{"id":7021,"date":"2018-10-11T13:00:43","date_gmt":"2018-10-11T20:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7021"},"modified":"2018-10-03T21:20:00","modified_gmt":"2018-10-04T04:20:00","slug":"mark-watches-babylon-5-s01e16-eyes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2018\/10\/mark-watches-babylon-5-s01e16-eyes\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Babylon 5’: S01E16 – Eyes"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the sixteenth episode of the first season of Babylon 5<\/i>, Sinclair must deal with the ramifications of past actions. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Babylon 5<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of consent, brief mentions of terrorism<\/b><\/p>\n

Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, there is so much in the previous episodes that informs what happens here, but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to suggest that this is the only<\/i> reason why \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Eyes\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was so compelling. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a huge part of the value of this story, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also a gripping story of someone abusing their power and nearly getting away with it. Colonel Ari Ben Zayn is one hell of a villain, and aside from one odd moment toward the end, this is an incredible episode and will remain one of the best of season one for me.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SO LET\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S START WITH THE OPENING. This script pretty much immediately tells the audience that Ben Zayn has an ulterior motive and that Gray is not necessarily comfortable with what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about to unfold. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an interesting move, but I must admit it added a layer of tension to this episode that wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have been there otherwise. We know<\/i> this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily about loyalty; Ben Zayn uses the cover of the chaotic situation around Earth and Mars in order to push through this specific investigation. Which is so creepy<\/i>! There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s some heavy shit going on back home, and as this season progresses, that conflict is spreading further and further out into the galaxy. If I heard correctly, there was a terrorist attack on the Mars Colony, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why Sinclair wanted to keep an eye on any weapons transportation.<\/p>\n

Thus, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got a volatile situation; the new President wants his trade and immigration bill passed, but he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s up against the xenophobic factions in the government and the Earth populace. And with the latest attack on the Mars Colony, everything is precarious<\/i>. So, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the perfect breeding ground for Ben Zayn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s vendetta. He can operate under the plan Earthforce set up to determine the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153loyalty\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of their officers and soldiers in order to get back at Sinclair for something\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really do? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s such a striking thing to me, too, because while Bester\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s influence through the Psi Corps is important as well, all of this was because Ben Zayn believed the he<\/i> deserved the position of commander on Babylon 5<\/i>. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s horrifying, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? He wanted to subject the whole staff to these invasive telepathic scans just to get back at Sinclair and take his job.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot more going on here, and I love how deeply complex \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Eyes\u00e2\u20ac\u009d ends up being. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL: IVANOVA. I just??? Have so many feelings about her? I admit that I wish Talia Winters had been a part of this episode, as I think she could have provided an interesting take on all of this. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m actually confused why she wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t around. (Also, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m selfish; I wanted to see her interact with Ivanova, especially<\/i> after Gray caught Ivanova thinking about her. I CAN DREAM, OKAY.) But I was still deeply fascinated by her past. That revelation about how close she was with her mother? HI, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M A MESS. And how does it relate to that trippy, distressing dream that she has? She clearly misses her mother and resents what happened to her, but what was that repeated message? WHAT IS HAPPENING.<\/p>\n

I got the sense that Ben Zayn brought chaos<\/i> with him, that he came specifically to disrupt everything<\/i>, and he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care who he hurt while he did so. Hell, he wanted to hurt people!!! Like, why include Ivanova? Why hurt her? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so fucking evil, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, and in his path for revenge, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll lay to waste anyone. The Babylon <\/i>crew does an incredible job finding every way to resist Ben Zayn, but holy shit, can we also discuss the pacing for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Eyes\u00e2\u20ac\u009d? I love a story that progresses rapidly while still being believable, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m absolutely lobbing that compliment at this script. The odds\/stakes are raised consistently, and every time I thought this episode was going to settle down, NOPE. EVERYTHING GOT WORSE. By the time Ben Zayn relieved Sinclair of command, I was panicking. HOW WAS ALL OF THIS HAPPENING IN A SINGLE EPISODE.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the end, though, this is all about consequence. Previous events inform what happens here, so this doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel like a standalone story. What Sinclair did, what Ivanova experienced, and what happened aboard Babylon 5<\/i> ripped outwards, and it created the perfect storm for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Eyes.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The only nitpick I have is that there did not seem to be a ripple for Gray\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s choice during the climax, which I thought was a big deal. He used his telepathy to cause a human pain, and I feel like that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably a Psi Corps violation? Maybe the fallout will happen later, but I would have loved to see that addressed.<\/p>\n

Otherwise: HOLY SHIT. This was utterly fantastic.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Eyes\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":"