How does “Exogenesis” affect–or how should it have affected–future episodes of Babylon 5? Let us please discuss that here in the spoiler space!
How does “Exogenesis” affect–or how should it have affected–future episodes of Babylon 5? Let us please discuss that here in the spoiler space!
Marcus and Franklin get some scenes together.
Not a lot of spoilers in this one.
Pretty much.
I think Exogenesis *should* be a significant episode, because discovering Corwin’s point of view should have effects in the central “breaking away from Earth” arc.
At a minimum, Sheridan and Ivanova should have a hard choice to make about whether they should pre-emptively arrest Corwin and other officers who they believe may (in good conscience or not) oppose their actions. Or – having not done that – they should have worries about whether they can trust him.
In the event, that’s not what happens, and this is merely an awkward piece of comedy. Part of the way in which the genuinely problematic aspects of what Sheridan does in seceding from Earth get a little swept under the rug (even though that is my favorite sequence of episodes in the entire series).
One happier thing for the future, though, is that Exogenesis establishes the Marcus-and-Stephen team that will be deployed to great effect in S4.
I will admit, Exogenesis is one of the few episodes I skip when I am rewatching my DVD sets, partly because I don’t think it is a very good episode but mostly because it comes just before The Trilogy.
A tiny note, but isn’t this the last time we actually see Earhart’s on the show?
The Vendrizzi (sp?) establish the precedent for one creature controlling another in the B5 universe — i.e., they set up the Keepers.
Two points of significance from my rewatch.
First is the setup for Marcus and Ivanova relationship. An unlikely couple, and initial misunderstanding. In a classic rom-com we’d expect them to eventually realise they’re meant for each other. Instead JMS is going to kill him.
Second is Corwin being evaluated. I agree with Voord99 that this aspect of secession gets swept under the rug to some extent, but at least it is mentioned. In Star Trek it’s a given that if the captain decides to go against Starfleet orders, the crew will automatically follow along.
In fact, our hosts persuaded me that I had misjudged this with their observation that Corwin’s comment that his own decision surprised him is a moment that this episode is needed to set up for.
(They did not persuade me that the Ivanova-Corwin comedy was other than awkward – which, to be fair, is a view that they too expressed…)
On Star Trek, you’re absolutely right. I’m probably bit too hard on B5 about this sort of thing because it pushes back against problematic* Star Trek conventions so often that it annoys me when it doesn’t. Excessive valorization of the officer class is one that tends to trigger this irritation in me. (Seriously: what do enlisted personnel in Starfleet actually *do*?)
*Note: not all Star Trek conventions** are problematic.
**Note: I mean conventions in the sense of tropes, not in the other sense, although no doubt there are also unproblematic Star Trek conventions in that other sense of the word.
So far as we ever see, enlisted personnel in Star Trek are pretty much transporter chiefs. Everyone else seems to be an Ensign or above.
It is an aspect of that franchise that always bothered me. At in B5, though we see very little of the non-comms, we deffinitly get the impression that they are there, somehwhere. Particularly with the GROPOS.
Not sure about anyone else here but I’m holding my breath for the next episode!
I find it interesteing that our hosts neglected to mention Marcu’s informant talking about a “package” marcus is waiting for arriving in about a week, i.e. Dr. Mary Kirkish, whose arrival really kicks off the events of the forthcomming trilogy.
I’ve always liked that as just a nice bit of hinting “something’s coming!” in an otherwise non-arc related episode.