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F_Shit_Fitzgerald posted:I swear I've seen "Duncan" somewhere before. No spoilers here: it's Aubrey Morris, a stalwart British character actor who did his fair share of genre. You're most likely to have seen him in a late career appearance as Chesterton in Deadwood S3; as the Home Secretary in Lifeforce; or as the captain of the Goglafrinchan B Ark in the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy TV series.
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May 2, 2023 00:01
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Jedit posted:No spoilers here: it's Aubrey Morris, a stalwart British character actor who did his fair share of genre. You're most likely to have seen him in a late career appearance as Chesterton in Deadwood S3; as the Home Secretary in Lifeforce; or as the captain of the Goglafrinchan B Ark in the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy TV series. Also in A Clockwork Orange as the creepy social worker.
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May 2, 2023 04:59
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Found this thread and decided to start watching this blind. Unfortunately, what I thought was The Gathering was actually Lost Tales. I thought this is a weird pilot but didn’t piece it together until I looked at an episode guide afterwards. How bad did I spoil any possible plot twists from the series by watching Lost Tales first?
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May 2, 2023 06:33
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CainFortea posted:Maybe don't explain the entire arc to someone you know hasn't seen it yet, even in spoiler tags? There's a whole thread for talking about these things elsewhere. Sorry, I just kind of assumed people would understand the first line as warning not to continue. In hindsight, I should have send SlothfulCobra a PM instead of replying directly.
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May 2, 2023 06:33
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loudog999 posted:Found this thread and decided to start watching this blind. Unfortunately, what I thought was The Gathering was actually Lost Tales. I thought this is a weird pilot but didn’t piece it together until I looked at an episode guide afterwards. How bad did I spoil any possible plot twists from the series by watching Lost Tales first? Don't fret about it tbh, just start watching the show.
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May 2, 2023 06:57
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Libluini posted:Sorry, I just kind of assumed people would understand the first line as warning not to continue. Or post in the no holds barred B5 discussion thread here instead of crashing into one with "blind watch" right in the loving title: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3785889 Don't click that link till you're done watching the show.
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May 2, 2023 07:10
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loudog999 posted:Found this thread and decided to start watching this blind. Unfortunately, what I thought was The Gathering was actually Lost Tales. I thought this is a weird pilot but didn’t piece it together until I looked at an episode guide afterwards. How bad did I spoil any possible plot twists from the series by watching Lost Tales first? Anything you've seen will be so far out of context that it won't make a lot of sense until later anyway. But one of this show's conceits is it frequently telegraphs things out of sequence without the proper context to fully understand it already! So you've quite possibly unwittingly given yourself a unique experience that may in fact enhance your viewing.
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May 2, 2023 12:55
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Okay, maybe "occasionally" rather than "frequently." But I'm kind of excited to see this one.  and tell us everything. Sorry to be like a guy in a lab coat peering down at the new rat in his maze, lol, but that's kind of what this thread is for us old-timers.
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May 2, 2023 12:59
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My wife and I are watching The Orville and this show came up in that thread so I am now watching this on my own time, which is rare so it will be slow. But excited to see what happens! After the incredible disappointments of the endings of Lost, BSG and How I Met Your Mother in my lifetime I’m mostly excited because I know it’s a show that actually comes together into a satisfying climax and denouement and that’s all I know about it. So far I’ve watched the intro movie and episode 1. And I’m reading that no-spoiler episode guide from the 90’s that got posted in this thread as I go. Riven fucked around with this message at 19:17 on May 3, 2023 |
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May 3, 2023 19:10
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Riven posted:My wife and I are watching The Orville and this show came up in that thread so I am now watching this on my own time, which is rare so it will be slow. But excited to see what happens! After the incredible disappointments of the endings of Lost, BSG and How I Met Your Mother in my lifetime I’m mostly excited because I know it’s a show that actually comes together into a satisfying climax and denouement and that’s all I know about it. So far I’ve watched the intro movie and episode 1. Welcome aboard! You're in for a real treat.
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May 3, 2023 19:18
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Ok my favorite bit of acting so far is (Soul Hunter) Sinclair's face when he realizes that what he thought was a weapon just captured a soul in an orb and dat poo poo is real.
