{"id":7109,"date":"2018-12-10T13:00:22","date_gmt":"2018-12-10T21:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7109"},"modified":"2018-12-05T22:18:57","modified_gmt":"2018-12-06T06:18:57","slug":"mark-watches-babylon-5-s03e11-ceremonies-of-light-and-dark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2018\/12\/mark-watches-babylon-5-s03e11-ceremonies-of-light-and-dark\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Babylon 5’: S03E11 – Ceremonies of Light and Dark"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the eleventh episode of the third season of Babylon 5<\/i>, JESUS CHRIST, THIS SHOW IS TOO MUCH. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Babylon 5<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of addiction, grief, racism, and xenophobia.<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gotta be said: this episode tackles like ten subplots at once, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s masterful<\/i>. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel overcrowded, it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel rushed, and I am in awe at the way JMS\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s script balances each of these things with care. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lots to talk about, so LET\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S GO.<\/p>\n

Two Parts<\/b><\/p>\n

After Londo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s prophecy was given to him, my main interest was in seeing his reaction to it. Knowing that he only had one chance left to avoid the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fire\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that was coming for him, would he behave differently? Would he seek redemption or goodness, or would he pursue himself instead? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fascinating to think of his arc in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ceremonies of Light and Dark\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with this in mind because we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re given a character who is<\/i> working to prevent a disaster, but who still suffers from the same problems\u00e2\u20ac\u201dnamely a lack of empathy\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthat got him in this dark place at the start. So, this episode sort of answers that question: Londo is trying, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to take a lot more than this for him to find the right path.<\/p>\n

But let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s start with his poisoning of Lord Refa, which carries an ironic weight to it. In order to move forward, Londo relies on the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153old\u00e2\u20ac\u009d ways, which in this case is the Centauri love of poisoning rivals and competitors. However, the reason Londo does this is a perfect example of the contradiction of his character: it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s both admirable and<\/i> self-centered at the same time. He is absolutely<\/i> pushing Lord Refa to distance the Centauri Empire away from Mr. Morden and the Shadows because he suspects that they are truly The Worst. But even that framing of them is so faulty because… dude, they annihilated an entire military station in seconds in Quadrant 37. Londo knows exactly how destructive, violent, and powerful they are, so he kinda softballs it here. Regardless, his reasoning is solid: Morden\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s associates are going to carve a great and terrible hole in the universe, and allying with them is a mistake.<\/p>\n

At the same time, he wants this to happen to save Centauri, right? His prime concern is that the Shadows will turn on Centauri one day, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re splitting up Centauri forces into multiple conflicts. Like… he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not wrong??? I definitely believe that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why the Shadows are doing what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing! Londo lacks care for what Centauri is doing to other<\/i> races and cultures, though! He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still fine with an expanding empire, he still peddles in xenophobia and has no problem being a force of oppression to other<\/i> people. And there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the contradiction: there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a poison deep in Londo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s soul, one that is utterly worse than what he gave Lord Refa. I love the dual nature of that poison because I think it works perfectly as a metaphor for Londo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s characterization. He long ago devoured half of a poison that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been waiting for its companion. Will Londo avoid drinking the other half, or is he barreling towards a future in which it is inevitable that he consumes it?<\/p>\n

Letting Go<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m continuing to warm up to Marcus, and this episode was a huge help for me to understand who he is. Indeed, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ceremonies of Light and Dark\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is like a giant episode of group therapy, and I love this sort of character examination in my fiction. What are the reasons why these people are the way they are? With Marcus, his introduction felt hasty, but the show is now filling in the pieces in ways that feel substantial. I say that because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like his backstory\u00e2\u20ac\u201dexplaining his motivation for joining the Raiders\u00e2\u20ac\u201dis a new thing. We heard it very early on! But this episode gave it a weight: Marcus\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s guilt over failing to listen to his brother sits upon his soul, and it torments him. His sense of grief is so intense that he literally believes he has lost everything in his life, that he has nothing left to give for Delenn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Ceremony of Rebirth.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In terms of craft, this Ceremony is a BRILLIANT means of exploration. For Marcus, it allows the audience to experience his act of letting go, one that is later hinted at during Garibaldi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s confession as the thing he fears will destroy him. And I like that contrast: what sets Marcus free might be the thing that undoes Garibaldi. So, how will Marcus change in the future? How has this affected him?<\/p>\n

