{"id":7100,"date":"2018-12-06T13:00:22","date_gmt":"2018-12-06T21:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7100"},"modified":"2018-11-29T16:56:04","modified_gmt":"2018-11-30T00:56:04","slug":"mark-watches-babylon-5-s03e09-point-of-no-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2018\/12\/mark-watches-babylon-5-s03e09-point-of-no-return\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Babylon 5’: S03E09 – Point of No Return"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the ninth episode of the third season of Babylon 5<\/i>, the time has arrived. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Babylon 5<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For police brutality<\/b><\/p>\n

This is all moving so quickly, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, but I have to remind myself that at one time, it didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. This sudden change in the pacing of the larger story was earned<\/i>. Since season one, this show has been hinting at a growing chasm on Earth. The backlash was introduced with Home Guard, and then everything was set further in motion once President Santiago was assassinated. So, this conflict has been seeded for a long time, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been slowly boiling to the surface.<\/p>\n

And now it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s exploded.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I admire the way that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Point of No Return\u00e2\u20ac\u009d not only exemplifies that title, but this episode manages to convey a sense of chaos that felt so very real. So real, I should note, that during the riot sequence, I nearly flashed back to when I was in a riot over a decade ago. You can look up the 2007 Macarthur Park Rallies to get a sense of what happened, but at that time, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been at Buzznet for maybe a year and was living next door to the old offices. (It was the most beautiful commute of all time, I DEEPLY MISS THAT REALITY.) There are enough articles and first-person accounts online about that day, and I should warn you that much of it is intensely violent and possibly triggering; I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even research that stuff for very long because of how fucked up it gets me. Suffice to say: there was a tipping point that day. And I can see now just how many interpretations of the episode\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s title there are, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to address the one specific to the riot. There comes a point in which there IS no return, in which choices are made that cause the inevitable.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thinking back to the Macarthur Park Rallies, there was a point, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll never forget. I believe to this very day, the LAPD maintains that they announced loudly and clearly that the rally was an unlawful assembly, but I was on the northwestern part of the park (north of Wilshire), and none of us heard anything. Well, we heard nothing until we heard gunfire, and then we saw people pouring in our direction, and that was the point of no return. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a terror that comes from seeing the wave hit, and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a moment like that in this episode, a split-second before the fight becomes a full-on riot, and it was chilling to watch that happen on the show. But this whole episode is truly unnerving, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, particularly since we see this fascist coup unfold in less than a day. The security team is all fired if they aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t part of Night Watch, martial law is declared on the station, and President Clark\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s supporters gain the power and authority that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve craved.<\/p>\n

Is it believable? Absolutely. And I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just mean that in a real-world sense! Again, this has been slowly built over the course of multiple episodes. So, the question becomes: How the hell does the resistance stop all this? General Hague is on the run and can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t face down Earthgov forces by himself. If Sheridan shows his hand too early, everyone will get reported, and the secret alliance could be destroyed. How, then? How do you fight against a force that has such strict, terrifying rules?<\/p>\n

You beat them at their own game. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so in love with how this show has, multiple times, featured someone manipulating the rules to their favor. Sinclair did it in the workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rights episode, Sheridan LOVES this technique, and here, Sheridan realizes the clue General Smits left about the chain of command.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a solution so much as a reprieve, though, and I expect the next episode will pick up where this one did. The Night Watch members may not have immediate power, but they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re still on the station. Are they just going to wait around for orders?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But there are two other significant plots within \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Point of No Return\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that also apply to the title. I want to talk about G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar first, as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m enamored with where his character is being taken. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a mistaken belief that being a pacifist or a passive person means you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how to fight or that you just let the world happen around you. G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s revelation, spurred by Kosh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s involvement, has helped him realize what sacrifice means. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean the literal sacrifice of the Narn, but rather a sacrifice of their pride and their desire for revenge. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about refocusing their energy for the war to come with the Shadows, and we see the first step of that refocus: volunteering to be part of Babylon 5<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s security staff in the interim. And if this is the start of G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s new philosophy, I honestly can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t wait to see what comes next.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I suppose the same goes for Londo and Vir, but for a very different reason. G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story gives me hope that these people can beat back the Shadows. But the prophecy that Londo asks for from Lady Morella doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just confirm what we saw in Londo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dream. It gives us a roadmap we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve not had before. Of note\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot of important information in what Morella says\u00e2\u20ac\u201dis the fact that Londo has ALREADY FAILED to take two possible paths away<\/i> from the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fire\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that awaits him at the end of his life. (Any guesses as to what those are? I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s his first meeting with Morden and then asking Morden to take care of that one Narn colony\/listening post.) He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got one chance left, but only if he pays attention to three important signs. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an eye that cannot see, someone who is already dead, and then Londo surrendering to what he most fears, even though he knows it will destroy him? Oh, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be emperor. 100%. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already on that path. BUT SO WILL VIR??? And one of them will ascend to that role only after<\/i> the other dies? WHY IS THIS SHOW DOING THIS TO ME. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t doubt for a second that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see all of these things in some way or another, but lord. This was a LOT. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fundamentally changed the relationship between Vir and Londo, right? How can they ever trust one another again?<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Point of No Return\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":"