Babylon 5: Season 2 - The Coming of Shadows Review

Today on Sci-Fi Adventures I'll be writing a bit about the second season of Babylon 5, which has the overall title of The Coming of Shadows. Not to be confused with the episode The Coming of Shadows, which also has the overall title of The Coming of Shadows.

But first, here's a rare glimpse behind the scenes of Ray Hardgrit's Sci-Fi Adventures. When I first had the immensely dumb idea of starting my science fiction review site I also had the extremely sensible idea to get some episodes written up in advance. That way I'd have a buffer so I wouldn't disappear and leave the site dead during the months I was busy with other things. In fact all 38 Babylon 5 reviews published before my unintended absence last year were written ages before the site first went live on 1st April 2016. Unfortunately I got so distracted with writing about other sci-fi series and movies that I didn't get back to writing about Babylon 5, so when more important things hijacked my free time I'd already used up all my spare reviews. Which is why I disappeared for months.

The reason I'm bringing this up is that it may look like I started reviewing Babylon 5's second season episodes two years ago, but truth is it's actually closer to four years and I haven't rewatched the episodes since. I find it hard enough to keep 22 episodes in my head at the best of times, so I have no business trying to review this season really. Still going to do it though.

This is going to contain epic SPOILERS for everything in season 2 from Points of Departure to The Fall of Night, and probably earlier episodes too. If I can remember them.

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The thing about Babylon 5's first season, is that it makes it bloody difficult to convince new viewers to give the series a fair chance. Sure it gets better once you're out of the 'Soul Hunter, Infection, The War Prayer' stretch at the start and there are some gems in there like Signs and Portents, but then it likes to put a Grail or a TKO right afterwards to make you think that it was a fluke. Compared to its arch-rival Deep Space Nine the season looks cheap, the CGI is basic, the direction ranges from acceptable to mediocre, and the lead actor comes off as wooden.

Babylon 5's second season, on the other hand... well, it still looks cheap compared to Deep Space Nine. But it's a step up in every department, with better acting, better direction, better visuals effects. Even the lighting is better, with scenes looking less murky. The worst episodes are better, the best episodes are better, overall it is a better season. Not a great season, the series hasn't reached its full potential yet, but a very watchable one.

The first season did a lot of world building and setup, but it was basically a Star Trek-style anthology of stand-alone stories by different writers based around the same location and characters. Very much the same location actually, as the series was practically sealed inside the station, with all the drama getting shipped to them. Season two didn't suddenly switch to full serialisation but there were more balls being kept in the air and fewer writers, which gives it the feel of a chapter of a larger story that's starting to come into focus. It's a shame they didn't lean into that more though I reckon, as the season one finale, Chrysalis, gave the series a real kick in the ass, but the momentum only lasted two or three episodes before the season settled into a slump. It took The Coming of Shadows to jump-start it again, which makes sense I suppose seeing as it's the episode the season's named after. It's also one of many episodes that expanded the action beyond the station without inviting any of the main characters along.

Over and over again this season characters had to deal with the consequences of events taking place off station that they could do very little about, and they were left frustrated by the way the scope of the story had grown but their role in it hadn't. The Babylon 5 crew had basically no involvement in the Narn-Centauri War that dominated the season aside from treating refugees and shouting at people. They dealt with the Psi Corps agents sent to the station but couldn't even begin to fight back against the organisation. Halfway through they joined a Conspiracy of Light to take down President Clark and stop Earth's fall into fascism, but in eleven episodes all they managed to do was protect a fugitive and recover his evidence. A few episodes from the end Sheridan joined the Army of Light and took control of the Rangers, but aside from speeches and inquisitions nothing really came of it. They couldn't even save the Markabs as their world was doomed before Franklin had even learned about their plague.

The season really demonstrated how dark Babylon 5 was capable of being, and how much it was willing to upset its status quo, as it replaced the station commander, killed off two characters with their face in the titles, wiped out one of the council races and reduced the Narn Homeworld to rubble. And it ended with the Centauri pulling a Nazi Germany, Earth going full McCarthy, Nightwatch informants all over the station, and an ancient darkness from a million years ago about to strike. It's kind of a downer really, especially as all the heroes could do was watch from the sidelines, thinking 'wow, things are really going to crap lately'. Well, except for Londo. This was his big chance to make a difference, and by the end his terrible decisions had pretty much ruined everything Babylon 5 was built to achieve, though they also won him a front row seat to the devastation of a planet and all the war he could ever want.

It's not necessarily a bad thing that the characters were so ineffective, seeing as it's only season two of five. But that's fine as I have plenty of other things to whine about:


THE BAD

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The worst thing about Babylon 5 season two is that the series wasn't given a huge budget increase to bring it to the level of Deep Space Nine. The sets and costumes got an upgrade, the visual effects were more ambitious and it does look better, but it never matches DS9's production values. It doesn't help that they were still stubbornly saving money by shooting everything inside their converted hot tub factory, as filming on location can give you a lot of return on investment. Modern Doctor Who's great example of how you can make a series look like it actually has a money to spend through clever use of CGI augmented scenery.

