I'm not going to lie, I don't like that General Hague died off-screen. But I like who's in command of the Alexander now. Major Ryan, and my first thought was, "That's the guy who played Captain Braxton!" I like the little detail that the male crew on the Alexander all have beard stubble. With the situation they've been in, under constant attack, who's had time to shave?
ISN reports that the Head of the Mars Government won't follow the Martial Law order on Mars imposed by President Clark. This makes me think of Governors of Blue States standing up to Trump sending the National Guard into their states. Yup, the Clark/Trump comparisons are going to be plentiful in
this review.
As soon as the Alexander arrived through the jump-gate, Babylon 5 blacks out communication to Earth, Sheridan speaks to the crew defending the Alexander, and it feels like a true turning point in the series. Babylon 5's immediate enemy is now President Clark, who's turned Earth forces on them. Another touch that unintentionally resonates today is that Babylon 5 and the Alexander respect the Constitution, unlike the President who does whatever he wants willy-nilly. Anyone who stands up to him is fired, arrested, and charged with Treason. I wonder if Clark is on the 23rd Century version of Truth Social, ranting in the middle of the night?
The Churchill, an ally ship to the Alexander commanded by Captain Hiroshi, arrives at Babylon 5. The name Churchill is no accident. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War II. Just like I'm sure the Alexander was named for Alexander the Great. The Alexander, the Churchill, and Babylon 5 brace themselves for in an incoming all-out attack.
ICE Agents and National Guardsmen from Red States, oops sorry I mean Earth Forces, start attacking Mars, dropping bombs on them. Mars warns the Earth Forces, "Don't do it! We have women and children!," but they don't care. ISN reports that Earth will continue to attack them until they follow Martial Law.
That's insane. And all because of the news that was leaked about Clark. Clark is so stupid. Does he want to push Mars even further to fight for Independence and intentionally try to go to war with them? All this guy cares about his power and his ego. However many years ago it was, Santiago would have to have been totally blind when he chose Clark, of all people, to be his running mate. I feel like Clark must've been forced upon Santiago by the party establishment, especially if Clark didn't have the type of appeal where he'd be able to win an election on his own. Then he engineered a way to become President and is making all who oppose him suffer.
And let's not forget that ISN can't push back against Clark or they'll be taken off the air. They've probably also had to pay hefty amounts in fines because of anything they might've said that Clark didn't like. It wouldn't be much of a stretch, but anyway...
Then a reporter rushes into the ISN studio to interrupt the normal broadcast and reports that the outer-colonies have broken off their allegiance to the Earth Alliance, protesting the attack on Mars, and are declaring themselves independent states until President Clark is impeached. It took real guts for that reporter to report this, especially as armed troops move in on them. The newswoman who was supposed to be giving the original news report looks visibly uncomfortable next to him. Great low-key acting on the actress' part. The people on Babylon 5 watching this broadcast are horrified. Showing them watch the news, and seeing what's going on in the newsroom, it makes it really feel like something terrible on a large scale is happening and makes it feel like it's real while you're watching it. When gunfire is heard from within the studio, troops arrive, and ISN is taken off the air in real time, that's insane to watch.
Hiroshi tells Ryan, Sheridan, Ivanova, Garibaldi, and Franklin that Earth ships are on their way to Babylon 5 to arrest Sheridan, his command crew, and put Babylon 5 under Nightwatch's command, all per orders directly from President Clark himself. As everyone else talks, the camera stays on Sheridan as he takes all of this in and makes a decision that they'll make their stand on Babylon 5. It's a powerful moment when Sheridan, Ivanova, Garibaldi, and Franklin all agree one-by-one to fight instead of surrender.
