Commanding Officer's Log, September 22nd, 2261: Enough is enough! (YYYEEEEAAAHHH!!!!!)
Plot Synopsis:
The B5 Lurker's Guide has the juicy details here...but just watch the episode and quit being lazy...you'll thank me later. :)
The Skinny:
SABR Matt:
My co-author will need a change of clothes after she explodes with glee over the Londo/G'Kar subplot...but I am going to focus primarily on the main plot here - the civil war begins with a rather spectacular bang. A few thoughts on Sheridan's tactics as he launches his first campaign:
- The campaign itself was timely - Proxima 3 was about to fall to Clark's forces, and more than that, this strike was not unprovoked. Sheridan carefully waited until Clark did something very obviously illegal so that he could hold the footage high over his head as a war banner. If you're going to fight "the system"...you need a reason for the people to change their minds.
- The method he used - identifying true combatants vs. unwilling potential allies - not only takes great restraint, but allows Sheridan to gather a stronger fighting force AND preserve a public view of him as decidedly not an enemy to his fellow men. The reason he's able to fight this way is made clear in his impassioned plea to MacDougan. The key phrase was "we'll fight our way to Earth, depose Clark, and then turn it over the people." Revolutions frequently fail (as we discussed when we reviewed Farscape's Rhapsody in Blue - an episode of which I have a much higher opinion than my co-author) because the guy in charge has some personal stake in the conflict...so desire for power and control that makes him no better than the authority he's trying to overthrow. But Sheridan isn't in it for himself.
- The strategy was also masterful - my co-author doesn't get excited over military details, but that kind of strategy is hard to write well and it's written well in this script.
- Sheridan also trusts in freedom - once he wins the day militarily (and with the loss of only one of the six combatant vessels, I might add), he does not force any of his defeated comrades to join him or face the consequences. No - he allows them to withdraw if they so choose. He gives them the freedom to choose to fight on his side - something Clark can never offer honestly. Would that modern politicians in the real world behaved like this.
All in all, the start to the civil war plot is a gigantic step stronger than the end of the Shadow War arc in terms of military strategy, the ethical dilemmas involved, and the characterization of the enemy...and the protagonist. This is the shining moment in the course of the franchise for all of the human characters on B5's command staff. Now...you might want to shield your face from the loose spittle that will fly as my co-author's has her Londo/G'Kar seizure. :)
Stephanie S:
You can make fun of me all you want, SABR Matt, but you know the Londo/G'Kar subplot is a work PURE GENIUS from start to finish. I mean, JMS even calls back Londo's moment of betrayal in The Coming of Shadows and subsequently undoes it using the very same symbol: the drink. That kind of parallelism is downright literary. Then there's the outstanding care with which JMS writes Londo's virtual monologue in this storyline's key scene. The remorse Londo displays here is 100% sincere -- and yet, at the same time, he still feels the need to explain his actions. He's still on the defensive. Londo hasn't quite reached the point at which he can admit, without any recourse to self-justification, that what he did was wrong. He hasn't quite reached the point at which he can totally humble himself and apologize. That won't happen until we hit the fifth season's first feature.
And by the way, it's not just the writing that contributes to the mind-blowing effectiveness of the Londo/G'Kar scenes. The acting plays a role as well. Previously, I declared Peter Jurasik's performance in Interludes and Examinations to be his finest, but this episode definitely takes second place. Even though I understand on a rational level why G'Kar initially refuses Londo's proposal (and his drink), I always walk away from their first scene feeling deeply sorry for Londo thanks to Jurasik and his uncanny talent for making the unsympathetic sympathetic (damn him). And that last scene between Londo and G'Kar? Oh. My. God. The emotions that pass over Londo's face after G'Kar leaves are just -- I don't even know what to say. To be honest, I tear up a little bit. It is just that amazing.
So, in a nutshell: SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! LONDO/G'KAR FOREVER!!!!!!!!!11!!one!eleventy-one!!!
Writing: 9.5 / 9.5
I do have to admit that the language-based strengths in this script are primarily confined to the Centauri/Narn subplot. Londo's speech in G'Kar's quarters might be the single best thing JMS has ever written. The human plot uses heavier language a bit more often than I'd like, but the characterization, plot concept, and military strategy are outstanding, which more than makes up for some of the comic-bookish heavy-handedness.
Acting: 9.5 / 9.5
Some of the secondary human characters - particularly the other ship captains - laid it on a bit thick...but Andreas Katsulas and especially Peter Jurasik blew any of your acting concerns away. Their interaction was completely flawless and deeply moving.
Message: 10.0 / 10.0
Evil must be opposed...yes, we've done this message before...but this is the boldest defense of that principle that B5 has produced to date - with the humans forced to side against their fellow kind to fight for a belief. And what's more, this is the finest example of the proper way to wage a war of ideas that B5 will ever show us.
Highlights:
GARIBALDI: Well, it looks like you had a late night.
VIR: No, not actually. They just got us up very early to brief us on their new campaign.
GARIBALDI: What new campaign?
VIR: To take back Earth and your outer colonies. I-I'm sorry, I thought you knew.
GARIBALDI: No. No.
VIR: Well, now that you do, I imagine you'll want to sign on again.
GARIBALDI: Not with Sheridan.
VIR: Doesn't your homeworld matter to you?
GARIBALDI: Of course it matters. But I don't like the way he's doin' this.
VIR: Well, that's the way it is. I don't always like the way Londo does things -- well, me and most civilized worlds -- but you know, sometimes he's right. So I force myself to give him the benefit of the doubt. (Awww. We love you, Vir.)
LONDO: Hello, G'Kar. (A perfect mirror of their first scene in the royal dungeons!) I don't believe I have ever been in your quarters before.
