I didn't intend to be watching these particular episodes at this specific moment in 2025, yet here we are.
I preferred it when B5 was referencing historical events, rather than current/future events. But, then, I suppose my foolish assumption that it was dealing in the past is part of why we've all ended up where we are.
I think this is the genius of B5: it's a show about real human history, spun up in fancy new threads, like all the best scifi shows. I think of how gut-wrenchingly real Battlestar Galactica felt in its earlier seasons and occasionally in its later ones, For All Mankind is giving the same vibes right now. It's what happens when writers say "instead of ducking all this raw and polarising stuff, let's tackle it head-on and properly play the consequences of it out, because this is perhaps the only fictional genre that fully allows that."
I distinctly remember in the 2000s remarking that BSG was the only show at the time that was openly tackling the war on terror. Often scifi and fantasy is able to get there sooner, I think, because of that slight metaphorical distance.
It’s why I like writing it — you can raise topics in a way that will get readers thinking, rather than immediately turning them off if they disagree.
The Centauri subplot covers more than Lady Morella's prophecy, of course. Let's look back at the first scene where Londo is re-writing Vir's report. It's played for laughs, but it's an echo of the totalitarian thought control Nightwatch is pushing. Londo encourages Vir to rewrite his report in ways which reassure the Centarum, rather than project an accurate assessment. Echoes of Nightwatch saying "...a word, even a thought can be disloyal to Earth..." Along with echoes of how, say, the Trump administration can give unlimited power to someone who doesn't have the authority to run his department, and whose department doesn't have the authority to do what it's doing. (See first "Non Spoilers," below)
I like to think Vir removes all Londo's changes. I'm certain of it because of *Spoilers Redacted*. Of course in this episode he shows bravery by closing ranks around Lady Morella. Season 1 Vir would have been there, but he'd try to be inside the guards and covering his head. Here, he's actively part of her protection.
It's a subtle thing in the riot scene, but there's a Minbari Ranger (obvious in the uniform of his secret organization). It's probably an accident of staging, but I've always wondered (yes, on past viewings) if he was aware of who Lady Morella is. After Vir is hit with the bottle, that Ranger slips around to Vir's back. As the Centauri make their way out of Zocalo this Ranger moves with them. The Rangers have no particular dealings with the Centauri, but Sheridan is in charge of the Rangers in the area, B5 is his station, and the late Emperor's wife - the one held by custom to now speak for Emperor Turhan's spirit - is not someone you want injured or killed on your watch. So, while it's probably just how Jim Johnston had to manage his limited extras while staging the scene, it's plausible the Rangers know who Morella is, and that Ranger acted to help shield her to indirectly aid Sheridan.
G'Kar and Ta'Lon are awesome. Especially awesome for Ta'Lon is he merely notes he saw opportunity to repay debt, and never comes out and says, "G'Kar, I am standing guard so no one breaks into your quarters and steals everything while you spend a couple Earth months in jail."
The Delenn/Sheridan relationship continues to develop with just one line.
The only way this episode could be better is if Mike Vejar directed it. I'll be saying that next time, too.
(Also, I'm thinking of the flak that Marvel has been getting for setting up these kinds of hard-hitting plotlines but then at some point backing away into established familiar tropes, eg. feedback on the latest Captain America movie - and how that's getting increasingly tired both with the critics and with audiences. Fantasy and scifi allows a lot of topical bravery, but you still need writers willing to be that fearless in the pursuit of a story with a message worth hearing...)
Blockbusters have a long tradition of raising interesting questions and then entirely forgetting about them by the third act. Sometimes I suspect they raise the issues almost by accident.
Haven’t seen the new Cap yet, but it does sound like it pulls its punches. Which is a shame, as a ‘Captain America’ movie has to work harder than usual in 2025.
With film and TV how much of that is the writers, how much increasing studio interference?