Though a budget increase wouldn't have fixed telepath Talia Winters. She was already my least favourite of the main cast, but the poor character wasn't given a chance this season. Talia appeared in just 7 of the 22 episodes, which is pretty bad for a character in the opening titles; Kosh made more appearances this season and he's a cryptic anti-social hermit! Okay to be fair that's the exact same number of times she appeared in season one as well, but this time showrunner J. Michael Straczynski didn't seem to know what to do with her. Most of the other characters were woven into the season in a way that kept them as a presence throughout without them always being the focus. Talia, on the other hand, got three starring episodes in a row and then basically vanished afterwards. Worse, one of those episode was about her growing relationship with Garibaldi and then at the end of the season she was with Ivanova instead with nothing in between to set it up!

One time she reappeared after a five episode absence just to get a drink thrown over her by Vir, and then she was gone again for the rest of the story. I'm not surprised that Andrea Thompson wanted out.

I know that jms had to rush to the end of the character's arc so that the actress could leave, but it didn't seem like he'd even gotten to the start of it yet. If he really did have a plan for Talia he didn't tip his hand, as the only clues we got in two seasons that she had a sleeper personality was her obsession with Ivanova and her fondness for looking into mirrors. Laurel Takashima's sleeper personality got more setup and she was only in the pilot movie! Plus Kosh's scans in Deathwalker, her telepathy upgrade in Mind War and her disenchantment with the Psi Corps in A Race Through Dark Places came to nothing in the end.

Still at least Talia stuck around long enough to have a send-off, unlike the new Na'Toth. Two episodes and she was gone, without anyone ever mentioning why. I guess it turned out that Julie Caitlin Brown was irreplaceable after all. One character that won't be missed is Warren Keffer, mostly because he's very forgettable. The guy gets a lot of crap from fans, but I think his biggest problem is that they put him in the opening titles. If he was just another semi-anonymous recurring character like Corwin or Lou Welch then he would've been fine, but that name in the credits promises more than jms was interested in giving him.

Another problem I had with the season is how it kept focusing on one thing for a bit, before getting distracted with other things for ages. It started off with lots of talk about Z'ha'dum, and how the ancient darkness was awakening and calling its soldiers back, but then it lost interest in that and suddenly everything was about Talia and the Psi Corps. After three episodes the Psi Corps was forgotten in favour of the Narn-Centauri War, and the station had to deal with being overwhelmed with refugees... sometimes. The season doesn't flow properly and despite having 22 episodes I didn't feel like anything got given enough time. The Narn-Centauri War lasted for 11 episodes and G'Kar was only in 3 of them! The Conspiracy of Light was around for 11 episodes and did exactly one thing to help take down Clark! And then the season just kind of ran out of episodes and stopped in the middle of the story.

You know, I'm starting to convince myself that this season was actually pretty terrible. Except it wasn't, and here's why:


THE GOOD

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They added red piping to the blue Earthforce uniforms! It's a small change but it really helps.

They also added Captain John Sheridan, played by Bruce Boxleitner, who stepped in to replace Michael O'Hare as the lead character. It's not generally recommended to replace the engine when a vehicle is in motion, but in this case it worked out. Sheridan and Sinclair both share the same initials, tactical genius and an aptitude for punching people, but Sheridan brought a new tone to the season with his swagger, his charm, his love of oranges, and the fact that he doesn't have an action hero death wish. Ending the 'there's a hole in your mind' arc from the first season with Sinclair being written out and the Minbari just coming clean was definitely strange, but Sinclair's surprise appearance in The Coming of Shadows gave hope that it's not quite over yet.

Sheridan brought his own set of mysteries better suited to this chapter, seeing as he turned out to have a personal tie to the Shadows. Plus he got through episodes like A Distant Star and GROPOS without punching or threatening to open fire on any high-ranking Earthforce officers, which was a welcome change of pace after Sinclair's time on the series. I didn't think the big reveal that Sheridan was spying on the crew the whole time really worked that well though. It should've put a twist on the character's behaviour for the first half of the season, but instead of a 'aha that explains so much' moment, it was more of a 'well I guess that doesn't contradict much' moment.

One thing that did well work was his friendship with Ivanova and his relationship with Delenn, which gave both of them opportunities to be lighter and funnier characters. Sheridan and Delenn is one arc that's gotten exactly as much time as it's needed, as the two of them have become close without it seeming forced or like it has come out of nowhere. And it's probably for the best it's developed so slowly over the year seeing as they're both representing their governments and presumably shouldn't be hugging quite so much.

Two characters that won't be hugging any time soon are Londo and G'Kar. It might have averted planetary devastation on an apocalyptic scale if they had, but it's a bit late for that now. Last season's finale put G'Kar on the path of doing something useful for a change, while Londo found himself frustrated enough to call in Morden's associates to attack a Narn base. So it's not a huge surprise that things went the way they did this season, with Londo being the aggressor pushing his weight around and G'Kar becoming a desperate and defeated man eager to reclaim what he's lost. But it is a tragedy.

