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Anyone still play pokemon go? I really need some friends on there who are active enough to send gifts to.

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In all my years on tumblr, I don't think I have ever seen a sea lion correctly identified as such on here.

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In ‘Big Bad Wolf,’ Sculptor Kendra Haste Contends with Conservation and Rewilding

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B5: S4: 07-8

Epiphanies: I like the melancholy of the opening scene: the determination in Sheridan's voice on 'Give me today and I will be happy', as well as the way the music immediately shifts into something sadder, more ominous... It's also a lot of fun seeing all the various species dancing. One Narn was really tearing it up there!

Stephen makes sense as the character most willing to live in the moment: that's about the upshot of his last character arc.

Thinking about Virini as a kind of foil for Vir: both have 'walked the corridors of power' and come out still unambitious--iirc, Virini's first scene was with Vir in Sic Transit Vir? (No, I checked, it was the Quality of Mercy all the way back in season one. But the Vir scene illustrates his character much more.) Both come across as harmless and mostly endearing (although Virini is, uh...a lot more racist, which is part of the interesting contrast.)

Garibaldi drawing the face in the steamed up mirror is interesting because it's simultaniously really on-the-nose and really ambiguous. Yes, his self image is obscured, a new self has been imposed on top of the original, only revealed in a kind of liminal state, obvious metaphor goes brrr. And yet, both his actual expression and the drawn one are completely impassive. What's going on in there? We don't know.

Notable that when resigning, he doesn't bring up any of the grievances he's been developing with Sheridan except an extremely brief reference to 'not doing it the right way'. Way back in--season 2, I want to say? When he actually did step down because of Sheridan's treatment of Morden, he was plenty clear about it.

I do also like that his explanations for leaving, especially to Zack, are genuinely convincing. I can believe he's genuinely tired of all the great cosmic stakes and wants to do something straightforward. I made a separate post about my general thoughts about the brainwashing arc, but I think how I'm reading it here is that he's been given certain objectives and also made to try and mentally justify them so that his psyche doesn't completely and obviously fall apart. Maybe a lot of the time, he's sort of scrambling backwards from an outcome to find bits of his personality it might match up to.

LOVE the contrast between the cheery way G'Kar talks about the deal with Londo to Garibaldi, and the way he reacts to Londo's actual presence. I'm glad he added 'usually' to his comment about the universe rewarding good intentions: we're not going full 'just world' fallacy here, but an openness to connections and willingness not to act on hatred certainly helped.

Londo does not look delighted to no longer exist in G'Kar's universe! Given the almost dread with which he faced up to him, you might think this was getting off easy, and yet!

Bester's machinations were fun as always. He came out of this one the loser, but his little speech at the end was so chilling that it really didn't feel that way.

Sheridan has hardened since the war and his death, I think--he had good reason to be upset with Lyta, but I don't think he would have threatened to let her be vivisected before.

The Illusion of Truth:

The ease with which Sheridan and Susan slip into Doing A Bit is very cute. :D

The reporter does a pretty neat bit of manipulation, starting with an appealing bit of honesty about the profession, then slipping into the courageous underdog role. No-one's actually suckered, and they have their own reasons for letting him proceed, but they still weren't prepared for just how dishonest he was going to be, I don't think.

Garibaldi's only been doing this gig for one scene and he's already fed up with people taking him for a fool, ha. I like the contrast between how sharp and precise he is with his client and the unfiltered rambling gift he gives to the propagandist later--this is one of the bits which is best at drawing a disernable line between Garibaldi as himself and Garibaldi as influenced, I think, although him having to be coaxed by the reporter in the latter scene does run somewhat into the problems I mentioned in my other post. His reaction to Sheridan in his first scene being immediately connected to a related flashback of the brainwashing also works well. I wish they'd done more of this.

Sheridan's little scene with Londo is adorable and even malicious editing fails to make the look on Sheridan's face throughout less adorable, so there.

'Nothing will be able to stop us' is clumsy in a way which strikes me as OOC when Sheridan is deliberately trying to avoid things which might be taken out of context, but I can see him getting very emphatic about his relationship with Delenn. They're very cute on that couch together.

I kind of like how totally unconvincing the broadcast was? The conspicious muting, the blatant conspiracy theory, the spurious psychology. It fits with the way fascism often asks you to stop thinking for yourself--their explanations can be absurd, but they don't need to persuade you to believe, just to take no adverse action.

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B5: Just watched Racing Mars, couple thoughts on Garibaldi's plot:

I'm still quite enjoying this, but there are some aspects of the brainwashing arc which have started to feel a bit wobbly to me. Trying to pin down why, and this is what I've come up with--it's operating on two vectors which fundamentally clash, but isn't drawing much distinction between them.

So on the one hand, we have Garibaldi brainwashed to believe certain things about Sheridan. This plays into his general suspicious nature, his tendency to question authority, and his inclination to push back against the feeling of being pushed himself. It basically makes sense.

However, his reactions here aren't fully in line with what he would actually DO if he DID believe Sheridan were off base. So he's also been programmed with certain behaviours, and the beliefs are kind of scrambled post-hoc to maintain a semi-consistent worldview--they don't really need to make that much sense because he's being forced not to interrogate them much.

So when an episode focuses on enforcing his false beliefs in order to push him into making certain choices, but the choices are themselves still out of character, there's a real sense of dissonance even if the story doesn't outright contradict itself internally. I think focusing on just one of these vectors, or having both but showing more conflict between them--e.g. Garibaldi responds to seeing Sheridan get worshiped in a more Garibaldi way, then is visibly shunted onto the intended path and is also visibly confused about it but unable to linger on the feeling, might have made things stronger.

