In the second episode of the second season of Babylon 5, this is becoming cruel. I’m only two episodes into this season, and I’m just so, so wrong. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Babylon 5.Â
Trigger Warning: For discussion of grief
How is this season happening HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DEAL WITH ALL OF THIS
The Darkness
At this point, I feel confident that the Shadows are that weird, pseudo-invisible race we saw Morden talking to in the season one finale, and that they’re the Darkness that G’Kar warns of. That warning, though, comes with yet another fascinating transformation. The changes hinted at last season are now coming to fruition, and the idea of a G’Kar who is willing to put aside his need for revenge to save everyone is utterly captivating. In just a single episode, it’s clear that his experience out on the Rim changed him. Oh, he still has a desire for vengeance; that hasn’t gone away. But by the time he returns to Babylon 5, his motivation has changed. What he saw fucked him UP. Uninhabited words are now full of a race long ago told to have waged war on the entire galaxy. Now, because this is part of the Narn’s religious text, there’s an element of doubt that the other council members experience, namely Sheridan and Mollari. (Well, Mollari is more complicated, and I’ll get to him.) Plus, they didn’t see any of the things G’Kar did, such as those creepy-ass ships that attacked the Narns. So there’s a frustration here because the audience knows G’Kar is right, that there’s a terrible force gathering strength and allies in the Centauri, and it’s only a matter of time before they unleash their power on the rest of the galaxy.
How the hell do you deal with that? G’Kar ends this episode in defeat. He can’t accuse Mollari of leaking the information on the Narn recon mission, and his proof is gone. How can he convince these people that they need to band together to save themselves from a greater threat? It’s a mirror to Lennier’s conversation with Delenn before she emerged. How the hell are these cultures going to overcome their differences?
Mollari
Y’all, Londo Mollari is on a dark path, and I’m worried. I don’t believe there’s any question in his mind that he’s allied himself with a powerful, violent force. Twice now, his conversations with Morden have ended in the death of other Narns. Granted, it may not be ten thousand of them this time, but that doesn’t exactly exonerate him for leaking the recon mission. Those poor Narns were destroyed within seconds of their jump, and the Shadows are just going to continue picking them off, aren’t they? Morden warned that it would be one step at a time. How many other beings are going to have to die? Does Mollari regret what he’s done, or is his ambition so high that he can quietly justify his actions? Oh, y’all, this is so much darker than I expected, I’M SCARED.
Sheridan
I recognize that the show has a lot of exposition work to do for Sheridan upfront, so these first two episodes are rather heavy on storytelling for him. “Points of Departure†introduces him and his reputation to us; but “Revelations†reveals a more personal history. Sheridan’s wife died two years prior to the present day, and for those two years, Sheridan has been unable to progress in his grief because he feels he is responsible for her death. What I got from this plot is that Sheridan is a workaholic, and his focus on his work isn’t always a positive thing. However, his perception of events is skewed because he didn’t know his wife’s side. He punished himself for two years, despite that Anna was always going to be on that ship. That isn’t his fault! Still, grief works in funny ways, and I appreciate that we got to see a vulnerable side of Sheridan so early into the show.
Delenn
HI, THERE ARE SO MANY PLOT TWISTS IN SEASON TWO ALREADY, BUT NONE OF THEM FUCKED ME UP MORE THAN THIS ONE. Oh my god, Delenn’s transformation was TO BECOME PART HUMAN. No wonder this was so controversial and so necessary. What better way for the Minbari to understand humanity—and hopefully remain friends and allies with them—than for Delenn to become human? I’m still blown away by this. How human is she, exactly? What are the biological differences? How will other Minbari react to her when they see her? How is this going to affect future events? Will the warrior caste hate her???
WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHOW DOING????
The video for “Revelations†can be downloaded here for $0.99.Â
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