Last episode, G'Kar had to convince the Narns to help Babylon 5. He didn't any problem getting the Narns to agree because they were already with him. This episode, it's Delenn's turn. She has to convince the Minbari to help Babylon 5. Except the Gray Council shuns her, so she has an uphill battle where she tells off those in the Council who refuse fight in the war against the Shadows. Delenn's speech is compelling enough that make makes the Religious and Worker Castes to leave the Council, dissolving it. The Warrior Caste think they have a monopoly on battle, so they were probably legitimately surprised that the Religious and Working Castes would help Delenn and Babylon 5. Essentially, Delenn manages to get two-thirds of the Minbari behind her. I have to wonder if the Warrior Caste secretly feels ashamed at all, or if their sheer arrogance prevents them being able to acknowledge anything Delenn is trying to tell them about the Shadows.
Back on the station in a scene-stealer, Sheridan is broadcast everywhere through a holoprojection -- thanks to Draal -- and tells everyone his response to Clark's violations of the Constitution; which include
dissolving the Senate, declaring Martial Law, and bombing Martian civilians, just to keep track. Sheridan outright declares that Babylon 5 is seceding from the Earth Alliance and will remain independent until Clark has been removed from Office. It feels so exhilarating for Sheridan to break completely away from Clark. The background music during the scene is pitch-perfect. I'd say this was Sheridan's "Resist" moment, but it goes further than that, since he's no longer underneath Clark's thumb in any shape or form and, unlike Damar, doesn't have to go into hiding.
Sheridan says that anyone who wants to leave is free to do so, a few actually do, and it's a nice touch because it's realistic that not absolutely everyone would be onboard with what Sheridan's doing or would have the courage for it.
When the battle begins, the ship-to-ship and station combat looks on par with DS9 even though it's CGI instead of model work. What B5 does better than DS9 is troop combat, when soldiers are fighting in person. On DS9, specifically "The Way of the Warrior", the fighting looks one-sided, heavily titled in favor of the DS9 crew. On B5, the combat between soldiers looks on even ground, and everyone is using a firearm. No one brings a knife to a gunfight. Things get so intense that Sheridan tries to offer those fighting him to surrender so he can take prisoners instead of having to kill them. But, they don't care. They see Sheridan as an enemy of Clark's and thus an enemy of theirs. More Earth ships arrive and order Sheridan to surrender. For a moment it looks bad. There's doubt about what Sheridan is going to do, even though I never once thought it would be to surrender. You can see on Sheridan's face that he's running scenarios through his mind. Then that's when Delenn arrives with the cavalry. Four Minbari ships. She declares Babylon 5 under Minbari protection, threatens to battle them, and then the Earth forces turn back. An even-handed battle where Babylon 5 wins with help instead of all by itself, and then the camera pans across to show all the wounded on the ground, reminding the audience that this victory came at a price. Couldn't have been a better battle sequence!
After the dust settles, Babylon 5 takes on former fighters from Churchill and the surviving crew while the Alexander goes off to find other ships to ally with and take some of the heat off Babylon 5. I hope we see Major Ryan again. In a huge character moment, Sheridan decides not to put on his uniform again because he can't wear it with a clear conscience until Clark is out of power. Delenn tells Sheridan Babylon 5 is the only home both of them have left. They become closer than ever. And the episode ends with the people who stand with Sheridan applauding him. After everything they all went through, that ending feels well-earned.
Overall, this episode was quite the game-changer. If you put these last two episodes together, I could've easily imagined it as a
Babylon 5 movie, because of how much the status quo shifted.
I give this episode a 10.
It doesn't effect the rating, but I wish we could've seen General Hague, as I mentioned earlier. And I wish we could've seen President Clark. Having both of them in this episode and/or last would've added even more to what's already a great set of episodes. I'm guessing it all had to do with budget and only being able to fit so much into the episodes.
30 years ago, the TV stations must've had no idea what they had on their hands with this
Babylon 5 episode. Back then, everything that happened in it would've seemed so unlikely. As opposed to today, where it looks like a glimpse into the way things could go in a possible future. And I don't mean the 23rd Century.
Some other moments worth mentioning:
Sheridan having a conversation with his father because he knows it's the last chance he'll get to for a while.
Londo complaining about Narn security, says they're inefficient, they need to be watched at all times. I feel like if this were Earth, Present Day, he'd be complaining about minorities. To put it very mildly. Maybe I should start calling Londo "Archie".
