism. I understood why Delenn told the Sniper that he was alone, and I also noticed that he was not literally alone. She meant it in an internal sense, that his soul was poisoned (ha!) by the very things that he believed. 

But there are people around him, and JMS builds a believable and terrifying network of men who all conspire to murder someone to get what they want. Having the Sniper be nameless felt so purposeful: this man can be anyone. There are examples of him all throughout history, of men who have a deep-seeded joy with violence and enacting that violence on people who they deem to “deserve” it. And look, I don’t want to ignore that I don’t really know all the reasons for the Earth-Minbari war, so there might be a power imbalance here I don’t quite understood. Still, the Sniper’s words about dismembering a Minbari felt so horrifying. (That song didn’t help, either.) But they felt real. There are people who delight in war, and it brings out something horrific in them. Once you couple that with the intense hatred these men feel for aliens, for the humans who help them or ally with them, and you’ve got a dangerous combination. 

Oh god, this show continues to be relevant to our current state of being in a waking nightmare, IT’S TOO MUCH.

Ceremonies of Light

I imagine if you split up this episode based on screentime—how much time Marcus gets, or the Ceremony of Rebirth, or the hostage plot, or Londo threatening Lord Refa—you’d find that each of these stories is rather short. Which astounds me, because all of them are so detailed and impactful, so let’s just appreciate that??? But of all of them, the Ceremony of Rebirth is the one I’ll probably remember the most. It’s such a small thread compared to the others, at least until the final couple of scenes. Well, not quite; Lennier’s confession to Marcus is actually a significant moment, but even then? I actually thought this episode would end without the Ceremony taking place. Still, Lennier confessing his eternal love for Delenn was jaw-dropping, yet completely unsurprising in hindsight. Of course he felt that way! It explains his behavior so much, you know? Yet it packs an enormous punch, one that hints at the caliber of confessions we’ll see later.

Because holy shit, that scene in the Medlab is SO FUCKING MUCH. Sheridan confesses his love to Delenn as part of the ceremony. I mean… we basically knew that, too? But to hear it confirmed out loud was a lot. But then Garibaldi admits that he’s afraid all the time, that he isn’t sure he can ever let go. (Of what? His fear? His bravado? His sobriety?) Dr. Franklin finally admits to his addiction to stims, which means he has taken the first step towards addressing it. But exactly zero people are surprised that I was most destroyed by Ivanova admitting that she thinks she loved Talia Winters. Oh, boy, do I ever love sad queer shit, first of all. It like… fuels my whole body? Maybe it’s because I’m a sad gay, but look… I am aware that this show is wading into a trope that is difficult and challenging for many of us to watch. At the same time—and I say this having read the comments on the post for the episode in which we lost Talia, as well as having a LOT of conversations about Bury Your Gays and unhappy queer stories with my queer friends—I wanna say that I appreciate that we’ve got a bi woman talking about grief. Part of the reason Bury Your Gays often stings as much as it does is because there usually aren’t any other gay or bi or lesbian or queer characters left behind. The sole representation was killed off. But having another character under that umbrella who gets to talk about it, who gets to admit that they may have loved someone… well! As sad as it is—I’d much prefer the world where they get to be together—I can’t deny how powerful it is to see a woman who is a main character get to say that they loved another woman. And I know that relationship is a mess because where did Talia start and end? Was she as a person ever in love with Ivanova, or was it all a manipulation? 

I’m just… very, very happy that Ivanova got to say it. And there’s a petty part of me that’s also like, “Suck it, homophobes and biphobes. You can’t take this part of Susan Ivanova away from us.” 

The video for “Ceremonies of Light and Dark” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

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