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Rimmer and Kryten end up in another parallel Earth, this time one where time goes backwards, and earn themselves something of a reputation as The Sensational Reverse Brothers, before their promising career is cut short. Marooned on an ice planet with Lister, Rimmer tells his compatriot that he once used hypno-therapy to have himself regressed to a past life, and discovered that he was once Alexander the Great's chief eunuch! During the time they spend together as they wait for a seemingly hopeless rescue, it comes to light that Rimmer has in his camphorwood chest over £24,000 in notes, priceless (as they are now the only copies left) books, and a collection of hand-carved Napoleonic miniatures. The money, books and soldiers all go to feed the fire which is keeping Lister alive, and Rimmer is less than happy when he discovers that, far from burning, as he thought, his guitar, Lister has in fact cut out the shape of the guitar from Rimmer's chest and burned that!

When they discover how easy it is to switch personalities, Rimmer badgers Lister into allowing him to occupy his body for two weeks, with the intention of getting it fit again. However, not having had a solid body for 3,000,002 years, Rimmer snaps and when Lister regains control of his own body Rimmer steals it back, taking Starbug and almost killing Lister's body in the process!

When Lister reorganises the timelines so that he never joins Red Dwarf but instead invents the Tension Sheet and becomes mega-rich, Rimmer, left facing the prospect of life alone with Holly, tries to sort it so that he and not Lister invents the Tension Sheet, but he only succeeds in putting things back the way they were originally.

Sentenced by the Justice Computer to a total servitude of 9,328 years for his believed culpability for the deaths of all aboard Red Dwarf, Rimmer is saved from this fate by Kryten, who presents a case that proves beyond all doubt that there is no way in hell anyone with an ounce of sense would put Rimmer in charge of anything important, much less the safety of the ship.

Some time later, Rimmer meets his double from yet another dimension, this being the universally-liked, brave and courageous Ace Rimmer. Arnold hates him on sight, as he is a reminder to him of what he could have achieved. It turns out that the only difference between the two is that Ace was held back a year in school, and this made him buckle down and determine to do well. Rimmer finally realises his destiny (or so he thinks), when transporting to a world where wax-droids fight a war against one another; he takes over the leadership of those deemed "the forces of good", and leads them into battle. Unfortunately, he manages to wipe out not only the bad ones but his own small army as well. Little wonder, with strategies like "We attack tomorrow, under cover of daylight!"

But when they encounter a holoship, crewed by top-flight holograms, Arnie is in his element! He petitions the captain to let him join, but has to battle another crew member for that privilege. He uses a mind patch--- downloading the minds of the most brilliant scientists that were in the crew ---, but this goes wrong and he declares that he will withdraw from the contest, defeated. His opponent, however, is Nirvana Crane, with whom he has fallen in love, and she withdraws herself to let him win. When he discovers what has happened though, Rimmer uncharacteristically gives it all up to allow Crane be reinstated --- and no-one more surprised than himself!

Left alone on a psi-moon, a sateliite which reconfigures its terrain to the mindset of anyone who lands on it, while Kryten is incapacitated, Rimmer is taken before the Unspeakable One, which is a manifestation of his own self-loathing. The entire planetoid has reconfigured itself to mirror his own personality, and has created such things as The Swamp of Despair and The Chasm of Hopelessness. Rimmer is rescued by his mates who pretend they like him, in order to get off the moon.

He contracts a holovirus and goes completely mad, imprisoning his friends in quarantine and turning off their oxygen. In his holovirus-enhanced state, Arnie is capable of telekinesis and hex-vision, a powerful form of psi weapon. He is eventually defeated (along with his friend, the glove puppet Mister Flibble!) just before the virus would have taken his life. When they meet Legion, the ancient creation of some of the most brilliant minds in history, Rimmer is given a hardlight body, this being a hologrammatic form that can touch and be touched, allows him to eat, taste, feel but makes him almost impervious to harm.

Despite this, Kryten runs a routine check on him and finds that he is suffering from a hologrammatic version of nervous disorder. He is instructed to take things very easy, but this is not helped when he is catapulted into a wormhole and emerges on an uninhabited planet, light years from anywhere. Having successfully created a clone of himself, Rimmer is soon overrun by more clones, all of whom are using his basic cowardice, snideness, sarcasm and treachery as the template for what they consider normal behaviour. Rimmerworld is born, and the original Rimmer left to rot in a cell until his friends come to find him, 557 years later!

Rimmer does however in the end reveal that there is a spark of decency and courage in him when, when faced with the prospect of fighting their future selves in a battle for Starbug, and hopelessly outclassed by the latter, he declares that they should fight. As he says: "Better dead than smeg!"

When the charismatic Ace Rimmer comes on board Starbug, Arnie is concerned: "We're down to our last three thousand vomit bags!" he declares, shaking his head. "It'll never be enough!" Ace, it transpires though, is dying. In point of fact he is a hardlight hologram, and not the original Ace which the crew met in "Dimension Jump": the story will be further related in the profile on Ace. He wishes Arnie to take over as guardian of the universe, a position at which Rimmer scoffs, but eventually, goaded to it by Lister, he accepts and with the help of his old friend settles into the role.

Eventually, Ace having died and Lister having convinced the crew that what stands before them is not the sad shell of a man that they used to know as their crewmate (or, as the Unspeakable One put it, "That walking vomit-stain that the world knows as Arnold Rimmer"), but the dashing, brave and handsome Ace, Rimmer, having sat through his eulogy and watched his funeral, bids the boys farewell and leaves to take up his new post.

This episode, "Stoke me a clipper", shows for the first time a glimmer of the man Rimmer could have been, and the traits we saw embodied in Ace, as he stares out at all the thousands (millions?) of previous Rimmers who have held the post of Ace Rimmer, and declares "All those Rimmers!" Lister looks at them, and says "They all did it. They all passed on the flame. Are you going to be the one who breaks the chain?" And we finally see the humanity, the compassion and the belief in Arnold Rimmer that he can finally make a difference, be appreciated in the world. Somehow, it looks like the man we knew will be nothing like we remembered when he returns!

Again, the scene in which Arnold Rimmer is remembered, spoken of and posthumously promoted to First Officer by Lister, and then taken to his final resting place with all the other Rimmers, is enough to bring a tear to the most jaded eye. The scene is, typically, lightened by the presence of Rachel, the inflatable sex-doll, whom Lister solemnly refers to as Rimmer's widow (and yes, she is dressed in black)! And that is the last we see of Rimmer, but for his finest hour to date, when in a dream he returns to Lister, seeming to have lightened up, learned to have fun, and even kisses Lister!

Worried by the suddenly good memories he is having of his old bunkmate, Lister seesks Kryten's help, and the mechanoid constructs The Rimmer Experience, which depicts Rimmer as he believed he was: a leader, a hardened space adventurer to whom the others looked to in times of crisis, and who always knew what to do no matter the situation. Rimmer sings The Rimmer Song, below, showing exactly what type of man Arnold Judas Rimmer believed he was, no matter how others saw him. We can only look forward to his return in season eight!

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Putting paid once and for all to the image of Rik Mayall as an anarchic, somewhat silly comic actor gained through such series as "The Young Ones", "Bottom" and to a lesser extent its prequel "Filthy, Rich and Catflap", "The New Statesman" stars the comedian in an almost serious role, though there is a lot of humour in the series. Mayall is Alan Beresford B'Stard, MP, a Conservative politician and representative of the constituency of Haltemprice. B'Stard, however, is no more interested in serving the people who elected him than he is in animal rights or the poor. He is a dyed-in-the-wool Tory, a caricature of all that is worst in politics, particularly on the right-wing side, and he spends his time scheming to make even more money, despite being immensely rich already. As he points out to his hapless sidekick on the event of the latter having lost him a big investment opportunity and cost him millions: "No, I don't need it (the money), Piers! But I WANT it! Because I'm very very greedy!"

This statement encompasses B'Stard to a "t". He is certainly not above blackmailing his rivals --- or even those in his own party --- if he can get away with it, and he's always ready to cash in on any scheme that comes his way. He knows actually little about the law, but gets by on his dashing good looks and his sweeping contempt for just about everyone. He is generally loathed by his colleagues, right up to the Prime Minister, though fawned over and treated with affection and respect by his junior, Piers Fletcher-Dervish, despite the fact that B'Stard gives the young man a terrible time.

His Machievellan schemes are a joy to watch unfold --- and often, come crashing down in flames, but even when you know he's being totally self-serving and using everyone around him to achieve his ends, you can't help but feel a sneaking admiration for the man. Mayall plays the role perfectly, and it's a far cry from "Rick" in the "Young Ones" or "Ritchie" in "Bottom". This is serious stuff! Seriously funny, that is.

The series was created by Lawrence Marks and Maurice Gran at Mayall's request, and ran for four seasons, with two special episodes. Being a British series each season only had six episodes, so I'll be reviewing each in depth as we go along. The New Stateman won the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the UK equivalent of the Emmys) in 1991 for Best Comedy Series and was a massive hit, probably originally off the back of Rik Mayall's comedy series prior but also surely due to the popularity of another, more gentle satire on British politics, "Yes minister" and its spinoff "Yes Prime Minister", the latter now resurrected for the twenty-first century. People have always wanted to see politicians slagged off, made fun of, exposed for the duplicitous, backstabbing, double-dealing reprobates they mostly are, and between them Mayall, Gran and Marks pull no punches in this biting satire.

CAST
The Rt. Hon. Alan Beresford B'Stard, MP, played by Rik Mayall. Having only attained his seat by the good graces of his father-in-law, who is chairman of the local Tory party, B'Stard milks the role for all it's worth. He hardly ever visits his constituency, except when it's derby week, and is less interested in the welfare of those poorer than him than he is in left-wing policies. He is however ambitious and wishes to rise through the ranks, by whatever means, fair or foul, he can employ. He's the knife in the dark, the whisper in the ear, the pusher down the stairs, and no-one can trust him.

Piers Fletcher-Dervish, played by Michael Troughton. Well-meaning, naive and impressionable, Piers is the perfect foil to Alan, and the ultimate patsy. When B'Stard wants something done he usually forces, cajoles, tricks or otherwise inveigles Piers into doing it. At heart Piers believes in his country, his party and the innate goodness of all people. Over time, his association with B'Stard changes that.

Sarah B'Stard, played by Marsha Fitzalan (hmmm...) is B'Stard's trophy wife. The two don't love one another, in fact they hate each other. Alan sees her as a credit-card-using shopaholic who taunts what he sees as his sexual prowess by sleeping with everyone --- and everything --- she can. He only stays with her because her father is the chairman of the local Tory party, as mentioned, and if he were to divorce Sir Roland's precious daughter he is likely to be thrown out of the party, and out of his lucrative and important position.

