{"id":7098,"date":"2018-12-04T13:00:05","date_gmt":"2018-12-04T21:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7098"},"modified":"2018-11-27T16:52:33","modified_gmt":"2018-11-28T00:52:33","slug":"mark-watches-babylon-5-s03e07-exogenesis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2018\/12\/mark-watches-babylon-5-s03e07-exogenesis\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Babylon 5’: S03E07 – Exogenesis"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the seventh episode of the third season of Babylon 5<\/i>, Marcus discovers a strange group after one of his friends goes missing. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Babylon 5<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of consent, body horror.<\/b><\/p>\n

This was an odd one. I liked the idea of it, but there were a couple issues that prevented it from feeling as huge or thrilling as much of the rest of this season has felt. Marcus operates in a weird space within the show because he isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t around as often as the other characters, so I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a great sense of who he is. This episode casts him more as a humorous character more than anything else, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a little different than what I expected of him. I associate him with the Rangers, but what else do I know about Marcus? What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s his general personality? His quirks? His dislikes? I almost feel like this<\/i> version of Marcus should have been what we saw first; it was more complete to me.<\/p>\n

There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a greater issue here, though: Duncan. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to care about a character that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s introduced in the very episode they go through such a massive metamorphosis. We get one scene with Duncan prior to his involvement with the Vindrizi, and all that establishes is that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s old, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s struggling with his business, that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sick, and that he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like doctors. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a means to an end; when Duncan goes missing, it motivates Marcus to delve further into this bizarre mystery that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unfolding on the station. But there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no sense of the grandeur of Duncan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s decision. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all on the surface. And I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also because Marcus doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know these people all that well, either. Isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t there that line that explains that most of these folks were part of his desire to build a better network of contacts? So his relationship with these people might be friendly and jovial, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not all that<\/i> deep, is it?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to get into the emotional aspect of this, and that made it harder to connect to a story that is admittedly pretty cool. Look, I assumed this was a cult at work. HOW COULD I NOT. It seemed so obvious to me! These people were operating in secret, they were putting these disgusting creatures into people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bodies despite the harm they caused, and they seemed ready to harm Dr. Franklin and Marcus once the two of them discovered the group. Classic signs of some horrible cult, right? But with just one shift in perspective and context, the Vindrizi go from being predators or murderers to a race desperate for survival\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbut not so desperate that they violate the consent of those they need to inhabit. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a parasitic race that enters willing<\/i> bodies, then records their experiences inside those bodies to keep a history intact. (That being said, I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sure if PAST hosts also consented? Was that cleared up?) So, everyone involved knew what they were getting into and, furthermore, was delighted by the chance to have the Vindrizi give them a purpose, one that would also allow the Vindrizi to live.<\/p>\n

Pretty cool, right? I like the idea, but I wish the execution delighted me more. The reveal comes so late that we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get to spend much time what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like for a human to have a Vindrizi living with them. Plus, I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel close to these characters! I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really know<\/i> them.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The romantic subplot was fun, I won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t lie. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t always like miscommunication as a plot device, but for fueling comedy<\/i>, it is a joy. I was glad we got a little time with Lt. Corwin, and I was hoping that the group would be able to add another to their fold, but alas. This was a realistic turn of events, at least since it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s impossible that everyone<\/i> would be compatible to join the resistance. It sucks, no doubt, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll make their jobs just a little bit harder. And I got to learn that Ivanova is a sucker for roses!<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Exogensis\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":"