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Skriven 2007-04-15 17:59:48 av jphalt@aol.com (17009.babylon5)
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Ärende: Phoenix Rising: my review
=================================
The Byron arc reaches its climax, and though none of the characters
recognize it when it happens, the Telepath War begins in this eventful
installment.
THE PLOT
The telepath standoff has reached a boiling point. The problem isn't
so much Byron's group, sealed behind the bulkheads. As Garibaldi
pointed out last episode, and as Bester observes this episode, they
are in one place and growing weaker the longer it takes to reach them.
But the second group of telepaths - the ones who have rejected Byron's
nonviolent beliefs - are proving to be more troublesome than Bester
was prepared for.
As Bester's bloodhound units hunt the rogues, they decide to go on the
offensive. They barge into Medlab and take hostages, including both
Garibaldi and Stephen. Now President Sheridan finds himself facing an
ultimatum - let the telepaths go free and begin negotiations for a
telepath homeworld, or the hostages will be killed. It's a no-win
situation for Sheridan. If he agrees, he'll be giving in to terrorist
demands; "if we open that door, even once, we'll never be able to
close it." But if he does what he must, and rejects the ultimatum,
then his friends will likely die. It's not like the rogues will
hesitate to kill the innocents in Medlab. After all, as both Byron and
Bester observe: "They're only mundanes."
THE GOOD
I noted in my review of "A Tragedy of Telepaths" how well that episode
showcased Bester's complexity. Well, this episode does so even better.
For much of the episode's running time, we see the return of the old,
purely villainous Bester. He taunts Garibaldi, he heaps scorn on
Sheridan and Lochley, and he does everything he can to run the rogue
telepaths to ground with a single-mindedness that tips well over into
the obsessive. It is that very single-mindedness that forces the
episode's tragic ending. Sheridan, Lochley, and Byron had all but
achieved a peaceful settlement. It is Bester, and his determination
both to hide the truth about his own misdeeds and to keep the
"telepath family" together, that leads to the final bloodshed.
For all of that, Bester doesn't come out of the episode an entirely
hateful figure. Once again, I found myself feeling a great deal of
pity for him at the show's end. As he stands beside Sheridan,
absolutely in shock, his reserve broken as he almost stammers that he
simply doesn't understand what happened, he becomes as tragic a figure
as Byron.
I stated back in my review of "The Paragon of Animals" that Byron was
a lot like Bester. This episode draws those parallels very explicitly.
Byron has railed against "mundanes" practically since his first
appearance, making it clear that he regards them as lesser beings.
Here, we see that Bester ordered the destruction of a transport ship
filled with mundanes for no reason other than to send a message. The
instrument of that destruction? Byron. The two characters are
inextricably bound together because of that moment.
They are very much two sides of the same coin. Both are leaders.
Neither man could really be anything but a leader. Both are heroes to
their respective followers. Just as Byron's people look up to him as
some sort of saint, Bester's people look to him as the man who always
knows how to get the job done. Both believe they are acting in the
best interests of the telepaths. Both also share many of the same
flaws, including an almost willful blindness to the possibility of a
middle ground.
It all comes together in the episode's best scene, a haunting
"conversation" between Byron and Bester. They are not physically in
the same room as they talk. They are separated by a bulkhead that
divides Byron's rogues from Bester's Psi Cops. Still, they talk, using
their minds. Bester is Lucifer, tempting Byron's Christ with a return
to the fold, reacting not with anger but with sadness as Byron refuses
his offer. It's a strong scene visually, wonderfully directed by David
J. Eagle, and extremely well-acted by both performers.
Though she is primarily seen in the background of this episode, it is
also a key episode for Lyta. Byron very much passes the torch of his
telepath rebellion to Lyta. He trusts her to complete his redemption.
The irony is that Lyta is no more a pacifist than the rogues among
Byron's other followers. Despite all the times she has seen Byron's
anguish over the idea of telepaths murdering in his name, the episode
ends with Lyta passing along secure information to each of the
remaining telepaths, clasping hands with them as she transfers the
data they need, giving them the code: "Remember Byron."
The episode's tag - in which a news report informs us that the Psi
Corps building has become the site of a terrorist attack, with that
very phrase painted on the wall of the building - strongly implies
that Lyta is already orchestrating violence in the name of a man who
couldn't abide the idea of violence. Byron's ideals cannot survive his
passing, not even in the woman who was closest to him. As the Telepath
War begins - a civil war as it turns out, and not the all-out Telepath
vs. Mundane conflagration Lyta, Bester, Garibaldi, and William Edgars
have all separately envisioned - it is Byron's name that is used to
spur the revolution.
The episode is a strong one for other characters, as well. Garibaldi
receives an enormous blow to his sense of self, possibly his greatest
one since "Chrysalis." At least when Bester reprogrammed him, he
remained an active and powerful figure. More, he was able to promptly
act to correct his mistakes once the programming was lifted. In this
episode, Garibaldi finds his ability to act stripped from him. First
he discovers that Bester has placed a block on him, leaving him
impotent in his rage against the Psi Cop. Very shortly thereafter, he
is held hostage by the rogue telepaths and is made helpless to act. If
he acts against his captors, others will die. He can't avenge himself
on Bester; he can't rescue Stephen and the people in Medlab; he can't
even help himself. The hostage situation sees Garibaldi reduced to a
degree we've never seen before, as he is left all but begging (and
begging in vain, at that) for the lives of himself and the other
hostages. With a day such as this acting as catalyst, it's hardly
surprising that Garibaldi's dissolution begins - a slide that will
have horrible consequences later on (in one visit, Bester destroys
Byron, effectively starts the Telepath War, and ultimately seals the
fate of Centauri Prime by devastating Garibaldi. Bester's single most
damaging day ever? Quite probably...)
Sheridan also has his best episode since "The Paragon of Animals." He
is also rendered helpless, his best efforts short-circuited by
Bester's misguided determination. However, Sheridan never gives up. He
constantly searches for the path through the minefield that has been
laid before him and, to his credit, he nearly finds that path.
Boxleitner rises to the strong script with his best work of the
season. Whether arguing with Bester, negotiating with Byron, or
announcing his ultimatum to the hostage-takers, Sheridan never comes
across as anything other than strong. Quite an accomplishment for the
character, that he seems so strong in an episode where he ultimately
accomplishes nothing.
THE BAD
In an episode this good, all there really is to do is nit-pick. Still,
Bester's relationship with Lochley has certainly changed a lot in a
very short time. Bester is outright adversarial toward her in this
episode, and she toward him. Wasn't the whole point of their history
in "Strange Relations" meant to establish a cordial working
relationship between these two? Even before Bester crosses the line
(relatively late in this episode), Lochley is trying to block him in
much the same way the other regulars have always done. It jars just a
bit, given that Bester was claiming Lochley as an ally only a handful
of episodes back.
My Final Rating: 9/10. Just misses full marks, but still the best
Season 5 episode yet.
--- SBBSecho 2.12-Win32
* Origin: Time Warp of the Future BBS - Home of League 10 (1:14/400)
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