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And it's just before the Vorlons leave anyway! It seems like a matter of split second timing, so it's possible it was all necessary and if he hadn't done it they'd have fired on Centauri Prime sooner with the planet killer, but it's also possible it was all just...for nothing.

I think you're right about G'Kar feeling used, and Londo constantly emphasising that this is his plan and G'Kar just has to go along with it or else presumably heightens that. So maybe it's just all part of Londo's actions always coming too late or not having the intended effect that G'Kar gets particularly cold about it just after Londo expresses about the most direct concern for him that he has so far when reacting to his missing eye. (Although he's also sort of disclaiming responsibility--'Cartagia?' Yes, obviously, Londo, and you were there when he was deciding on it!)

B5: S4: 5-6

Finding it really hard to write about these two episodes! They're the climax of both the Shadow War and the Narn/Centauri war: I feel like I should try and say something moderately intelligent. But my main reactions are just, like, wow, G'Kar's being even more badass than his usual standard of badass! Aww, Vir's a sweetheart! Yay, tell your alien step-parents that they both suck!

The Long Night: Even though he's my favourite, I tend to find G'Kar hardest of all the characters to read. I'm not sure what was going on in his head at several points in this ep. His first scene with Londo--well, he has plenty of reason to think Londo's heart is empty, but I'm not sure why it's preoccupying him at that moment, or why he says he didn't see it before. Because Londo convinced him to scream? Because Londo didn't intervene with the eye's removal? Because Londo has come here to make use of him and is much more focused on that than anything else? (Although it's interesting how intense Londo is when reminding him not to touch Cartagia--arguably that wouldn't itself harm Londo's plan except maybe causing the Centauri to waste time with revenge. But it's mainly Narn which would suffer, and G'Kar himself.)

The second scene I struggle to read is when he comes in on the Narn smashing up the throne room, and asks why they're celebrating. I understand why he's unhappy with their reponses, but I'm not sure why he comes in already upset. Because they should be out helping, not smashing things, maybe? Still, after everything, I don't really see the problem with tearing down the symbols they were forced to build.

Anyway! The plan goes off! There are several hitches, and the whole thing only works because Londo has surrounded himself with reliable people, largely accidentally. (Also because G'Kar is just that badass.) The fallout with Vir, where Londo starts dismissive and then manages to be sincere and even vulnerable--in a way, that's an illustration of how his own heart may recover. Letting himself feel the weight of his own actions, reaching out for connections, being honest--whenever he's taking babysteps towards being better, you can see him attempt unusual honesty. And it matches with what he's telling Vir, which is basically not to try and dodge feeling the pain of what he's done, to put it in its proper context and then accept it.

He's still selling himself as basically beyond change, though, taking G'Kar's comment on his heart being empty and adopting it as permanent. Kind of funny how G'Kar's the Cassandra figure, whose correct predictions are always dismissed, and Londo, his foil, is doomed largely by his own assumption that his fate is set in stone.

I'm also not sure if he reverts to deflecting from his regret with his comment about Narn being 'more trouble than it's worth', or if that's his genuine opinion and he still thinks the conquest was fine in theory.

Vir's little 'What was any of it for?' works as a fitting rebuke to the Shadow ideology of war strengthening the victors. Centauri forces won decisively against the Narn, and nobody is any better off for it, even the ones, like Londo, who believed in strength as growth.

The sacrifice of Ericsson and his ship was poignant and well-acted--Ericsson's resolution, Sheridan's mix of firm authority and trailing off, occasionally dropping eye contact, the discomfort of all the aliens watching. Then it's echoed neatly by G'Kar's 'The strength [that won] is not from weapons or arms'.

Sinclair leaving poetry for his successor is so him, haha. And Sheridan actually reading it and memorising a bit of it is so him.

Into the Fire:

I do really like the variety of ship designs in the fleet!

I also really like that the climactic struggle is a bit of everything! It's more than a battle of arms, but it IS also a battle of arms. It's a battle of ideologies, except no, actually, it's about rejecting the forced binary between the ideologies! It's about rejecting the authority of your predecessors, but just in case, you also brought THEIR dad to watch!

And Londo fully rejects the Shadows and has Morden executed in what should have felt like a triumphant moment, but is also screwing himself over with the 'allies' which have already been hinted. (A sign of growth, nonetheless, that he offered Morden and the Shadows several outs, putting the lives of those who stayed on the island over his chance at revenge?) Nonetheless, that's for tomorrow. Tonight, Vir hugs! Which anyone ought to be happy about.

The summary speech between Delenn and Sheridan after the action was maybe a bit pat, but what the hell. Sometimes a writer's gonna take a victory lap and make a thematically appropriate pun. And it's really nice how invested in aftermaths this show is.

Anyway, after all that about growth and developing the necessary wisdom, we'll be back to the regularly scheduled Earth fascism next ep. Talk about making your own mistakes, but I guess that underlines the depth of the point: even with the really big mistakes it still applies.

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B5: S4: 5-6

Finding it really hard to write about these two episodes! They're the climax of both the Shadow War and the Narn/Centauri war: I feel like I should try and say something moderately intelligent. But my main reactions are just, like, wow, G'Kar's being even more badass than his usual standard of badass! Aww, Vir's a sweetheart! Yay, tell your alien step-parents that they both suck!

The Long Night: Even though he's my favourite, I tend to find G'Kar hardest of all the characters to read. I'm not sure what was going on in his head at several points in this ep. His first scene with Londo--well, he has plenty of reason to think Londo's heart is empty, but I'm not sure why it's preoccupying him at that moment, or why he says he didn't see it before. Because Londo convinced him to scream? Because Londo didn't intervene with the eye's removal? Because Londo has come here to make use of him and is much more focused on that than anything else? (Although it's interesting how intense Londo is when reminding him not to touch Cartagia--arguably that wouldn't itself harm Londo's plan except maybe causing the Centauri to waste time with revenge. But it's mainly Narn which would suffer, and G'Kar himself.)

