{"id":7201,"date":"2019-02-20T13:00:02","date_gmt":"2019-02-20T21:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7201"},"modified":"2019-02-12T11:36:32","modified_gmt":"2019-02-12T19:36:32","slug":"mark-watches-babylon-5-in-the-beginning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2019\/02\/mark-watches-babylon-5-in-the-beginning\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Babylon 5’: In the Beginning"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Babylon 5 <\/i>film In the Beginning<\/i>, Londo Mollari tells a story. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Babylon 5<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of warfare, genocide, grief<\/b><\/p>\n

It is a testament to the storytelling ability of JMS\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand the mythology of this show as a whole\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthat In the Beginning<\/i> works as well as it does. I came into this film bizarrely prepared for what unfolded! I knew why the Human-Minbari war broke out; I knew why Delenn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s grief was integral to the start of that conflict; I knew that the Minbari were ruthless in their destruction of human colonies and bases; and I knew why this war came to a sudden and surprising end.<\/p>\n

What In the Beginning<\/i> does is take all of the pieces of this story, scattered about four seasons of this show, and present them in linear order. As it does so, it fills in the blanks. That connective tissue is what makes up most of this movie, and it is immensely<\/i> satisfying. I mentioned this in a number of ways during the film itself, but I was blown away by how suspenseful and dread-inspiring this was. It shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i> have been! I knew exactly what was going to happen! Except… technically, I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i>. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all those previously-unrevealed details that thrilled me.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s talk about them.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Arrogance of Man<\/b><\/p>\n

There are so many deliberate parallels here, and they compound the tragedy. Arrogance plays such an important theme in the beginning (ha!) because we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re shown how this affected both the humans and<\/i> the Minbari. After defeating the Dilgar, humanity was… look, arrogant doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even feel like the right word. Humans were floating<\/i> on their success, and they were so certain of their might and their power that they DELIBERATELY DECIDED TO GO SEEK OUT THE MINBARI. Not just that, but they outright ignored Londo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s warnings not to upset the Minbari. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, HE TOLD YOU!!! But the human military men we meet here invited Londo to get his advice while having no real interest in listening to it. They just wanted information and nothing more!\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, we also get to see a fantastically eerie scene in which the Minbari Grey Council denies the Rangers any more resources to prepare for the prophesied Shadow War. And really, that scene is a great example of why this film was so great to me: the audience knows more than the characters in it. We get to see them make these monumental mistakes, we get to yell at them for starting this slow-motion trainwreck, and we watch in dread as this disaster continues to get worse and worse. Arrogance goeth before the fall, indeed.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Sign of Respect<\/b><\/p>\n

But even when you put that dread aside, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another component of this movie that I found compelling. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, this is so disturbing<\/i>. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one thing to be told that humans misinterpreted the open gun ports as a sign of respect, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one thing to get to see the scene where Delenn loses Dukhat. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s much different to see that same scene in great detail from the human perspective, to see the panic slip over the human commander as he and his first officer argue about what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re supposed to do. Watching that man make such a terrible, terrible<\/i> decision was horrifying, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, and it adds to the intensity of what Delenn and the other Minbari went through.<\/p>\n

And from that moment, this film gives us a true sense of what this three-year war was actually<\/i> like. Most of that had been background information for us. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d seen a few clips here and there over the course of the earlier seasons, but the war was a mythology. It was something that added flavor and nuance, a backstory that informed the present. But the present<\/i> was the story that mattered more. Which is perfectly understandable! I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad that the show unfolded as it did, and even if I never got this movie, I would have been immensely pleased with the show\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Which makes this a beautiful, haunting bonus. And y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s FUCKING HAUNTING AS HELL. This truly gives us a chance to see how relentless the Minbari advance was, how dire the situation was, and how the humans believed that they truly were about to be wiped out by this force. It adds context to Sheridan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s destruction of the Black Star<\/i>, for one. Now I actually<\/i> get why this was such a big deal! (It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the difference between being told something and shown<\/i> it, for the record.)\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Chance for Peace<\/b><\/p>\n

And then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the big secret, the massive surprise that this film dropped on me. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, Sheridan and Dr. Franklin went on a secretive peace mission to meet with a Minbari representative to end the war. AND THE MISSION WAS SET UP BECAUSE DELENN MET WITH KOSH. I just!!! THIS WAS ALL TOO MUCH. I mean, I loved getting to see Dr. Franklin defy orders to turn over Minbari genetic information; I loved Sheridan and Dr. Franklin meeting for the first time; I loved seeing G\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Kar and being reminded of how far he has come, how he started off so overflowing with anger, so eager to do whatever possible to help his people. I LOVED IVANOVA AND HER HAIR AND HER PROMISES TO HER OLDER BROTHER.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all destroyed. Why? Because Londo Mollari made a miscalculation. Once again, this film reminds the viewer where each of these characters were in their journey. The Centauri were still spiteful of the Narn, and of course<\/i> they would do anything to sabotage the Narn doing anything<\/i> to help themselves. Yet in the process, they derailed peace-making efforts for TWO YEARS. How would that have changed events? How would history have changed?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hello, Friends<\/b><\/p>\n

Yet even the framing device for this episode is fascinating. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a cheesy attempt at retelling a story, but rather something like a more serious version of what The Princess Bride<\/i> film does. Londo tells a story to a governess and the two children under her care, and it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t until the final scene that I understood when all of this was occurring. I feel like this confirms that the events we saw in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153War Without End\u00e2\u20ac\u009d are<\/i> the version of the future we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get in season five. That thing<\/i> is controlling Londo, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s using alcohol to dull its power over him. And thus, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an emotional reason why Londo would reflect on the past. That THING has forced him to betray some of the only friends he has ever had, and this story is a reminder of where they came from. Where they all<\/i> came from! The title, then, is more than just a literal description of Babylon 5<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mythology. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a reference to the character journeys we have experienced over four seasons. In the beginning, these people barely knew one another.<\/p>\n

And look how far they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve come.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153In the Beginning\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":"