Season 5 of Babylon 5, by and large, has been criticized by fans for being the worst of the show. I am not too worried about this, as I love all things Babylon 5, but I see where these criticisms are coming from. I enjoyed the episode, writing wise, but the character introductions were what I had a problem with. Firstly, we see the introduction of Captain Elizabeth Lochley, played by Tracy Scoggins. From the moment she said her first couple of lines, I knew what I was in for: I had grown so attached to Sheridan as a character, and felt that his humor and bravery really made him a wonderful person, and just from his first episode, I knew he would be a worthy replacement of Sinclair, and, as I found out later, a better one at that. But Lochley... uh, I don't know about this woman. Basically, her first lines are her getting all angry at poor Lt. Corwin for not having the full command staff present, and when he says they're all busy, she says, "Is this how it always is here," basically, and when Corwin replies, yes, she says, well that's because it isn't run well, and I'm going to run it well. Already, she is a huge jerk. What a way to introduce a character. I hope her character improves over the following episodes. At least she stood up for President Sheridan when he was voicing his opinion about security measures.
Sadly, Lochley isn't the only problem with this episode. Enter Byron. We meet him as a creepy man, standing and staring at Lochley from afar. He comes across as just some stalker, I think, although I do not believe that is the intention. Whenever there are scenes with him, you feel vaguely unsettled, like he's a villain or something, but, from the looks of it, he's not, so, I don't know what's up with him. He arrives at the station with a group of telepaths who escaped the Corps, and he asks Lochley to set up a colony on B5 for them, but she says no. Later, when the issue is taken to Sheridan, he allows them to set up the colony, because all political decisions are his. I feel like Byron is just a poor way to fill in the void of the irreplacable Marcus Cole (long haired, british) that in no way works as a character. The actor does not by any means do a good job of portraying the character, and, again, comes off as really creepy.
Those are my gripes with the episode. Now, to the good parts. Those nitpicks aside, this was actually a solid episode. It was gripping, and it had a fast-paced plot with high stakes. Sheridan is being prepared to be sworn in as president of the newly-formed ISA (InterStellar Alliance,) but an assassin threatens him, saying that he is a dead man. One of Byron's teeps helps reveal the killer, who was posing as the Gaim ambassador, wearing their helmet (an homage to Neil Gaiman's excellent Sandman graphic novels.) He gets away, launching a starfury and posing it just outside of the window before which Sheridan is getting sworn in. Just as he is about to be shot, Garabaldi, in his starfury, swoops in to the rescue, grappling the starfury for long enough for B5's defense grid to take care of him.
Overall, a good introductory episode to this season, but with character flaws that may extend throughout the rest of this season.
Sadly, Lochley isn't the only problem with this episode. Enter Byron. We meet him as a creepy man, standing and staring at Lochley from afar. He comes across as just some stalker, I think, although I do not believe that is the intention. Whenever there are scenes with him, you feel vaguely unsettled, like he's a villain or something, but, from the looks of it, he's not, so, I don't know what's up with him. He arrives at the station with a group of telepaths who escaped the Corps, and he asks Lochley to set up a colony on B5 for them, but she says no. Later, when the issue is taken to Sheridan, he allows them to set up the colony, because all political decisions are his. I feel like Byron is just a poor way to fill in the void of the irreplacable Marcus Cole (long haired, british) that in no way works as a character. The actor does not by any means do a good job of portraying the character, and, again, comes off as really creepy.
Those are my gripes with the episode. Now, to the good parts. Those nitpicks aside, this was actually a solid episode. It was gripping, and it had a fast-paced plot with high stakes. Sheridan is being prepared to be sworn in as president of the newly-formed ISA (InterStellar Alliance,) but an assassin threatens him, saying that he is a dead man. One of Byron's teeps helps reveal the killer, who was posing as the Gaim ambassador, wearing their helmet (an homage to Neil Gaiman's excellent Sandman graphic novels.) He gets away, launching a starfury and posing it just outside of the window before which Sheridan is getting sworn in. Just as he is about to be shot, Garabaldi, in his starfury, swoops in to the rescue, grappling the starfury for long enough for B5's defense grid to take care of him.
Overall, a good introductory episode to this season, but with character flaws that may extend throughout the rest of this season.