Tv: Babylon 5, S2 Disc 6

 

Episode 21: Comes the Inquisitor

G'Kar's status has become this: preaching in the Zocalo to warn the other races that they are going to be next on the Centauri enemies list.   In his spare time, G'Kar buys weapons on the black market to ship back home to the Narn insurgency and attempts to maintain his now-honorary leadership role among the local Narns.



The A story is the arrival (ah, a classic B5 start) of Sebastian, a human agent from 1888 (Wayne Alexander, recurring bit-player extraordinaire of B5) who arrives on a Vorlon transport. Sebastian resides on the Vorlon homeworld, "preserved" for occasions when the Vorlons have need of him.  Just now,  Kosh has doubts about Delenn, and Sebastian will assuage them.  If she survives.

Delenn, determined to pass this test without any help, immediately rushes to Sheridan and tells him not to interfere.  He makes good on his pledge until, oh, about the time when she could really use the help.  Shockingly, it is their willingness to sacrifice themselves for the other that touches Sebastian and allows them to pass the Vorlon test.

Interrogation scenes are generally written to be actors' showcases, and while Mira Furlan's is long leagues ahead of O'Hare's lengthy turn in And The Sky Full of Stars* -- and is perhaps the best interrogation scene in a series enamored with them -- the poor quality of Sebastian's questions (repetitive belittling, truly) and the cheap SF crutch of his origins (too lazy to  create something bold and terrifying of the Vorlons?) drive down the episode's stock.

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* Make no mistake; this interrogation is infinitely better-constructed than the Knights' idiocy in AtSFoS... but it still hits the deck with a thud.  JMS loves interrogations so much that I think he can't just sit down and write one...

Pros: Vir's apology to G'Kar
Cons:Ooh, it's Jack the Ripper! I'm scared!

Then: B

Now: C+
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Episode 22: The Fall of Night

With obvious foreshadowing, Keffer is "killed" amidst wargames outside the station.  The fighter groups are practicing tactics against simulated Centauri -- a timely opponent, for as 2259 winds down, the republic has begun annexing worlds belonging to the Drazi and the Pak'Ma'Ra.   When the wargames conclude, Keffer gets a tip that someone else has seen a Shadow vessel in hyperspace, and goes to follow up the lead...

In light of the increased tensions from the Centauri, Earthgov sends two weasels from the Ministry of Peace.  One is a Knightwatch capo, Welles, played by John Vickery.  He sneers a little less when out of his Neroon makeup.  He makes a push to recruit Ivanova, but in a curiously hamfisted way: noting that she's risen through the ranks through hard work, without connections or patronage, he offers her... connections and patronage to secure her a ship of her own.    She refuses him flatly, but he's cordial in response, and expects she'll come around.

Welles saves the creeping fascism for Zack Allen at the KnightWatch group meeting, pressuring Zack to rat out a shopkeeper unhappy with import taxes.  He has cause to regret the action when the shopkeep is frogmarched to wherever they frogmarch people.*

The other is Lantz (Roy Dotrice), a kindly grandfather who wants a peaceful future for his family-- so much so that he directly channels Neville Chamberlain and appeases the Centauri with a non-aggression pact; all the way down to spouting the "peace in our time" line. 

Earth's new diplomatic ties prove troublesome for the station, as a G'Quon-class cruiser arrives and is granted humanitarian aid from Sheridan.  Lantz is furious at Sheridan for undermining his diplomatic work, and becomes a deal more angry when B5 destroys a Centauri ship in defense of the Narn vessel.

Forced to make a public apology or lose his command, Sheridan is riding the central-core railcar when he notices an obvious, all-but Red Digital Timer bomb.  He jumps out of the car before it explodes, which buys him about two minutes: then he'll drift onto the rapidly-rotating floor of the central core and die messily.

And so, in a moment that's been built up for two years and now looks cheap even for TV (it in fact looks bad for 70s BBC), Kosh leaves his encounter suit and effects a midair rescue.   All witnesses perceive Kosh as an angelic being according to their individual mythologies; only Londo sees "nothing."** 

The year ends, with Keffer's gun-camera recording ending up on ISN***, who correctly identifies the Shadow ship as a "ship," when "creature" would be just as plausible...

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* Is it cost-effective to ship them back to Earth?  Spacing is only allowable in cases of mutiny, and if he's being jailed on-station, Garibaldi has jurisdiction..

** His word.  Did he see Sheridan slowly floating down to the ground? An amorphous ball of light (spoiler)?  Throw us a bone here, Londo.

*** Isn't ISN in the Clark government's pocket at this point?

Pros: Good moment of Lennier and Vir comiserating with each other.
Cons: Ludicrously bad CGI.

Then: A
Now: B