N E Molitor

Just completed season 2 of my Babylon 5 rewatch. My thoughts… Some 20 years after my first viewing, season 2 hits just as hard, if not harder: the evolving arcs, the arrival of a new station commander, and the departure of Michael O’Hare’s Jeffrey Sinclair. I found Sinclair too rigid at first, but quickly warmed to him, his fatherly presence a comfort amid the station politics, duplicity, and danger.  I missed him the first time around, and I missed him even more this time. Sheridan is likable, but he has yet to match the gravitas O’Hare brought to the command chair. He’s introduced as a man in a dark place, convinced that his canceling their anniversary plans sent his wife on the assignment that killed her.  It’s a great backstory, the kind of weight that could have informed the character for seasons. Instead, the episode introduces his guilt only to promptly relieve him of it: his sister happens to have Anna’s last recorded message, which happens to contain exactly what he needs to hear - that she’d already decided to postpone their getaway for the job. This felt like a missed opportunity. For me, this season’s strength lie in its overarching story, the pieces falling into place as Londo realizes, too late, that he’s set something unstoppable in motion.  Peter Jurasik is brilliant as the haunted Centauri, while Andreas Katsulas is every bit his equal as the tortured G’Kar, who can only stand helplessly by as his fellow Narn are slaughtered, his homeworld conquered.  There are plenty of wonderful characters here but two surprising favorites this season were Lennier and Vir Cotto who really came into their own.  I looked forward to every scene they were in. A few of my quibbles with season one carry over.  The VFX haven’t aged as well as DS9’s, which is more noticeable given the show’s appetite for space battles.  It’s mostly forgivable for the era, though occasionally the visuals blunt some of the emotional impact, as with the tragic end of “GROPOS”. Favorite guest star: Russ Tamblyn as Sheridan’s old commanding officer, Captain Jack Maynard, in “A Distant Star”, followed closely by Jim Norton as the desperate and doomed Dr. Lazarenn in “Confessions and Lamentations”.  Norton conveyed so much through that heavy alien makeup. Favorite episode: The season finale, “The Fall of Night” (minus Sheridan's climactic angelic rescue which played a little like an SNL sketch).  Honorable mentions go to “The Long, Twilight Struggle”, “Confessions and Lamentations”, and “A Distant Star”. Least favorite episode: “The Long Dark”, an okay monster-of-the-week episode, with “Acts of Sacrifice” a close second mainly due to Ivanova’s excruciating mating ritual dance. Still, a lot to love in this second season.  As the story builds, I’m eager to see where it goes.  But first, back to Deep Space Nine for ITS third season.