Sir Greville McDonald, played by Terence Alexander. A cabinet minister almost as corrupt as B'Stard himself, though more circumspect in his dirty dealings than the younger MP, Sir Greville and B'Stard cross swords many times, sometimes as adversaries, occasionally as allies.

Sie Stephen Baxter, played by John Nettleton. One of the old guard, Sir Stephen is an elderly MP who remembers how things used to be, and continually frowns at B'Stard's plans and shenanigans. He doesn't feature too heavily in the series, more as a sort of counterweight of morality and decency to B'Stard's rampant corruption and villainy.

Norman/Norma Boorman, played by Rowena Cooper. Although only featuring in the first season, Norman is Alan's accountant, and begins a transition towards a sex-change so that halfway through the season he has become she, Norman is now Norma, and even with a new gender she is still a pawn in B'Stard's political games.

Bob Crippen, played by Nick Stringer. B'Stard's nemesis on the opposition back benches, Bob Crippen is an honest, straight-talking Labour man, who hates B'Stard and all he stands for. They have many confrontations, most of which the Tory MP triumphs in.

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1.1 "Thou shalt not kill"

The Grid is the official name for the operations centre in Thames House, the headquarters of MI5, the British Secret Service. It is here that Sir Harry Pearce directs and observes his highly-trained team of spies, or "spooks", as they go from day to day foiling terrorist plots, stopping bombs going off and generally practicing what is colloquially known in Britain as "defence of the realm". We see from the start that this is not a job for everyone. As a spook, you can let no-one in, be close to no-one, have no relationship with anyone. The other half of your relationship must know you as a completely different person --- different name, different job, different history. Every agent of MI5 is in a highly sensitive position and were their true identities to be known, not only would they and their loved ones be at risk, but the organisation woudl be compromised, and thus the nation's security.

So agents live double lives, like the superheroes in comics but without the tights or the superpowers. We see this first in the case of Tom, who is living with a woman and her daughter, who both know him as Matthew (rather interesting choice of name, as Tom is played by Matthew McFayden!) and think he works as an IT support specialist.

A bomb explodes outside a house in Liverpool, and word soon comes to MI5 that it's one of twenty (twenty!) that have been smuggled from Ireland to the UK, destination and use unknown. A major terrorist offensive looks to be underway. Tom visits the hospital where one of the victims, a Doctor Helen Lynott has died, while her daughter Sarah lies in critical condition. He speaks to Mike Lynott, also a doctor, and learns that the two ran a family planning clinic. This begins to look like the work of an anti-abortionist movement. Doctor Lynott confirms that he and his wife had been receiving hate mail for a few weeks, but he had hidden the letters, not wanting to upset her.

While Harry and his team try to work out who would have the connections and the financial resources to pull off smuggling twenty bombs into the country, the scene switches and we see a kindly old motherly figure baking cakes in her country house. Somewhat surprisingly, it turns out she is the mastermind behind the bombs, and she talks to the others in her group, who have already pulled off the first killing and plan more. Some of them --- the younger woman, Rachel, in particular --- seems more than a little reluctant, but the older woman, who is American and whose name is Mary Kane, convinces her with smiles and soundbites, and the plan will continue. What's really scary about this scene is that there are kids playing in Mary Kane's house, and she dotes on them; she doesn't seem like a monster at all. But then, as someone once said, it's easy to spot the devil when he's wearing horns and a tail...

Meanwhile Mary Kane's name has come up as the agents watch a broadcast of US news declaring that she has been convicted in absentia for bombing a family planning clinic in Florida, and that her husband is to die in the electric chair for shooting a doctor. That's to happen in a few days, and the agents have worked out that she's planning to use the occasion to mark her husband's passing by detonating one or more of the bombs. In the meantime it's come to light that their original intelligence was somewhat faulty: there are only (!) four pipebombs, the rest is in Semtex. This is not good.

MI5 send a team to the cottage to which Mary Kane has been tracked, to bug the place and listen in on her plans. They find that she is having an affair with one of the men in her cell, a guy called Steven. But the CIA find out about their operation and, given that Kane is wanted in the US, demand that the Brits turn her over to them for extradition. Tom is not pleased, telling Harry that she is their only link to finding out where the rest of the explosives are, and where they are intended to be used. They decide to step up their operation; they can't refuse the order, which comes from the Home Office (have to keep our American cousins happy!) but they can continue their efforts while the paperwork is drawn up and authorised. Maybe they can get the task finished before they have to hand the woman over.

Posing as a woman who is pro-life, Zoe meets Rachel, the younger woman who was at Mary Kane's cottage, the one who seemed not so sure that what they were doing was right, seemed not totally committed to the cause. She uses a ruse to get her to take to the hospital where Sarah, the critically injured daughter of Dr. Lynott is, and she and Tom try to show her what going along with Kane's campaign of terror really looks like. "It's shocking, isn't it?" Tom asks her. "Close up." She leaves, her crying son in tow, and panics, calling her husband on the phone and giving MI5 (who have of course installed a listening device in it) a name, Sullivan. Checking on any doctors named Sullivan they come up with only one practicing one and send a team over to protect her.

Harry delays the extradition papers all he can, but the CIA are getting impatient and send one of their operatives, Christine Dale, to see Tom to warn him not to stand in their way. Saturday is the "big day" for Paul Kane, and as she says, it will be a bonus for America if his wife is there right beside him when he fries. This "request" is then given added impact when the Foreign Office send a representative to advise that if the US are not allowed have their way they will block a substantial and lucrative licencing order needed by a big UK pharmaceutical company. As ever, money talks. Meanwhile the sad news comes through that Sarah Lynott has passed away.

Desperate to catch Kane despite the Foreign Office directive, and the fact that the extradition papers have now been reluctantly signed by Harry (he's done all he can to delay but has run out of options) Tom decides to have Zoe pose as Dr. Sullivan, who has been moved to a safe location, in order to try to draw the terrorist out. It's Zoe's first major operation and she's understandably nervous, though she tries not to show it. They know Kane has Sullivan's daily schedule and so they keep to it, hoping she'll track Zoe. As Zoe enters the foodmarket, Kane's car pulls out in front of her and they have contact! They follow her into the car park, noting and worried that she possesses a holdall and a mobile. It's pretty obvious what's in the bag and so they're unable to accost her in case she sets the thing off. They wait until she leaves the bag in the shopping centre and exits, then as she tries to activate the bomb they jam the phone's signal, and pick her up.

Tom interrogates her, trying to find out where the rest of the bombs are. She won't crack until he tells her that he has a tape of her making love to Steven, and that if she doesn't cooperate he'll make sure this act of infidelity is the last thing her husband hears before he dies. He also promises that if she plays ball he will make sure she's extradited not to Florida, but to some state without the death penalty. Seeing she has no choice and at the end fearful of dying despite her bravado and her willingness to kill, she folds and they are able to pick up the rest of the bombers.

They're driving her to her plane when they stop, get out of the car leaving her in it and two CIA people, one of which is Christine Dale, get in. Christine drops a brochure in her lap which shows the state of Florida, and asks her without humour if she is ready for Disneyworld? Kane knows she has been lied to and betrayed, but is powerless to do anything about it. She will die just like her husband, although the fact that she has been discovered to be pregnant may have some bearing on this sentence.

Spooks is not really the sort of show that provides great quotes, but some of the things said in the episodes are certainly noteworthy. These I'll be dividing and featuring in different relevant sections.

Before I get into that though, for those who wonder if MI5 are all about counter-terrorism, the following quote from the opening scene may set you straight:

"MI5’s major focus right now is counter-terrorism, but our brief also includes serious crime, illegal arms and immigration, and the drugs trade."

The "Need to know"
Working as they do for the Secret Service, it is frequently necessary for the agents to prevent panic or even rumour by disseminating a false story to cover something much worse, were the truth to be known. When these happen in the episodes I'll feature them here, under this heading.

The story released to the press about the first bomb, the one that killed Doctor Karen Lynott and injured (and eventually took the life of) her daughter, is this, as ordered by Tom:

"Army bomb disposal teams have confirmed this was a previously unexploded World War II bomb. Repeat, this was not a terrorist incident. Make sure that’s the only message getting out. I want it across the board. World War 2."

Harry's World

As head of MI5 Sir Harry Pearce has seen more than most, and has a certain worldview that is often honest and refreshing, blunt and to the point, and occasionally shocking. I'll be recording any examples of Harry's wisdom here.

Zoe talks about pro-life groups "So far they’ve just never been a threat."
Harry replies, in typical deadpan mode: "Something we’ve learned in the last twelve months. Nothing ever is. Until it is."

Harry is wistful for the old days, when you knew who the bad guy was: "I signed up here because I knew who the enemy was and I wanted to fight them. These days they don’t even have a flag. I preferred it when the bad guys had a flag. Gave them something to put on the coffin."


The mind of a terrorist
A little catch-all, yes, as not every criminal MI5 deal with will be necessarily classifed as terrorists (though many will), but when they do, it's interesting to note the skewed mentality, morality and worldview these people espouse:

Mary Kane: "I was terrified. At the beginning. But then I met my husband. And Paul sat me down and asked me to imagine something. Imagine a man with a gun. You’d be scared. So would I. But what if you saw him walk into a playground and point that gun at a child, how scared would you be then? And if you saw him pull the trigger, shoot one child, then another? Would you still be scared? Or would you stop thinking about yourself and just try with every fibre of your being to stop him before he killed the whole school? Of course you would. I know your fear, Rachel. But always remember who we’re fighting for. And who we’re trying to stop."

Big Brother is watching!
It's amazing how at times almost every person onscreen in Spooks can turn out to be an agent, keeping tabs on a target. Here are a few examples from this episode:

ALPHA is a Pakistani man in a suit.
BRAVO is a builder in a top that says “Lets Get Plastered”.
CHARLIE is a middle-aged woman with a shopping bag.

As she gets closer and closer to Mary...a variety of customers, workers, pensioners, daytrippers--all sound off quietly... everyone in this place is a spook.

Rivalries
The biggest rivalry in Spooks is between the people of MI5 (or "Five") which is the domestic, internal branch of the secret service and MI6 ("Six"), who handle foreign inteligence policy, but the representatives of the government often get short shrift too, seen as interfering, bureaucratic, self-serving toadies and puppets of the Americans. Which they are. An example, when Toby McInnes from the Foreign Office comes on to "The Grid":

Helen: "Creature of the night, two o’clock.
Danny: "Foreign Office. Get out the garlic."
The F.O man is even depicted as repugnant, an almost headmaster bearing, as he looks down his nose at the spooks and hardly even deigns to talk to anyone but Harry. He also pointedly runs his finger along surfaces, examining the dust on his finger, like a sergeant major at inspection time. He makes no secret of the fact that he considers these people beneath him and expects them to obey him without question. He tells them "They’re ("they" being the Americans) the big boy in the playground and right now if they asked to roger us over a barrel we’d thank them kindly and make them tea afterwards." He also refers to the Home Secretary as "His Imperial Highness", obviously seeing himself as one of the (more important) courtiers.