The second scene I struggle to read is when he comes in on the Narn smashing up the throne room, and asks why they're celebrating. I understand why he's unhappy with their reponses, but I'm not sure why he comes in already upset. Because they should be out helping, not smashing things, maybe? Still, after everything, I don't really see the problem with tearing down the symbols they were forced to build.

Anyway! The plan goes off! There are several hitches, and the whole thing only works because Londo has surrounded himself with reliable people, largely accidentally. (Also because G'Kar is just that badass.) The fallout with Vir, where Londo starts dismissive and then manages to be sincere and even vulnerable--in a way, that's an illustration of how his own heart may recover. Letting himself feel the weight of his own actions, reaching out for connections, being honest--whenever he's taking babysteps towards being better, you can see him attempt unusual honesty. And it matches with what he's telling Vir, which is basically not to try and dodge feeling the pain of what he's done, to put it in its proper context and then accept it.

He's still selling himself as basically beyond change, though, taking G'Kar's comment on his heart being empty and adopting it as permanent. Kind of funny how G'Kar's the Cassandra figure, whose correct predictions are always dismissed, and Londo, his foil, is doomed largely by his own assumption that his fate is set in stone.

I'm also not sure if he reverts to deflecting from his regret with his comment about Narn being 'more trouble than it's worth', or if that's his genuine opinion and he still thinks the conquest was fine in theory.

Vir's little 'What was any of it for?' works as a fitting rebuke to the Shadow ideology of war strengthening the victors. Centauri forces won decisively against the Narn, and nobody is any better off for it, even the ones, like Londo, who believed in strength as growth.

The sacrifice of Ericsson and his ship was poignant and well-acted--Ericsson's resolution, Sheridan's mix of firm authority and trailing off, occasionally dropping eye contact, the discomfort of all the aliens watching. Then it's echoed neatly by G'Kar's 'The strength [that won] is not from weapons or arms'.

Sinclair leaving poetry for his successor is so him, haha. And Sheridan actually reading it and memorising a bit of it is so him.

Into the Fire:

I do really like the variety of ship designs in the fleet!

I also really like that the climactic struggle is a bit of everything! It's more than a battle of arms, but it IS also a battle of arms. It's a battle of ideologies, except no, actually, it's about rejecting the forced binary between the ideologies! It's about rejecting the authority of your predecessors, but just in case, you also brought THEIR dad to watch!

And Londo fully rejects the Shadows and has Morden executed in what should have felt like a triumphant moment, but is also screwing himself over with the 'allies' which have already been hinted. (A sign of growth, nonetheless, that he offered Morden and the Shadows several outs, putting the lives of those who stayed on the island over his chance at revenge?) Nonetheless, that's for tomorrow. Tonight, Vir hugs! Which anyone ought to be happy about.

The summary speech between Delenn and Sheridan after the action was maybe a bit pat, but what the hell. Sometimes a writer's gonna take a victory lap and make a thematically appropriate pun. And it's really nice how invested in aftermaths this show is.

Anyway, after all that about growth and developing the necessary wisdom, we'll be back to the regularly scheduled Earth fascism next ep. Talk about making your own mistakes, but I guess that underlines the depth of the point: even with the really big mistakes it still applies.

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#totally on board with nerdy!G'Kar#I was going to say secretly nerdy but no#absolutely everyone hears about his new Geek Thing all the time probably

@laylainalaska's great tags.

Nerdy G’Kar for internutter! He should technically be nerdier for classic literature, but what’s nerdier than 20th Century Scifi? Come now ;)

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g’khamazad outskirts, 2214

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Anyway: would read fic about them. Now tempted to write some.

*encouraging noises*

But I'm glad it's working better for you!

Plenty of time for it to run off a cliff still, lol. But thanks! And if I end up unhappy with the payoff, at least I'll be in good company!

B5: S4: 3-4

The Summoning: It's very fun the way Londo is both right and wrong about pride in this episode. He's right that, under these circumstances, it's more important to survive, that performing for a persecutor in order to trick them doesn't diminish you. But also, I think he relates too strongly to G'Kar about this to really understand where they're different. The pride of a man who has felt himself to be a joke and a pawn of others, who has been raised to expect greatness for himself and is shamed by not achieving it, can't perfectly recognise the pride a former slave has in resistance.

The 'jester' scene is genuinely painful to watch. All the more so because we switch from a cute, funny little scene about Delenn and Marcus ensuring no-one laughs at Susan to Londo and Vir watching G'kar be humiliated.

I do wish we got more Vir and G'Kar scenes. Vir's reaction to Cartagia's treatment of him is so obviously personal, it seems clear to me that they have an interesting relationship, just one which is almost entirely off-screen. I'm reminded of Sic Transit Vir, when Vir's reaction to the monstorousness of his prospective bride was to hope she could change. The shift from that same inclination with Cartagia to 'Kill him'...he's only really been that aggressive about Morden before, after Morden screwed with Londo.

I can't quite decide whether G'Kar hadn't decided to scream until he finally did, or whether he went into the whole ordeal knowing that he would scream on 39, holding out to the last moment as a kind of proof of agency. I think I lean towards the latter, but it could go either way.

Also, because I am a magpie for parallels, I loved that what Delenn is asking Lyta to do is a little like what Londo is asking G'Kar to do. (And she mentions Londo as one of the people she cares about in her personal log, even though they haven't even begun to reconcile. She thinks of the two of them as connected, I think.)

I'm spoilered for most of the Garibaldi plotline, but I don't actually know if all the detective work paid off, or if they were allowed to find him just then because his captors had finished what they were doing. I would be sad if all their efforts just played into someone else's hands.

