{"id":7267,"date":"2019-04-22T13:00:08","date_gmt":"2019-04-22T20:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7267"},"modified":"2019-04-16T18:13:10","modified_gmt":"2019-04-17T01:13:10","slug":"mark-watches-crusade-s01e01-war-zone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2019\/04\/mark-watches-crusade-s01e01-war-zone\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Crusade’: S01E01 – War Zone"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the first episode of Crusade<\/i>, I AM SO UTTERLY THRILLED. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Crusade<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of genocide.<\/b><\/p>\n

Hello, friends! As a reminder, please make sure to check out the Master Schedule<\/a> or the Mark Watches Babylon 5<\/i> viewing order<\/a>. We will NOT be watching Crusade<\/i> in the airing or DVD order. That being said: I will be labeling all episodes on this site and in the store with those original numbers. This will be why, later this week, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see me watching episode 4 after episode 2. You are not imagining that, but I just want to explain why that is the case!<\/p>\n

And with that said: It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for me to watch Crusade<\/i>!<\/p>\n

Continuity<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m looking back over my reviews for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Legend of the Rangers\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Call To Arms,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all had to have been tickled<\/i> at me trying to figure out which of those two films was the set-up for this series. Look, I even had to entertain the chance that neither<\/i> were. Of the two, I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s obvious that I wanted \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Call to Arms\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to be the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153pilot,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d so to speak. And even that terminology is interesting in this case because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not sure if it is accurate to call the film that. As I was watching \u00e2\u20ac\u0153War Zone,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I realize you could actually just start that episode and get enough information to understand what the show was about. Obviously, it helps to have seen the film, and I absolutely adore that it picks up just hours after the attack on Earth. That first scene is SO GREAT! Which makes me wonder: Was anyone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s entry into the Babylon 5<\/i> universe this show??? Could it make sense on its own?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I think so, but I also recognize how deeply this is tied to another story. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more like another chapter in a living universe than something new and separate. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a bad thing, though, because this first episode is already demonstrating how Crusade<\/i> will explore things Babylon 5<\/i> did not get to. The Telepath War is over, and while we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know the details of that, we know that telepaths are now allowed back into general society, though there are guidelines??? What are they??? Crusade<\/i> also has a distinctly different purpose, one that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s made clear by the end of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153War Zone.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not about a station or a peace mission; this is a race against time. It sucks that this is only a single season of thirteen episodes, as I could easily see how this framework could last years! It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sort of like that minute recharge on the Excalibur<\/i>. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a built-in means of maintaining suspense!\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, I think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m most thrilled by the fact that both Galen and Dureena, characters I found interesting in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Call To Arms,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d were brought over to the show! (Actually, I think the actress who plays Dr. Chambers was, too, but playing a different character? If I recall, she was on the bridge as… a navigator? Or something?) Oh, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so much I want to know about both of them! How will Dureena work to avenge her people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s genocide? Galen has been virtually cast out by the other Technomages for getting involved in the lives of others. He has shown no signs of stopping that; instead, he seeks out someone he once saved (Gideon, which I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll talk about in a bit) and basically gets himself enlisted in the Excalibur\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s <\/i>mission. YES. I want to know so much more about the Technomages!!! PLEASE. And finally: more Lochley!!! THIS IS ALL GREAT<\/p>\n

The New Characters<\/b><\/p>\n

I admit I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got some fatigue for white men leading anything<\/i> in the speculative fiction realm because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just… everywhere? All the time? But I like Gary Cole as an actor, and Matthew Gideon is so damn thorny<\/i>. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fun about the fact that he seems to piss off all these important members of the Earth forces. Why is that? How exactly is he risky? We get a glimpse of that in the cold open and while the ship is dealing with the events on Ceti. But is that behavior what got him nearly killed nine years prior??? WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED. Who else will he piss off? I say that because I do hope for some grittiness here. Not the cynical kind, but because this situation has such a desperate edge to it. The promise that seems to be given to us in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153War Zone\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is that Gideon (and his crew) will go to whatever lengths they can to find this cure. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why Gideon is so attracted to the idea of bringing Dureena with him!\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also why Max Eilerson is such a good fit, too. Oh, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s presumptuous and arrogant, and I am absolutely sure he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be the grump of the bunch. (BOY DO I LOVE THE GRUMPY ONE IN A RAGTAG BAND OF WEIRDOS.) Look what the man did on Ceti! (I feel like that had a number after it and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t recall what it was LMAO.) He figured out how to turn on the lights in that underground city and set up a defense mechanism; he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a brilliant linguist who is able to decipher languages quicker than anyone else we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen in the Babylon 5 <\/i>universe. Why wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i> he be brought along?<\/p>\n

Both Dr. Chambers and Lt. Matheson are a little more of a mystery. At least Lt. Matheson has the very interesting position of being a high-ranking telepath, something we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve not seen before. I know from his conversation with Gideon about his appointment that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still friction between telepaths and the rest of the population. Possibly some bitter feelings? Some lingering paranoia? So I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m interested to see Crusade<\/i> deal with that. Dr. Chambers has only one scene in this episode that isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t plot-focused, and it shows us that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got family back on Earth, which at least gives her some additional emotional motivation. But what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s her<\/i> thing? Is there something beyond this? Or is that relationship\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbetween her and her sister\u00e2\u20ac\u201dmore important than I know?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Journey<\/b><\/p>\n

If this episode is any indication of what might come from future stories, COUNT ME THE FUCK IN. I love how chaotic this feels. Part of that is because the show exists in the aftermath of one of the biggest plot twists in the Babylon 5<\/i> universe. That sense of panic and terror is so palpable in the first half of the episode. However, that drives these characters with a sense of urgency for the remainder of the script. They are drawn to new paths because any of those paths might lead to a solution. Here, that possible bit of hope comes from a crashed Drakh ship, and aside from a few scenes towards the end of season 5 of Babylon 5<\/i>, this is the most time we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve spent focusing on them. Now, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like I went into this expecting them to find a cure or much of anything. I feel like this wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t supposed to be a single season, either. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already so much potential! But there was still tension in chasing down that downed Drakh ship. What would<\/i> they find? Why were the Drakh so intent on protecting it?<\/p>\n

I honestly did not expect the secret to be a Drakh captain. I feel like this is all the confirmation I need that different hierarchies of Drakh have different physiologies. (Or maybe I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just really bad at figuring out who the Drakh are all the time, WE HAVE SEEN THIS DEMONSTRATED LIKE TEN TIMES.) So: Will we learn more about the Drakh? I am deeply<\/i> intrigued by what the captain says to Gideon. Look, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a race who has historically served the Shadows. Who are they<\/i> when they have no one to serve? Well, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen them become a culture of deception and subjugation and horror. So who will the humans become if the Drakh succeed in keeping them away from a cure? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know if we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see anything about that, given how short Crusade<\/i> is, but this pilot episode is promising. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all know I love weird crews full of people who would otherwise never spend time together. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s basically what this! Only with the threat of imminent genocide hanging over them all.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m ready for this journey, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. Okay, maybe not, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m at least ready to go on it.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153War Zone\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99.<\/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":"