Ghostbusters (1984). Dan Ackroyd and Ivan Reitman were given a bunch of money to make a movie, and, mostly, left alone to do it. Just don't go over budget. Sure, there'd be studio notes, but not until the first director's cut.
Ghostbusters (2016) had TONS of interference. The whole reason Slimer and Lady Slimer steal Ecto-1 was a studio mandate... That was the setup for a spin off cartoon canceled after the movie tanked. The scene where the Ghostbusters mock online reviews was another studio mandate - and a direct reaction to the backlash against the YouTube trailer. What parts of the movie which might have advanced the plot, themes, or characters got cut because of that?
Of course the Marvel movies don't get to go for the jugular any more. Too much money at stake, and to many diminishing returns on the now-bloated MCU. The high point of the entire franchise is "The Winter Soldier," which is the first and last time the MCU pulled no punches at all with its themes and committed to a shocking rug pull which wasn't immediately undone.
I do love the comic relief scene with Londo and Vir on the couch, being all nervous about both being Emperor. Poor Vir - obviously it would never occur to him to say, "Hey, you're middle aged, I'm just a kid - obviously I'm your successor after you have a long, prosperous reign and pass in your bed, with your three favorite concubines, leaving me as your named heir."
With all of Garibaldi's talking this week about how he put his team together so carefully, where the hell did those two psychopaths we'll see in Ceremonies of Light and Dark come from? Unfortunately, Garibaldi just doesn't have the best eye for hiring people. This comes from Garibaldi himself hitting rock bottom and only getting his job because Sinclair gave him the chance. Garibaldi has done this himself - both with Zach and one of the other officers in this week's episode. Garibaldi is a bit of a soft touch, willing to take a chance on someone who hit bottom, but sometimes that bites you back.
At least none of the Nightwatch guys just shot Garibaldi in the back like Jack in season 1. Still, this Nightwatch issue and Garibaldi's own people turning on him heighten his paranoia and distrust... Which will lead to the entire season 4 Garibaldi arc.
Let's talk prophecy.
Londo's missed chances were probably talking to Morden to begin with, and prompting the Narn/Centauri war with a Shadow attack.
So - what is "The Eye that Cannot See?" I'm still not sure. Hell, for all I know it's "The *I* that Cannot See." It's not about G'kar's eye being plucked out in s4. That eye sees. It's the line in the prophecy I've never figured out.
"The One Who is Already Dead" is probably Morden. Sure, Londo is doing this to save Centauri Prime from the Vorlons, but the head on pike? It's not like the Vorlons saw that. Put Morden in a shuttle, launch him towards the Vorlons and say, "Here. Shadow agent. All yours. Take him and leave us in peace." Killing Morden, and bombing Selini... Attracted the notice of the Drakh. Who took Centauri Prime in direct vengeance against Londo - and used Londo's own tactic against him, with the bombs.
"Londo's Greatest Fear." Easy. We learned way back in s1-ep1 about his dream of being strangled by G'Kar. In this episode Londo says he is trying to avoid his fate. In the end he will surrender himself to the fated end he wishes to avoid, knowing it means his death. Only at the end will he learn his death is to protect John Sheridan, Delenn, and their son, David, so that Centauri Prime can be freed from the Drakh - and Vir will become Emperor.
‘The One who is already dead’ could be Sheridan, post-Z’ha’dum? Especially if you take ‘the One’ literally and with capitalisation.
As with Sheridan’s vision in season 2, the clues are so obscure as to be slightly pointless, I think. If it’s indecipherable even after multiple rewatches, it might have been a bit too vague to start with. :)
The most interesting thing of the Nightwatch subplot in this episode is how Vaughn Armstrong's unnamed Nightwatch officer publicly states "As second in command..." to make Zach security chief, then immediately gives Zach direct orders. It's a little detail highlighting how an organisation can cloak itself inside another organization (interesting how my autocorrect/predict flips between American and UK spellings) for appearances. "Officer Armstrong" obviously intends Zach to be head of security in name only - someone to deal with the public and command staff - while Armstrong gives the REAL orders.
