Chrysalis, however, is a real barn burner that radically shakes up the B5 universe in preparation for season two.
If pressed for time, you can choose to watch only one..
Episode 21: The Quality of Mercy
This is our last standalone episode of the season. It could take place in any setting with a few character changes. SF's tradition of examining modern-day issues here compares differing methods of capital punishment.
Discussed first is Earth Alliance standard. On B5, capital punishment (spacing) is used only cases of treason and mutiny. Lesser criminals like murderers or even serial killers are dealt with by mindwiping the offender, replacing their personality with a docile one who will work on community service for the rest of their lives. Dr. Franklin, who oversees the procedures, finds even this sort of "death" abhorrent, enabling him to play his smug moral superiority card that he's been holding back since his Believers debacle.
Method B is that of some unknown alien species. Former Doctor Laura Rosen (June Lost in Space Lockhart) disgraced after stim abuse resulted in the death of one of her patients, found an alien device used for capital punishment. It's one of those magical SF devices that transfers "life energy" from one person to another. She has theorized that condemned criminals are executed by healing the terminally ill, but uses it on a lower setting to transfer part of her life to healing the sick among the B5's apparently inexhaustible indigent population (the "lurkers"). Dr. Franklin investigates this, presuming quackery, but is shocked to learn the machine actually works as reported. These two approaches clash when the serial killer of the week escapes just before his mindwipe, and, nursing a PPG wound sustained in the process, searches for a discreet doctor in the downbelow...
See where this is going yet? Franklin rushes over, finding the murderer holding Laura and her daughter at PPG-point. Initially Laura has been healing him, but when the killer is a bit too sneeringly evil, she switches modes and, gleeful with wrath she taunts the man as she steals his life.
After the court rules the killing self defense, Laura is now contrite. All her ailments have been fixed by the death of one man. Turning to the camera, she insists that doing the necessary thing isn't always right as the audience groans. She also must surrender her machine for further study by top men. The parallels to Deathwalker are glaring, up to the point that we mustn't allow such technology to change the status quo.
To the series' great credit, this isn't the last we see of the Alien Healing Machine, though it's never used as much as one would expect. Why even bother with regular medicine? Have a volunteer base donating regularly, as with blood. No more serious illness on B5, massive revenue stream for the always shrinking station budget...
--
Pros: "C" plot of Lennier and Londo on the town provide lighthearted moments from all this Capital Punishment.
Cons: The return of Dr. Franklin's smugness, and the foreshadowing of his brush with stim abuse.
Then: B-
Now: B
--
Episode 22: Chrysalis
In the Zocalo, a classic teaser-length plot device: a dying man staggers into the room, collapses at Garibaldi's feet. His last words: You've got to stop them. They're going to kill him. He then dies without clarifying that pronoun as Garibaldi swears to unravel the mystery.
As 2258 winds down, we begin with an angry meeting of the advisory council. G'Kar's been absent for eight episodes, and now he's back, and in full bluster. The Narns are gaming a neutral zone treaty, but are surprised when the recent Centauri reprisals are more potent than expected. While Narn aggression is seldom rewarded, in the interest of new-year peace the council presses Londo to cede the neutral quadrant over to the Narns. Peace in our time, Londo!
As Londo bemoans his lot in life to Vir, he receives a timely call from Mr. Morden, who offers to help Londo with his current problem. Word travels quickly...
Since an appearance by Morden raises viewer expectation that something big is about to happen, a little scene with Delenn and Lennier seems filler: Delenn sent Lennier to ask a question (unstated here, but Delenn is insistent that it was delivered "word for word," though the question is ultimately revealed to be brief and to the point) of Kosh, who responds as we have come to expect: "Yes." This prompts Delenn to finally make a critical decision.
Killing still more time, Sinclair and Sakai decide to get married. Watching this made me appreciate their chemistry, but it also makes me wonder why O'Hare had so little with the series' regulars. Don't television series test this stuff before casting? Was his wood-with-wood repartee with Tomita just golden?
