{"id":7225,"date":"2019-03-11T13:00:36","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T20:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7225"},"modified":"2019-03-08T20:44:04","modified_gmt":"2019-03-09T04:44:04","slug":"mark-watches-babylon-5-s05e08-day-of-the-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2019\/03\/mark-watches-babylon-5-s05e08-day-of-the-dead\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Babylon 5’: S05E08 – Day of the Dead"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the eighth episode of the fifth season of Babylon 5<\/i>, a strange Brakiri ritual brings about the dead. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Babylon 5<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of suicide, drug addiction<\/b><\/p>\n

I liked this weird episode! It felt like such a break from the normal storytelling modes of the show, both in structure and tone, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no wonder since Neil Gaiman wrote it. I gotta say upfront, though, that I thought it was pretty cheap for the show (since I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know who came up with it) to rip off D\u00c3\u00ada de los Muertos in name and in imagery. Seriously, the Brakiri just happen<\/i> to have sugar skulls to represent their sacred night of the dead? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s too on the nose, made even more egregious because there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a Mexican in sight on this show. I know Babylon 5<\/i> is pretty damn white, but this was kind of a lot to see. Thankfully, by the time we get past the first act, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all pushed aside so that the story can settle on this bizarre experience, and that<\/i> part I enjoyed. LET\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S TALK.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rebo and Zooty<\/b><\/p>\n

I realize that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always a risk in putting comedy into a show like this. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve heard of Rebo and Zooty for a long time; they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a beloved comedy duo! Comedy is so subjective, so I get that this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t supposed to work for everyone. But wow<\/i>, I did not find them funny at all. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a Penn and Teller thing, either! I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t find them<\/i> funny, either, but the Rebo and Zooty style is just so strange and disjointed, partly because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s designed that way. We see a bit of their routine, then we overhear a special of theirs that Lochley is watching, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m on her side. I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T GET IT AT ALL. Which is fine. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not sure I have<\/i> to. They show up, and they make people happy<\/i>. And not just that, but they are in turn inspired by the people who enjoy them. I liked that there was a bit here that validated the importance of the arts in a political world, while also noting that sometimes, comedians can get away with saying things others cannot under oppressive regimes. So maybe this plot wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t as connected to the main one as it could have been, but it worked.<\/p>\n

Londo Mollari<\/b><\/p>\n

So, I want to go through each of the appearances that we get in this episode because of what they reveal about each of these characters. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Day of the Dead\u00e2\u20ac\u009d feels more like a collection of vignettes or short stories than a singular arc, and y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all know I LOVE shit like this. And because each of the four \u00e2\u20ac\u0153dead\u00e2\u20ac\u009d stories are shorter than what you might expect from a longer story, it allows Gaiman to explore moods and tones, rather than something with a distinct beginning, middle, and end. In Londo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case, the return of Adira, poisoned to death in a plot to turn Londo to his side, brings about happiness, joy, and a bittersweet reflection on the future. Much of the time these two spend together isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seen onscreen. Rather, we get a sense of how happy they are just to be in one another\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s presence and how they turn to physical pleasure to commemorate that happiness. Yet Londo can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore the reality of Adira\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s appearance; that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what Lochley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s interrupting message is for. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that reminder that while this is<\/i> real, not a fantasy, Londo will soon be thrust back onto his inevitable path. He will soon become Emperor. What if he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d taken another path? What if he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d pursued a life with Adira instead of pursuing power?<\/p>\n

Londo won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ever know. Is there wisdom gained from the dead in this instance? I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say so. If anything, Londo deliberately did not seek it. He just sought comfort.<\/p>\n

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

Which is fascinating because of what Garibaldi chose to do when Dodger returned to him. In this instance, the dead character is more than interested in having sex with the living one, but Garibaldi turns it down time and time again. I assume he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still with Lise, who we haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seen in a while, and I am also guessing that motivates his actions here. He doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to do Lise wrong, but that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean he can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t enjoy his time just being around her. Their interactions are emotionally intimate in this case. In that sense, this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that different than what Londo and Adira go through, but there is<\/i> an undeniable tension here that comes from what Dodger wants and what Garibaldi does. That tension, though, made this story so captivating to me. What would<\/i> I do in a similar situation, especially since I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t escape from this? Well, Garibaldi doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t betray Lise, but he also doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t deny the chance to have a unique experience, one that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s real and meaningful.<\/p>\n

By the way, whatever happened to the technomages??? I totally wanted them to come back, but Dodger\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mention of technomancy is the first time they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been mentioned since\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 what? Season one???<\/p>\n

Lochley<\/b><\/p>\n

Holy shit, this was a million times more intense than I expected??? Again, for how short this was, this STUNG. But I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean that in a bad way. The frank way in which this script talks about substance abuse and suicide felt so refreshing to me, particularly because these characters were honest about it while we also<\/i> got to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I never would have guessed that Lochley had this experience, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s kinda the point, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? You never know what a person is going through, and given Lochley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s by-the-book attitude, this initially seemed to be a curveball.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But Gaiman is part of telling a story out of order. We got Lochley later<\/i> in life, and her story with Zoe informed what we now<\/i> see. And look, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve all seen suicide used to inspire or motivate another character, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve not seen it interrogated like this before. The dead character is back, and Lochley actually got to talk to her about what had happened. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a painful, awkward conversation, mind you, and it takes until the last second for Zoe to tell Lochley the truth, that her overdose wasn’t<\/i> accidental, but on purpose. In that moment, though, Lochley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reaction filled me with happiness. She didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t judge Zoe at all, and I was so relieved<\/i>. I know it might seem like a little thing, but seeing a character embrace another and understand<\/i> their suicide is powerful. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so much stigma around it, and this? Was not what I expected. But lord, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so pleased that it unfolded this way.<\/p>\n

Lennier<\/b>
\nAND THEN THE SHOW THROWS ME A CURVEBALL. I figured that Marcus<\/i> would show up, but NOPE. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Mr. Morden, who was directly responsible for the death of one of the other dead characters in this episode. I was perplexed by this choice, but fascinated by the execution of the idea. Lennier is not at all<\/i> comforted by this experience. Not just that, but when Morden does offer him wisdom, he rejects it! Granted, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know if Morden is telling the truth. HE LIED ALL THE TIME WHILE ALIVE. But something tells me that this message is<\/i> meaningful, that for some reason, Lennier will betray the Anla\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Shok. NO. NO THANKS. Why would he ever do that??? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get it! THIS EPISODE IS MEAN.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Day of the Dead\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":"