Which also has a parallel in the situation with "DOGE." There is no DOGE. Creating a new government department in the US requires an act of Congress. "DOGE" is a new name for "United States Digital Services," and USDS's ONLY remit is hardware and websites ACA infrastructure. The head of a US govt. department must be confirmed by Congress. Everything Musk and his people are doing is unsanctioned and blatantly illegal. Trump and Musk are just counting on the American justice system being slow, and a corrupt SCOTUS backing them. Even if SCOTUS doesn't, it'll be too late - the damage is done.
Even Sheridan's actions in this episode are a stalling tactic. He knows, eventually, the system he works under will sell him out.
At least we get the feel good moment of Zach pulling his head from his butt.
Yeah. I really like Armstrong’s performance and the way he’s written. It seems over the top and unsubtle at times, but that’s covering up the actual subtlety, and the more devious undermining he’s doing around the edges.
Visible bluster over here, insidious undermining over there.
Oddly, in past viewings I haven't been that fond of Armstrong's performance. He's a bit theatrical and obvious. It's only on this viewing I twigged to the apparent subtext of Officer Armstrong being blustery to conceal other layers.
Plus, actually acting and writing that previously might have seemed over the top or too obvious has now been wildly overtaken by real events and shown to he overly subtle, if anything.
It was more fun watching B5 before it started happening in real life and there's no space station to secede to or John Sheridan with the White Star to arrive and help out.
It's not something I'd anticipated when I started the rewatch. Maybe it'll keep being relevant and we'll get our Sheridan and a "get the hell out of our galaxy" moment.
One certainly hopes. [I kid on the square, of course; I still very much enjoy the show, and I'd forgotten that Lwaxana Troi (Daughter of the Fifth House, Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, and Heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed!) made an appearance, it's just the timeliness is so on point.
It's astounding how timely this part of the B5 plot-arc has become. Eerie, even.
I didn't intend to be watching these particular episodes at this specific moment in 2025, yet here we are.
I preferred it when B5 was referencing historical events, rather than current/future events. But, then, I suppose my foolish assumption that it was dealing in the past is part of why we've all ended up where we are.
Yes, we're all blaming you, Simon. For all of it.
I think this is the genius of B5: it's a show about real human history, spun up in fancy new threads, like all the best scifi shows. I think of how gut-wrenchingly real Battlestar Galactica felt in its earlier seasons and occasionally in its later ones, For All Mankind is giving the same vibes right now. It's what happens when writers say "instead of ducking all this raw and polarising stuff, let's tackle it head-on and properly play the consequences of it out, because this is perhaps the only fictional genre that fully allows that."
I distinctly remember in the 2000s remarking that BSG was the only show at the time that was openly tackling the war on terror. Often scifi and fantasy is able to get there sooner, I think, because of that slight metaphorical distance.
It’s why I like writing it — you can raise topics in a way that will get readers thinking, rather than immediately turning them off if they disagree.
Non Spoilers 2:
The Centauri subplot covers more than Lady Morella's prophecy, of course. Let's look back at the first scene where Londo is re-writing Vir's report. It's played for laughs, but it's an echo of the totalitarian thought control Nightwatch is pushing. Londo encourages Vir to rewrite his report in ways which reassure the Centarum, rather than project an accurate assessment. Echoes of Nightwatch saying "...a word, even a thought can be disloyal to Earth..." Along with echoes of how, say, the Trump administration can give unlimited power to someone who doesn't have the authority to run his department, and whose department doesn't have the authority to do what it's doing. (See first "Non Spoilers," below)
I like to think Vir removes all Londo's changes. I'm certain of it because of *Spoilers Redacted*. Of course in this episode he shows bravery by closing ranks around Lady Morella. Season 1 Vir would have been there, but he'd try to be inside the guards and covering his head. Here, he's actively part of her protection.
