Ivanova is so gorgeous! And funny and smart and unafraid. Why can’t Garibaldi SEE this? Don’t answer me.
I love it when Ivanova lets her hair down. I had wondered if there was going to be any more follow-up re: her father’s death. Rabbi Koslov was great, and his little talk with Sinclair revealed a bunch more info about Ivanova’s falling out with her father as well as the fact that her mother and brother had died.
Ivanova: I’m ready to go back on duty, sir.
Sinclair: Good - I’ve had my fill of double shifts.
Ivanova: Perhaps we’ll remember that the next time Ms. Sakai visits the station.
I didn’t find the plot thread about the Muta-Do as interesting, I have to confess, though I’m curious about the alien (Caliban) who helps Smith get into the fighting ring. There’s no real explanation given about WHY is being so helpful, and I’m suspicious. Which makes me wonder whether or not Caliban had ulterior motives that we just don’t know about yet.
Don’t tell me.
But I was far more interested in Ivanova sitting shiva. Her character has never been so emotionally open and relaxed, and I loved the stories she was telling about her father, and how she was telling them.
I’ve been pretty happy to see more food scenes in recent episodes. Like the fried tree worm that Smith bites into! It actually looked pretty good.
I’ll be interested in seeing what happens with Smith; there’s obviously a set-up of SOME kind of plot situation here. And I’m still way suspicious of Caliban.
[For those who comment below: As the title of my blog indicates, I'm watching B5 for the very first time so PLEASE refrain from posting plot/character spoilers about upcoming episodes, or including links to pages with spoilers (unless you warn readers that they contain spoilers). Thanks so much! - Debbie]
Next episode: Grail.
9 comments ↓
Ivanova is so gorgeous!
Yes, Invanova is goddess!
From the lurkers guide, jms pointed out that this episode was aired earlier than what he planned on, but a bit of mis-communication occured and TV Guide and others were told of it being in the line-up, such that it was to late to stop the presses. jms said the only result, since this was pretty much a stand-alone episode, is that we see this side of Susan a bit earlier than he planned.
Or a bit later? I hate to nitpick, but she suddenly jumped from saying Season 1 to saying Season 2 for some reason. (Debbie - You might want to edit this one and the next one.)
If memory serves, JMS didn’t write this one and was a bit surprised at the number of people pointing out similarities of the sporting event to a number of then-recent movies. The “Outsider insisting on getting into the closed martial arts competition” had been done in
several movies. I don’t recall all their names, but BLOODSPORT from 1988 was certainly one. Apparently JMS had entirely missed noticing that flurry of movies.
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From IMDB plot synopsis on BLOODSPORT: As a child, a miscreant Frank Dux was taken in and trained by a champion martial artist, who went so far as to adopt Frank into his family after the premature death of his own son. Now, decades later, Frank is a skilled martial artist himself and a solider in the U.S. Military. Upon the death of his surrogate father and sensai, Frank is informed of a mysterious, no-holds barred, highly illegal martial arts tournament in Hong Kong known only as the “kumeti.” At the bidding of his sensai and against direct orders from his military superiors Frank travels to Hong Kong to participate and uphold his master’s honor. In order to succeed not only will he have to win the tournament; he must also evade capture by two military police sent to arrest him and the prying questions of a nosy reporter eager for a story. Written by Jace (jace@anarchygolfballs.com)
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Whether this one started it, or whether this was already a follow-on to another I’m not sure of - but there had been maybe a half dozen along these lines in the years preceding B5. Granted, the idea itself was not new - it’s been a staple for martial arts flicks for a long time. But there had been a surge in popularity such that many people saw this episode as trying to cash in on that fad when in actuality JMS wasn’t aware of it. Whether the writer of the episode was aware of it or not I can’t say.
This is pretty much a standalone, and there’s only one link to the overall arc - something that Smith says to Garibaldi that takes on a prophetic quality when seen in hindsight.
Yup, Ivanova is gorgeous. I don’t want Garibaldi to notice her, because I want her (in a ‘Mary Sue’ type alternate timeline) and in a fight I’d be no match for him *g*.
(Weird — when I sent that using the ’submit’ button I was directed to a 404 page…)
I loved the Ivanova part on this episode, the shiva sitting as well as the part in the restaurant, where it’s revealed that she felt controlled by her father. A jms comment: “Suddenly she doesn’t have someone for whom she has to be a certain way, and she has to start finding her *own* identity, and it ain’t easy.”
The book she’s reading is Harlan Ellison’s autobiography, which he was writing at that point, btw.
A_Tim: Thanks for letting me know this was a standalone episode. I had wondered.
Hvideo: Thanks for pointing out that typo! I’ve fixed it. I guess I was getting too excited about moving onto Season 2.
And for the bit of history about the fighting movie similarity. At one point during this episode, I turned to Jeff and said, “This is ‘ROCKY’!”
Terence: Something Smith says to Garibaldi takes on a prophetic quality, hm?? Interesting…
Chris C: re: “Yup, Ivanova is gorgeous. I don’t want Garibaldi to notice her, because I want her (in a ‘Mary Sue’ type alternate timeline) and in a fight I’d be no match for him *g*.”
:-D!!!!
mandragora: Thanks for reminding me about that Harlan Ellison book! I meant to mention that but forgot.
Goddess? No…Ivanova is God.
The shiva subplot in this episode is one of my favorites of the entire series. It’s an entirely different portrayal of religion than one is used to seeing in SF, particularly televised. Usually when religion turns up it’s a weapon wielded by the bad guys to keep their subjects in line over and justify their conquests. One of the strengths in Babylon 5 is that religion frequently appears as most viewers would know it–simply as a part of each character’s normal life; and as a source of faith and strength as they face each challenge.