LogFAQs > #926369049

Babylon 5 - "Confessions and Lamentations"
Nominated by: CybrMonkey

This is probably one of the biggest failures in the history of television.

Of course, I mean that, narratively, Sheridan and his crew (and by the way, Bruce Boxleitner will forever be awesome) completely fail to prevent a galaxy-wide pandemic from wiping a race out of existence. The ending strikes me as particularly infuriating (in a good way) - after two billion beings are snuffed out, a bartender comments with one of those terrible racist one-liners before carrying on with his day. I think that joke has aged particularly well in the current climate, really sliding under my skin and irritating me to no end. Great, great stuff.

As I remember, the Markab had been established on Babylon 5 prior to this episode. Not a lot, mind you - if this had been made in the era of Game of Thrones, we would be seeing two or three main characters bite it alongside our episode's newest one-off characters. But in the world of Babylon 5, we're still transitioning out of the episodic structure of Next Generation. This transitional period of TV is very unique. Stories like this one can be self-contained but still carry a real weight of impact. It's unique.

The episode is very heavy, but in fact the best scene comes early on, as Delenn and Sheridan share a din. (Ner) The cultural differences are so heavy-handed and ludicrous that you can't help but wonder whether Delenn is trolling Sheridan or being truthful. The result is seeing a grounded leader thrown totally off-balance. Great stuff.

Overall, I wouldn't say this is my favorite episode of the series, but it definitely is an off-beat, unusual episode with a strange tone. The pacing is bizarre but still enjoyable. Everything just has a unique feeling that I don't think the series really duplicates ever again.

Writing: 9/10
Characterization: 6/10
Scarlet Factor: 8/10
Overall: 23/30
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"It is too easy being monsters. Let us try to be human." ~Victor Frankenstein, Penny Dreadful