Text 5214, 185 rader
Skriven 2006-07-29 17:11:00 av Robert E Starr JR (5711.babylon5)
Ärende: The Summoning: my review
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As Sinclair once said, the characters are "standing at a crossroads,
and I don't like where we're going." The sense that things are
going wrong, and are going wrong very quickly beyond the ability of
anyone to control it, has never been so strong as it is at this point
in the series.


THE PLOT

The League of Non-Aligned Worlds has fractured. Delenn has gathered up
a fleet made up of the Rangers and those of the League who remained
loyal, and is preparing to attack Z'ha'dum. However, those plans
are threatened when the rest of the League Worlds decide that such an
attack would only bring the Shadows down on them all the faster. A
demonstration is planned. Its goal? To stop Delenn from being able to
take action against Z'ha'dum.

As the deadline for the attack grows near, Ivanova decides to take a
Whitestar out to try to find some more of the First Ones. Marcus goes
with her, to act as translator. Their search for the First Ones appears
to be in vain. However, they do make a discovery in hyperspace - a
discovery that will shock them to the very core. The entire nature of
the war is changing, and not in a good way...

Meanwhile, on Centauri Prime, Emperor Cartagia is most displeased with
his new toy. G'Kar has too much pride. He refuses to beg Cartagia for
mercy, or even for water. He won't even scream. Cartagia determines
that if he cannot get the Narn to scream, then he will have to kill him
- leading a desperate Londo to beg G'Kar to compromise his pride just
a little, if not for the sake of his life then for the sake of both
their Homeworlds.

Finally, acting Security Chief Zack Allen runs down the lead that
G'Kar and Marcus discovered in the last episode, tracking the salvage
from Garibaldi's ship. The clue yields results, and Zack is able to
bring Garibaldi back to Babylon 5. The return may have been just a
little too easy, however. Among other things, surely that ship wasn't
badly damaged enough to be destroyed - and destroyed with just enough
time left to eject Garibaldi, alone, in a life-pod.

As if all that wasn't enough, there's an unidentified ship in
hyperspace - and it's making its way right for the station...


THE GOOD

Most of my reviews focus on the easiest areas to review: script,
themes, and acting. This one will end up being no different, but I
wanted to say a word first about the directing.

As noted in several past reviews, "Babylon 5" is a series that often
uses a very stagelike directing style to great effect. This episode is
yet another one that triumphs in this regard. Look at the electro-whip
scene, with Londo and Vir watching helplessly as Cartagia has G'Kar
whipped simply because the Emperor "must have (his) scream." It is very
probably the single most memorable scene of the episode. Now look at it
more closely. The set is incredibly basic. A chair for Cartagia, a
pillar to which G'Kar is chained... and nothing else. The lighting is
kept dim to avoid drawing your eyes to the absence of set dressing.
Then spotlights are used, incredibly effectively, to focus on the faces
of the actors.

The brightest spotlight is saved for G'Kar. He is the focus of the
scene, after all. Everyone else in the room is waiting on him. The
absence of set dressing further enhances the action. There is nothing
on-hand to distract us from our principles, from those witnessing
G'Kar's ordeal. Cartagia sits there, a look of near boredom on his
face. He is there only because of a whim. He wants G'Kar's scream,
and he will either have it or G'Kar will die by the fortieth stroke
of the whip. His lack of reaction makes him all the more monstrous.
Londo cringes at the strokes, feeling empathy for his old adversary
when he would probably rather not, but at the same time begs G'Kar
with his eyes to just give that one scream and save both their worlds.
Vir has no agenda at all; he is simply sickened by what he is
witnessing. And G'Kar is at the center, lit in a stark bright white
light, enduring the increasing agony with an absolute determination not
to scream - not until the very last stroke.

It's a mesmerizing sequence, utterly horrifying. There's no real
gore. Just Cartagia counting, the sound effect of the electro-whip, and
the expressions on the characters' faces. It is also one of the most
harrowing moments - maybe the most harrowing moment - in the series to
date. Script, acting, lighting, directing, editing... it all comes
together perfectly. It's a hard scene to watch, and an impossible
scene to forget.


In this installment, however, G'Kar and Londo are the secondary
focus. The main focus this time is the action back on Babylon 5.

