{"id":7047,"date":"2018-10-29T13:00:59","date_gmt":"2018-10-29T20:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7047"},"modified":"2018-10-24T09:20:33","modified_gmt":"2018-10-24T16:20:33","slug":"mark-watches-babylon-5-s02e04-a-distant-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2018\/10\/mark-watches-babylon-5-s02e04-a-distant-star\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Babylon 5’: S02E04 – A Distant Star"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the fourth episode of the second season of Babylon 5<\/i>, an old friend of Sheridan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unlocks some uncomfortable feelings, and a rescue mission hints at something terrible. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Babylon 5<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of dieting\/diet culture and fatphobia<\/b><\/p>\n

This is an odd episode in terms of pacing, but in this case, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a good<\/i> thing. I remarked while watching this that the point where Captain Jack Maynard left the station was a scene I would have expected at the end<\/i> of the episode, but it happened halfway through. Why? Why introduce this character and have the entire first half of the episode nothing but an introspective character study? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a bold move, but lord, does it ever pay off. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the kind of story that I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect, and certainly not this early into Sheridan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s run.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a major reason why \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Distant Star\u00e2\u20ac\u009d felt so refreshing and fulfilling to me. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d gotten a vague sense of what Sheridan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s experience was prior to this; he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t earn the name StarKiller doing nothing for EarthForce. Thus, this story examines how Sheridan has adjusted from a career that was both military-focused and exploration<\/i>-focused. Those days are now spent… sitting behind a desk. Organizing schedules. Negotiating. Being diplomatic. Delegating duties. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the life he thought he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d have, and yet, here he is, in one of the most visible and important positions imaginable. And yet: Is Sheridan happy<\/i> there?<\/p>\n

Captain Maynard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s appearance mostly unravels Sheridan. We watch as he snaps at other officers and appears deeply distracted, so much so that Ivanova (THE ETERNAL BEST) finally gives Sheridan a chance to open up to her about what is frustrating him. Note again that everything<\/i> I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m describing is only the first half of this episode! There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s virtually no \u00e2\u20ac\u0153action\u00e2\u20ac\u009d during all this; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just characters speaking to one another, and yet it all still felt interesting and captivating. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pretty damn impressive and even more so when you consider that this is only Sheridan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fourth episode EVER. I credit that to the writing, which has done a wonderful job introducing this character while not ignoring the others. But there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also an undeniable sense that Ivanova and Sheridan are<\/i> close, that if he did not trust her, he wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have opened up to her about his frustrations. We see a similar sense of trust and respect between Sheridan and Delenn, too, and they haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t known one another nearly as long. Look, I miss Sinclair, and Sheridan is absolutely not a repeat of him. But Sheridan has become an interesting part of this team, and the first half of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Distant Star\u00e2\u20ac\u009d shows that to us.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, the second<\/i> half is… really fucking creepy? We know the Shadows are out on the Rim, we know their ships have a bizarre cloaking ability that no one has ever really seen, but this episode suggests that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re far, far closer I thought they were. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the only thing going on within the story. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still thinking about Delenn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s incredible monologue to Sheridan towards the end of the episode. Maybe this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t what he wanted to do with his life, but the idea that the universe put him where he needed to be is so fascinating to me. Sinclair was put in Babylon 5<\/i> by the Minbari, but what if greater, unseen forces put Sheridan there? At the very least, the rescue of the Cortez<\/i> would not have been possible if Sheridan had not been on the station. He was very instrumental in that ship finding its way home from hyperspace, where no lost ship had ever<\/i> been recovered. (Of course, that also means that Galus would not have died either, and I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s important to note that.) So, is this really where he should be?<\/p>\n

I imagine that this is yet another vital episode to understanding whatever inevitable conflict is coming between the Shadows and… well, everyone else. Are the Shadows conducting recon missions in hyperspace? Why did they risk showing up again after knocking Galus out of the stream and to his death? Oh gods, what if they didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even notice those ships were there? <\/i>Clearly, the Shadows are doing something<\/i> out on the Rim, but hyperspace is not the Rim. So what the hell is happening here? Will Sheridan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s expertise come in handy later in the season or the show? Is he right where he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s supposed to be when the Shadows stop being so secretive? THEY\u00e2\u20ac\u2122RE SO CREEPY, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one other plot here that gets a little bit of screentime, and you know, I ended up liking it a lot. I understood Dr. Franklin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reasoning for focusing on food plans for Garibaldi\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwho is healing\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand Ivanova, who is also dealing with the ramifications of her previous injury. Normally, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be bothered by the insistence on dieting, but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think this subplot was about that at all. I think there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a difference between what we have as dieting culture here in our society, and a doctor asking for someone to alter what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re eating. (But not always. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure a number of you have had shitty doctors who have taken one look at you and diagnosed you with needing to lose weight without actually listening to what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ailing you or what you might need.. Count me in as one of those!) The resolution of this subplot, however, really made me feel great about where the story went. In the end, Dr. Franklin not only recognizes the importance of cultural traditions that might not be \u00e2\u20ac\u0153healthy,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he actually joins in on them. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like Garibaldi is having bagna c\u00c3\u00a1uda every day. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a joy in moderation and cultural celebration, and Dr. Franklin does not take that away from Garibaldi. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a nice moment from a story that could have otherwise gone to a very weird place, and I appreciated it.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Distant Star\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":"