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Season One: "Signs and portents" (Part five)
1.11 "By any means necessary"

Ah yes. JMS meets Alan Bleasdale! Looking at the big wide universe from the view of the little guy, a theme he would return to in season five, this episode focusses mainly on a strike by the docking workers at Babylon 5, the man sent to break the strike and Sinclair's uncomfortable position in the middle. He wants his station back in business, but he knows also that he has to work with these people when the hotshots have gone back to Earth. Equally, he knows he can't rock the boat too much back home and so must try to find a compromise that suits, or at least appeases, everyone.

As the workload mounts at Babylon 5, there is an accident at one of the docking bays and one of the workers is killed. In addition, a priceless plant being shipped to Ambassador G'Kar is lost when the ship carrying it is involved in the accident. Tensions rise, and when the news that the promised increase in the budget is not now going to materialise, the labourers at the dock ballot for strike action. It's all looking very precarious and quite dangerous, with riots looking likely to break out. The shop steward, a young woman called Neeoma Connally, keeps the hotheads under control for now, but it's not a situation that can be allowed to escalate.

Meanwhile, G'Kar is distraught at the loss of his plant, called a "G'Quon Eth", which he needs in order to celebrate the Holy Days of G'Quon, his religious icon, and has Na'Toth make enquiries to see if anyone on the station has one for sale, at any price. Sadly for him, the only one who does is Londo, who refuses of course to sell it to him. Eventually, after playing with his old adversary a little, (and after G'Kar breaks into Londo's quarters in search of the plant) he relents, but the price he asks is astronomical. Although furious, after thinking about it for some time, and given that his time to celebrate the Holy Days is running out, G'Kar agrees to pay the price, whereupon Londo tells him he has changed his mind: the plant is no longer for sale.

Although dock workers on Babylon 5 are expressly forbidden in their contracts from striking, more and more of them are calling in sick, and Garibaldi realises they now have a case of "Blue Flu" on their hands: no-one is really sick, but it's a way around an all-out strike, though it may as well be one. Sinclair asks to speak to Connally, and tells her he can give her no guarantees, but he worries that if the dockers don't go back to work the Senate could invoke the Rush Act, a sort of martial law wherein troopers are used to force the workers to bend to the will of Earthgov. Such a situation would get very messy, and Connally does not believe the Senate has the guts to take such a radical step. Sinclair however reminds her that things are not as they used to be, and Babylon 5 does not have all the friends it used to in the early days.

Indeed, in the end Earth forces the issue by sending their "top labour negotiator", one Orin Zento, to Babylon 5 to take control of the situation. His meeting with Connally, and later the workers, is nothing less than the throwing down of an ultimatum: go back to work while you still can. When the workers call off the pretence of being sick and go for an all-out strike, he is furious and determined to invoke the Rush Act, despite Sinclair's counsel that this can only lead to bloodshed. He is a one-dimensional man, used to getting his way and trampling over workers' rights, and it seems he only ever came here with one thing in mind: the Rush Act.

G'Kar asks Sinclair to intervene in his dispute with Londo, explaining to the commander that as the highest-ranking member of his faith on the station and the ambassador of his people, it is G'Kar's responsibility to provide the G'Quan Eth plant for his followers to all observe the ritual, which must be performed when their sun rises over the G'Quon Mountain, back on his homeworld. Londo however will not be convinced, and the intervention by Sinclair is useless. He has his own problems anyhow, as Senator Hidoshi calls from Earth to advise that a majority of the Senate have voted to give Zento the authority to invoke the Rush Act. The senator agrees that only violence and ill-feeling can result from such a course, and sadly reflects that this is most likely the aim of many in the government: to provoke a reaction that will damage the president's standing and lead to calls for the station to be shut down.

Sinclair calls for the entire text of the Rush Act, studying it for a loophole he can use, as it's now obvious that he has to obey a direct order from the Senate. Luckily he finds one, so that when Zento invokes the Act he's able to use it, as the terms state he can break the strike "by any means necessary", and the means he chooses are to allocate funds from Babylon 5's own budget to upgrade docking equipment and hire more workers. He also declares an amnesty for anyone involved in the strike, which though it infuriates Zento allows the men to go back to work with honour still intact.

There's still the matter of G'Kar's plant to be dealt with. After telling Londo that the G'Quon Eth plant is a restricted substance and taking possession of it on that basis, he hands it over to the Narn, but G'Kar is angry, as he says the time for the ritual is past. However Sinclair points out that the light that touched the holy mountain ten years ago is only now due to arrive at the station, and surely that will be sufficient for G'Kar to perform his ceremony. Impressed by the commander's logic, and somewhat mollified, G'Kar agrees this will work.

Back in his quarters, there's a message for Sinclair from Senator Hidoshi, which warns him that, though the senator himself approves of the way the commander handled the crisis, the Senate does not, and he has made himself some new enemies. He warns Sinclair to watch his back.

Important Plot Arc Points
The spiritual side of G'Kar
Arc Level: Red
We saw this first come out in "The parliament of dreams", when at the end the Narn waxes philosophical about the place of the younger races in the galaxy at large. When we first meet him, in the pilot, G'Kar is portrayed as a bully, a petty, scheming man whose only real aims in life are to further the position of his people and if possible destroy the Centauri. Here, we see a different side to him. He is a religious man, a man devoted to his --- well not quite god: I don't think the Narns worship gods in the same way the Centauri do, but they more seem to devote themselves to the teachings of religious figures, perhaps more like buddhists. He believes fiercely in what is right, and he takes his position as both spiritual and diplomatic leader of his people very seriously indeed. This side of him will begin to develop over the next few seasons, and you will be surprised, even amazed at where it will take him, and the change it will engender in him.

"Trouble at home"
Arc Level: Red
It's been intimated before: things are changing back on Earth. In the previous episode we saw an actual attempt on the life of the president (and it won't be the only one) and we've seen the emergence of the radical Earth group Homeguard. When Neeoma Connally doubts the Senate would go so far as to invoke the Rush Act, Sinclair tells her not to be so sure: things are changing on Earth. Now Hidoshi confirms this, warning Sinclair that the balance of power is shifting, and people are jockeying for position. There are big changes coming, and they will not be for the better. Babylon 5 will find itself standing on one side of a drawn line, with its enemies --- who will be many --- on the other side.

QUOTES
In the wake of the accident with the Narn ship, everyone tries to blame everyone else:
Connally: "Don't try to blame my people for this! We've said all along that the dockside equipment isn't up to handling the amount of traffic we get."
Sinclair: "The computer malfunction might have been caused by operator error."
Connally: "Even if that were true, what do you expect? My people have been forced to work triple shifts because we are understaffed in every area!"
Sinclair: "Ms Connally, we're not here to assign blame..."
G'Kar: "Maybe you are not, Commander, but my government will want to know who was responsible for damaging our ship."
Ivanova: "Then I suggest you start with its captain, who panicked and fired up his engines inside the docking bay against my direct orders!"
G'Kar: "Now don't try to blame this on us, Lieutentant Commander! We are the victims here!"
Connally: "You lost some cargo, Ambassador. Alberto del Vientos lost his life!"

Londo, in mock sympathy for the loss of the G'Quan Eth plant to G'Kar:
"If there is anything I can do to be of assistance, you will let me know, yes?"
G'Kar: "No."

When he is told who the one person on the station is who has a G'Quon Eth plant, G'Kar sighs "Why does the universe hate me?"

When Garibaldi goes to see Connally to take her to see Sinclair, and asks her why she hasn't reported as requested:
"I've been tied up. I got a lot of sick workers here," Connally replies.
When the workers start to pretend to cough, Garibaldi is annoyed. "You think this is funny, huh Well, I don't."
"We're as serious as a rip in a spacesuit," replies Connally, "and we want the Senate and Commander Sinclair to know it."
"By staging an illegal strike?" asks Garibaldi. "I thought you were smarter than that."
"Sinclair and Ivanova are career military," replies Connally. "I don't expect them to understand. But I figure you for blue collar under all that Earthforce grey."
(Indeed, as it turns out, Garibaldi's grandmother was a cop in Boston back on Earth, and so he knows of the "blue flu". He sympathises with the workers, but is worried what escalation will lead to, and he has after all a job to do, like it or not).

Connally to Sinclair: "Don't tell me about consequences! My father was shot dead during the '37 mining strikes on Ganymede. I have spent my entire life defending workers' rights," she tells Sinclair, "and I'm not about to stop now. You get us decent pay and equipment and hire enough workers to do the job safely, then we return to work."

Londo and G'Kar bargain for the plant:
Londo: "Care for a drink? Oh, I forgot! The Days of G'Quon forbid it. But they come to a close very soon, do they not?"
G'Kar: "You know why I am here."
Londo: "The G'Quan Eth plant, yes? Difficult to grow, expensive to transport, very expensive to own, but so very important to you at this festive time."
G'Kar: "I understand you are in possession of a G'Quon Eth plant. If this is so, I am here to purchase it."
Londo: "Ever since we left your beautiful planet G'Quon Eth plants have been hard to find. Mine, which is being cared for in a safe place, I have been saving for a special occasion. When you drop the seeds into a proper mixture of alcohol --- boom! Whole new universes open up! It's a shame you Narns waste them, burning them as incense."
G'Kar: "Name your price!"
Londo: "You are asking for quite a sacrifice from me, but in the interests of interstellar peace and friendship, ummm, fifty thousand commercial credits, in cash, in advance."
G'Kar: "That's an outrage!"
Londo: "Of course it's an outrage! The question is, how important is your religious ceremony to you?"
G'Kar leaves in a rage, but is soon back. He tells Londo "I have the money. Fifty thousand credits, in cash. Where is the G'Quon Eth?" But Londo, smirking, replies
"Actually G'Kar, I have changed my mind. The G'Quon Eth plant is no longer for sale. I have also changed my lock code, so don't bother visiting me. Consider this a small - a very tiny - portion of revenge for what you did to our colony on Ragesh 3, and to my nephew. Did you think that I had forgotten that?" (see "Midnight on the firing line")
Leading to G'Kar's outburst: "I'll kill him with my bare hands.... Sinclair can only kick me off the station. He might even thank me!"