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May 3, 2023 20:13
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Welcome aboard to the new Babylonians! I'm sure people in this thread will be thankful to have something to read other than my ramble-y posts. 3x08: Messages From Earth Well, this answers at least one question that has been lingering for about a season/season and a half now: Psi Corp is at the very least aware of the Shadows, but most likely in league with, or subservient to, them in some way. My hopes of there being some sort of grand battle for control between Bester types and Morden types seem to have been dashed...for now. I love love love Sheridan's brief crisis of "faith" and subsequent resolve to take action against Earth. Sisko had his badass moments through DS9, but Sheridan has him beaten here. In fairness, Sisko never really had to rise up against Starfleet as Sheridan is with Earth Alliance. To put it as spoiler free as possible, Starfleet went to some dark places during the Dominion War but not as dark as assassinating their own president to work with the forces of evil. This could also recontextualize the strife on Mars. We've been hearing since season 1 that Martian colonists were forgotten (at best) and treated with contempt (at worst) by Earth Alliance. It's only now that we found out that Shadow people are/have been on Mars. And speaking of the forces of evil: "Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom" was a chilling line because of how similar it was to something Picard said to Worf in "The Drumhead". It never occurs to these freaks that if you have to destroy something in order to save it, maybe that thing wasn't really worth saving in the first place. How badass would it have been if Zak had turned around and said to that guy, "I've made my decision. Friendship." and thrown that loving armband in the fascist creep's face. Knowing Night Watch, Zak would probably have found himself spaced for that, but at least he wouldn't be betraying his friends to those dipshits. Finally, I wasn't really joking before when I said that Marcus was Jedi-like. His fighting moves and extendable hurty stick remind me a lot of the prequels. He's totally going to end up with Ivanova at the end of this. F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 21:51 on May 3, 2023 |
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May 3, 2023 21:47
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Funnily enough my very slow watch of B5 has also just gotten to 3x08. I just came in here for one reason: to vent about how much I hate Marcus. I actively do not care about this man. everything I know about him I resent having come into my brain. At least the suit-mandated pilot guy from season 2 had the benefit of being completely dull and forgettable, this guy is just obnoxious. I hate his smug pretentious face. I hope he dies in a very boring way and nobody mentions him ever again. Ivanova you can do so much better
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May 4, 2023 00:19
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A heads up for all blind watchers: J. Michael Straczynski just announced that a new B5 animated movie is complete and in the can. I recommend that you all avoid as much news about it as possible until we know where it fits in the series timeline, as even a bare outline is likely to be very spoilery.
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May 4, 2023 00:36
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F_Shit_Fitzgerald posted:3x08: Messages From Earth Well uh, they did try that one time, although it didn't take. Might be more relevant than you'd expect.
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May 4, 2023 15:26
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Angepain posted:Funnily enough my very slow watch of B5 has also just gotten to 3x08. I just came in here for one reason: to vent about how much I hate Marcus. I actively do not care about this man. everything I know about him I resent having come into my brain. When I first watched the series as a young teen I thought he was the coolest. When I rewatched it in my late 20's I inwardly cringed that I had thought he was ever cool.
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May 4, 2023 17:58
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3x09: Point of No Return 3x10: Severed Dreams Yup. With fascism, it never takes long before the slouch towards authoritarianism turns into  ."All this has happened before, and all of it will happen again". The story of totalitarianism in human history is such an old one that familiar characters always seem to pop up when poo poo like this goes down: the person who tries to plead, unsuccessfully, with the fascists (Garibaldi), the naive optimist who thinks that fascism will be easily crushed (Franklin), and the turncoat who turns away from fascism before it eats them alive (Zak, and I hope face turn sticks). Sheridan's solution to Night Watch is  . It reminds me of a certain point at the end of DS9's 5th season (which I won't spoil in case people here haven't seen it). From the looks of the next episode's description, though, it seems like a temporary solution at best. I disagree with Ivanova at the end of the episode, though: this is not the end. It's just the beginning. It was nice to see Majel here, along with the Emerald City guardsmen she brought along. I am really curious to see how this news changes Vir. He has been such a consistently good guy that I hope he doesn't allow the prospect of being Emperor consume him. I was so intrigued by Majel's prophecy that I wrote it in a 'B5 mysteries' document I keep on my computer: 1. Seek the eye that does not see 2. Do not kill that which is already dead 3. Face your greatest fear, knowing that it will destroy you. The third, I'm guessing, is Londo sacrificing his ambition for someone or something, knowing that it'll politically ruin