Writing on B5:TMoS is complete, and as soon as the powers that be sign off on everything, it can be turned in and we can start moving. At that point, I can say more about this.

Originally posted by spainlinx0
I have just finished watching Babylon 5 season 5 and have a question for the people who have listened to the commentaries. Is it safe now? I haven't watched a Call to Arms, the Crusade episodes, or Legend of the Rangers yet. Should I even worry if there are spoilers in those episodes? I have been dying to listen to these commentaries since I first purchased season 1. So am I OK yet?

Garibaldi arrives on Mars and meets William Edgars. Lyta helps Franklin in an attempt to make contact with the frozen telepaths.

In "Moments of Transition," Bester claimed in his log entry that Garibaldi was inching closer to where Bester needed him to be. It's plausible that Bester has been priming Garibaldi to join up with Edgars. The Corps seems to be aware of the telepathic virus (the assassins in "Conflicts of Interest" were likely Corps operatives) and is thus probably aware that Edgars has some interest in it. Given the presence of the virus, they wouldn't be able to use a telepath as an undercover agent. Setting up a non-telepath to be their spy and/or saboteur in Edgars' organization would be the Corps' only recourse, and they'd have to do it with subconscious programming since Edgars isn't above using telepaths to test potential employees' loyalties.

Edgars appeared to accept Garibaldi's answer that he didn't remember what happened to him while he was missing ("Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?") Given how paranoid Edgars is in other respects, will that really be the end of the matter? Does Edgars know more than Garibaldi does about what happened? Perhaps Edgars' seeming trust of Garibaldi is really an application of the old adage, "Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer."

The telepath indicated that Garibaldi was telling the truth when he claimed not to remember what happened during his absence. Yet Garibaldi has had flashes of memory, so that answer wasn't entirely honest. Was the telepath lying herself, perhaps to protect the interests of the Corps, or did Garibaldi simply believe he was telling the truth, in that he can't recall more than brief cryptic flashes?

Lyta's expanded powers were in evidence again. The psi rating of the telepath in Medlab was never mentioned, but Lyta was telepathically strong enough to force him to stop in his tracks as he tried to kill himself. If she can do that to a fellow telepath, who presumably would have instinctively tried to block her, can she do the same -- or worse -- to a normal human?

Sheridan's search for his father leads him into danger on Mars. Lyta warns Franklin of an impending clash between telepaths and mundanes. Garibaldi chooses between loyalty to Sheridan and to Edgars.

The White Stars appear to have adapted to Earth's weapons; a hit from an Earth heavy cruiser only disables a White Star until the auto-repair systems come online. Even without the defection of so many Earth ships, Ivanova is in command of an unstoppable military force.

Sheridan demonstrated a lack of caution in this episode, first going over to the Agamemnon on a moment's notice (it could easily have been sent by Clark as a trap) then agreeing to go to Mars by himself. He even walked straight into a public place without attempting to obscure his face, which has no doubt been featured daily on ISN. That can be seen as evidence of what Garibaldi referred to as a "God complex" -- Sheridan appears to have disregarded his own fallibility.

The Shadows were apparently right about Ivanova; she is indeed taking Sheridan's place, just as Bester says they feared.

Bester's manipulation of Garibaldi was foreshadowed in "Dust to Dust." Bester told Garibaldi, "I enjoyed working with you. We made a good team. Perhaps we'll do it again sometime."
It was also foreshadowed, if obliquely, in "Divided Loyalties," in which Garibaldi pretended to have a personality implant, if only as a joke. And before then, ironically, in "The Quality of Mercy," Talia and Garibaldi shared a moment of mutual foreshadowing when she said to him, "Things that live inside us, Mr. Garibaldi. Terrible things. Terrible."

Bester's release of Garibaldi was, in some ways, an act of arrogance; in essence, Bester was saying that he didn't consider Garibaldi a threat. Given Garibaldi's determination in the past, he'll likely seek revenge or justice, and he won't rest until he has it.

Originally posted by BandoButters
Koenig's performance is one of the best things about this show. By the end of season 2, whenever I heard Koenig's name mentioned anywhere I thought about Bester first, and Chekov second. That's a testament both to the strength of the character as written, and the strength of his acting.

Originally posted by BandoButters
That's just wrong, Wizdar. You ought to be ashamed.



So. In what episode does that happen? Screencaps please?

Originally posted by spainlinx0
Useless hand?

Sheridan faces an inquisitor from Earthdome.

With Ivanova presumably continuing the campaign to retake Earth, it's interesting that Clark's people seem intent on breaking Sheridan to the exclusion of trying to interrogate him for information about battle plans or other practical matters. Perhaps they figure that he wouldn't give up such information until he had gone over to their side anyway, but given the fact that Clark is willing to send Psi Corps units out to scan the general public ("The Face of the Enemy") it's strange a telepath hasn't been brought in to pull military information from Sheridan's head.

Assuming the images of Delenn weren't telepathic projections of some kind on her part, Sheridan's repeated visions of her echoed his experience on Z'ha'dum in "Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?" The knowledge that Delenn is still out there, awaiting his return, is an island of stability Sheridan can cling to.

The interrogator said he thought his speech about poison was a metaphor for something, but he couldn't figure out what. In addition to the historical nod the speech can be interpreted as a metaphor for what he was trying to do to Sheridan. First he convinced Sheridan to agree to little lies (the time of day.) After a steady diet of small untruths, the interrogator hoped, Sheridan would become more and more receptive to bigger and bigger lies, until he was ready to swallow anything suggested to him.

Originally posted by Chew
Today's Episode: "Intersections in Real Time"