When Sinclair asks Londo to compromise over the plant, this is Londo's response: "You know I would do anything for you, my good friend, Commander Sinclair - but not this.... This isn't about money, Commander, or spiritual beliefs. G'Kar is only worried about losing face. The Narns ---- bah! They're a barbaric people. They're all pagans, still worshipping their sun. No, I would rather burn the plant than give it to him."

It's clear from this that Londo neither knows nor cares for G'Kar's beliefs, and how he observes them. The Narn do NOT worship their sun: it is the rays of the sun glancing off the tip of their holy mountain that inspires them to prayer, much in the same way that muslims face towards Mecca when they pray. The sun plays a part in their worship, certainly, but it's merely a facet of their religion, not their god. In fact, as mentioned the Narn do not worhsip gods, but rather revered religious figures from their history. It's rather ironic that Londo doesn't see his own people, who DO still worship gods --- a whole pantheon of them, if only through lipservice --- as barbaric. In terms of religion, the Narn are probably closer to the Minbari than the Centauri are.

Connally to Zento, right before the decision to invoke the Rush Act:
Zento: "Every other guild on the station has signed our agreement. They understand that our government is not a bottomless pool of money!"
Connally: "I don't care if they've agreed to wear bunny suits and sing the Hallelujah chorus! We're not putting up with this kind of treatment from Earth Central any longer!"

Sinclair's solution to the strike:
"Under the Rush Act," begins Sinclair, "the Senate has empowered me to end this strike. I'm authorized to use any means necessary. Correct Mr Zento?"
Zento: "Yes, any means necessary."
Sinclair:" Am I assured of your full support on this?"
Zento: "Absolutely."
Sinclair: "Then under that authority I choose the following means to end this strike. One, I am reallocating 1.3 million credits from Babylon 5's military budget in order to begin necessary upgrades of docking equipment and to start hiring additional workers. Two, I am declaring a complete amnesty for any striking worker or guild representative who have committed no other crime during this period."
Zento: "You can't do this!"
Sinclair: "You're right, I couldn't, until you convinced the Senate to invoke the Rush Act. You should never hand someone a gun unless you're sure where they'll point it. Your mistake."

Zento: "You know damn well you twisted the intent of that order, and you won't get away with it."
Sinclair: "I think Ms. Connally said it best the other day - 'stuff it!'"

Sinclair explains to Londo how he can still carry out his ceremony: "This ritual is supposed to be performed in the sunlight that has touched the G'Quan Mountain at a particular time on a particular day, right? But as your people went into space it wasn't always possible to be at the foot of that mountain and pray in that sunlight. But what you forgot to take into account is that sunlight also travels through space. Think about it: this station is 12.2 light years from Narn, that's just a little over ten of your light years. The sunlight that touched the G'Quan mountain ten of your years ago will reach the station in twelve hours. It's been on a long journey, but it's the same sunlight. Good enough for you to complete your ceremony, wouldn't you agree?"

And a final warning from Senator Hidoshi:
Hidoshi: "Remind me never to play poker with you, Sinclair: you are a hell of a gambler. This time you won: the Senate has decided to let your decision on the strike stand without comment."
Sinclair: I'm glad they see it my way."
Hidoshi: "They do not. But... public opinion is on your side.
Sinclair: "I see."
Hidoshi: "Commander, I admire what you've done there. My great-grandfather worked the New Kobe spacedocks till the day he died. I will admit, the discomfort you've given some of my colleagues pleases me. This is why I am telling you this. Orin Zento has powerful friends. By embarrassing him, you've embarrassed them. Today you have made new enemies. If I was you Commander, I would watch things very carefully. You are not the most popular person in government circles right now."
Sinclair (after the senator is gone): "So what else is new?"

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

(Only one episode and it exceeded the max char count? Yeah, and I know I could have cut it down but to be honest, this episode is so crucial and so pivotal that I really didn't want to do that, so for the first time I've had to split a single episode into two. I've kept the quotes and questions part for the second post: that'll show you just how much is going on in this one, and how much has to be discussed and explained.)

1.12 "Signs and portents"

And finally the arc begins its slow journey across the topography of the storyline! With our last major arc episode being "And the sky full of stars", which really posed more questions than it answered, we're given more clues in this episode as to what's happening, or what may be happening.

New character: "Mr. Morden" played by Ed Wasser

Although he is only introduced in this episode, and we will not see or hear of him again until deep into season two, the enigmatic Mr. Morden will be a pivotal figure around whom the second, third and fourth seasons will all revolve. He will orchestrate dark plans, betray and dupe people, and be directly responsible for the deaths of millions.

So, then, the episode...

Let's just, for the moment, leave aside the main plot involving the raiders, shall we? Although these space battles added excitement and special effects, and ensured the show didn't drag for those who can't sit easy unless there's a big colourful explosion lighting up the screen every five minutes, in essence they turn out to be side-avenues, dead-ends in fact which in my opinion merely serve to pad out the episodes they're in without being important or adding to the overall story. In the end, they come across to me as unimportant, and while they're well-written, they can all (there are a few of them in a sort of ongoing subplotline for a while) be described as "raiders threaten Babylon 5 and its borders and the station's fighters go out to, well, fight them." The end.

In fairness, if that were all there was to this episode I'd be writing another few-liner synopsis a la "Infection", and leaving it at that. But it's not. Oh, Great Maker, no. It's far more than a shoot-em-up-get-out-of-our-space thing, and looking behind the raiders story, there's so much more going on. Get comfortable, because from this point on the story begins to begin to unfold, if you understand. No-one is saying everything is going to become clear in a few episodes, or even in this season --- in fact, the next episode is a real throwaway in one sense --- but things do start to move slowly towards the first major revelations, and a shattering climax at the end of the season.

Londo meets with a man who claims to have recovered a long-lost Centuari relic, known only as The Eye. The man he is meeting is returning the artifact to him, having received payment for same from the Centauri government. Londo is unaware as he takes possession of The Eye that he is being watched. The man, who calls himself Morden, visits G'Kar and asks him "What do you want?" G'Kar is annoyed at the vagueness of the question, but eventually admits that what he wants is to wipe out the Centauri, every last one. But when asked what then, he shrugs, says it doesn't matter. As long as the Centauri are gone and his people's safety thus forever assured, he can't really think of anything else he wants. Morden leaves, looking less than impressed at the answer.

Linking back to "And the sky..." Sinclair takes Garibaldi into his confidence. The events that were revealed to him, the memories that came back when he was in the virtual reality cybernet, have been weighing on his mind, and he asks his friend to help him find out more about what happened.

Londo meanwhile greets Lord Kiro and his aunt, Lady Ladira, two nobles from the Centauri court; Ladira is a seer, and seems to be very troubled by Babylon 5, screaming that the place will be destroyed; she sees fire, death, destruction. Worried for her, Londo asks Kiro if her predictions are accurate, and the noble laughs that when he was young, she prophesied that he would one day be killed by shadows! Kiro wants to see The Eye, which he is conveying back to the Emperor on Centauri Prime. As they leave, the two are followed by someone who makes a report about locating his target.

Morden visits Delenn, asking her "What do you want?" but she feels faint, and a silver triangle appears on her forehead. When she turns again to look at Morden, she sees only darkness, as if the man is nothing more than a shadow. She demands he leave, which he does, and when he has departed she says to the air "They're here!" There is no disguising the fear and dread in her voice.

Kiro and Londo look at The Eye, and Kiro complains that as the artifact originally belonged to his family it should be his, not the Emperor's. Londo counsels him against such thoughts of usurping power; these are not the old days, he reminds the younger Centauri. Meanwhile Ambassador Kosh returns to the station --- this is the first time we've seen him for a while --- and Morden ducks behind a corner, as if afraid or reluctant to face the Vorlon. He does however meet Londo, and asks his question. When Londo, after some irritation, declares that he wants the Centauri Republic to rise again, for everything to be as it was when his people ruled the galaxy, Morden smiles and seems satisfied, as if this is the answer he came for. He leaves.

In complete fairness, this time the raiders story is tied in to the main plot, as it seems they've been trying to lure Babylon 5's fighters away from the station with decoy raids, in order to be able to attack Kiro's ship when it leaves and take The Eye. As they prepare to depart, Ladira has another vision --- well, the same, but clearer and more urgent --- and she screams "The shadows have come for Lord Kiro! The shadows have come for us all!" Kosh, meanwhile, has discovered the presence of Morden on the station and warns him off, though Morden does not seem afraid of him.

In Sinclair's office, Ladira has another vision, which shows us that Kiro, having had a deal with, and rendezvoused with, the raiders, has been betrayed as the raiders now intend to ransom The Eye back to the Centauri Republic, and Kiro will also fetch a decent price. However, as they prepare to imprison Kiro, a huge, alien, spiderlike spaceship emerges from a jumpgate and immediately destroys their ship.

Londo, when he hears of the tragedy --- more that The Eye is lost again than that Kiro is dead --- believes his career is over. He was the one responsible for getting the ancient artifact back to the homeworld, and he has failed. However just when all seems lost, Morden turns up with a box which happens to contain The Eye! He offers it to Londo as a gift, but when Londo, opening the box and unable to believe his eyes (pun intended!) turns back to thank the man, he is gone. He calls out after him down the corridor, asking how can he ever thank him, and a disembodied voice assures him that when the time is right, Morden will find him.

As a coda to the story, Garibaldi meets Sinclair and tells him that he has done some checking, as requested, and found out that Sinclair was a long way down the pecking order for the post of commander of the station. He only got the job because the Minbari demanded it. For some reason, Garibaldi tells his CO, they wanted him, and only him. Later, Sinclair is allowed to see the vision that the Lady Ladira had, and he sees the station explode. He is shaken, but she tells him this is one of many possible futures, and she hopes it may yet be changed.

Important Plot Arc Points:
Morden
Arc Level: Red
Although when he arrives at the station Morden is nondescript, and seems nothing more than a functionary --- in some ways, that's what he is, but with very powerful friends --- it is he who will set in motion a chain of events which will plunge the entire galaxy into war. He has come to Babylon 5 to ask the question he always does, and when he finds someone who gives him the answer he wants, he allies himself to that person, making them in fact beholden to him. When Londo Mollari "passes the test", he helps the Centauri ambassador out of his difficult predicament by recovering The Eye for him. He knows that Londo is now indebted to him, and you can be sure he will collect on this debt, many times over. But he also helps him because he knows that if he does not, Londo will lose fae and power, possibly his position and therefore be of no use to the strange man and his dark allies. He, and they, need Londo to be exactly where he is, and to have the power he has --- and more --- in order to properly benefit from their association with him.

