{"id":7142,"date":"2019-01-02T05:00:24","date_gmt":"2019-01-02T13:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7142"},"modified":"2018-12-25T22:11:35","modified_gmt":"2018-12-26T06:11:35","slug":"mark-watches-babylon-5-s04e04-falling-toward-apotheosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2019\/01\/mark-watches-babylon-5-s04e04-falling-toward-apotheosis\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Babylon 5’: S04E04 – Falling Toward Apotheosis"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the fourth episode of the fourth season of Babylon 5<\/i>, everything keeps happening, and everything is too much. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Babylon 5<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For genocide and warfare, torture, nonconsensual medical procedures<\/b><\/p>\n

Why is everything progressing so quickly??? What is this season doing<\/i>? We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re just four episodes in and I feel like we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re on the eve of a season finale BUT NOPE. Eighteen more episodes left?!?!?! HELP ME.<\/p>\n

Garibaldi<\/b><\/p>\n

So, maybe my theory isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t very good? Granted, I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have quite as much information as I do here, but something is clearly wrong with Garibaldi, and I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T LIKE IT. Here, though, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not Garibaldi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s flashes of memory that shed more light on his predicament. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve already seen those images. We know that he was probably tortured and had something<\/i> done to him. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s his emotional state that feels more important than anything else. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really have a theory beyond that, though. I mean… I guess he could still be a Psi Corps spy? But why the intense irritation at everything? Why does he seem to distrust Sheridan on sight<\/i>? Are these symptoms of what was forced upon him? I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T GET IT.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Advancement<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard not to feel like the main plot is barreling ahead when the Vorlons go from destroying one planet with their planetkiller ship in the previous episode to DESTROYING SO MANY THAT IVANOVA IS GIVING UPDATES EVERY TWENTY MINUTES<\/i>. How many planets were obliterated in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Falling Toward Apotheosis\u00e2\u20ac\u009d? Six? Seven? How many refugee centers were targeted and swiftly eliminated? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s horrifying to even think about the sheer scope and size of this kind of extermination, this sort of genocide by association. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all happening so fucking fast<\/i>. Gods, what about the strike on Z\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ha\u00e2\u20ac\u2122dum? Remember when that<\/i> was the main concern this season? That was ONE WHOLE FUCKING EPISODE AGO. How? How is this happening?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I will say: it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not surprising<\/i>, at least not in hindsight. We knew how the Vorlons viewed all the other races in a very direct way. Kosh was the perfect example of that, but at least Kosh didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel like this<\/i> Vorlon. Distant, superior, and mysterious, yes, but Kosh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s replacement was actively terrible, and clearly, Lyta knew that this arrangement was wrong<\/i>. After all she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d done to dedicate herself to the Vorlons, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s understandable that she felt betrayed by what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happened and what is currently<\/i> happening. She was used! I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t doubt that at all!\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Apotheosis<\/b><\/p>\n

And as one god falls, another arises… sort of. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also not surprising\u00e2\u20ac\u201despecially given the details of how he returned\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthat Sheridan is being viewed as godlike. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve heard it over and over again over the past three seasons: no one returns from Z\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ha\u00e2\u20ac\u2122dum. And yet, right as one of the Drazi is proclaiming this to be the reason no one should attack the Shadows directly, in waltzes Sheridan, claiming to have died on Z\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ha\u00e2\u20ac\u2122dum and come back. Resurrections are popular in religious mythmaking for a reason: they toy with the impossible, with the divine, with the very issue of mortality. So, Sheridan becomes a figure, a sign that perhaps it is spiritually destined that these people unite against the Shadows. At the very least, it does<\/i> inspire hope in many of these peoples and cultures, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably why Lorien is trying to encourage Sheridan to use it.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that exactly<\/i> what the Vorlons did? Until this episode, the only thing we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d ever seen of a Vorlon \u00e2\u20ac\u0153body\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was what they wanted<\/i> people to see. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear that Vorlons have influenced tons of civilizations through religion and godhood. (Which makes Emperor Cartagia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story increasingly apt; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear that this show is now spending a season, or at least part of one, addressing the concept of godhood.) I get the feeling that Sheridan has no interest in taking a similar path. Indeed, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a fascinating subtext to what happens here. Obviously, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the logistical nightmare of having a Vorlon ambassador on a station that is destined to be a target. But Vorlons have appeared as angels to humans, and so, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a tiny element of this that feels like Sheridan killing these \u00e2\u20ac\u0153gods.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Well, making an attempt<\/i> to, that is. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the ultimate rejection, and it has<\/i> to happen. No longer can these beings or entities invade the lives of others, decide what is best with them, and then toss them out once they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re done with them.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thus, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a synchronicity between the fight with the Vorlons and Londo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fight with Emperor Cartagia. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a rejection of godhood, too, though this is more about Londo stopping<\/i> Cartagia from achieving it. This episode spells out exactly what Cartagia is willing to do to gain that: the destruction of himself and<\/i> Centauri Prime. I admit, I thought I had Cartagia figured out, and CLEARLY I DID NOT. It makes so much sense that he would be that<\/i> delusional, but STILL. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so fucking ridiculous and horrifying. Apotheosis from mass death? HI, NO THANKS.<\/p>\n

So, clearly Londo has some<\/i> sort of endgame planned here. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a reason he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trying to get Cartagia to Narn, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most likely going to involve G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not Cartagia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s home turf, yes, so that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably intentional. But what then<\/i>? Is G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar actually going to be put on trial? The plan works on the surface because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clearly a manipulation of Cartagia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s delusions of grandeur, but once on<\/i> Narn? I have no clue what comes after that.<\/p>\n

EXCEPT G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122KAR\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S EYE BEING PLUCKED OUT. Oh god, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s… two prophecies? The path of fire, the one who cannot see… SHIT. Morella was right, wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t she????<\/p>\n

Falling<\/b><\/p>\n

There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a catch. THERE ALWAYS IS. And I remarked this on video, but I do appreciate that if there is a price to be paid, the show generally commits to it. Sheridan being brought back to life was not without a price to be paid, and oh shit<\/i>, this was a LOT. Sheridan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s execution of the plan to kill the Vorlon (or expel them??? I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t tell if the Vorlon and Kosh died here or not) revealed a terrible secret: Lorien only bought Sheridan another twenty years of life. Also, in case this wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t clear: Did Sheridan die again<\/i> in this episode??? Is that what we just witnessed??? And if Lorien was not there to replenish his lifeforce, Sheridan would have died<\/i>? AGAIN???<\/p>\n

That being said: Wow, I was really bracing myself for Sheridan to tell Delenn that he had like a week or a month left to live. Which isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t to diminish how sad this was! But I expected a lot less. Anyway: ENGAGED. THEY GOT ENGAGED. I loved the confusion on Delenn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s face when she was handed that box. Of course<\/i> she wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really know what this tradition was. AHHHH A NICE THING HAPPENED AND NOTHING FOLLOWED IT UP AND RUINED IT. Finally!!!<\/p>\n

(I hope I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t regret typing that.)<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Falling Toward Apotheosis\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":"