{"id":7019,"date":"2018-10-09T13:00:52","date_gmt":"2018-10-09T20:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7019"},"modified":"2018-09-30T17:28:12","modified_gmt":"2018-10-01T00:28:12","slug":"mark-watches-babylon-5-s01e13-signs-and-portents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2018\/10\/mark-watches-babylon-5-s01e13-signs-and-portents\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Babylon 5’: S01E13 – Signs and Portents"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the thirteenth episode of the first season of Babylon 5<\/i>, WHAT THE FUCK. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Babylon 5<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For talk of colonialism\/imperialism<\/b><\/p>\n

What just happened? What is this show gonna do to me? THIS IS YOUR FAULT.<\/p>\n

The Eye<\/b><\/p>\n

So, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m gonna try my best to sort through the many signs and portents that this episode just gave me. (I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t resist, NOT SORRY.) It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the first major update to some of the larger arcs that the previous episodes either hinted at or, in the case of Sinclair, whole episodes were devoted to. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a sense of chaos and bewilderment throughout this script, and lord, it was a trip to experience. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clearly intentional, too! We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re supposed to see all these disparate parts and wonder how they converge, AND THEN THEY DO AND I STILL DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T UNDERSTAND IT ALL.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m starting with The Eye. Why? Because there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something here I do<\/i> understand: the Centauri, and particularly Londo Mollari, desperately wish for the glory days of their empire. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been made explicit over the course of the first half of the season, and by the time Morden finally confronts Mollari, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s outright told to the audience. The Centauri Empire is in shambles, and because they no longer hold the same power within the galaxy, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re scrambling to regain that foothold. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help, of course, that matters at home are so complicated and fraught. (Which I notice is a repeated motif; we get the same sense of both Earth and Narn. It seems that only the Minbari are doing okay.) The current emperor hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t shown their face in a year, the senate is a mess, and The Eye promises to at least give the current emperor some credibility.<\/p>\n

But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all glimpsing toward the past, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nothing here about moving into the future but, rather, a desperate grasp at history. That history is so far away, and it slips further from the Centauri with each passing day. Given the events of the previous episode, we know there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still a ton of animosity between the Narn and Centauri, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why the end of this episode worries me so very, very much. Londo is not the sort of character who seems ready to resist the return of an empire. He absolutely<\/i> wants it back! So how do we reckon with that? If Londo is so deadset on the idea of Centauri dominance, is he always<\/i> going to make choices that advance his own people? And will he do that at great expense to others<\/i>?<\/p>\n

The Investigation<\/b><\/p>\n

There aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t so much red herrings in this episode as there are subtle hints and nudges. We are<\/i> supposed to care about Sinclair\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s vulnerable request of Garibaldi, so I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a misdirect that it opens the episode and is then completely unaddressed until the final few minutes. Rather, it sheds light on the episode\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s other plots\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I think. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m only at the theory stage, since so much of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Signs and Portents\u00e2\u20ac\u009d leaves me with more questions, but I feel like Garibaldi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s discovery explains Delenn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actions, which I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get to in a moment. It was creepy to find out that the Minbari rejected every<\/i> candidate to run Babylon 5<\/i> until Sinclair\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s name came out, since that pretty much confirms that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s part of some sort of conspiracy by the Minbari to\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where my theory ends on Sinclair\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s part of this, but he is either perfectly suited for something the Minbari need to happen OR they did something to him during those 24 hours onboard their ship. UGH WHAT THE FUCK.<\/p>\n

What Do You Want?<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m realizing in hindsight how insidious and creepy the design for Morden was. In many ways\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not even sure if Morden is human, so that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a fun thought\u00e2\u20ac\u201dMorden appears as a tempter. As someone ready to make a deal. As one who can drift in and out of the shadows at a moment\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s notice. Thinking back on it now, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s designed in a way that reminded me of how Satan is often depicted in human form, and I wonder how much of that was intentional. Regardless, what he says<\/i> is what intrigues me the most, because my theory here is that he really was<\/i> tempting these three species.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He approached the Narn, then the Minbari, and then the Centauri, and each time, he asked what they wanted until he got what he wanted: the truth of what each species might actually desire. The Narn, through G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar, wanted safety<\/i>. Granted, G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar expresses that through a desire for genocide, but when Morden presses G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar further, the real want comes out in the end. When Delenn is questioned, she immediately notices how the light changes in her quarters, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m assuming that she recognized Morden as one of the Shadows. (I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know if that is their official name or just what Lady Ladira calls them, but I need some means of referring to them, so HERE WE GO.) So: a rejection of the Shadows. Londo does not recognize Morden, and after much pestering, gives up his desire: for the Centauri people to be returned to their former glory and power. It wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a surprising revelation, but I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand what it meant. (Which is not to say I currently do, either; I am working with very little to go on here.) The Vorlons\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, Ambassador Kosh rejects Morden, too, and apparently gets into some sort of altercation that requires their suit to be fixed???? DID KOSH BEAT MORDEN UP?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What I think happened is that the Shadows, through Morden, offered their services. The Vorlons and the Minbari outright rejected them, and the Narn were an appealing target. But Morden offers Mollari a piece of what he wanted, and before disappearing, suggests that the Shadows can offer more. What for\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know. I have no fucking clue where this is going, but I think this is the first major piece of a much, much larger puzzle. Does it mean that the Centauri will work with whoever these Minbari are? No, but I think Mollari might have opened a door he wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even aware existed prior to this.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHOW.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Signs and Portents\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now out in the world!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"