The strange spider ship
Arc Level: Red
This is the first time we ever see this odd alien ship. It looks almost alive, a huge, twisting, rippling thing through which stars and the darkness of space seem to leak, and from which light seems to bounce off and bend away. In shape like nothing morel than a massive spider, it's obviously got superior armaments, as it cuts through the raiders' ship like a hot knife through butter, and there is no communication from it, no demand to return The Eye, no call for surrender, and no identification of any sort. It appears suddenly, and vanishes as quickly, like a predatory beast used to roaming space. This is not the last time we will see this ship, in fact, by season three it will be a familiar and terrifying sight all over the galaxy.

"What do you want?"
Arc level: Red
Yep, another one! I told you this episode was arc-heavy! There's little arc-wise in this episode that doesn't impinge heavily on further seasons, and in many ways it's the first real major turning point for the storyline. The question is a simple one, but never qualified or contextualised, so in that manner hard to answer. If someone were to stop you on the street and ask that question, your first reaction would probably be what do you mean? What do I want in what way? Without knowing the context in which it's asked it's a very leading and open question, and G'Kar breaks it down, trying to get Morden to clarify, but he will not. All he will say is "What do you want?" It's Londo of course who gives him the answer he wants, the answer he has come for, and in doing so makes something of a deal with the Devil, even though he does not as yet realise that.

"Leave this place!"
Arc Level: Red
When Morden meets Kosh, the Vorlon warns him to leave. Morden refuses, and some time later Garibaldi mentions that the ambassador has asked for tools to repair his encounter suit, though he will not say how it got damaged. Whoever Morden works for, whoever his allies or, as he calls them himself, "associates", are, it's clear they bear no love for the Vorlons! And vice versa.

Lady Ladira's vision
Arc Level: Red
What the Centauri seer saw was an attack on Babylon 5 and the eventual destruction of the station. Although it's easy to dismiss this, don't be so hasty, as it will impinge very much on the station's fate in the years to come, and will not be as clear-cut as we're led to think it may. Other things she saw and spoke of will also become more clear when season two gets going.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

QUOTES
Londo, taking possession of The Eye:
Courier: "Nice piece of jewellery, isn't it?"
Londo: "Great Maker! This is not a piece of jewellery. This is not "the merchandise. This is the Eye, the oldest symbol of Centauri nobility, property of the first Emperor. It comes from the earliest days of the Republic, lost over a hundred years ago at the Battle of Nashok."
Courier: "I know the story, Ambassador. And I'm glad it means something to you, but to me it's just another commission. My job is to find things --- objects, people, you name it. And now that I've got my payment I'll be on my way."
Londo: "Payment indeed! My government paid enough to buy a small planet. But I would very much like to know how you got your hands on this,"
Courier: "No. You wouldn't."

Londo and G'Kar have a heated argument as they wait for the lift: this is about the only moment of comic relief in a dark, moody, portent-heavy episode, and as ever, it comes from the inspired pairing of Peter Jurasik and the late, lamented Andreas Katsulas.

Londo (after G'Kar has pressed the button for the lift): "I pressed it already."
G'Kar: "I have pressed it again."
Londo: "Ah. (Pause) I hear there is a famine on your world's southern frontier. My condolences."
G'Kar: "You should have thought of that before you strip-mined our resources."
Londo: "Ah, so it is all our fault, hmm?"
G'Kar: "Precisely."
Londo: "I have noticed that your own people have continued to exploit your world's resources, to build the mighty Narn war machine."
G'Kar: "We have to protect ourselves!"
Londo: "By doing to yourselves what you say we did to you? Ah! That's evolution for you!"
(Through this conversation the two ambassadors are waiting for the lift with one human, one on either side of him, and he looks very uncomfortable in the middle, trying to ignore both)
G'Kar: "Now see here..."
Londo: "You should look upon this famine as a blessing, Ambassador. A weeding out of the excess population!"
G'Kar: "One more comment like that, Mollari, and you will become part of the excess population!"
Londo: "P***h! Threats! Now you can go to Hell!"
G'Kar: "And you can kiss my pouch, you ---"
(In the middle of this exchange, the lift arrives and the grateful human legs it, leaving the two ambassadors glaring at each other, declaring in unison "Now look what you made me do!")

Morden visits three of the ambassadors while at Babylon 5, (four if you include Kosh, though he initially avoids him and seems to have no intention of meeting him) and asks them the same question. Oddly enough, he does not go to Sinclair, though later we will understand the reason for that. It seems that he is looking for a particular answer, and the way he reacts to the three different replies tells its own story, and will become more clear in seasons to come.

G'Kar, representative of the Narn Regime, a recently-occupied and oppressed people, just getting back on their collective feet after having been under the boot of a foreign power. A people thirsty for revenge. A young race, an impressionable, impulsive one?

G'Kar: "I'm not sure I understand the question, Mr...?"
Morden: "Morden."
G'Kar: "Yes, Morden. Who did you say authorised this little chat?"
Morden: "Councillor Chu'bar. First Circle."
G'Kar: "And does he know what this is about?"
Morden: "No. But in order to see someone of your prominence, I had to get a recommendation. He provided it. You still haven't answered my question, Ambassador: what do you want?"
G'Kar: "What do you mean, what do I want?"
Morden: "What do you want?"
G'Kar: "What do I want for supper? What do I want to do this evening? What do ---"
Morden: "What do you want?"
G'Kar: "This is pointless! What I want is for you to go away and leave me in peace."
Morden: "As you say." (Goes to leave. G'Kar thinks it over for a moment)
G'Kar: "Wait! What do I want? The Centauri stripped my world. I want justice."
Morden: "But what do you want?"
G'Kar: "To suck the marrow from their bones and grind their skulls to powder."
Morden: "What do you want?"
G'Kar: "To tear down their cities! Blacken their sky! Sow their ground with salt. To completely, utterly erase them!"
Morden: "And then what?"
G'Kar: "I don't know. As long as my homeworld's safety is guaranteed, I don't know that it matters."
Morden: "I see. Well, thank you very much for your time, Amabassador. Good day."

The Minbari, one of the oldest races, and indeed with a certain involvement with the Vorlons. In essence, it can be view as strange that Morden visits Delenn, unless he is unaware of her connection to Kosh and his people, because he clearly does not want to deal with the Vorlons. He should also know that the Minbari are a peaceful race, and very cerebral and slow to act in anger, but perhaps he is viewing them through the lens of the Earth/Minbari war. However, he gets more than he bargained for, though he does not seem to realise it at the time.

Delenn: "What is the purpose of your question, Mr ... Morden, is it?"
Morden: "The question is its own purpose, Ambassador Delenn. What do you want?"
Delenn: "I am informed you have just seen Ambassador G'Kar. Are you asking each of us this question?"
Morden: "Perhaps. Does that invalidate the question?"
Delenn: "No, but it makes me wonder..."
(here she cuts off, becoming faint. Morden feigns concern)
Morden: "Something wrong, Ambassador?"
Delenn: "No, just a moment of fatigue."
Morden: "Ambassador?"
Delenn: "Leave me. Get out! Now!" (after Morden leaves) "They're here..."

Had Morden been better informed, or more alive to the situation, had he seen the triangle that appeared on Delenn's forehead (he doesn't, as she covers it and turns away from him) perhaps he might have realised that he had made something of a major mistake in coming to the Minbari. As it is, he assumes he is simply not wanted here and will not get an answer to his question. When Delenn sees the dark shadow over him, it is a presentiment of horrors to come, and also perhaps a race memory, from a people who have seen his kind before.

And finally, Londo. The Centauri, Morden will know or have been informed, are a broken people. Once proud masters of the galaxy, with a star-spanning empire and subjects by the millions, the emergence of other, younger races, the first steps of Mankind into space coupled with their bruising occupation of Narn and its attendant guerilla war by the inhabitants of that planet, have stretched their resources, weakened their position and forced them onto the sidelines. If anyone can be expected to jump at the chance to reestablish themselves in the places of power, it surely must be the fading Centauri Republic. If only Morden can get Londo to indicate that this is indeed what they, and he, want.

Morden (as Londo is leaving with The Eye): "Ah, Ambassador Mollari. I was just coming to see you. My name is..."
Londo: "Sorry, but I don't have time to chat right now. I suggest you make an appointment."
Morden: "I did."
Londo: "Then make another one. (to himself) Never a transport tube when you need one!"
Morden: "Ambassador, I was authorised to speak to you by ..."
Londo: "Yes! Yes! Look: what do you want?"
Morden: "That's what I was going to ask you! What do you want?"
Londo: "You are a lunatic. Go away. Pester someone else." (The transport tube doors open, he steps in. Morden follows him) You are a very persistent young man."
Morden: "I have to be. I'm not allowed to leave here until you answer my question. What do you want?"
Londo: "This is a silly conversation."
Morden: "Yes it is. What do you want?"
Londo: "To be left alone!" (The tube reaches his destination and the doors open. He walks out. Morden remains in the tube).
Morden: "Is that it? Is that really all, Ambassador?"
Londo: "All right. Fine. You really want to know what I want? You really want to know the truth? I want my people to reclaim their rightful place in the galaxy. I want to see the Centauri stretch forth their hand again, and command the stars. I want a rebirth of glory, a renaissance of power. I want to stop running through my life, like a man late for an appointment, afraid to look back, or to look forward. I want us to be what we used to be. I want it all back the way that it was! Does that answer your question?"
Morden: "Yes. Yes it does."

This is a speech that will set in motion a chain of events which initially will give Londo what he wants indeed, but which will at length sweep him along like a helpless swimmer caught in a tsuanami, unable to stop the tide, knowing that it will destroy everything in its wake, and that somehow it is his fault. He will regret those words, that speech, voicing that seemingly unattainable desire, but not immediately. The full gravity and despair of the events that begin to unfold here, and that will spiral totally out of control, will not be made apparent to him until it is far too late, and not only for him.

Mister Morden departs. He has his answer. And the galaxy waits and shudders.

However, as he leaves, Kosh warns him "Leave this place. They are not for you. Go. Leave. Now."

Garibaldi explains to Sinclair what he has found out about the Battle of the Line, and his part in it.
Garibaldi: "I dug around a little and... look, Jeff, you probably know you weren't first in line to run this place."
Sinclair: "I suspected as much. I was surprised when they called me. How far down the list was I?"
Garibaldi: "Pretty far. I mean, despite all its problems this is still a high-profile job, a real plum. Admirals, generals, the whole brass was lined up hoping to get it, but every name was rejected until they got to you."
Sinclair: "Rejected by who?"
Garibaldi: "The Minbari government. They were first to sign on to support Babylon 5, on the condition that they had approval on who ran this place. They wanted you."