It's a subtle thing in the riot scene, but there's a Minbari Ranger (obvious in the uniform of his secret organization). It's probably an accident of staging, but I've always wondered (yes, on past viewings) if he was aware of who Lady Morella is. After Vir is hit with the bottle, that Ranger slips around to Vir's back. As the Centauri make their way out of Zocalo this Ranger moves with them. The Rangers have no particular dealings with the Centauri, but Sheridan is in charge of the Rangers in the area, B5 is his station, and the late Emperor's wife - the one held by custom to now speak for Emperor Turhan's spirit - is not someone you want injured or killed on your watch. So, while it's probably just how Jim Johnston had to manage his limited extras while staging the scene, it's plausible the Rangers know who Morella is, and that Ranger acted to help shield her to indirectly aid Sheridan.
G'Kar and Ta'Lon are awesome. Especially awesome for Ta'Lon is he merely notes he saw opportunity to repay debt, and never comes out and says, "G'Kar, I am standing guard so no one breaks into your quarters and steals everything while you spend a couple Earth months in jail."
The Delenn/Sheridan relationship continues to develop with just one line.
The only way this episode could be better is if Mike Vejar directed it. I'll be saying that next time, too.
(Also, I'm thinking of the flak that Marvel has been getting for setting up these kinds of hard-hitting plotlines but then at some point backing away into established familiar tropes, eg. feedback on the latest Captain America movie - and how that's getting increasingly tired both with the critics and with audiences. Fantasy and scifi allows a lot of topical bravery, but you still need writers willing to be that fearless in the pursuit of a story with a message worth hearing...)
Blockbusters have a long tradition of raising interesting questions and then entirely forgetting about them by the third act. Sometimes I suspect they raise the issues almost by accident.
Haven’t seen the new Cap yet, but it does sound like it pulls its punches. Which is a shame, as a ‘Captain America’ movie has to work harder than usual in 2025.
With film and TV how much of that is the writers, how much increasing studio interference?
Ghostbusters (1984). Dan Ackroyd and Ivan Reitman were given a bunch of money to make a movie, and, mostly, left alone to do it. Just don't go over budget. Sure, there'd be studio notes, but not until the first director's cut.
Ghostbusters (2016) had TONS of interference. The whole reason Slimer and Lady Slimer steal Ecto-1 was a studio mandate... That was the setup for a spin off cartoon canceled after the movie tanked. The scene where the Ghostbusters mock online reviews was another studio mandate - and a direct reaction to the backlash against the YouTube trailer. What parts of the movie which might have advanced the plot, themes, or characters got cut because of that?
Of course the Marvel movies don't get to go for the jugular any more. Too much money at stake, and to many diminishing returns on the now-bloated MCU. The high point of the entire franchise is "The Winter Soldier," which is the first and last time the MCU pulled no punches at all with its themes and committed to a shocking rug pull which wasn't immediately undone.
Non Spoiler Addendum:
I do love the comic relief scene with Londo and Vir on the couch, being all nervous about both being Emperor. Poor Vir - obviously it would never occur to him to say, "Hey, you're middle aged, I'm just a kid - obviously I'm your successor after you have a long, prosperous reign and pass in your bed, with your three favorite concubines, leaving me as your named heir."
Cuz that's not funny.
SPOILERS
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..
...
....
.....
......
.....
....
...
..
.
With all of Garibaldi's talking this week about how he put his team together so carefully, where the hell did those two psychopaths we'll see in Ceremonies of Light and Dark come from? Unfortunately, Garibaldi just doesn't have the best eye for hiring people. This comes from Garibaldi himself hitting rock bottom and only getting his job because Sinclair gave him the chance. Garibaldi has done this himself - both with Zach and one of the other officers in this week's episode. Garibaldi is a bit of a soft touch, willing to take a chance on someone who hit bottom, but sometimes that bites you back.
At least none of the Nightwatch guys just shot Garibaldi in the back like Jack in season 1. Still, this Nightwatch issue and Garibaldi's own people turning on him heighten his paranoia and distrust... Which will lead to the entire season 4 Garibaldi arc.