Remainders<\/b><\/p>\n

There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a cutting and scathing line from Delenn in the middle of this episode. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m learning that in moments of high pressure and tension, Delenn is not afraid to speak the truth, first of all, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so goddamn pleasing to see her stand up to others, knowing that the cost might be her life. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so invigorating! And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the case with the unnamed Sniper (literally how he was listed in the opening credits) in this episode. This episode felt intentional about something else: the notion of lone actors of terrorism. I understood why Delenn told the Sniper that he was alone, and I also noticed that he was not literally<\/i> alone. She meant it in an internal sense, that his soul was poisoned (ha!) by the very things that he believed.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But there are people around him, and JMS builds a believable and terrifying network of men who all conspire to murder someone to get what they want. Having the Sniper be nameless felt so purposeful: this man can be anyone. There are examples of him all throughout history, of men who have a deep-seeded joy with violence and enacting that violence on people who they deem to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153deserve\u00e2\u20ac\u009d it. And look, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to ignore that I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really know all the reasons for the Earth-Minbari war, so there might be a power imbalance here I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite understood. Still, the Sniper\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s words about dismembering a Minbari felt so horrifying. (That song didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help, either.) But they felt real<\/i>. There are people who delight in war, and it brings out something horrific in them. Once you couple that with the intense hatred these men feel for aliens, for the humans who help them or ally with them, and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got a dangerous combination.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Oh god, this show continues to be relevant to our current state of being in a waking nightmare, IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S TOO MUCH.<\/p>\n

Ceremonies of Light<\/b><\/p>\n

I imagine if you split up this episode based on screentime\u00e2\u20ac\u201dhow much time Marcus gets, or the Ceremony of Rebirth, or the hostage plot, or Londo threatening Lord Refa\u00e2\u20ac\u201dyou\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d find that each of these stories is rather short. Which astounds me, because all of them are so detailed and impactful, so let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just appreciate that??? But of all of them, the Ceremony of Rebirth is the one I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll probably remember the most. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s such a small thread compared to the others, at least until the final couple of scenes. Well, not quite; Lennier\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s confession to Marcus is actually a significant moment, but even then? I actually thought this episode would end without<\/i> the Ceremony taking place. Still, Lennier confessing his eternal love for Delenn was jaw-dropping, yet completely unsurprising in hindsight. Of course<\/i> he felt that way! It explains his behavior so much, you know? Yet it packs an enormous punch, one that hints at the caliber of confessions we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see later.<\/p>\n

Because holy shit, that scene in the Medlab is SO FUCKING MUCH. Sheridan confesses his love to Delenn as part of the ceremony. I mean… we basically knew that, too? But to hear it confirmed out loud was a lot<\/i>. But then Garibaldi admits that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s afraid all the time<\/i>, that he isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sure he can ever let go. (Of what? His fear? His bravado? His sobriety?) Dr. Franklin finally admits to his addiction to stims, which means he has taken the first step towards addressing it. But exactly zero people are surprised that I was most destroyed by Ivanova admitting that she thinks she loved Talia Winters. Oh, boy, do I ever love sad queer shit, first of all. It like… fuels my whole body? Maybe it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a sad gay, but look… I am aware that this show is wading into a trope that is difficult and challenging for many of us to watch. At the same time\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand I say this having read the comments on the post for the episode in which we lost Talia, as well as having a LOT of conversations about Bury Your Gays and unhappy queer stories with my queer friends\u00e2\u20ac\u201dI wanna say that I appreciate that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got a bi woman talking about grief. Part of the reason Bury Your Gays often stings as much as it does is because there usually aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t any other gay or bi or lesbian or queer characters left behind. The sole representation was killed off. But having another<\/i> character under that umbrella who gets to talk about it, who gets to admit that they may have loved someone… well! As sad as it is\u00e2\u20ac\u201dI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d much prefer the world where they get to be together\u00e2\u20ac\u201dI can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t deny how powerful it is to see a woman who is a main character get to say that they loved another woman. And I know that relationship is a mess because where did Talia start and end? Was she as a person ever in love with Ivanova, or was it all a manipulation?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just… very, very happy that Ivanova got to say it. And there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a petty part of me that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also like, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Suck it, homophobes and biphobes. You can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take this part of Susan Ivanova away from us.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ceremonies of Light and Dark\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now out in the world!\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":"