And the Sky, Full of Stars
Reviewed by Lady Keela Shanri
Click HERE to see a picture from the episode.
I would say that this was the very first B5 episode to really, truly FEEL like Babylon 5 and nothing else.
What do I mean by that? It's hard to define, but this story, despite the fact that the idea of messing with someone's mind and making them think they are all alone in a huge place normally bustling with life is hardly new (when Sinclair started asking the computer all those questions, I half-expected him to say "Define the nature of the universe". It's a Star Trek: The Next Generation reference, never mind.) was the first one to have the typical Babylon 5 MOOD. It really FELT like Straczynski was writing it, and not anyone else. It had that...dark intensity that B5 so often has. This was the one where...the show found its "voice", so to speak.
Am I saying this was the best episode of the first season so far, then? No, that honour would have to go to either "Born to the Purple" or "The Parliament of Dreams". But then again, I'm just predjudiced towards comedy and Centauri-heavy episodes, myself.
First, let's get the bad stuff out of the way. The fact that the security dude rat was gonna die was painfully obvious, no shock there. And I think some of the flashback fight-scenes had some rather hokey acting. And who WERE these guys interrogating Sinclair, and WHY was he going ALONG with it? If I were him, I would have just been standing there saying my name, rank, and serial number over and over and over and nothing else.
Now, on to the good stuff. We learn a LOT of useful information here. When the interrogator dude casually recites all of Sinclair's personal info in an attempt to psych him out with how much he knows about him, we learn right in one fell swoop exactly how old Sinclair is (40), what his middle name is, (David), who his parents are, where he's from, and the highlights of his military career. And we get to see a bit of the infamous "Battle of the Line" and the fact that the Minbari were about to obliterate us and then just...gave up!--is (first?) mentioned.
The episode was very effective in terms of lighting and some really TWITCHY acting from the interrogator, giving it a very stark, isolated, feel. It was very intense. At times I almost felt as if _I_ was being interrogated.
And we also learn some more interesting stuff--although it ASKS more questions than it answers--about the Minbari and the Grey Council. Now, if I HADN'T seen the later episodes FIRST, the part where he first sees the solemn grey hooded figures would have confused me the way it was supposed to, but instead, the INSTANT I saw one of them, I gasped and went, "THE GREY COUNCIL!! IT'S THE GREY COUNCIL!!!" Oh, well. That's not Straczynski's fault, that's MY fault for watching them out of order.
We are left with burning questions: What DID happen to Sinclair during those missing 24 hours? Why DO the Minbari have to KILL him if they find out that he remembers? Why DID they surrender when they were about to WIN--and the very next day, too?
The lady...or the tiger? This episode ENDS on a mystery, leaving major questions unsolved on purpose.
That's what makes it so chillingly intriguing.
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