G'KAR: Unless you count a cell on Centauri Prime. I apologize for the lack of chains. The cleaning service must've removed them.
LONDO: It has much the same feeling as your world. Dry. Red. And depressing. I -- (A beat.) Isn't is amazing how quickly we fall into familiar patterns as soon as we come into one another's orbit? Like comets that flare when they get too near the sun. I did not come here to spar with you, G'Kar. I came... to talk to you. (Another pause.) How is the eye?
G'KAR: (glaring) It sees.
LONDO: Good. Good. (He sighs.) These last few years... have been very difficult for both of us, G'Kar. (G'Kar utters a grunt of contempt.) Harder on you, perhaps. But as the humans say, it has not exactly been a picnic for me either. I have no illusions that you did what you did - endured what you endured - for the good of my people. You sacrificed your dignity, your pride... your eye to help free Narn. But still, in the process, you did help my own world... and I never thanked you for that.
G'KAR: I have no interest in your thanks.
LONDO: I did not think that you would. But it is there anyway. (G'Kar offers no response to this. His stony face says it all.) As I said: a hard year.
G'KAR: (relenting ever so slightly) Yes. Hard year.
(At this point, Londo's temper flares a bit, and he yanks his chair closer to G'Kar's desk.)
LONDO: What you said before... about the chains... that was unkind, G'Kar. When I saw you in that cell, beaten... chained... as I said, we have never been friends. We will never be friends. There is too much blood between us. Too much history. But I did feel for you, as much as I did not want to. In the beginning, it was little more than the sympathy one might feel for any trapped animal. But in time... I came to respect you.
G'KAR: You respect matters to me even less than your thanks.
LONDO: You are not going to give me even an inch, are you? I promised to help free Narn if you cooperated. I could've easily changed my mind, but I kept my promise. (He rips a sheet of paper out of G'Kar's hand.) Surely that entitles me to something!
G'KAR: Was there something else you wanted to say?
(Londo throws the aforementioned paper onto the desk and walks to other side of the room.)
LONDO: You may not believe this, G'Kar, but all I ever wanted is what was right for my world. I am a patriot... as you are. I have made some... very poor choices in the last two years. And because I did not think, those choices almost destroyed my world... and yours! That is a humbling realization, G'Kar. If with a single wrong word, I can become the enemy, do I any longer really understand who the enemy is? (He starts pouring drinks.) I have spoken with my government. We will not remain neutral in the matter of Sheridan's war with Earth. I have convinced them to throw our official support to Sheridan. (He walks over and sets down two shot glasses in front of G'Kar.) If the Narn were to do the same in a joint statement, it might help. If two forces recently at war with one another can agree on this, perhaps it might help to convince the others.
G'KAR: Why?
LONDO: (with genuine emotion) Because while I do not know who the enemy is any longer, I do know who my friends are... and that I have not done as well by them as I should. I hope to change that. I hope to do better. (A beat.) Before war broke out between our governments, you bought me a drink. I wish to return the favor. For the first time in a hundred years, we have something in common beyond hatred. I find that most extraordinary. And so, a drink to the humans - and to the bridge they created between us - in the hope for a better future for both our worlds.
(There is a long pause. Finally, without comment, G'Kar pours his drink back into Londo's bottle. OUCH.)
LONDO: (quietly, hurt) I see.
(Holy crap on a stick, this scene is awesome! See above for Steph's discussion of its awesomeness.)
SHERIDAN: Macky! Long time, no see.
MACDOUGAN: John? Get the hell out of here. This isn't gonna work. Like it or not, Proxima III is under Earth jurisdiction. Can't allow them to secede, whoever's in office.
SHERIDAN: They broke away after Clark started bombing civilian targets. What's the rule about following an illegal order?
MACDOUGAN: You don't. We're not involved. We haven't attacked anyone.
SHERIDAN: But you're about to. Any action you take in support of an illegal order makes you an accomplice to that order. Ah, come on, Macky! President Clark is out of control! He's got you out here on an illegal mission! (A beat.) Back at the academy, you used to pose moral conflicts for us as part of our training. You said that soldiers aren't machines. They have to think. They have to decide if an order is moral or not. Well, what does your conscience tell you? (Nice.)
SHERIDAN: What happened here today was difficult for all of us. But it's over now. What we have to decide now is what we do next. Option one: you and your crews can return home. We won't stop you. Now, sooner or later, the Heracles and her crew will have to answer for their actions before a military tribunal. But that's not our problem for now. Option two: you can stay here and protect Proxima III from further retaliation by President Clark. And option three: you can come with us. Join the fight!
LEVITT: Captain, I wasn't about to let Captain Hall get the rest of my crew killed defending Clark's policies. I happen to disagree with those policies. But that doesn't mean I agree with your actions either. It's not the role of the military to make policy.
SHERIDAN: Our mandate is to defend Earth against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Now, Clark has become that enemy. Your oath is to the Alliance and to the people back home, not to any particular government.
MACDOUGAN: You're splitting that hair mighty thin, John.
SHERIDAN: Am I? Nightwatch? Ministry of Peace? Ministry of Truth? I mean, is this the same Alliance you joined, or has it become something else? The orders you've been getting -- do they represent the ideal of the Alliance, or of a dictatorship? You've been ordered to open fire on civilian targets. Is this what you've signed on for? We've made contact with other ships that have left Earthforce. They should be getting here within the next few hours. Some will stay and hold Proxima, and the others will come with us.
LEVITT: I thought you had all League worlds backing you up. Why do you need us?
SHERIDAN: Because I want this to be a clean fight. The other worlds won't fight for us, but they won't get in our way, either. It's your call. I'd like you to join us. We'll kick out Clark and the Nightwatch and the rest of that bunch and turn it over to the voters. Let them decide whether what we did was right or wrong. Because in the final analysis, those are the people we work for.
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