NON SPOILER: Last week I suggested you reread your blog for that episode before watching this one. Of course, that was because you commented on Talia being underused, while, this week, she gets a couple of major beats.
Her Ironheart plot being "underdeveloped" was, I think, a deliberate slow burn. To go from being boosted by Ironheart to some kind of superbeing overnight would feel rushed. Instead we first get the glimpse of telekinesis in the Ironheart episode, then her "turning the tide" against Bester this week. I'll come back to this in the spoiler section.
Psi Corp is getting nicely fleshed out. Yup, they're scary.
The Sheridan/Delenn relationship will be fun to watch. Delenn's dress in this episode is pretty fantastic. For my personal aesthetic Mira Furlan doesn't quite have the figure to best feature the dress, but it's a great dress, and Furlan was an appealing woman. A minor footnote to her amazing talent and personality.
We visited Mars in a s1 flashback with Garibaldi and Lise. But, I guess one set (and it was a great set you specifically commented on) doesn't count as a "proper look?" I think "Race" has the first exterior/CG shot of Mars.
Franklin's involvement in the railroad is a lovely continuation of his s1 clinic. Franklin is one of those people who will always do what he thinks is right, damn anyone else, damn the consequences. Fortunately, more often than not, Franklin is on the side of the angels.
SPOILER STUFF:
Andrea Thompson must have agreed with you about the underused. She left the show because she didn't think she was getting enough good stories. Still. Slow. Burn. Like how Moffat used to stretch a Doctor Who arc for three seasons. Difference here is JMS had an endgame in mind, not just ending up writing himself into a corner and spinning bullshit to get out of it.
A season 3 Talia would have found her powers awakening (I speculate) right around when Kosh gets killed off, or, right at the top of season 4, just in time to be the telepathic weapon Lyta will be. Timing wise, the super-telepath needs to happen around that point. Otherwise, you've got a "Chekov's Gun" being featured too prominently and distractingly for too long before it's fired.
Sheridan not "firing" Franklin will make a bit more sense after the next time we see General Hague. "I don't like spying on my own people!" Remember, Sheridan is, at thus point, looking for information regarding his crew's loyalty, specifically regarding President Clarke and Psi-Corp. Franklin's actions put him on the side Sheridan is on. That, along with the rent subplot, establishes that Sheridan, like Sinclair before him, will absolutely bend the rules. Sheridan is SUPPOSED to be "by the book," (or so we were told a few episodes ago) but, as we'll see, he's not.
Incidentally, when I DO catch up on season 2 I'm gonna list every time Sheridan talks about oranges and other fresh food items until Hague debriefs him in "All Alone in the Night." It's probably not as often as I think and I've "Mandala Effected" myself into thinking he does a lot more than he, um, does.
There's a good line from Bester in this episode when he ponders to Talia about how he expected Sheridan to be more compliant and on-message. You can see Bester already thinking that they've perhaps made a mistake with the appointment, and that Sheridan won't be the company man they wanted.
Agree with everything you say there - and yes, I think it's the first exterior Mars shot. The stuff before was underground tunnels and Lise's fancy foyer.
Still behind, so, again, working off memory.
NON SPOILER: Last week I suggested you reread your blog for that episode before watching this one. Of course, that was because you commented on Talia being underused, while, this week, she gets a couple of major beats.
Her Ironheart plot being "underdeveloped" was, I think, a deliberate slow burn. To go from being boosted by Ironheart to some kind of superbeing overnight would feel rushed. Instead we first get the glimpse of telekinesis in the Ironheart episode, then her "turning the tide" against Bester this week. I'll come back to this in the spoiler section.
Psi Corp is getting nicely fleshed out. Yup, they're scary.
The Sheridan/Delenn relationship will be fun to watch. Delenn's dress in this episode is pretty fantastic. For my personal aesthetic Mira Furlan doesn't quite have the figure to best feature the dress, but it's a great dress, and Furlan was an appealing woman. A minor footnote to her amazing talent and personality.
We visited Mars in a s1 flashback with Garibaldi and Lise. But, I guess one set (and it was a great set you specifically commented on) doesn't count as a "proper look?" I think "Race" has the first exterior/CG shot of Mars.
Franklin's involvement in the railroad is a lovely continuation of his s1 clinic. Franklin is one of those people who will always do what he thinks is right, damn anyone else, damn the consequences. Fortunately, more often than not, Franklin is on the side of the angels.
SPOILER STUFF:
Andrea Thompson must have agreed with you about the underused. She left the show because she didn't think she was getting enough good stories. Still. Slow. Burn. Like how Moffat used to stretch a Doctor Who arc for three seasons. Difference here is JMS had an endgame in mind, not just ending up writing himself into a corner and spinning bullshit to get out of it.
A season 3 Talia would have found her powers awakening (I speculate) right around when Kosh gets killed off, or, right at the top of season 4, just in time to be the telepathic weapon Lyta will be. Timing wise, the super-telepath needs to happen around that point. Otherwise, you've got a "Chekov's Gun" being featured too prominently and distractingly for too long before it's fired.
Sheridan not "firing" Franklin will make a bit more sense after the next time we see General Hague. "I don't like spying on my own people!" Remember, Sheridan is, at thus point, looking for information regarding his crew's loyalty, specifically regarding President Clarke and Psi-Corp. Franklin's actions put him on the side Sheridan is on. That, along with the rent subplot, establishes that Sheridan, like Sinclair before him, will absolutely bend the rules. Sheridan is SUPPOSED to be "by the book," (or so we were told a few episodes ago) but, as we'll see, he's not.
Incidentally, when I DO catch up on season 2 I'm gonna list every time Sheridan talks about oranges and other fresh food items until Hague debriefs him in "All Alone in the Night." It's probably not as often as I think and I've "Mandala Effected" myself into thinking he does a lot more than he, um, does.
I'll let that awkward sentence stand.
There's a good line from Bester in this episode when he ponders to Talia about how he expected Sheridan to be more compliant and on-message. You can see Bester already thinking that they've perhaps made a mistake with the appointment, and that Sheridan won't be the company man they wanted.
Agree with everything you say there - and yes, I think it's the first exterior Mars shot. The stuff before was underground tunnels and Lise's fancy foyer.
Also, I forgot to mention, I *loved* the Kosh and Minbar light bulb jokes. Cracked me up.
I noticed the editing with the guns as well: it had me going for a second.
I almost didn't miss Londo and G'Kar, which is the sign of a good B5 episode I think.