I wasn't 100% keen on the two characters in season one, as the actors were given a lot of comedy to play and seemed to be competing with the cringeworthy music, but they were fantastic all through this season. Andreas Katsulas was born to make heartfelt speeches and Peter Jurasik managed to make every bad choice feel like it was for the right bad reasons. Especially later on in the season as Londo realised that getting more power had only made him isolated and hated, but carried on enabling Lord Refa's dreams of conquest. He's a funny, horrible, sympathetic monster, but as long as Vir still has faith in him, we're not allowed to give up on him either.

What else was good? Uh, Zack Allan, the increased quantity of space battles, N'Grath the praying mantis criminal kingpin never showing up, Garibaldi getting to wear his hat disguise again...

Oh, also this scene, where Corwin finally got a name and had to carefully answer a question about the working environment in C&C without somehow earning Ivanova's wrath. This scene was also good (even if the framing is a bit suspect).


CONCLUSION

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I have to be honest, I think I liked Babylon 5's second season more than Deep Space Nine's second year. They're really close, this is only like... 4% better, but it is better I reckon. Mostly because this season of B5 felt like it was going somewhere, while DS9's second year was generally too comfortable where it was to get up and do anything exciting or interesting. Not that I wanted either series to flip the table over necessarily, I just wanted them to play with the pieces they'd placed on the board, and this time B5 came closest to delivering on its potential. That means after two seasons it's now 2-0 to Babylon 5!

Someone somewhere presumably likes episode rankings, so here are mine for season 2:

22.	Spider in the Web - Not as bad as Grail or TKO from last season, but something had to come last.
21.	The Long Dark - Dwight Schultz couldn't elevate this story of the most boring woman in space and a giant invisible monster.
20.	A Distant Star - Every time I think of this I remember the theme that plays whenever the Cortez appears and I cringe.
19.	The Geometry of Shadows - Technomages, Green and Purple Drazi, Garibaldi selling beat downs door to door... why is this so low?
18.	Hunter, Prey - It was nice to get some movement in the plot against President Clark, but I wasn't enthralled by this one.
17.	A Race Through Dark Places - Hey I put last season's Bester episode at #17 as well!
16.	GROPOS - Features three alright stories and the annual bar fight.
15.	Knives - The last Larry DiTillio episode features two plots so entirely different and unrelated it felt like I'd accidentally put one episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation on.
14.	Divided Loyalties - You wait ages for the telepath to get some screen time and then two telepaths turn up at once!
13.	Soul Mates - Babylon 5's hit and miss at comedy but writer Peter David knows what he's doing.
12.	All Alone in the Night - Almost feels like a sequel to Babylon Squared as Delenn visits the council again and Sheridan gets hints of the future.
11.	There All the Honor Lies - Peter David again. He's quite good at this writing thing.
10.	Confessions and Lamentations - Wow, I put last year's 'Doctor Franklin tries to find a cure for stubborn aliens, but the kid dies' plot at #10 as well.
9.	And Now for a Word - Babylon 5 mixes up the format to provide a jumping on point for new viewers and it pays off.
8.	Comes the Inquisitor - I put last year's 'interrogator yells at commander in the dark' episode at #8 too! Weird how this keeps happening.
7.	Acts of Sacrifice - I wasn't expecting the one with Ivanova having to trick an alien to get out of sleeping with him to be so high, but that G'Kar story was great.
6.	Revelations - Always nice to get answers instead of questions for once.
5.	The Long, Twilight Struggle - Loses points for the B plot not having a plot, but the shocking conclusion of the Narn-Centauri War more than makes up for it.
4.	Points of Departure - A decent introduction to Captain Sheridan which sets up his strengths and his baggage, and cements him as the new lead.
3.	In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum - Sheridan going to the dark side and potentially ruining everything is great, getting actual answers is fantastic.
2.	The Fall of Night - Isn't the dramatic game changer than Chrysalis is, but it's still plenty momentous.
1.	The Coming of Shadows - Good enough to name the season after.

A lot of titles about darkness there, though that's what you'd expect from a season called The Coming of Shadows. I might have also expected a bit of resolution to anything, but even the Narn-Centauri War continues to drag on, just in a different form. So it's a good job the series wasn't cancelled here really.

I'm fairly sure my reviews aren't going to end here either. I mean Severed Dreams is just 10 episodes away, so stopping now would just be absurd. But I will be disappearing for a few months so that I don't have to think about Narns and Psi Cops for a while. August 6th is when I plan to come back, but writing my plans down tends to be the best way to make sure they fail, so follow me on Twitter or subscribe to the RSS feed if you want to know when the next review is up.

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COMING IN AUGUST

Babylon 5 will eventually return with the season 3 premiere, Matters of Honor. But while Sci-Fi Adventures is taking a two-month break, Super Adventures is coming out of hibernation next week to show off nine more video games! I can guarantee at least one of them will feature a spaceship, though it won't be as pretty as the one on the left.

Also leave me a comment.