Morden's parting gift to Londo. The ambassador believes his career here is finished, with the loss of The Eye, until Morden turns up with it.
Morden: "Good evening Ambassador."
Londo: "You! Go away! It's late: I'm in no mood for your games."
Morden: "I'm leaving shortly; I got what I came for. But before I go .... a gift. From friends that you don't know you have." (He proffers the box to Londo, and while the ambassador opens it disbelievingly, he leaves the room. When Londo sees what is in the box, he turns in amazement)
Londo: "The Eye! How ---?" But Morden is gone. He looks out into the corridor. Nothing. "Where did you go, eh?" he calls into the air. "Let me buy you a drink! Let me buy you an entire fleet of drinks! How can I ever find you to thank you?"
From down the corridor, its origin no longer seen, comes the reply: "We will find you, Ambassador. We will find you."

Though he does not realise it at the time, this is a chilling warning, a dire warning of the storm yet to break.

And so, as the arc begins its slow turn, we have some questions that need to be answered. Many will not be resolved for several seasons, some will be known by the end of this one, but almost all will lead to bigger and more complex conundrums.

QUESTIONS
What is the odd alien ship that attacks the raiders' ship? And why does it attack? Where has it come from, and to where does it go after the attack?

How did Morden recover The Eye?

Who is this cold, strange little man who seems to wield such power that he doesn't even fear Kosh?

Why does Kosh tell him to leave, and what does he mean by "they are not for you?"

What is the fate of Babylon 5? Will it really be destroyed, as the Lady Ladira foresaw?

Why did the Minbari want Sinclair to be the one to run the station? What is their connection to Babylon 5?

What does Delenn mean when she says "They're here", and what did she see when she looked at Morden? Why the darkness? And what was the weird little triangle that appeared on her forehead?

Morden is obviously the agent or emissary of someone far more powerful than he. Who is this entity, group, organisation, person or race? And why are they so interested in what people want?

Why does he not approach the human leadership of the station, ie Sinclair?

Get ready folks: the ride begins here!

A few more points: this is the first time we see an introduction of a character called Corwin. He will later become of somewhat minor importance, for a time, climaxing in having his name in the credits at the start, but it doesn't quite work out. This episode --- and indeed this series --- is I think unique certainly in sci-fi but possibly also in major drama, in that it is the only one I can recall that features the characters actually going to visit the toilet (well, apart from "Hill Street Blues", where someone was always wrecking the gents, setting it on fire, or having impromptu meetings there!) --- even Jack Bauer, in "24", never seems to have the time to take a piss! It's nice to see that JMS kept this basic human need/imperative and showed us that yes, on regular occasions, just like us, his characters have to visit the little boys' room. I think this makes the show that much more real.

Finally, check the pilot episode again, near the beginning. That control technician in the opening sequence? Look familiar? Look again. Yeah, it's him: Ed Wasser, who plays Mr. Morden. But is it just coincidence, or is he supposed to have been the character, watching and waiting, plotting on the sidelines, observing the events unfolding as Kosh arrives at Babylon 5? We'll never know, as JMS has refused to tell. But it's an interesting hypothesis.

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Unknown Soldier

These last couple of reviews on Babylon 5 are amazing. I've finished season 1 and should start viewing season 2 in about a week. These story arcs that you include, are they something already on the internet connected with the series and you have just re-written them? Or are they totally your idea?

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Trollheart

Thanks for the compliment, Julian!
I'm not quite sure what you're asking about the arcs? JMS has already gone on record explaining the five-year story arc, so all I'm doing is giving hints and pointers to it where I know it occurs in an episode or group of episodes. The writing is all mine; the reviews are either based on synopses already online (mostly The Lurker's Guide) or directly from the DVDs of the episodes. Anything else is my own form of observation. Quotes are obviously taken from the discs, the "Important Plot Arc Points" are mine, as I know these stories so well, and the questions and other bits are all my own work, in that sense. I've not taken them from anywhere. I just love this show. I wrote a book on it once, but was refused publication because it wasn't officially endorsed, and as it happened, the official guide was coming out a few months later.

Then I lost the entire thing in a disc crash! Months, literally, of work that could never be replaced or rewritten. It still hurts when I think about it. Plus I had a Babylon 5 website but Warners contacted me and demanded I shut it down, so I had to. That was about what twenty years ago?

Anyway, glad you're enjoying the reviews and season two should really blow your socks off once you get about, hmm, halfway in...

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1.10 "Asylum"

Dean is amazed to receive what looks like a text of co-ordinates which he believes originated with their father. The co-ords point to an abandoned asylum, which has been the subject of mysterious deaths over the past few years, and now there's a story about a cop who went in there only last night and then came home and shot his wife dead before taking his own life. Sam tries to reason with Dean that the text may not have come from their dad --- it does say "unknown" on the caller ID --- but Dean is having none of it, and excitedly heads off towards the location shown on the text message.

Disappointed that they don't meet their father there --- Dean had hoped for this, Sam was not so sure --- they investigate anyway and find a plaque in the asylum with a doctor's name on it. This leads them to the doctor's son, who fills them in on the fact that there was a riot in the south wing, where all the violent, criminally insane patients were held, in 1964. There were deaths and some bodies were never recovered, which leads the boys to assume there could be some dark energy, angry spirits still haunting the asylum.

Meanwhile two stupid kids enter the asylum too, thinking it'll be a laugh. Well, the boy thinks he's cool and brave and is trying to scare his date. She is more worried and uncomfortable. He goes off to explore but she stays behind. While he's cut off from her a female spirit tries to kiss him, but he pulls away and when Dean and Sam, with the girl, Kat, in tow, find him he tells them that he thinks the ghost tried to whisper something in his ear. As they make their way towards the exit, Kat is grabbed by another of the spirits and whisked into a cell, the door slamming shut, but Sam, who has also been approached by one of the spirits, tells her she has to listen to what it has to say.

Scared but seeing this as the only way to get out, she does and tells the guys that the spirit whispered "137" to her. Deducing this to be a room in the asylum, Dean goes to look for it while Sam gets the kids to safety. This turns out to be harder than expected though, as all exits are locked and all window barred. Seems something doesn't want them to leave, not just yet. Then Sam gets a call on his mobile phone from Dean, and rushes off to meet him, leaving the two kids alone but with a shotgun full of rock salt, good for repelling spirits. When Dean shows up shortly afterwards the two tell him that Sam went to see him, as he had called him, but Dean says he never made any call, so it's obviously a trap.

Indeed it is, as Sam encounters the spirit of Dr. Elicott, the head psychiatrist who had been conducting tests of extreme rage therapy, hoping that by making his patients vent their anger it would cure them of it. In reality, it only amplified it, leading to the '64 riot and the death of the good doctor. Now he has infused Sam with his anger and when he meets Dean again Sam attacks him, his rage boiling over as he shoots his brother, but since the shotgun is only loaded with rock salt it just knocks Dean out. When he comes to, he realises what has happened as Sam berates Dean for giving him orders, following slavishly the course their father has set out for them, always being the "good little soldier" etc, and Dean hands him a real gun, daring him to kill him. Sam squeezes the trigger but nothing happens: the gun is empty. Taken by surprise, Sam is off guard as Dean clocks him.

Down in the basement Dean locates the doctor's bones and pours salt over them, though the angry spirit tries to do to him what he did to Sam. Dean is however able to throw his lighter on the pile of bones and it goes up like a torch, the spirit vanishing as the bones disintegrate. The four of them reunited make their way out of the no-longer-haunted asylum.

The next morning, Dean's phone rings but he is asleep so Sam answers it. He stares in amazement at the thing as he gasps "Dad?"

MUSIC
Bachman-Turner Overdrive: "Hey you!"


QUESTIONS?
Other than the obvious, at the end: is that really their father calling?

The "WTF??!" moment
Again, final scene, as Dean's phone rings and Sam answers it, and it appears to be their dad on the other end...

PCRs
A lot in this episode, probably the most so far:

Talking about his father, Dean says "I love the guy, but I swear, he writes like friggin’ Yoda!" A reference to the Jedi Master Yoda of the second and third Star Wars movies...

When introducing himself to one of the cops who searched the asylum, Dean says "I’m, uh, Nigel Tufnel, with The Chicago Tribune." Nigel Tufnel is the lead guitarist with spoof metal band Spinal Tap.

Making light of his knowledge of Sam's visions, Dean asks him to "Let me know if you see any dead people, Haley Joel." Haley Joel Oserver is the actor who played Charlie in "The sixth sense", the Bruce Willis-starred movie about a boy who can see dead people.

Dean mentions "Yeah, whatever. Don’t ask, don’t tell." A reference to the US military tradition of prohibiting the recruitment of gay or bisexual applicants to their services. "Don't ask don't tell" was repealed by President Obama in 2011.

Dean asks (Yeah, I notice Dean uses the lion's share of the PCRs!) "Hey, Sam, who do you think is a hotter psychic –- Patricia Arquette, Jennifer Love Hewitt, or you?" Jennifer Love Hewitt plays Melinda, a girl who can see and communicate with spirits in the TV drama show "Ghost whisperer", while Patricia Arquette is Allison DuBois, based on a real-life medium in the series, well, "Medium".

Dean makes two references to Jack Nicholson in this episode. First: "Kind of like my man, Jack in Cuckoo’s Nest." That would be "One flew over the cuckoo's nest", a cult movie about life in an insane asylum.

And "Kind of like my man Jack in The Shining" Another reference to "The Shining", this time clearly indicating the movie and not the book.

Dean calls Dr. Elicott "Dr Feelgood". They were a British rock band of the seventies and eighties, whose biggest and most popular hit was "Milk and alcohol."

Dean also tells Sam, after his brother tries to shoot him "Man, I’m not gonna give you a loaded pistol!" Although it's not a direct quote, and may just be Dean expressing his understanding that Sam was out of his head at the time, this could be a line from "Die hard", when Bruce Willis says it to Alan Rickman's character, who has been pretending to be a frightened American instead of one of the terrorists who took over the building. It would fit in with Dean's makeup and preferences certainly that he would use a quote from that movie.

BROTHERS
Here we see the continuing disparity between how the two boys see their father. Dean, as someone who has helped his dad hunting down evil creatures for the past number of years, is ready to follow orders and go where he's sent, or believes he's being sent. Sam is more level-headed and suspicious, reasoning that the text they receive at the beginning may not even be from their father. Dean is convinced it is, though there's little evidence to support that. It's more a leap of faith on the part of the older brother. However, Dean is at the wheel and despite Sam's protestations, it's he who makes the decision to check out the asylum.

Although under the mind control of the spirit doctor at the time, the feelings of resentment that bubble up to the surface in Sam have their basis in reality. He does feel like Dean makes all the decisions, and in some ways sees him as almost a hired hand. Even Kat, the girl they meet in the asylum, asks if Dean is his boss, which of course slightly angers and perhaps embarrasses the younger man. When he is pushed to it (in his controlled state, it has to be said) he is actually prepared to kill his brother, though of course he would not do so normally; in fact, each would die to save the other's life.

