Re-Watching DS9

[Lord Garth]

I guess I'd call "Blood Fever" a Primal Love Story. So, what Farscape says still works.

I'm looking at the first four episodes of DS9 Season 5 and a thought has occurred to me now that I've re-watched three of them and "Nor the Battle to the Strong" is up next as the fourth.

"Apocalypse Rising" brought a temporary ceasefire to the Klingon/Federation War. Then "The Ship" focuses squarely on the Dominion as the adversaries. It got me thinking, "They wrapped up the Klingon War, now we're getting the focus put back on the Dominion!" Then we get two Klingon episodes immediately afterwards. One about love ("Looking for par'Mach...") and one about war ("Nor the Battle...").

Knowing what's ahead: I'm thinking of it as "The Ship" is there as a signpost of what's to come, with the situation with the Dominion becoming more tense. And then the surrounding episodes are, "We have to get as much of the Klingons out there as we can and tell the stories we wanted to before we wrap up this period of the show!" "In Purgatory's Shadow" & "By Inferno's Light" being the next Major Shift.

One thing in particular that stands out is Grilka's House rejected Worf as an outcast. That doesn't really work anymore after Worf joins Martok's House. And Grilka hanging around DS9 is specifically intended to be a sign the easing of tensions. And that doesn't really work before now. Throw in Kira's pregnancy and time needed for things to become even more awkward beyond just the initial shock, as well. Between all of these things, "Looking for par'Mach In All the Wrong the Places" is an episode that can only happen during the first half of the fifth season.

 

[Farscape One]

Also important to note is that "THE SHIP" was DS9's 100th episode, so I can see it making sure the Dominion would be a focus for it rather than a Klingon episode.

 

[Lord Garth]

"And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place" (B5 S3E20)

Spoiler

An usual title for an episode, but what an episode! It's got two things that work to its advantage: 1) A slow burn that leads to great payoffs, and 2) Misdirection that keeps you off the scent until the end.

I had no idea that one of Delenn's main things that she was dealing with was creating an entire fleet of ships like the White Star. Sheridan was very pleasantly surprised. Now they have a fighting chance against the Shadows. Especially if they have Telepaths on all those ships. It's going to help Sheridan to be able to share his burden with Delenn since the it's already the same exact burden to being with. Their fleet versus the Shadows. Sheridan and Delenn being on the same page is exactly what Brother Will wants for them as well.

Brother Theo and Brother Will have an interesting friendly rivalry going on between them, with Will being Protestant and Theo being Catholic. Not the type of thing I'd expect to see in a science-fiction show, but I welcome it.

But let's get to the main plot. Londo is purely Machiavellian in this episode. He wants Vir to deliver a message to G'Kar that Na'Toth is on Narn and needs to be rescued. Londo gives Vir this lie to tell G'Kar, but that in itself is a lie, in case Refa -- who wants to undercut Londo in any way that he can -- has a Telepath and wants to find out what Londo is up to through Vir.

Once G'Kar was on Narn, I didn't think he'd be walking into a trap. Somehow, in the back of my mind, I kept thinking, "There has to be something! Babylon 5 is never as straight-forward as this!" And to my delight, it was Refa who was the one who walked into a trap. Refa's guards were no longer loyal to Refa, Londo's recording let G'Kar know what Refa was responsible for against the Narn, and then Refa's alone surrounded by people who want to kill him for revenge. Then G'Kar delivered the line of the episode, "Keep the face intact, it will be needed for identification. The rest is yours!"

Afterwards, Vir is understandably upset that he was used (and extorted), but this the first time in a long time I've been on Londo's side about something: getting rid of Refa by any means necessary. Complete with the episode showing the Narns talking down Refa to the sound of gospel music being sung as it cuts back to the choir on Babylon 5. Amen! Hallelujah!

Great episode, though it's all about getting to the pay-off, and it takes a bit to finally get there so I give it a 9.

This episode goes from Z-Minus 14 Days to Z-Minus 10 Days. I'm guessing that 10 days after this episode is a major showdown between Sheridan and Delenn's new fleet and the Shadows.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

Spoiler: And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place

I love And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place, maybe more on a rewatch than I did the first viewing. I remembered stories like Severed Dreams and War Without End so I was ready for them to be amazing, but this caught me off guard. Even knowing all the surprises it's still great. Even the quiet scene with Sheridan and the reverend discussing who he shares his burden with worked for me.

And the scene at the end, with Sheridan and Delenn finally kissing in front of their new fleet was a suitable pay off for all the times Delenn had been vague for the last two season. 'We can't do anything yet', 'it's not time', 'we're not ready', 'we haven't prepared'... over and over again. Now we finally learn what she was waiting for, and yeah I can see how a fleet of White Stars is something you want to get finished before you take on the Shadows.

I'm a bit more stingy with my scores than you are, but I give this a 10.

 

[DonIago]

On the one hand I get it from a dramatic television standpoint, but on the other hand, logically speaking, Delenn had no good reason not to tell Sheridan about what she had going on in the bakground either. It may have been KRAD who first led me to consider that.

But the episode is a lot of fun to watch overall, possibly the most fun episode of the series.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

Delenn's tendency to withhold crucial information is a core character trait. Or character flaw.