Sheridan and Susan's reunion hug made them look so much like siblings. <3

Sheridan got a haircut while he was out being dead. I quite like the look!

Falling Towards Apotheosis:

I know Garibaldi's paranoia arc isn't to everyone's taste, but so far I'm quite enjoying the subtle off-ness with him, no-one sure how to react, and how it's founded in things which seem reasonable on both sides. Garibaldi's a naturally suspicious bastard, and Sheridan's a schemer--put Garibaldi on the outside of one of those schemes, he's going to be on edge. Especially because, maybe subconsciously, he knows something's up with himself after returning from a similar mystery.

I swear Jerry Doyle must have had it in his contract that he got all the shirtless scenes.

Like Delenn, Sheridan still has some kind of attachment to Londo, and is willing to help him out. The lines between enemy and ally must be almost illegible by now, and I'm reminded of Kosh's 'It no longer matters who started it, it only matters who is suffering'. Nobody wants Centauri Prime destroyed, despite everything. (Well, nobody but Cartagia.) I enjoy Kosh's implied arc through the whole story to now: we can only really see the changes he must have gone through now that the Vorlons in general are revealed, literally and metaphorically.

Londo's very adept with Cartagia in this ep, and he needs to be--Cartagia obviously doesn't trust him. His totally blank face in answer to some of the flattery is genuinely scary. And it's interesting that Londo has to use some of his own (former?) prejudices to sell the plan to go to Narn--implying the Narn are suggestible vessels for Centauri greatness, are meant for subservience, are barbarians.

And actually, his clever handling of the plan makes him not trying to mitigate things in the final scene with G'Kar look more negligent in comparison--I'd seen the scene out of context before and thought that I couldn't blame him much for putting the assassination plot first rather than getting killed failing to protect G'Kar. But actually I think he could have exercised some of his influence without too much risk here by suggesting some other, more minor punishment in the right terms. The zoom in on the door as G'Kar doesn't scream but the music kind of does is very effective.

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Yeah, with Vir I don't think he and G'Kar are secretly close or even that they've had more interactions than the ones we've seen directly implied, just that they figure more largely in each others' awareness than would usually be the case with people who've shared so little screentime. Londo has said that G'Kar knows about Abrahamo Lincolni and trusts Vir as much as he can trust any Centauri, and Vir obviously cares about G'Kar.

On Garibaldi, I'm an easy audience because I love brainwashing plots. Admittedly, part of what I love about them is the brainwashed character's friends recognising something's wrong, emphasis being placed on how well the friends know the brainwashed character, the friends helping them through it--which isn't really going to happen here. But I do care about the little friendship Sheridan and Garibaldi have developed, and so there will be at least some angsty impact there.

B5: S4: 3-4

The Summoning: It's very fun the way Londo is both right and wrong about pride in this episode. He's right that, under these circumstances, it's more important to survive, that performing for a persecutor in order to trick them doesn't diminish you. But also, I think he relates too strongly to G'Kar about this to really understand where they're different. The pride of a man who has felt himself to be a joke and a pawn of others, who has been raised to expect greatness for himself and is shamed by not achieving it, can't perfectly recognise the pride a former slave has in resistance.

The 'jester' scene is genuinely painful to watch. All the more so because we switch from a cute, funny little scene about Delenn and Marcus ensuring no-one laughs at Susan to Londo and Vir watching G'kar be humiliated.

I do wish we got more Vir and G'Kar scenes. Vir's reaction to Cartagia's treatment of him is so obviously personal, it seems clear to me that they have an interesting relationship, just one which is almost entirely off-screen. I'm reminded of Sic Transit Vir, when Vir's reaction to the monstorousness of his prospective bride was to hope she could change. The shift from that same inclination with Cartagia to 'Kill him'...he's only really been that aggressive about Morden before, after Morden screwed with Londo.

I can't quite decide whether G'Kar hadn't decided to scream until he finally did, or whether he went into the whole ordeal knowing that he would scream on 39, holding out to the last moment as a kind of proof of agency. I think I lean towards the latter, but it could go either way.

Also, because I am a magpie for parallels, I loved that what Delenn is asking Lyta to do is a little like what Londo is asking G'Kar to do. (And she mentions Londo as one of the people she cares about in her personal log, even though they haven't even begun to reconcile. She thinks of the two of them as connected, I think.)

I'm spoilered for most of the Garibaldi plotline, but I don't actually know if all the detective work paid off, or if they were allowed to find him just then because his captors had finished what they were doing. I would be sad if all their efforts just played into someone else's hands.

Sheridan and Susan's reunion hug made them look so much like siblings. <3

Sheridan got a haircut while he was out being dead. I quite like the look!

Falling Towards Apotheosis:

I know Garibaldi's paranoia arc isn't to everyone's taste, but so far I'm quite enjoying the subtle off-ness with him, no-one sure how to react, and how it's founded in things which seem reasonable on both sides. Garibaldi's a naturally suspicious bastard, and Sheridan's a schemer--put Garibaldi on the outside of one of those schemes, he's going to be on edge. Especially because, maybe subconsciously, he knows something's up with himself after returning from a similar mystery.

I swear Jerry Doyle must have had it in his contract that he got all the shirtless scenes.

Like Delenn, Sheridan still has some kind of attachment to Londo, and is willing to help him out. The lines between enemy and ally must be almost illegible by now, and I'm reminded of Kosh's 'It no longer matters who started it, it only matters who is suffering'. Nobody wants Centauri Prime destroyed, despite everything. (Well, nobody but Cartagia.) I enjoy Kosh's implied arc through the whole story to now: we can only really see the changes he must have gone through now that the Vorlons in general are revealed, literally and metaphorically.