Sam is more open and honest, more trusting than his brother. This may come from the fact that he has not spent the last few years stalking demons and evil things in the night. He prefers to tell the truth, where possible, whereas Dean usually constructs some sort of alibi or false identity. This is shown clearly when they return to their old home, and Dean immediately begins making up a story but Sam just tells Jenny who they really are. Sometimes of course, Sam's honesty will work and sometimes it will lead him and his brother into more trouble, just as Dean's attempts to lead various lives and hold multiple identities, while often handy, will come back to bite him on occasion.

It's rather telling, and good storywriting, that it's Sam, essentially the skeptic in terms of whether they will ever find their father --- or whether he's even alive --- who takes the call which appears to be from him.

1.11 "Scarecrow"

Picking up the phone that rang at the end of last episode, Sam talks to his father, who tells the boys he can't meet them yet but he is all right. He tells Sam he knows what happened to Jessica, and that the thing that killed both her and their mother, which he is hunting, is a demon. Sam says they can help, but John tells him instead to take down a list of names he's going to give him, saying the events about to unfold are bigger and more important than he and his quest for vengeance. Sam won't listen but Dean grabs the phone and nods, writing down the names. Seems that there is a certain spot in Indiana where, on the second week of April, three couples from three different states, all taking cross-country road trips, disappeared without trace. Since all their paths intersected at this one point, John believes there is something there responsible for the disappearances, and asks (well, orders really) his sons to go there and investigate.

Sam however is adamant that they should go to California --- the phone prefix code John used was for Sacramento --- and offer their help to their father despite his orders. He reveals that he is far closer to the tragedy than Dean, having seen his girlfriend killed only weeks ago. The two argue, and Sam eventually declares he will go to California on his own. In a heated rage, he gets out of the car and will not come back. Dean, equally angry and mystified as to why his brother won't trust their father, threatens to drive off and leave him, and when neither back down, this is exactly what he does.

Dean travels on to Burkitsville, Indiana, where he starts asking questions about the couples who have disappeared. He has no luck until the owners of the general store recognise the most recent one. They point him in the direction the couple left after they had fuelled up. Sam meanwhile meets a girl hitch-hiking like him, but Meg is pretty and sexy and quickly gets a ride, while Sam waits for someone to take pity on him. As Dean passes an orchard his EMF goes off, indicating paranormal activity nearby. He investigates and finds a nasty-looking scarecrow in the field, holding what appears to be a scythe. When he looks closer he is dismayed to see that the scarecrow has a tattoo, indeed the very same as the one the guy in the last couple to come through here and disappear had.

Back in town, he talks to Emily, who works in the gas station. She tells him she knows of the scarecrow and it creeps her out, but as far as she can remember it's been there forever. Dean points to a van, and she says it belongs to some couple who are having car troubles. Fearing the worst, Dean backtracks to the cafe where Scotty, the owner, is plying the couple with cider and apple pie. He seems very annoyed when Dean tries to interfere, to get the couple moving sooner, and when Dean warns them enigmatically that they may be in danger. He calls the sherrif, who forces Dean to leave the town. Meanwhile, waiting for the bus to Sacramento, Sam is reunited with Meg, who tells him the van driver was a pest and she left him. Turns out she's going to California too, so they introduce each to the other.

Undeterred, Dean is on his way back into town as night falls. He comes across the couple in the orchard, running from the scarecrow, which has somehow come to life. He shoots it, but it keeps coming. At the last it disappears, and the couple say they can't believe their car broke down, so soon after supposedly being fixed. Now that they're safe however, Dean calls Sam and they discuss what the scarecrow could be. Dean thinks it's some sort of pagan god. He reasons that the deaths only happen once a year, at the same time, and that it's always a man and a woman involved, indicating some sort of fertility rite. The fact that the townsfolk feed the couple before they leave is to him like fattening up the calf for slaughter before it's sacrificed to the god. After an awkward moment, the boys settle their differences: Dean says he realises Sam must follow his own path, and that he's proud of him. He asks him to call him when Sam meets their father.

Dean goes to a college to find out what he can about local gods, and turns up a picture of a scarecrow in a field, which the local professor tells him is one of the Vanir, a Norse god. The descendants of the village are mostly from Scandinavia, so that would fit. Also, the Vanir seems to draw its magical strength from the tree it co-exists with, so now Dean has a good idea how to kill the scarecrow in Burkitsville: burn the tree and the scarecrow should die with it. Unfortunately, just as he leaves the college with this vital information he's knocked unconscious by the sheriff, and it seems the professor is in on it too.

When Dean wakes up he is in a cellar, and then Emily, the girl he spoke to at the gas station, is brought in by her Aunt Stacy and Uncle Harley, who run the gas station and clearly intend to make she and Dean a sacrifice to the scarecrow. Seems it always has to be a couple and, well, Dean amd Emily aren't one but the god won't know or care. Dean tries to explain to her about the tree, and she tells him there is one in the orchard that is revered and treated as special; the townsfolk call it The First Tree. This surely must be the one the scarecrow is drawing its power from. Meanwhile Sam, about to board the Sacramento bus, changes his mind. He has not been able to get in touch with Dean for three hours and is concerned, considering what his brother is chasing. He decides to head to Burkitsville. Meg is almost in tears as he leaves, in disbelief that he is going back to the person he told her he was running from.

The townspeople tie Emily and Dean to separate trees and retreat. Dean tells Emily to keep watch and let him know when the scarecrow starts to move. She gasps and says she sees a shadow moving, but it turns out to be the returned Sam, who frees them. When they try to escape the orchard however the villagers are blocking their path. Just then the scarecrow appears and slices into Harley, then taking Stacy too. The sacrifice has been made --- if not the intended one --- and the townsfolk leg it. The next morning they locate the tree and Dean Sam and Emily burn it to the ground.

They leave the next morning, Emily deserting her erstwhile adopted family and going to Boston on a bus, Sam electing to join back up with Dean: it's pretty obvious they both need each other, and they've now blown off the required steam. Meg, meanwhile, is picked up on the road again and when the driver's attention is diverted she slits his throat, allowing the blood to pour into a silver bowl which then seems to allow her to contact someone. She argues that she "could have stopped Sam", but although we can only hear one side of the converation, it ends with her nodding and saying "Yes father"....

MUSIC

Creedence Clearwater Revival: "Lodi"

Bad Company: "Bad company"

Colepitz: "Puppet"


QUESTIONS?

The one from "Home" remains: why does John Winchester not want his sons' help, and why will he not meet them yet? What is he waiting for? And what does he mean by "this thing is bigger than anything else"?

Who, exactly, or what, is Meg? It seems obvious from the final scene that she's either some sort of demon or is allied with one, and the fact that she communicates with her father by murder and blood sacrifice is not good...

PCRs
Dean to Scotty: "Hi, my name’s John Bonham. " Drummer with Led Zeppelin (For once, he's found out, as Scotty professes to be a fan...)

Aunt Stacy to Emily: "The good of the many outweighs the good of the one" Classic line from Star Trek II: The wrath of Khan", spoken by Spock as an example of pure logic. The actual line is "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one."

Dean, as they try to escape the field: "Let’s just shag ass before Leather Face catches up!" Leather Face is, I believe, the crazed killer in "Texas Chainsaw Massacre". However, it's an unfortunate choice of phrase as "shag" means, at least here, to (ahem) make love, and to have the word "ass" after it, well....

The "WTF??"! moment
Right at the end, when the sweet, innocent Meg is revealed to be something far, far darker and more evil. When she's picked up and says "I need to make a call", and the driver hands her a mobile phone, and she says "It's not that sort of call!", suddenly slitting his throat, there is no other phrase that goes through your head but WTF???!

BROTHERS

This is the first time the boys have a real big blow-up. They've had their differences of opinion before, mostly about how they see their father, and indeed this is the catalyst for their temporary separation here. Sam can't believe that Dean would just blindly follow orders from their father, and wants to go help him in his quest to track down and face the demon that killed their mother, although as he points out Sam is closer to the event than Dean, having only just recently watched his fiancee die at its hands. When Dean won't see things his way, Sam reaches breaking point and leaves his brother, determined to do what he believes is right.

It's indicative of the fact the Sam has not spoken to, or engaged in any way with his father in years that when he is told what to do he argues, demurs and questions, whereas Dean, aware of the way his dad's mind works and somewhat aware of what's at stake, snaps to attention, as it were, immediately and does as he is told. While Dean never questions their father, Sam is all too quick to, and this denotes the different ways the two men see their father.

Left on his own to work things out, Dean has yet to turn to Sam for advice, or perhaps just support, and even at the end he is willing to allow Sam follow the path he has set, by asking if he needs to be dropped somewhere, but it's Sam who realises that his place is by his brother's side, and even though they make light of their reunion, it's obviously a big relief to both the brothers to be back again as a team.

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Trollheart

1.12 "Faith"

Trying to save some kids from a random monster, Dean gets electrocuted when he has only one chance: to use the taser even though it's in a puddle of water. He kills the thing but gets shocked himself, and when Sam gets the news at the hospital it is not good: the electric shock triggered a massive heart attack and Dean has perhaps weeks to live. Determined not to let that happen, Sam brings him to a faith healer who, though Dean is sceptical, seems to heal him and then while getting checked out at the hospital by a disbelieving doctor, Dean is troubled to hear that the same day he was healed another young man dropped dead of a heart attack. He confides to Sam that onstage at the faith healer, Roy LeGrange, he saw what looked like a very old and pale man, and he thinks it was a spirit, maybe Death himself, who passed him over. But why? And what link is there between his "miraculous" recovery and this other young man's unexpected death?

Unconvinced that his recovery is in fact a miracle, and worried that there might be some outside agency at work, maybe through Roy, Dean meets with him and his wife, Sue-Anne, and is told that some years ago Roy was diagnosed with cancer. He woke up blind, was expected to die, but he prayed and he was healed. Ever since then, he's been able to perform miracles: healing the crippled, bringing sight to the sightless, making lame men walk, the whole thing. Sam meanwhile has gone to check out the swimming pool where the guy who did die used to work, and he's told the guy was a fitness fanatic, very healthy, and his mate is surprised that he took a heart attack. He tells Sam that apparently at the time of his death the guy was running, from something that he said was after him. Sam notices the clock is stopped at 4:17, which un-coincidentally is the time of death. Since it stopped it hasn't worked again. 4:17 is also the exact time Dean was healed.

