{"id":7088,"date":"2018-11-27T13:00:43","date_gmt":"2018-11-27T21:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7088"},"modified":"2018-11-21T17:32:03","modified_gmt":"2018-11-22T01:32:03","slug":"mark-watches-babylon-5-s03e02-convictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2018\/11\/mark-watches-babylon-5-s03e02-convictions\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Babylon 5’: S03E02 – Convictions"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the second episode of the third season of Babylon 5<\/i>, a terrorist plants seemingly random bombs around the station, sending all into a panic. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Babylon 5<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For extended discussion of terrorism, white supremacy, and misogyny<\/b><\/p>\n

Hey, could this show stop being relevant in 2018 for REALLY DEVASTATING REASONS.<\/p>\n

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

Hi, this was really fucked up? I can barely believe just how many<\/i> bombings there were in one episode, but I understand that they had<\/i> to happen this way in order to convey the very chaos that Carlson wanted. That makes this a difficult episode to watch, even when you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t watch this through a modern lens. Carlson just wanted people to suffer, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what happens, over and over again throughout this episode.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a heavy suspicion over everything<\/i> that unfolds here. Given the opening of this season and the events that ended season two, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not impossible to assume that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a political reason for the terrorism that Babylon 5<\/i> experiences. If it turned out Home Guard was behind this? I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have been surprised. Someone retaliating against the Narn? Or the Centauri? Or the humans? Or Earth\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s newfound alliances? Look, this is a VOLATILE time, and Carlson certainly exploited it. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why this was so stressful, too. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that line from Dr. Franklin at the end of the episode where he remarks that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s glad it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a Centauri. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s such a biting and painfully realistic line, particularly for some of us in the States, for example. We go through variations of this line of thought because we know that these horrific acts of terrorism are often followed by violent retaliations. I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the same context in which Dr. Franklin uttered that sentence, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still a pervasive fear here that whomever is responsible for the bombing is only going to make diplomatic matters worse on Babylon 5<\/i>.<\/p>\n

That also makes Carlson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actual motivations fucking terrifying<\/i>. Look, this was probably written with a specific intent in mind, but watching in this in 2018, when white men have committed so many acts of terror because they feel like they need to punish the world, is a surreal experience. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only bits and pieces of Carlson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s motivation here: he lost everything. His job. His wife. His apartment. And he relates that loss to the absurd reasons he was apparently told at the time, that it was all just part of the times. His anger may have a root cause that is understandable, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nothing in the episode itself that glorifies what Carlson does. Rather, all we see is the horror he causes for about thirty minutes. By the time we get to see him and hear his reasoning in his own words, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a nightmare. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s entirely unsympathetic. And it made me wonder if his story was even true. Were these things taken from him, or had he actually done something to make his wife leave? Men like him are often virulently misogynist, and we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen far too many examples of this in the twenty-odd years since this episode came out.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fuck Carlson. Just in case I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not clear on that.<\/p>\n

Stuck Together<\/b><\/p>\n

There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a deliberate comparison throughout this episode about empathy and good will, and y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, it is SCATHING. When Lennier is injured after saving Londo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life, Londo does something touching: he stays with Lennier and talks to him. I mentioned on video that there are scattered scenes throughout this show that demonstrate that Londo does<\/i> have the capacity for kindness. But what are those moments worth in the long run? Because this moment is immediately contrasted with Londo in the same situation\u00e2\u20ac\u201dunconscious and possibly gravely injured\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbut with a different party in the place of the observer. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a terrible irony in it all. When Londo is hurt, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trapped with someone who he despises, who would never<\/i> choose to save his life. Rather, G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar takes great pleasure in watching Londo die, so much so that he is willing to die, too, as long as it guarantees that Londo does.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the complicated emotional and moral fabric that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been woven by the past two seasons. Lennier wonders if he did a disservice by saving a life that cares not for others; and G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar watches as his one wish in the world is snatched away from him at the last minute. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s complicated, messy, and disturbing. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s supposed to be. Life is indeed unfair, but these are complex portraits of characters trying to deal with just that.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Convictions\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":"