Londo's very adept with Cartagia in this ep, and he needs to be--Cartagia obviously doesn't trust him. His totally blank face in answer to some of the flattery is genuinely scary. And it's interesting that Londo has to use some of his own (former?) prejudices to sell the plan to go to Narn--implying the Narn are suggestible vessels for Centauri greatness, are meant for subservience, are barbarians.

And actually, his clever handling of the plan makes him not trying to mitigate things in the final scene with G'Kar look more negligent in comparison--I'd seen the scene out of context before and thought that I couldn't blame him much for putting the assassination plot first rather than getting killed failing to protect G'Kar. But actually I think he could have exercised some of his influence without too much risk here by suggesting some other, more minor punishment in the right terms. The zoom in on the door as G'Kar doesn't scream but the music kind of does is very effective.

[peregrineroad]

B5: S4: 3-4

The Summoning: It's very fun the way Londo is both right and wrong about pride in this episode. He's right that, under these circumstances, it's more important to survive, that performing for a persecutor in order to trick them doesn't diminish you. But also, I think he relates too strongly to G'Kar about this to really understand where they're different. The pride of a man who has felt himself to be a joke and a pawn of others, who has been raised to expect greatness for himself and is shamed by not achieving it, can't perfectly recognise the pride a former slave has in resistance.

The 'jester' scene is genuinely painful to watch. All the more so because we switch from a cute, funny little scene about Delenn and Marcus ensuring no-one laughs at Susan to Londo and Vir watching G'kar be humiliated.

I do wish we got more Vir and G'Kar scenes. Vir's reaction to Cartagia's treatment of him is so obviously personal, it seems clear to me that they have an interesting relationship, just one which is almost entirely off-screen. I'm reminded of Sic Transit Vir, when Vir's reaction to the monstorousness of his prospective bride was to hope she could change. The shift from that same inclination with Cartagia to 'Kill him'...he's only really been that aggressive about Morden before, after Morden screwed with Londo.

I can't quite decide whether G'Kar hadn't decided to scream until he finally did, or whether he went into the whole ordeal knowing that he would scream on 39, holding out to the last moment as a kind of proof of agency. I think I lean towards the latter, but it could go either way.

Also, because I am a magpie for parallels, I loved that what Delenn is asking Lyta to do is a little like what Londo is asking G'Kar to do. (And she mentions Londo as one of the people she cares about in her personal log, even though they haven't even begun to reconcile. She thinks of the two of them as connected, I think.)

I'm spoilered for most of the Garibaldi plotline, but I don't actually know if all the detective work paid off, or if they were allowed to find him just then because his captors had finished what they were doing. I would be sad if all their efforts just played into someone else's hands.

Sheridan and Susan's reunion hug made them look so much like siblings. <3

Sheridan got a haircut while he was out being dead. I quite like the look!

Falling Towards Apotheosis:

I know Garibaldi's paranoia arc isn't to everyone's taste, but so far I'm quite enjoying the subtle off-ness with him, no-one sure how to react, and how it's founded in things which seem reasonable on both sides. Garibaldi's a naturally suspicious bastard, and Sheridan's a schemer--put Garibaldi on the outside of one of those schemes, he's going to be on edge. Especially because, maybe subconsciously, he knows something's up with himself after returning from a similar mystery.

I swear Jerry Doyle must have had it in his contract that he got all the shirtless scenes.

Like Delenn, Sheridan still has some kind of attachment to Londo, and is willing to help him out. The lines between enemy and ally must be almost illegible by now, and I'm reminded of Kosh's 'It no longer matters who started it, it only matters who is suffering'. Nobody wants Centauri Prime destroyed, despite everything. (Well, nobody but Cartagia.) I enjoy Kosh's implied arc through the whole story to now: we can only really see the changes he must have gone through now that the Vorlons in general are revealed, literally and metaphorically.

Londo's very adept with Cartagia in this ep, and he needs to be--Cartagia obviously doesn't trust him. His totally blank face in answer to some of the flattery is genuinely scary. And it's interesting that Londo has to use some of his own (former?) prejudices to sell the plan to go to Narn--implying the Narn are suggestible vessels for Centauri greatness, are meant for subservience, are barbarians.

And actually, his clever handling of the plan makes him not trying to mitigate things in the final scene with G'Kar look more negligent in comparison--I'd seen the scene out of context before and thought that I couldn't blame him much for putting the assassination plot first rather than getting killed failing to protect G'Kar. But actually I think he could have exercised some of his influence without too much risk here by suggesting some other, more minor punishment in the right terms. The zoom in on the door as G'Kar doesn't scream but the music kind of does is very effective.

[peregrineroad]

B5: S4: 1-2

I am getting progressively more long-winded with every reaction post. It's a good thing there's only two more seasons to go because otherwise the vast wilds of my final ramblings would overtake tumblr's servers entirely. I watched 1-4, but this got so long I thought it was better to split it.

This run together has been intense, and fantastic television. Even though The Hour of the Wolf is mainly aftermath and setup, it's incredibly fast paced and gripping, and everything only accelerates from there.

HotW: Obviously, Londo is not pleased with being recalled to the Court, even though G'Kar's right, it's much of what he always wanted. But he does seem more...settled in himself, somehow. He's very afraid of what's coming, but he's less reactive, not lying to himself so frantically. I'm still trying to pin down the reasons for the change--maybe just that he's able to act for the benefit of his world now in a way which feels a bit cleaner. Maybe it's that his way forward is clear where before he wasn't sure whether everything he was doing to promote Centauri interests was actually inviting destruction upon his people (which it was). The worst kind of happens here, so now he has the rock bottom to steady himself against.