The episode's biggest change is in the series' view of the Vorlons.
For the past three seasons, the Vorlons have been viewed as allies. In
Season One, they were mysterious aliens who we nevertheless were
encouraged to see as dangerous, but essentially "good." In Season Two,
they were revealed as both allies and, ultimately, as angels. In Season
Three, Kosh made of himself a heroic sacrifice, and additional Vorlons
accompanied Sinclair into the past to help "sell" him as Valen.

Starting late last season, however, the Vorlons emerged as a darker
presence, particularly with the introduction of Ulkesh ("new Kosh").
The relationship between Ulkesh and Lyta is very different to that
between Kosh and Lyta. Lyta's expression when she carried Kosh was
one of rapture, bliss, exhilaration. As Ulkesh draws his essence out of
her, both in this episode and in "The Hour of the Wolf," her reactions
are very different. Her body is wracked with shudders of pain and
revulsion. "You hurt me," she complains afterwards, going on to note
that he felt hard, cold, and uncaring. There are two lines of subtext I
can see with the Lyta/Vorlon sequences. In the religious subtext,
carrying Kosh was to Lyta the bliss of true belief; Ulkesh, however, is
the bitterness of having that belief betrayed. In the romantic/sexual
subtext, Kosh's treatment of Lyta was that of a considerate and
thoughtful lover; Ulkesh's treatment of her is that of a controlling
abuser.

Either parallel works. In either case, this is the episode where Lyta
finally leaves the Cult of the Vorlon/the abusive lover. After Ulkesh
floods her mind with visions of the Vorlons' new plan, Lyta is left
almost paralyzed with the sheer inhumanity of it. By the end of the
episode, she is firmly aligned against Ulkesh, pleading with the
command staff to find a way to stop the Vorlons "or it won't matter
who wins or loses... none of us will be left alive to see it."

The revelation of the Vorlon fleet, and specifically of the Vorlon
planet killer, is beautifully handled. Christopher Franke's music,
the CGI effects, and - once again - the facial expressions of actors
Claudia Christian and Jason Carter combines magnificently to convey a
feeling of mounting dread. Upon seeing this fleet, "not just hundreds
of ships... thousands of them," Ivanova knows that something is going
horribly wrong. The announcement at the episode's end, that a planet
that housed a Shadow base has now been utterly obliterated, only
confirms the feeling already conveyed by the preceding scenes. When the
news is delivered, it seems not surprising but inevitable. Just as
Cartagia casually watches G'Kar's torture, so are the Vorlons
casually destroying entire species. Ultimate power coupled with a lack
of empathy - whether in the hands of a callow youth or a supposed
"angel" - can only lead to ultimate corruption.


It's a testament to the episode's careful construction that these
momentous events do not overshadow the two important returns. Garibaldi
comes back first. Consistent with what will later be revealed, he at
first seems entirely like his old self. He cannot remember what he has
been conditioned to forget - just flashes, "a blur" - but he doesn't
react with even slight paranoia to Zack. When the red alert is called
for Security, Garibaldi forces himself out of bed, straps on his
uniform, and insists on being on the front line.

Only late in the episode does Garibaldi seem different. When Sheridan
reappears and makes his big speech, Garibaldi looks troubled. He
can't take his eyes away from Lorien, and he is downright hostile to
the First One in the meeting at the end. However, none of this actively
goes against Garibaldi's nature. Even in Season One, Garibaldi was
very suspicious. After his shooting by a man he trusted implicitly,
that suspicious nature gained an angry echo as an undercurrent. Nor do
I think Garibaldi's questions about Lorien are out of line. There's
nothing unreasonable in his wanting to know who Lorien is and what
Lorien wants; indeed, those are the very questions Lorien insisting on
putting to Sheridan in the previous episode. Sheridan's glib refusal
to give a clear answer can only enhance Garibaldi's unease... but
even without the revelation we will receive later this season, I
can't fault Garibaldi's unease here. Of course, this all only
serves to enhance the feeling running and building through all the
episodes so far this season. The sense that events are out of control
and moving relentlessly in the wrong direction.

Finally, Sheridan's return is well handled. I loved that his return
was held back until very late in the episode. The timing was also
perfect, making his return the resolution to a further problem that had
been placed before Delenn. I have to give Sheridan credit; he knows how
to make an entrance.

And of course, there's that exchange that could have been lifted
straight out of Monty Python: "We thought you were dead." "I was. I got
better."


My Final Rating: 10/10.
                                         
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