{"id":39951,"date":"2013-12-09T17:15:30","date_gmt":"2013-12-10T00:15:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/12\/09\/b5-rewatch-s1e13-signs-and-portents.html"},"modified":"2014-05-30T08:47:27","modified_gmt":"2014-05-30T14:47:27","slug":"b5-rewatch-s1e13-signs-and-portents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/12\/09\/b5-rewatch-s1e13-signs-and-portents.html","title":{"rendered":"B5 Rewatch: 1×13 "Signs and Portents""},"content":{"rendered":"
(More than usual, SPOILERS.)WHAM! \u00a0After a whole truck-load of introductory episodes, we finally get a huge<\/i> leap forward in the grand story, penned by JMS himself, and sharing the same episode name as the overall season arc. Which means loads of fun, loads of foreshadowing, loads of payoff for what we’ve seen already, and loads of setup for what’s coming next<\/p>\n

There are at least three plotlines going on here. \u00a0More, depending on how you slice them, but …<\/p>\n

The A-plot involves the Raiders upping their presence and activities in the area around B5. \u00a0While this leads to some big-time action scenes \/ space battles, it’s mostly misdirection to allow for the B-plot to go on — though the fate of the Raider ship provides one of the biggest Bangs of the ep, carved into pixels by a first-time-seen Shadow vessel.<\/p>\n

Closely tied to that story line is Centauri shenanigans — including political unrest on the home world, a disengaged emperor, a disgruntled Senate, and a power vacuum waiting for someone to move in — which is the path that Centauri nobleman Kiro pursues, arranging to seize a Centauri heirloom to bring\u00a0home and claim the throne. \u00a0Things don’t end well for him …<\/p>\n

… but they end okay for his companion, a Centauri Seer who keeps seeing foreboding images of B5 being attacked and exploding.<\/p>\n

That all ties into the B-plot, the real<\/i> action, where a newly-arrived human named Morden is interviewing the major ambassadors “What do you want?” \u00a0G’kar seeks the Centauris destroyed but his own people simply safe after that. Delenn kicks the bum out as his presence make her Grey Council tattoo itch. \u00a0Londo, frustrated by the whole Lord Kiro thing, opines he wants to see Centauri back on top of the heap, the center of the galaxy, lords of all they survey — a jingoistic but heartfelt wish that will haunt him the rest of the series.<\/p>\n

As for Kosh … he and Morden have words.<\/p>\n

The C-plot (yes, there’s a C-plot jammed in here) has Sinclair taking Garibaldi into his confidence about what he’s remembered about his missing 24 hours after the Battle of the Line — which ends up revealing that the only reason Sinclair is in charge of B5 is because the Minbari vetoed all the other candidates. Hmmmmmm.<\/p>\n

It’s just a hell of an episode that had fans buzzing for weeks\u00a0(and, in fact, had reverberations through the rest of the series). \u00a0Triffic stuff, enough to get even my daughter enthused about what was going on (she wanted to see<\/i> the Kosh\/Morden encounter … heh heh heh).<\/p>\n

Most Dramatic Moment:<\/b> Now that the bad guys have gotten away — and the Raider agent has turned on Lord Kiro — their deep-laid plans come to naught as the Shadows decide recovering the Eye is worth the effort of wiping them all out. Surprise!
\nMost Amusing Moment:<\/b> Hmmm. Ivanova complaining about being unable to sleep when it’s dark out? Or Londo and G’kar having an argument in front of the elevator? Hard to decide.
\nMost Arc-ish Moment:<\/b> Too, too, too many. I have to give it to the four encounters between Morden and the main ambassadors, and what each one reveals about them.
\nOverall Rating:<\/b> 5.0 \/ 5 — No, really. These kind of episodes were what made B5 followers\u00a0into B5 FANS. This was really the first big WHAM ep, even more than “Midnight on the Firing Line,” and it still<\/i> has me squeeing, 19-1\/2 years later.<\/p>\n

Midwinter Guide: http:\/\/www.midwinter.com\/lurk\/countries\/us\/guide\/013.html<\/a>
\nBabylon Project: http:\/\/babylon5.wikia.com\/wiki\/Signs_and_Portents<\/a><\/p>\n

#babylon5<\/a> \u00a0 #b5<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n