Let's talk prophecy.
Londo's missed chances were probably talking to Morden to begin with, and prompting the Narn/Centauri war with a Shadow attack.
So - what is "The Eye that Cannot See?" I'm still not sure. Hell, for all I know it's "The *I* that Cannot See." It's not about G'kar's eye being plucked out in s4. That eye sees. It's the line in the prophecy I've never figured out.
"The One Who is Already Dead" is probably Morden. Sure, Londo is doing this to save Centauri Prime from the Vorlons, but the head on pike? It's not like the Vorlons saw that. Put Morden in a shuttle, launch him towards the Vorlons and say, "Here. Shadow agent. All yours. Take him and leave us in peace." Killing Morden, and bombing Selini... Attracted the notice of the Drakh. Who took Centauri Prime in direct vengeance against Londo - and used Londo's own tactic against him, with the bombs.
"Londo's Greatest Fear." Easy. We learned way back in s1-ep1 about his dream of being strangled by G'Kar. In this episode Londo says he is trying to avoid his fate. In the end he will surrender himself to the fated end he wishes to avoid, knowing it means his death. Only at the end will he learn his death is to protect John Sheridan, Delenn, and their son, David, so that Centauri Prime can be freed from the Drakh - and Vir will become Emperor.
‘The One who is already dead’ could be Sheridan, post-Z’ha’dum? Especially if you take ‘the One’ literally and with capitalisation.
As with Sheridan’s vision in season 2, the clues are so obscure as to be slightly pointless, I think. If it’s indecipherable even after multiple rewatches, it might have been a bit too vague to start with. :)
Non Spoilers:
The most interesting thing of the Nightwatch subplot in this episode is how Vaughn Armstrong's unnamed Nightwatch officer publicly states "As second in command..." to make Zach security chief, then immediately gives Zach direct orders. It's a little detail highlighting how an organisation can cloak itself inside another organization (interesting how my autocorrect/predict flips between American and UK spellings) for appearances. "Officer Armstrong" obviously intends Zach to be head of security in name only - someone to deal with the public and command staff - while Armstrong gives the REAL orders.
Which also has a parallel in the situation with "DOGE." There is no DOGE. Creating a new government department in the US requires an act of Congress. "DOGE" is a new name for "United States Digital Services," and USDS's ONLY remit is hardware and websites ACA infrastructure. The head of a US govt. department must be confirmed by Congress. Everything Musk and his people are doing is unsanctioned and blatantly illegal. Trump and Musk are just counting on the American justice system being slow, and a corrupt SCOTUS backing them. Even if SCOTUS doesn't, it'll be too late - the damage is done.
Even Sheridan's actions in this episode are a stalling tactic. He knows, eventually, the system he works under will sell him out.
At least we get the feel good moment of Zach pulling his head from his butt.
Yeah. I really like Armstrong’s performance and the way he’s written. It seems over the top and unsubtle at times, but that’s covering up the actual subtlety, and the more devious undermining he’s doing around the edges.
Visible bluster over here, insidious undermining over there.
Oddly, in past viewings I haven't been that fond of Armstrong's performance. He's a bit theatrical and obvious. It's only on this viewing I twigged to the apparent subtext of Officer Armstrong being blustery to conceal other layers.
Plus, actually acting and writing that previously might have seemed over the top or too obvious has now been wildly overtaken by real events and shown to he overly subtle, if anything.
It was more fun watching B5 before it started happening in real life and there's no space station to secede to or John Sheridan with the White Star to arrive and help out.
It's not something I'd anticipated when I started the rewatch. Maybe it'll keep being relevant and we'll get our Sheridan and a "get the hell out of our galaxy" moment.
One certainly hopes. [I kid on the square, of course; I still very much enjoy the show, and I'd forgotten that Lwaxana Troi (Daughter of the Fifth House, Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, and Heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed!) made an appearance, it's just the timeliness is so on point.