B5 S2 Ep2: Revelations Redux

Almost moving forward again. I'm trying to be expeditious getting through them to get back on track.

Okay friends, so I’ve revisited a few key episodes and it seems as though I’m often taking one step forward and two steps back. This much is true, but I’m caught up in the language and the details. I’m hanging on every word more than ever. I'm appreciating scenes that I once took for granted. I will indeed go back to the very beginning someday to view this story fully enlightened eyes. I definitely glanced over or discarded certain material when I should have been paying closer attention.

Season 2 Revelations is a harbinger in its own right. This is the beginning of a great sadness. G’Kar, more than anyone, is keenly aware of forces at work and is troubled by what's to come almost as if he senses the future. These are desperate times for G’Kar. There is an assortment of powerful moments here that propel The Shadows arc. I erroneously did not lend my full attention to its many details, nuances, subtext. I see this now. I am such an addict.

Revelations begins when G’Kar on a scouting mission narrowly averting death thanks to the sacrifice of his fellow Narn who lure The Shadows’ vessels off G’Kar's ass and allow him time to escape through a jumpgate back to B5. His investment in the Narn bible, the G’Quan, only serves to shore up his belief that an ancient evil has returned. Making matters worse, Londo secretly bears similiar concerns that certain pieces of the puzzle just don't add up. He knows there may be something to that which G’Kar speaks. Despite his own reservations, Londo turns his back on the potentially devastating reality in turn denying his own moral compass in greedy favor of his desire for Centauri glory. Londo would rather turn to the unknown arms of a potentially lethal enemy. His sense of right and wrong is blurred and overruled by his intense hatred of the Narn and his desire for power rather than fortify a coalition for a common good. He is driven by this and The Shadows know it.

It is disturbing, yet delicious material. Londo's fall is compelling television like none I've ever seen, [better even than, dare I say, the fall of Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars one could argue]. Could redemption be a possibility or is his future to be damned? A series that is a revelation indeed.

Revelations: B+