On the way out of Roy's house, Dean meets Layla, who has an inoperable brain tumour and is trying to see the healer, but has been rebuffed at every turn. "Roy wants to help you", Sue-Anne tells her and her frustrated mother, "and he will, just as soon as the Lord allows him." Angry that Dean has been cured when firstly he's a stranger (and they've attended every single service, this being their sixth time to try to get Layla seen) and secondly he's not a believer, the mother demands to know what gives Dean the right to be cured in Layla's place? Dean is sad but can say nothing and leaves. Back with Sam he gets the bad news: a death occurred at exactly the same time as he was cured, and with the same symptoms. Sam, checking further, has discovered a history of deaths linked to "miracles" Roy has performed. All take place at the same time, and mirror each other. So the guys now know that some agency is working through Roy, taking lives for those spared. Dean feels sick. He knows what they're dealing with: a Reaper.

Sam is sceptical: the Grim Reaper, he asks, but Dean says no, not THE Reaper, just A Reaper. He explains that every culture has its reaper legend, and that you can only see them when they're coming for you, which is why he could see the figure onstage when he was healed and Sam could not: the Reaper originally was coming for him. Reapers can also stop time, and Dean reasons that somehow Roy is working with one in order to perform his miracles. Dean remembers seeing an odd cross on the stage and checking now they see it's linked to the tarot. Roy must be using its magic to bind the reaper and make it do his will. Dean is for killing Roy, calling him a monster, but Sam refuses to slay a human, no matter how evil they may be. They decide the best thing is to find a way to break the spell and release the reaper.

Sam breaks into Roy's house while he's at service, and finds a small book with a picture of a reaper on the cover. He also finds newspaper cuttings about those who have died to give others life, and a darker subtext begins to reveal itself. There are gays, abortions rights advocates, people who surely Roy would consider impure and perhaps enemies. The latest is one about Wright, a man who does not believe Roy has been sent from God, and has been handing out protest pamphlets at every service. They just passed him on the way in. Sam calls Dean and tells him that he is going after the guy, to try to save him, but until he has Dean has to make sure nobody else gets healed.

Ironically, it's Layla's name that's called, and though Dean tries to explain to her that she can't go up, that someone will die in her place, she doesn't understand and is overjoyed at finally having her chance. Sam goes after Wright, but though the man is running from the reaper Sam can't see him, and has to rely on Wright to tell him where the creature is. Dean manages to interrupt the service by shouting "Fire!" and everyone evacuates, but the reaper still keeps coming. Confused, Dean realises that Roy is not the one controlling the thing, then sees Sue Anne reciting in the corner. SHE is the one in control! He tries to confront her but she screams and cops drag Dean away, throwing him out of the tent. But at least the reaper has been confused enough by the half-recited spell that it has stopped pursuing Wright.

Roy then tells Layla and her mother that he will heal Layla in a private ceremony tonight at his home. Dean and Sam discuss the fact that they believe Roy may not know that his wife is controlling the reaper. They reason that originally she may have bound the creature to save Roy from death, but now she's using it to pursue her own twisted moral agenda, having it kill people she sees as immoral, or who threaten her and her husband. The boys read that to bind a reaper a black altar has to be built, with human bones, blood and so on. They also think the large cross in the tent, which is mirrored in miniature around Sue Anne's neck, could be a key. They resolve to destroy both before Layla can be healed and another innocent dies in her place.

Sam finds the altar but Sue Anne gets the drop on him and locks him in the house, telling him that just as she was able to give life to Dean, she can as easily take it away, the inferrence being that Dean is now going to die in place of Layla. Not really sure how that works, as they are/were suffering from different complaints, but anyway... Dean is walking along towards the tent when the reaper comes after him. Sam has managed to break out and attacks Sue Anne in her recital, smashing a glass bottle of blood. Horrified, Sue Anne watches as the spell is broken and the reaper comes for her, taking her life. I particularly like the quote here, when she gasps "My God! What have you done?" and Sam snarls "He isn't your god!" Nice one, Sam!

Although everything has turned out for the best, it hasn't really. Layla still hasn't been healed, and Roy can no longer work his "miracles". Dean agonises over whether or not they did the right thing in stopping the reaper before Layla could have been cured, but there's no easy answer really.

MUSIC
(Anyone wanna guess?)
Blue Oyster Cult: "Don't fear the Reaper"


QUESTIONS?
Not really any as such.

PCRs
Again, none really. One of the victims of the reaper is jogging along and the music on her ipod is BOC, but it's a bit over-obvious, and the whole "Don't fear the Reaper" thing is totally overdone in terms of music. But then, what else could have been used?

The "WTF??!" moment
Probably right near the start, where we learn Dean has less than a month to live.

BROTHERS
This is a pretty dark time for Sam. He faces losing his brother, and no doubt blames himself for leaving him alone in the house with the monster, even though he was at the time getting the kids to safety. When it looks like Dean will die, Sam turns to the knowledge they have amassed over the months and tries to find something in ancient lore that can cure Dean, resulting in his taking him to see Roy. Dean is more philosophical about his impending death, although he could just be putting on a brave face for his brother. He reminds Sam that what they do is dangerous, and the chances of one or both of them dying in the course of their work are quite high. He seems oddly prepared to meet death.

Dean later has to face the fact that someone's life was taken to allow him to live. He was not complicit in the decision, of course, knew nothing about it, but even so he feels guilty. Then he has to deal with the extra guilt of preventing Layla from being cured, after she had waited so long. There's no doubting that this episode will have changed him from the happy-go-lucky, smartass wisecracker he was into a more sombre individual, much more aware of his mortality. You can't face Death and not come away a changed person.

1.13 "Route 666"

Allright, alright, so the titles are getting a little cliched. But as I said, season one is a little slow and plodding compared to what comes soon after. Keep the faith, people! This episode introduces us to, of all things, one of Dean's ex-girlfriends. Dean, as we know, is not known for staying with the same girl two nights in a row, yet it seems there is history with this one, because not only does Cassie call the guys in to help her solve a mystery surrounding the death of her father and his business partner, she knows what the brothers do. Dean told her, and when Sam finds out he is incensed: he reminds Dean that he had to lie over and over to Jessica about what the boys got up to, and here Dean is spilling the family secret to some girl he met a few years ago! Dean, however, seems more than taken with the girl and his reunion with her seems to bring up painful memories. For once --- and probably following on from his experience with death --- he's not wisecracking or making fun.

Cassie tells the boys that her father's car looks to have been run off the road, but there is only one set of tracks at the accident. Her father had previously worried about a big black truck that seemed to be following him, but had dismissed the idea. Now, with his business partner in the car dealership they ran together also dead by traffic accident, it's beginning to look a little more than just coincidence. As Cassie already knows (whether she believes or not is another story) about the brothers, they don't have to hide anything from her and can discuss the possibilites in the open, possibilities and theories they would normally have to talk about among themselves, out of earshot of the person involved.

When yet another death occurs, Dean and Sam talk to friends of the deceased, one of whom mentions that there was a story about a bunch of black guys disappearing in a big black truck, back in the sixties, though nothing was ever found. Both Cassie's father and his partner were black, as is the latest victim of these "accidents", and maybe things are beginning to slowly add up. Could someone have a racist agenda or grudge? But why only one set of tyre tracks at each accident scene?

Dean wonders about the possible connections between the victims --- he seems to think that it's more than that they're all black; he thinks they're all connected to Cassie's family, and so far they have been --- and goes to talk to Cassie, and it comes out that Cassie dumped him after he told her what he does for a living, as she thought he was just looking for an excuse not to commit, and she didn't believe him. Dean notes that it didn't seem so crazy once she needed help. One thing leads to another and they end up in bed. Meanwhile, the mayor of the town is run over by the big black truck, and when they hear about it Dean and Sam are mystified. The mayor wasn't black, and the attack didn't take place on the road, like the other three, but on the mayor's property, a building site. Plus, to their knowledge, the mayor has no direct connection to Cassie's family.

Research turns up some facts: the site the mayor was planning to build on used to be the family home of one of the most powerful families in the town, the Dorians, who also ran the paper Cassie works for. The mayor had the home bulldozed to make way for whatever he was planning to build, and on the next day the first killing occurred. Seems that Cyrus Dorian disappeared around the time all those black men went missing, too. Later that night a black truck revs up outside Cassie's house and she calls Dean in a panic. When they get to the house they quiz the mother, who helps reveal the story behind the mystery.

Seems she was dating Cyrus Dorian but seeing the man who became her husband, Martin, on the side. When Dorian found out about it he went mad, and ended up torching the church they were supposed to be married in. A bunch of children practicing for a choir were burned alive. The two men had a face-off where Dorian beat Martin up but he got free and started pounding on Cyrus, eventually killing him. Martin called his two friends (the other two who have now died in the "road accidents") and they helped him dispose of the body. Of course, Cyrus drove a big black truck.

Turns out the mayor knew what Martin and his friends had done, but kept quiet about it as he also knew, or suspected, about Dorian. The brothers decide they need to dredge the swamp and get the truck up so they can burn the body of Cyrus Dorian. However, as soon as they've done so, the ghost truck appears, so it seems they have been less than successful, and must think of a new plan. Dean leads the ghost truck away while telling Sam to burn the wreck. Sam wonders how in the hell he's supposed to do that?

But he has an idea. He talks to Cassie on the phone and gets the exact location of the church Dorian burned down forty years ago. When the truck rushes at Dean it hits the hallowed ground and vapourises.

MUSIC
Joe Walsh and The James Gang: "Walk away"

Blind Faith: "Can't find my way home"

Bad Company: "She brings me love"


QUESTIONS?
None.

The "WTF??!" moment
Not really one in this episode.

PCRs
Again, no.

BROTHERS
We continue to see beneath Dean's tough guy facade, as he comes face-to-face with a woman, perhaps the only woman other than his mother who seems to have truly meant something to him. Sam is amazed that such a woman even exists in Dean's life, but it transpires that they were very close --- marriage is not mentioned, but the relationship looks to have been pretty strong --- to the effect that Dean let down his guard and wanting to be totally honest with Cassie told her about his life hunting demons. Sadly, this seems to have had the opposite effect, and she took it as a sign he was looking for a way out of the relationship.

Sam can now see his brother in a new light. He's not now the one-night-stand, never-settle-down type, and while he'll never be as rooted as Sam is, he has at least now got one woman in his history who matters. There will of course be ribbing about this for some time, but Sam is glad Dean has, or had, someone: just a pity it didn't work out. As the episode closes though, Dean is already putting the events of the past few days behind him, or trying to, as he ignores and rebuffs his brother's gentle poking of fun at him. His ego has to be bruised, as he was the one who was dumped, and surely that has never happened before to him? But more than that, he realises that for the first time ever he let someone in, opened the door and they kicked it shut. It could very well be why he is the way he is now: fool me once...

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