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Babylon 5

I enjoyed the outcome. It made sense, it made a statement. It also felt slightly anti-climactic. Such a long build up, and it seemed to be over quickly. It was a good episode for Londo. He kept his word to G'Kar, and was even willing to sacrifice his own life to save his planet. It could be considered noble, if he hadn't been the one to bring it all down on them in the first place. Also, I was confused about Mr. Morden. He got cured awfully fast. Loved Vir's little wave to his head on the pike, just as promised. The guy that they put in charge, seems a bit weak willed for the job.

Yeah, it did feel over a bit quickly, but that is due more to the real world concerns JMS had about impending cancellation. It was rush it and get the story told, or end the series without resolution. As has been said, he made sure he filmed the final episode so that fans could see the ending he envisioned......and then the show got picked up for it's fifth season.

But don't forget you got a glimpse of what the future holds in "War Without End", keep that future in mind as the series progresses. That wasn't an alternate future like it would've been on Star Trek, it's the actual future and it's seeds are being sown.
 
I enjoyed the outcome. It made sense, it made a statement. It also felt slightly anti-climactic. Such a long build up, and it seemed to be over quickly. It was a good episode for Londo. He kept his word to G'Kar, and was even willing to sacrifice his own life to save his planet. It could be considered noble, if he hadn't been the one to bring it all down on them in the first place. Also, I was confused about Mr. Morden. He got cured awfully fast. Loved Vir's little wave to his head on the pike, just as promised. The guy that they put in charge, seems a bit weak willed for the job.
Now that you've seen the episode, that entire thing is one of the big reasons I love Vir. He was a great guy who got what he wanted and nothing bad happened to him. Dare I say Vir was one of the best characters on the show?

The end of the Shadow War was really one of the more unfortunate circumstances of the series for me. I don't know what they would have done differently because the show was threatened with Cancellation, but man I wish they would have gotten deeper into The Shadows and hadn't ended it with the feeling of children waging this war and using the lesser species as unfortunate pawns. Like you said, it felt anti-climatic, and for this series which has prided itself on bringing some awesome resolutions, this one I wish could have been treated a little better.
 
I like Vir. He was, I believe, the only Centaurie with any "humanity".
The new opening music sounded really familiar to me. It reminded me of something, but I think I've put my finger on it... the opening chord sounds like Bewitched.
 
I enjoyed the outcome. It made sense, it made a statement. It also felt slightly anti-climactic. Such a long build up, and it seemed to be over quickly.

The thing of it is, with the war shifting into "planet killing" mode, it's a bit hard to justify a traditional climactic battle. The Vorlons and the Shadows are MUCH older and more advanced than all of the other races combined. The idea that the younger races could beat either one of them (much less both) in a stand up fight is like suggesting a handful of Cro-Magnons armed with flint axes could stand up to a nuclear submarine.

Incidentally: in light of these episodes, does this exchange with an ancient being in 'Mass Effect 3' strike anyone else as...familiar? ;)

Also, I was confused about Mr. Morden. He got cured awfully fast.

The Shadows are *very* good with bio-technology. I always assumed that because they used basically the same make-up effect as Delenn when she came out of the chrysalis that they'd put him through a similar process to regenerate all of his lost or damaged tissue. Delenn was up and just fine after no more than a day after emerging, so that seems about right for Morden.

Indeed I did wonder at the time if it indicated a connection between the chrysalis machine (which we now know came from Epsilon 3) and the Shadows. JMS always hinted that there was more to the great machine than was revealed, but he ended up not using it quite as much as he'd intended.

Loved Vir's little wave to his head on the pike, just as promised.
This is as good a time as any to point out that everyone who answered Mr. Morden's question "what do you want", got exactly what they asked for, sooner or later.
G'Kar wanted the Centauri to suffer in kind what they inflicted on his people and world. You've already seen a glimpse of this in WWE.
Londo wanted his people to return to what they used to be. They certainly did that.
Delenn wanted him to get out of her quarters. He did.
And Vir...well, you know how that turned out. ;)
The guy that they put in charge, seems a bit weak willed for the job.
After Cartagia I think it's safe to say they don't want anyone near that throne with too much..."imagination".
Anyway, a Regent is basically more of an administrator than a leader and he's probably been running to day-to-day affairs of the Republic for years, so he's well experienced.
Also keep in mind that with Refa gone, Londo is now the major power in the court, which essentially makes him the power behind the throne.
 
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I remember when I first saw that episode, I started just going up to people randomly in bars or social occasions and asking them that just to get their reaction. It really does freak a lot of people out.
 
I remember when I first saw that episode, I started just going up to people randomly in bars or social occasions and asking them that just to get their reaction. It really does freak a lot of people out.
To what do you refer?
 
The end of the Shadow War was really one of the more unfortunate circumstances of the series for me. I don't know what they would have done differently because the show was threatened with Cancellation, but man I wish they would have gotten deeper into The Shadows and hadn't ended it with the feeling of children waging this war and using the lesser species as unfortunate pawns. Like you said, it felt anti-climatic, and for this series which has prided itself on bringing some awesome resolutions, this one I wish could have been treated a little better.

JMS has always said that it wouldn't have been that much different. With two races that could basically wipe out every other race, the only way out was reason. It might have been nice to see more of how the other races were willing to sacrifice themselves while Sheridan worked things out but I thought the way that the way the arguments of the Shadows and Vorlons were portrayed was really brilliant.
 
I have finished "Conflicts of Interest". I don't expect/want an answer, but what's up with Garibaldy? I know he is under the influence of something. Brainwashed whilst in captivity, but to what end? I am also thinking possibly he's under cover. I hope this gets resolved quickly, I like him much better as part of the team. I also feel I must point out how much I love the character of Susan. I feel I know her well enough now to call her by her first name. :luvlove: The actress has really grown into the part. I like that they added a sense of humor to her, she was so stiff and hard ass in the beginning. I'm really going to miss her in season 5.
 
I know. I just hope sooner rather than later.
I also want to comment on the HORRIBLE design of the DVD case. WTF? I bought it new and it's already broken, just fell apart. The only design that was worse, was Star Trek.
 
I have finished "Conflicts of Interest". I don't expect/want an answer, but what's up with Garibaldy? I know he is under the influence of something. Brainwashed whilst in captivity, but to what end? I am also thinking possibly he's under cover. I hope this gets resolved quickly, I like him much better as part of the team.

Keep in mind that this show has no reset button. No default state to return to at the end of every episode. Actions have consequences and they're usually permanent.
If nothing else, Londo's story should have taught you the folly of wanting things to go back to "the way that it was". ;)
 
Funny thing...the first time I saw the show it never occurred to me that Garibaldi was really acting strange. Don't know why - it's so obvious on subsequent viewings.
 
I've been reading some of this thread and like me so many of you are Katsulas and Jurasik fans. How can we not be? These two stood heads and shoulders above all the rest in the depth of their portrayals. Their story was by far the most complex, and the most grand I felt, despite Sheridan's destiny. It shouldn't have been, actually, but it was: their story was more compelling. I loved the A plot, but for me, this was the best part...except for one thing...

I gave this some thought and asked myself, self, who else on this show stands out for you, was always a demanding and fascinating and rich screen presence? The answer came back easily: Ed Wasser. I hadn't realized it until now, but Mr. Morden was right up there with G'Kar and Londo in absolutely riveting me to my seat. When these three talked, I listened, hard.

Man this show was lightning in a bottle overall. And damn Lyta was hot.
 
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