Monks arrive on B5, Lennier is badly injured in a bombing, and G’Kar and Londo are trapped in an elevator together.
Hey, it looks like I’m not the only one posting episode reviews during a first-time watch of the B5 series.
From Sci Fi Fanatic:
“Enjoying your B5 reviews and funny enough a mutual reader mentioned they were reading both of our sites as I am in the midst of doing my own. I also enjoy your blog. But I won’t be getting too far ahead. I don’t want to read any spoilers myself. I’m in the middle of Season 2 and Babylon 5 is shaping up to be a sci fi classic. My site is http://scifimusings.blogspot.com if you ever want to visit. I’ll keep returning.”
Do check out Sci Fi’s posts; they’re a lot more detailed and informative than my episodes could ever be. 
Brother Theo and his fellow monks seem way too nice, don’t they? I don’t trust them, even if they did B5 help find the bomber. Why are they REALLY on B5? Don’t tell me.
I like how Lennier handles the obnoxious guy in the waiting room, telling him that he has a highly contagious and fatal disease called Netter’s Syndrome. Heh.
I was horrified when Lennier was caught in the bomb blast. Even though I knew he would survive (from seeing the Season Five DVD box last week), I still didn’t want anything bad to happen to him!
And whoa, he saved Garibaldi’s life. It will be interesting to see the ramifications of Lennier’s action in coming episodes.
I’m happy to see Ivanova toning down the make-up; I think she looks much better this way.
From the moment Londo started talking to Lennier, I knew that Lennier could still hear him, at least on some level.
Say, wasn’t this guy the same fellow who was helping G’Kar with illegal weapons? Or am I misremembering the resemblance?
LOVED scenes in the elevator where Londo and G’Kar were trapped.
G’Kar: Not many fishies left in the sea, not many fishies …just Londo and me.
Carlson was a very convincing psychopath bomber, yikes.
Poor Lennier! I hate seeing him all beat up like this. And he’s going to be so aware from now on that Londo is only alive because of him, for good or bad. And it’s more likely to be bad, I fear. 
Lennier: “I fear I have served the present by sacrificing the future.”
And poor G’Kar, who had hoped to watch Londo die but instead, the both of them are saved.
Londo: Bastard.
G’Kar: Monster.
Londo: Fanatic.
G’Kar: Murderer.
Londo: You are insane!
G’Kar: And that is why we’ll win.
Next episode: A Day In The Strife.
[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/hints about upcoming episodes, or including links to pages with spoilers (unless you warn readers that they contain spoilers). More info about spoilers here. Thanks so much! - Debbie]
7 comments ↓
The way G’kar played that scene in the transfer tube was developed between Andreas, Peter and the director. It was written to be done straight…and then JMS happened to be passing and heard the laughter, and when he went over to see what was happening they ran it by him and he said okay. When he managed to stop laughing himself. Sometimes genius is a team effort.
Re: Netter’s Syndrome: Douglas Netter being co-executive producer…
JMS spoke of having written the elevator scenes as the antidote to all the stuck-in-an-elevator plots in earlier dramas and sitcoms — in which, invariably, the two characters Learned About Each Other and drew closer together…
I always enjoyed G’Kar’s sense of humor. The elevator scene was one of their best scenes. It’s not a spoiler but it is a downer to know that Andreas Katsulas is deceased (2006). I can’t think of any other actor I would want playing G’Kar. (with the original cast). In
20 years, I could imagine a new cast perhaps.
Re: the bomber No, he’s not the same actor. I thought he was familiar too (must be the glasses). But Patrick Kilpatrick (what a name!) has only one B5 appearance listed at imdb and its this episode.
Brother Theo is the original Draal (from the Great Machine). It’s nice to have him around in some capacity - and I *looove* Brother Theo.
I like this episode a lot. It’s a powerful irony that Lennier is willing to give his life to save Londo and so shortly afterward G’Kar is willing to give his life to watch Londo die.
The elevator scenes in B5, this one included, seem to be a (n inadvertant, sometimes) metaphore for the much larger plot.
It looks like Louis Turenne, now 75, retired from acting soon after his Babylon 5 apperances. Glad to see him here as Brother Theo.
Director of Photography, JOHN C. FLINN, III A.S.C. played Obnoxious Man, the one who did not want to get (Douglas) Netter’s Syndrome.
Hello Debbie
You have shared some very kind words with our comrade Babylonians. Thanks so much. I have been wanting to thank you but I have been slow to get to this point. You are far more eficient than I. : ) I continue to enjoy your insights and I am also enjoying writing about this series. It takes me soooo long to come up with an entry with so much information packed into an episode by Straczynski. I hope you are well. Keep up the beautiful blogging!
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