{"id":7028,"date":"2018-10-15T13:00:10","date_gmt":"2018-10-15T20:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7028"},"modified":"2018-10-08T07:29:47","modified_gmt":"2018-10-08T14:29:47","slug":"mark-watches-babylon-5-s01e19-a-voice-in-the-wilderness-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2018\/10\/mark-watches-babylon-5-s01e19-a-voice-in-the-wilderness-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Babylon 5’: S01E19 – A Voice in the Wilderness, Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the nineteenth episode of the first season of Babylon 5<\/i>, the truth of what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s below the surface of Epsilon III is revealed (kind of), and someone makes a sacrifice. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Babylon 5<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an interesting element to this show that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve noticed, but it really felt obvious in the second half of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Voice in the Wilderness.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The station and its crew largely know that their purpose is diplomacy, and that informs most of their decisions. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re human, of course, so, in the case of Garibaldi, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got a character who sometimes does ignore diplomacy so he can bash someone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s head in. But culturally speaking, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like Garibaldi is an outlier. This show is not depicting a utopia, and the arrival of Captain Pierce is a good example of that. In a sense, I feel like there is a parallel between them\u00e2\u20ac\u201dintentional or not\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthat shows us when these people choose violence of diplomacy.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore just how huge and invasive the Earth\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s military is in this episode, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think this will be the only time they interfere like this. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re getting a portrait of division, one that feels uncomfortably relevant in our current political climate. Back home, President Santiago is dealing with a world that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in chaos. The military doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem all that much of a fan of him, I take it? Plus, there are the Earth-first terrorists, and<\/i> there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the revolt on Mars, and all of this combined gives an atmosphere to the show that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m appreciating. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so complicated, of course, but it feels real<\/i>. Alive. Breathing. Because of that, I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel like Captain Pierce was one-note so much as determined. In his mind, there is a single purpose to Earth Force, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the protection of Earth and their interests. So, the existence of some sort of futuristic technology that can provide endless opportunities to the development of defensive and offensive means for Earth Force is a no-brainer to him. He believes wholly in the orders he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been given, and that\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>is why he comes across as so stubborn. When he talks with Sinclair at any point in this episode, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s this condescension dripping off all his words, as if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just obvious<\/i> why they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re trying to take all that technology. Of course, to Sinclair, who has far more information than Pierce does, the counter to Pierce\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s point is super obvious, too.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thus, we get a clash between intent and diplomacy, and OH LORD, does this episode escalate. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gets so bad SO FAST. Pierce refuses to listen to Sinclair\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s warning that any action on Epsilon III will cause its defense systems to activate a doomsday machine, killing them all. And you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d think that<\/i> threat would be enough to convince someone to give matters a second thought, but nope. NOT AT ALL. But while this struggle is unfolding, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another<\/i> journey happening that gives us an example of an alternative. Mollari, unsurprisingly, hears news of the discovery of Epsilon III, and what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s his first reaction? Well, he wants to know what it can bring the Centauri people. He thinks of himself, and his people, and I fully expected that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d make this all even worse<\/i>. But like moments spread across season one, Londo Mollari has something hidden inside of him, pressed down deep due to years of repression and duty. I was reminded of him saying his shoes were too tight, that he couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t dance, when he told Draal and Delenn that he would accompany them and Varn back down to the planet. I think it was always clear that Draal was going to end his life as a Minbari, given how he began this two-parter. But these characters provide that opportunity to imagine a different way of doing things, one that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t involve destruction but a self-sacrifice for the greater good. Draal agrees to become the sentient heart of a PLANET, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. That is a LOT, and it is certainly more than I think I would be capable of personally. But it follows so naturally from the spiritual path that Draal believed himself on, doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I like, then, that the show left it ambiguous exactly what that technology did. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s better that we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know. However, WHY DID DELENN SAY THAT SINCLAIR HAD ANOTHER DESTINY? That was a rather bold thing to say in front of Garibaldi, wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it???<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Voice in the Wilderness, Part II\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/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":"