Down below, Garibaldi investigates the alleged murder plot. The series wanted a lived-in, gritty "bad part of town" for the station, but its existence doesn't really jibe with the setting. The place has been active for only about 2 years now, yet it's produced a sizable, mostly-human "homeless" community living in its bowels. Perhaps the EA economy is sour. Garibaldi gets a lead, but we're anxious to get to the chase:
Which comes next, with Morden and Londo meeting in the park. For our anticipation, nothing substantial comes out of it that wasn't already apparent from their brief conversation earlier: Londo has a problem, and Morden can help. Ed Wasser has a fine time, delivering obsequious service with just a touch of smirking menace. What is the price for all this help? At some point in the future -- and the day may never come -- Morden might ask a favor in return.
Providing a mirror for that scene, Delenn goes to see Kosh. She is hesitant to keep "the promise" without assurances; Kosh responds by opening his encounter suit. Light plays off Delenn's awed face, though it won't be until next year's finale that we find out what she saw. She bids Kosh farewell, and that he will not see her again as she is now. Savvy viewers might have linked this with the title of the episode, and with Alisa's view into Delenn's head...
On the station, Garibaldi has found just enough evidence, left behind by happenstance and providing all the context necessary to deduce the murder plot: somewhere off Io, someone with Earthforce ties is going to kill the president. Worse, they're doing it without the shipment of communication jammers. Perhaps it's true: why buy one when you can have two at twice the price? What happens when Garibaldi puts it together? He tells Jeff to meet him in 20 minutes for a briefing, even as the president nears Io. All season long, characters have referenced getting or watching Garibaldi's back. It's not done as frequently or at the length of Ivanova's frequent "I'm a Russian" digressions, so you're not likely to notice it unless you've already seen Chrysalis. Now comes the payoff: Garibaldi's second in command walks up casually and plugs the chief in the back. The only problem I have with all this is that there is no reason whatsoever not to put another round in Garibaldi's head, covering the tracks of everybody concerned. No, Security #2 takes the path of more resistance and kills Secret Government Guy and his henchmen and leaves Garibaldi direly wounded and with terrible knowledge: Now it's Garibaldi's turn to stagger up to a populated area and babble gibberish about a murder plot!When the 20-minute-later meeting fails to take place, Sinclair returns to his quarters while he has his crew look for Garibaldi. Delenn then appears, offering to tell Jeff everything she can about the hole in his mind and his missing 24 hours. Sinclair, frustrating the audience, explains now's not a good time to resolve another season-long mystery, can they do this later? Delenn warns him not to wait too long, certain things have been set in motion.
G'Kar learns of the surprise attack: no survivors, no records. 10,000 Narn dead. He quickly realizes none of the other governments would or could execute such a ruthlessly efficient attack. It's someone else, he realizes. Someone powerful. And his season spent as the show's antagonist of the week means no one's going to believe a word he says...
Delenn has been fiddling with a crystal sculpture in her quarters throughout the season, building it a little higher every week. Now, it's complete, and it creates out of energy our episode title, leaving Lennier to stand vigil beside it, a single tear rolling down his cheek.
Londo reproaches Morden for the callous slaughter of ten thousand Narns, and Morden shrugs it off, redirecting Londo's anger into avarice: this act has put Londo's name in circulation back home at Court.
Vice president Clark succeeds to higher office in a scene that unnecessarily hammers home that all assassination conspiracies must refer to JFK. Sinclair reports the plot to Earth and is completely rebuffed. I think a better show would play this with some more subtlety, instead it cuts right to a B5 vs Earth framework that would be in place for much of the next three seasons. Adding one more insult to injury, Clark's first speech shows he has broken with his predecessor's universal philosophy and instead will be consolidating power for the humans. And if by some chance you're wondering what's happened to Survivors' Lianna Kemmer, presidential security officer, keep wondering: she's never mentioned again.
Kosh makes a rare trip out to the casino (sometimes B5 feels like a Carnival ship, all these VIPs continually walking through one of the station's 3-4 public area sets) to make one of his most emblematic Kosh pronouncements: And so, it begins.
2259 arrives with Delenn in her chrysalis, G'Kar returning to his homeworld to seek answers, Londo standing vigil over Garibaldi, Sinclair brooding, and Morden having one-sided conversations about destiny with semi-translucent aliens in his quarters.
Pros: Lots of threads advancing, paying off, or introduced here.
Cons: B5's tendency toward stating the obvious is in ample evidence.
Then: A
Now: A-
--
Great synopsis, if it helps, Lianne is mentioned in JMS blog notes - much like how she was at Babylon 5 before President Santiago arrived there, she was also on Io before Earthforce One was destroyed.
ReplyDelete