In the third episode of the fourth season of Babylon 5<\/i>, this show will not give me a break. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Babylon 5<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Trigger Warning: For consent and nonconsensual medical procedures, abuse, and torture<\/b>.<\/p>\n
Lord, this was an INTENSE episode. THERE WAS AN EMOTIONAL REUNION AND CUTENESS and all of it was RUINED. Okay, maybe not \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ruined,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d but… well, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s talk.<\/p>\n
The Scream<\/b><\/p>\n
This was really<\/i> hard to watch, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not lost on me the disparity being portrayed here. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an exchange in particular that I want to highlight, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s entirely possible a later scene will change the meaning of this. I mean… that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like the perfect way to explain what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like to watch this show. Every time you think you understand Babylon 5<\/i>, something comes along later and makes fun of you for believing you understood it all. ANYWAY. POINT BEING: Londo asks something horrible of G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar, but claims he understands what it truly means to do so. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s very difficult for me to believe that this is the case. Does<\/i> he understand? Because while it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear that Londo and Vir (particularly Vir) are disturbed by watching Emperor Cartagia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s torture of G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar, the fact is that they are witnessing<\/i> it. G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar is experiencing<\/i> it. And the scenes in which we see the torture happening are absolutely over-the-top terrible and evil, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. (Not that there are \u00e2\u20ac\u0153less\u00e2\u20ac\u009d evil versions of torture, but Cartagia is truly, truly deprived and sadistic; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the contrast between what he does and his oddly giddy personality.)\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a chasm between these two, and while I understand the point Londo makes\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthey can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t overthrow Cartagia and Narn can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be freed if G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar is dead\u00e2\u20ac\u201dit still rings just a little hollow to me. Londo isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the one suffering like G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar is. Plus, the idea of assassinating Cartagia is just an idea now, a nebulous concept. Exactly how<\/i> is G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar going to help? How much more torture will he have to experience before this plan materializes? This is how G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar resists: he refuses to give Cartagia what he wants. And in its own fucked up way, it works<\/i>. Cartagia is furious that G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t react as he wants him to. He wants G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar to perform<\/i> suffering. And in the end, G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar does, but… lord. That scream. Is it G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar giving Cartagia what he wants? Is his cry a cry of grief at doing just that? Is it just pain? Is it all of the above?<\/p>\n Whew, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how much more of seeing G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar suffer I can take. This was a LOT.<\/p>\n Marcus<\/b><\/p>\n Ugh! This was cute! And interrupted just before it was going to progress further! Marcus was totally going to tell Ivanova the truth, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, I BELIEVE IT. But I did want to talk about how cool it was that we are given a character like Marcus who is very<\/i> upfront about not having been in a relationship for his entire life. It was refreshing! You can even see Ivanova struggle with it because… well, who goes that<\/i> long without one? LOTS OF PEOPLE. Either because there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no desire for romance or sex, or because a person doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re ready, or because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re waiting for the right one, or A BILLION OTHER REASONS. So: I dug it.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?<\/b><\/p>\n Nope, this was too convenient. They just happened<\/i> to find the ship he was on at the right moment? And a single shot destroyed the whole ship, but not before it sent out an escape pod that only contained Garibaldi and nothing else? And some \u00e2\u20ac\u0153program\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was activated? And Garibaldi doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remember anything from his time but vague images of being kidnapped and tormented?<\/p>\n NAH. If the Psi Corps really did take him in, then we know that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re still in league with the Shadows. So I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing that somehow, they \u00e2\u20ac\u0153programmed\u00e2\u20ac\u009d him into a spy. Which is like… such a nightmare for that character specifically<\/i>. UGH WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM.<\/p>\n The Vorlons<\/b><\/p>\n Okay, accepting the notion that the Vorlons want order and discipline out of the younger races, I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a little bit easier to understand why the new \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Kosh\u00e2\u20ac\u009d treats Lyta as they do. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still despicable, and it very much looks exactly like an abusive relationship. Clearly, that Vorlon doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care about Lyta and<\/i> is using her, most likely because they see her as disrespectful, disordered, and lacking discipline. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s horrifying to watch this entity treat Lyta as they do, and this episode sheds even more<\/i> light on the ambassador\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s behavior.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Seriously, this… this is a lot. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bad enough that Delenn spends a lot of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Summoning\u00e2\u20ac\u009d fighting to get other factions in the League to pledge their ships to the strike on Z\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ha\u00e2\u20ac\u2122dum. And to her credit, despite still being in the midst of grief, she tries her damnedest. But the deck was stacked against her. Other races were convinced that the Shadows would stay away for another thousand years; others believed that a direct attack would stoke the fire. And in the end, they were more consumed by fear than anything else, and it is real<\/i> hard to combat that kind of mindset. While all of this is going on, Marcus and Ivanova are out trying to find and recruit more of the First Ones, and this episode felt very… spread out? There was a lot going on here.<\/p>\n AND ALL OF IT HAD TO DO WITH ONE ANOTHER. That ancient conflict that Lorien spoke of has come back, and the Vorlons have been ignoring Delenn because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d rather take out the Shadows themselves. Which seems cool on the surface! Finally, someone else who has the firepower is willing to join the fight. EXCEPT THEY\u00e2\u20ac\u2122RE EXTERMINATING ALL WORLDS WHO WERE TOUCHED BY THE SHADOWS. Like, full on execution of entire planets<\/i> who were in league with the Shadows. That means… oh god. Earth. Right??? Despite that the majority of people on Earth don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have anything to do with the Shadows, parts of the government do.<\/p>\n This is gonna get even more messed up, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? So, now they all have to fight off the Shadows and<\/i> the Vorlons? CAN THIS SHOW GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK.<\/p>\n The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Summoning\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n – The paperback edition of my debut, ANGER IS A GIFT, is now up for pre-order!<\/a> It comes out on May 7, 2019.\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":" In the third episode of the fourth season of Babylon 5, this show will not give me a break. Intrigued? 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