It's really interesting that, even though he's a traditionalist who wants increased power for his people, the emperor--traditional seat of that power--has never commanded that much respect from him. Even with Turhain, he liked him personally but thought he was bad for the people, so was willing to betray him. I wonder what he thinks of as the 'soul' of the Centauri's culture and traditions, its people, which part he really wanted to elevate.

Cartagia does a LOT of referencing of ancient times and traditions here, handily illustrating why the old days maybe weren't so great. He's clearly a sort of echo of Londo's ambitions, but without the patriotism. Londo's nationalism--planetism?-- has been the spur of a lot of his very worst actions, it's not in itself redemptive, but here it's what makes him preferable to Cartagia. Londo wants power for himself and power for his people: he wants each to feed into the other. He wants an environment which fosters greatness and which rewards it with glory, one which is worth being glorious for. Cartagia wants a flattering mirror. But because of that, his walks 'among the people' are really interesting, especially because he discards a traditional status symbol to enable them. I think his interest is largely purient, but I think he also sees the lower classes as an aspect of his reflection. Centauri class stuff is fascinating! It's also fun that, even while suseptible to flattery, he does seem to notice whenever Londo's politicking or handling him. (I think if Londo didn't have a connection to the shadows, his treatment of Cartagia in this ep would have got him killed, though. He underestimates the danger at first.)

The way Vir's face lights up when Londo says he is the closest thing Londo has to a friend--on the one hand, very cute, on the other hand, we really need to raise those standards, sweetie! (I wonder when exactly Vir's loyalty to Londo became so unshakable. It must have been sometime in season one, probably not actually a distinct moment onscreen, but still something I will look out for when rewatching.) At least he also gets a please, which he doesn't actually need. And Londo thinks of him as a patriot, despite accusing him of being corrupted by Minbari half a season ago, which has fun implications.

Non-Londo thoughts: Susan's devastation about Sheridan, and struggle with the full weight of the responsibilty which lands on her in his absence, is really well drawn. I loved the 'hour of the wolf' monologue, and that it ends with her deciding she has to shoulder that weight as best she can.

Poor Delenn, all this time working with the Vorlons, seemingly revering them, and it turns out they were purely using you. Well, Kosh had some personal concern for others, but he was not representative. I'm glad that she's able to let go rather than keep clinging to the hope they're acting for the greater good--I think she maybe needed that personal connection to and respect for Sheridan for that, as well as his call-out before he left.

G'Kar bein' cute with that hat. More thoughts on redemption here, making it clear he thinks he needed one, not just a new perspective. Having receieved that chance, maybe he's more inclined to give it to others, which may account for some of his implied sympathy for Londo in the opening. I'm glad that the idea that Garibaldi's been forgotten gets addressed, because it does feel a bit like that.

WHTMG: Stephen and Garibaldi have seemed particularly close, so it's nice that Stephen's opening monologue also shows the weight of his absence. But everyone's kind of expecting to die anyway, so maybe not knowing the fate of a friend who's elsewhere is even a reason for hope as much as for despair.

G'Kar doing his detective-ing! He should have worn the hat. It's quite impressive, if mostly off-screen. He's always been good at noticing when something's up, not quite as good at getting people to talk to him about it. But he hasn't had to opportunity to have a shout in a while, so I'm enjoying that for him.

He and Marcus are actually kind of similar in some ways? So it's fun to see them interact. I've also missed G'Kar's affronted gasps, apparently these days it takes an accusation of pikal envy to get one out of him. Their friendship conversation was sweet, as was Marcus's reluctance to leave him. As a leader of the Narn resistance, it feels like G'Kar ought to have known where was safe-ish for a Narn to travel without getting hordes of Centauri troops dropped on him, but maybe the situation had shifted since he last got word. It does seem a little odd that neither he nor Marcus guessed that he might be recognised as a Most Wanted, though. Anyway, he was probably right that Marcus getting the info to B5 was more important, even while the universe immediately moved to punish him for it.

I've noted before how good an actor Londo is, even in terrible circumstances, so it seems significant just how badly he hides his shock and horror at G'Kar getting dragged in.

His awkward little 'Hello...' when first going to talk to G'Kar in his cell is strangely adorable. And 'a measure of dignity'...despite himself, he respects G'Kar, and doesn't actually want to see him humiliated. Although this is the fate he attempted to condemn G'Kar to when trying to get him sent off to be executed before. He wouldn't have had to watch back then, I suppose.

He actually kneels here when offering his deal, and his angry brush off of his knees when he thinks it's been rejected is clearly partly anger at having a show of humility go to waste. But of course G'Kar will haggle. He, too, has something much more important than his own life to live for.

I don't have much to say about the Lorien bits. I think even in a heavily philosophical show, there's only so much you can do with just sitting around a fire talking about philosophy. And it's never really felt like Sheridan lacked things to live for. He's not like Sinclair, looking for purpose and balancing that with looking for joy. Sheridan has plenty of causes, but I don't think he needs one to live, necessarily, or that he needs to be taught to live for his own sake. That said, I did love how, as Delenn is giving him reason to fight his way back to life, he's giving her the same. I like that Stephen gets to help her this way without trying to force things to be fixed as he might have before--his previous attempts at being a therapist have not gone well, so here instead he's a friend. Her guilt, as well as her grief, was dragging her down, and seeing Sheridan's belief in her and what she meant to him helps her shift it to motivation.

[peregrineroad]

Still only on episode 1 of season 4 of B5, but very cross at the moment because the version I bought appears to be missing the opening scene :{

[peregrineroad]

Note about Centauri titles--Refa especially, but other court people as well, seem to slip regularly back and forth between calling Londo 'Londo' and calling him 'Mollari'--between one sentence and the next--and there doesn't seem to be an obvious pattern, such as personal vs formal. On a rewatch I need to pay more attention to see if I can figure it out.

