"Messages from Earth"
Knockout punch number one.
Let me get the one thing that bothered me about the episode out of the way first: I felt like there was too much initial gravitas about Dr. Kirkish's arrival to address the group in the moments before we had an inkling of her relevance. Of course, it soon became apparent just how important she was, but the slow-motion work before she proved that felt a bit pretentious.
That's the only thing I can think of to criticize this hour, and even then it's definitely grasping at straws.
What an episode. The Shadows on Mars in what immediately reminded me of Mass Effect's Protheans on Mars, Sheridan drawing some very vivid lines while taking the
White Star out for an incredible spin, Sheridan's scene concerning rain (I'm just like him in this regard; the rain
really helps me sleep), G'Kar's book-writing enlightenment, the noose tightening in the Night Watch thread and last but
certainly not least, Earth under Martial Law.
To say that this episode moved the plot along considerably would be an understatement indeed. There's so much heart in "Messages from Earth" and there's also some very impressive action. I was moved by the descent into Jupiter's atmosphere and clenched my fist victoriously when the Shadow ship was destroyed. And in a solid example of the fusion of heart and action,
it had to be the Agamemnon.
"Point of No Return"
I had to go back and read a bit into this episode's synopsis while writing this because I was having trouble keeping up with what plot elements were here and not elsewhere. I think that's a pretty good example of why I find PoNR weaker than the other two (although it's still pretty damn good) -- it's just not as memorable for me overall.
The Night Watch stuff was stronger than ever. Garibaldi's got it rough with his personnel, eh? It's painful to think that so many betrayed him like that. There was some guy on his staff who they mentioned and showed a few times whose name was similar to mine... what was it, Jeff Connor or something. Real close, right? Well I saw him take the armband and sighed, then later when Garibaldi tried to convince him to back out and he pretended to look at his paperwork I felt oddly disappointed in myself.
Anyway, this whole thing with Lwaxana Troi (okay, okay, Lady Morella) coming to the station was both momentous and questionably-placed. I can respect JMS for showing us that even in the midst of all this human stuff, other cultures are going to be concerned with their own goings-on (as we'd be regarding them!) but I felt like it slowed the whole thing down a little too much.
Don't get me wrong, I found it all captivating. It was more insight into the possible future of Londo Mollari, and Morella's rather
certain premonition that both Londo and Vir would one day hold the throne
really intrigued me.
Sheridan's resolution of the Night Watch stuff left me a bit underwhelmed, although I'm impressed with his ability to work the system.
"Severed Dreams"
Knockout punch number two. No, to hell with that; championship title officially taken.
This is my favorite episode of the series thus far. The bar was raised several times throughout the first season but that wasn't all that hard to do, then again in "The Coming of Shadows", then with "In the Shadow of Zha'dum",
then with "The Long, Twilight Struggle", then
almost but not quite with "Messages from Earth" and now almost immediately thereafter with "Severed Dreams".
In short, it's going to take some mighty conviction on Straczynski's part to outdo himself this time.
I'm going to keep things simple because I've been dragging more than I'd intended with these past few mini-reviews. This episode was
awesome.
TGB was right to use George Takei's face for his reaction.
Delenn's return and taunting (
and disbanding!?) of the Grey Council was superb. OWNED. Her statement to the Earth Force commanders was superb. OWNED. Man, what a quotable quote that was. And you know what? I've seen it in signatures on various message boards for as long as I've been visiting them. I can see why.
The whole last stand at Babylon 5 was exceptional. The action blew "Messages" out of the water and that was no simple task, especially in 1996. A lot of the character-based action scenes in this show look a little cut-and-dry but the space stuff never lets up.
I was disappointed to learn that General Hague had been killed. As I suspected, it had to do with actor unavailability. To think that Foxworth was booked (or bailed for a bigger paycheck, as JMS heatedly reported) because he was playing a member of a coup within the military on
Deep Space Nine is effing hilarious, though.
Speaking of DS9, one scene that left me somewhat dissatisfied through no fault of its own was the conversation between Sheridan and his father. At face value it's terrific. So why was I a bit disappointed? Well, because it reminded me of Sisko's chats with his father. (Someone we first met during that Foxworth two-parter, I might add; go frelling figure...) And without the immediately-grabbing personality of the elder Sisko it didn't hold the same
oomph to me. Kind of silly, I know, and I love how we got to see the man after Sheridan talked him up several times. Still a terrific scene.
The ISN stuff, specifically that final scene where the male reporter interjects at the female reporter's behest, floored me. What was it he was about to say? Man, this show gives me the chills sometimes.
Yeah, you'd better clap, people. Sheridan (and crew!) deserve all the praise they can get right now. I've never been a big superhero fan but I think I just found someone to look up to.