[peregrineroad]

Yes, I think "Rock Cried Out" is so far the episode experience most affected by already knowing the broad strokes of what was going to happen.

It's a similar sort of fake-out as with War Without End, albeit the reveal shows much less moral clarity on Londo's part. But doing the right-ish thing for the wrong reasons is a step up for him, and a pretty well-established way to start a character on the road to some sort of atonement or redemption arc. So I was feeling quite cosy with Londo selling how he needs to take out G'Kar, being in on the scheme, and was instead taken off guard by just how brutal he was with Vir. Even as he's sort of doing the same thing Vir did, for much less altruistic reasons, down to the number of Narn who were freed. Which does show us how risky the whole business is for everyone. I wonder if he was channeling some of the humiliation he was about to visit on Refa's family on similar pretenses, but either way he's a fantastic and ruthless actor.

I LOVED the

'What are you waiting for?'

'This,'

as G'Kar pulls out the holo device. Even as far apart as they are emotionally at this moment, Londo and G'Kar's dramatic instincts sync perfectly. Convinced that nothing bad would have happened on B5 if Sinclair had insisted on a proper Drama Society and then coerced all the ambassadors to join it. They'd have been too busy critiquing/grudgingly admiring each other's line delivery to go around kidnapping nephews or starting wars.

"I really like how the show does actually sell Sheridan's characterization as a twisty thinker who's always got some kind of plan going on"

YES! And every persona feels authentic--he IS a dorky romantic, and he IS a tricksy tactician, and he IS a guy who'll drop a nuke on his own head to win.

Epic fantasy tropes mixed in with sci-fi ones, which is super fun.

B5: S3: 20-22

The Rock Cried Out: Wow, poor Vir!! Londo (pretending to be) confused at the end when he was upset, after the sheer deliberate ugliness of the threats to Vir's family...this is the kind of awkward social scene that never ever apologising gets you. You can't just 'well anyway' threatening to destroy someone's whole House, even when they don't really like their House, in order to force them to do something terrible, and expect things to go back to normal, Londo!

Vir's never had trouble telling Londo things are a bad idea, but an absolute refusal to obey an order is new. Being bullied into betraying G'Kar anyway, and his inability to look up as he goes to convince G'Kar...ouch.

G'Kar's reaction is interesting--he's really quiet and grave this episode. I think his real attitude to searching for an alive Na'Toth in these circumstances would be different, but working with an enemy for the sake of Narn has him all glum focus. His final scene when he smiles slightly as Refa is being beaten, then turns and brings the cloth back up to his face as he walks away is striking. Nothing's healed yet.

I liked the double-meaning of Londo 'ending the rivalry'--with Refa, and also with G'Kar, sort of--this sets some of the foundation for them working together, although for purely pragmatic reasons at this point. Probably some symbolism on that political motive with the Londo projection not really being there with the Narn, not pointing in quite the right direction when gesturing (while misblaming Refa for Adira, maybe that's significant too), the whole thing still a performance at this point.

Also Londo calling G'Kar 'annoying but extremely capable.'

Susan finds G'Kar both annoying and comforting! (I'm noticing a theme here.) That's adorable. I hadn't noticed many scenes with them together before but they do get some in these last three episodes, and all those scenes were brightened for me by that off-hand comment.

Speaking of adorable, John and Delenn are very cute in this one (all the better to set up pain later). 'Your face just broke the language barrier.' She gets to be whimsical with him in a way she rarely is with anyone else--I'm not sure if some of it is put on for his benefit, but not all, I don't think. I like that he knows full well she's manipulative, and there are definitely moments where he kind of likes that too. Also that her response to him in tactics mode saying 'it's what I'd do' about horrible war crimes is basically an appalled you clearly need a nap.

Shadow Dancing: Whew, this one was dramatic. The Z minus thing took me a while to work out but landed really hard when I did.

Stephen's plot--I haven't loved this. Don't hate it either, but I think it suffers from contrast with the rest. For once thing, though it may feel more cohesive on a rewatch, it feels to me like the show's diagnosis of the root of Stephen's problems keeps changing--first it says he defines himself through work and what he can do for others, then that he defines himself through what he's not, then it's his arrogance and hero-complex...that can all be reconcilled, but I'm not sure the episode really did that. Second...well, I like relationships, and Stephen's plot here has cut him off from the established ones I'm invested in. That said, I do like the idea of going on a journey to find yourself and discovering that that guy's an asshole, and I loved that his 'other' self was obviously borrowing from his father.

Susan and Marcus--Really enjoyed their subplot. The scouting was tense, and Susan's struggles with the minbari bed were fantastic. The slllllooow slide off backwards after she'd tried to make it level, and the thump that suggested she didn't even attempt to right herself--amazing. Loved the quiet heroism of them choosing to send the signal and potentially doom themselves.

The presentation of the battle was pretty intense. It seemed like a believable amount of progress against a still very formidable threat.

The prophecy deciphering afterwards was a little awkward to me, though, especially the bit about the Hand. Felt like the characters stretching to explain to the audience a meaning the characters themselves shouldn't really have worked out. (To start with, most humans have a dominant hand: they're not equal and opposite!) I really don't think 'You are the Hand' implies 'you have an opposite number on the other team who is "the man inbetween" and is now going to come after you.' But we had to set up Justin somehow, I suppose.

Z'Ha'Dum

Well, in a sense, Sheridan and Delenn did see each other's 'true faces' here. I feel like that argument was entirely necessary for them to properly understand each other. Really nicely acted, too.

It feels kind of unconventional that the episode didn't really try to fake us out over whether Sheridan really trusted 'Anna'--it was clear he didn't, and the tension was in what he was planning to do about it. Also kind of cool that the Shadow's big pitch on why they're the good guys really wasn't convincing AT ALL--even presented through human agents, I don't think they understand how unappealing most people would find that kind of social Darwinism described in those terms. They didn't even really succeed in selling the Vorlons as dubious, or at least they probably wouldn't have if we hadn't seen plenty of clues about that already.

Shadows to all species:

Kosh's 'Jump, now!' was the most emotion he's ever shown, and it happened after he was dead. John still took his sweet time, though. I was also feeling like yelling 'Jump!' at him.

Lots of very pretty shots in the climax.

Feels like John should have left a final message for Susan somehow. Delenn and Garibaldi got a goodbye...And she's so devastated. T_T

G'Kar's final speech is fantastic, but wow, what a gloomy note to end the season on! Excellent.

[peregrineroad]

I've noticed when I'm writing up these reactions that I use 'really' about once every two sentences. Someone should really take the word away from me.

B5: S3: 20-22

The Rock Cried Out: Wow, poor Vir!! Londo (pretending to be) confused at the end when he was upset, after the sheer deliberate ugliness of the threats to Vir's family...this is the kind of awkward social scene that never ever apologising gets you. You can't just 'well anyway' threatening to destroy someone's whole House, even when they don't really like their House, in order to force them to do something terrible, and expect things to go back to normal, Londo!

Vir's never had trouble telling Londo things are a bad idea, but an absolute refusal to obey an order is new. Being bullied into betraying G'Kar anyway, and his inability to look up as he goes to convince G'Kar...ouch.

G'Kar's reaction is interesting--he's really quiet and grave this episode. I think his real attitude to searching for an alive Na'Toth in these circumstances would be different, but working with an enemy for the sake of Narn has him all glum focus. His final scene when he smiles slightly as Refa is being beaten, then turns and brings the cloth back up to his face as he walks away is striking. Nothing's healed yet.

I liked the double-meaning of Londo 'ending the rivalry'--with Refa, and also with G'Kar, sort of--this sets some of the foundation for them working together, although for purely pragmatic reasons at this point. Probably some symbolism on that political motive with the Londo projection not really being there with the Narn, not pointing in quite the right direction when gesturing (while misblaming Refa for Adira, maybe that's significant too), the whole thing still a performance at this point.

Also Londo calling G'Kar 'annoying but extremely capable.'

Susan finds G'Kar both annoying and comforting! (I'm noticing a theme here.) That's adorable. I hadn't noticed many scenes with them together before but they do get some in these last three episodes, and all those scenes were brightened for me by that off-hand comment.

Speaking of adorable, John and Delenn are very cute in this one (all the better to set up pain later). 'Your face just broke the language barrier.' She gets to be whimsical with him in a way she rarely is with anyone else--I'm not sure if some of it is put on for his benefit, but not all, I don't think. I like that he knows full well she's manipulative, and there are definitely moments where he kind of likes that too. Also that her response to him in tactics mode saying 'it's what I'd do' about horrible war crimes is basically an appalled you clearly need a nap.

Shadow Dancing: Whew, this one was dramatic. The Z minus thing took me a while to work out but landed really hard when I did.

Stephen's plot--I haven't loved this. Don't hate it either, but I think it suffers from contrast with the rest. For once thing, though it may feel more cohesive on a rewatch, it feels to me like the show's diagnosis of the root of Stephen's problems keeps changing--first it says he defines himself through work and what he can do for others, then that he defines himself through what he's not, then it's his arrogance and hero-complex...that can all be reconcilled, but I'm not sure the episode really did that. Second...well, I like relationships, and Stephen's plot here has cut him off from the established ones I'm invested in. That said, I do like the idea of going on a journey to find yourself and discovering that that guy's an asshole, and I loved that his 'other' self was obviously borrowing from his father.

Susan and Marcus--Really enjoyed their subplot. The scouting was tense, and Susan's struggles with the minbari bed were fantastic. The slllllooow slide off backwards after she'd tried to make it level, and the thump that suggested she didn't even attempt to right herself--amazing. Loved the quiet heroism of them choosing to send the signal and potentially doom themselves.

The presentation of the battle was pretty intense. It seemed like a believable amount of progress against a still very formidable threat.

The prophecy deciphering afterwards was a little awkward to me, though, especially the bit about the Hand. Felt like the characters stretching to explain to the audience a meaning the characters themselves shouldn't really have worked out. (To start with, most humans have a dominant hand: they're not equal and opposite!) I really don't think 'You are the Hand' implies 'you have an opposite number on the other team who is "the man inbetween" and is now going to come after you.' But we had to set up Justin somehow, I suppose.

Z'Ha'Dum

Well, in a sense, Sheridan and Delenn did see each other's 'true faces' here. I feel like that argument was entirely necessary for them to properly understand each other. Really nicely acted, too.

It feels kind of unconventional that the episode didn't really try to fake us out over whether Sheridan really trusted 'Anna'--it was clear he didn't, and the tension was in what he was planning to do about it. Also kind of cool that the Shadow's big pitch on why they're the good guys really wasn't convincing AT ALL--even presented through human agents, I don't think they understand how unappealing most people would find that kind of social Darwinism described in those terms. They didn't even really succeed in selling the Vorlons as dubious, or at least they probably wouldn't have if we hadn't seen plenty of clues about that already.

Shadows to all species:

Kosh's 'Jump, now!' was the most emotion he's ever shown, and it happened after he was dead. John still took his sweet time, though. I was also feeling like yelling 'Jump!' at him.

Lots of very pretty shots in the climax.

Feels like John should have left a final message for Susan somehow. Delenn and Garibaldi got a goodbye...And she's so devastated. T_T

G'Kar's final speech is fantastic, but wow, what a gloomy note to end the season on! Excellent.