him. ******************** It's a Good Thing that I'm not in Sheridan's place. As much as I deride  politics in the "real" world, Sheridan carefully remaining within the confines of the constitution has served him well. I don't take well to being pushed around, particularly by fascists, and my philosophy of "gently caress you; I won't do what you tell me" would have likely led to me being sussed out for my """sedition""" and spaced half a season ago.Sheridan declaring his secession from Earth Alliance....fighting to the very last man against the other Earth ships...all of it is perfection. Aside from the gap between its ears, fascism's main weakness is that control through fear and control never lasts long. Desperate poo poo like bombing loving Mars Colony is just going to backfire and cause more people to rebel; especially now that B5 has thrown its chips in with the rebellion. I talk a lot about Sheridan being badass but can I just say how much I loved Delenn ripping the Gray Council a new hole? That and her mini speech to the Earth ships were two of her best moments thus far. Prediction: Rather than attack B5 directly, Clark will try to win a war of attrition and terrorism by trying to starve Sheridan and the other "seditionists". This series kicks so much rear end. F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 01:46 on May 5, 2023 |
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May 4, 2023 19:51
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Sorry for the double post. It occurs to me that Delenn and Sheridan have parallel arcs in "Severed Dreams". Both of them hold their respective chains of command in high regard. Both of them buck those chains of command and risk their careers to stand up to the Darkness "despite the cost". I'd almost say that Sheridan has more to lose because he's in charge of an entire complement of a space station, including civilians, but we don't necessarily know yet how much Delenn has sacrificed except for the respect of some of her people. Kind of a "duh", I know. A lot to take in from that last episode... e: gently caress! I think I accidentally saw a big spoiler on YouTube. F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 03:40 on May 5, 2023 |
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May 5, 2023 02:57
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Since people are having strong opinions about a certain very English character in B5, there is a Fly-like bottle episode that didn't make production so JMS (the series creator who wrote most of the episodes of the show) published it as a short story in Amazing Tales issue 602. It was published after the fifth season, but as a bottle episode, you can read it any time during the fifth season and treat it as an episode that didn't get made because it was somewhat superfluous. But there is a lot in it that hits at what JMS really believes B5 to be. In that way, it is similar to the Season 2 bottle episode Here Comes the Inquisitor. Like that episode, it is divisive, creepy and a little too on-the-nose but it is absolutely a critical component to the overall arc of B5.
Ciao Wren fucked around with this message at 06:14 on May 5, 2023 |
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May 5, 2023 05:59
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F_Shit_Fitzgerald posted:
[spoiler]THE FLARN IS PEOPLE [/poiler]
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May 5, 2023 05:59
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F_Shit_Fitzgerald posted:
B5 is a really *dense* show so it's easy to get spoilered. To the point where if you care about that and you want a youtube clip of a scene ask this thread for it rather than looking for it yourself. Scenes get recontextualized as it goes on which is why 1) youtube is fraught for newbies and 2) it is so delightful for people who have seen the show before to "see it again" through new eyes.
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May 5, 2023 06:11
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Ciao Wren posted:B5 is a really *dense* show so it's easy to get spoilered. To the point where if you care about that and you want a youtube clip of a scene ask this thread for it rather than looking for it yourself. Scenes get recontextualized as it goes on which is why 1) youtube is fraught for newbies and 2) it is so delightful for people who have seen the show before to "see it again" through new eyes. I've been so careful, but I wanted to see if I could find the Sheridan declaring secession scene and ended up accidentally finding a video titled "Ivanova Realizes Sheridan is Dead". Not too surprising given Sheridan's character arc, but it's a much more significant spoiler than "Sinclair makes a cameo appearance in season 2". Next time I'll just ask the thread for a link.
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May 5, 2023 15:05
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Spoilers suck if you're trying to avoid them, but B5 is much more about the journey than the destination. My first episode of B5 was the start of S4 - when you get there, consider how confusing it was.
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May 5, 2023 15:13
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The only true watch order of Babylon 5 is to watch the pilot and be turned off but catch bits and pieces of seasons 1 and 2 in between commercial breaks of TNG reruns where you slowly get sucked into the later part of season 2 then watch season 3 except you miss and episode-or-two while watching reruns of seasons 1 and 2 out of order. Then you watch 1 2 and 3 in order before seeing all of S4. Then the movies then S5 all with a hearty dose of fan fiction (but not the actual tie in novels). Anything else is doing it wrong.
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May 5, 2023 15:23
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Ciao Wren posted:The only true watch order of Babylon 5 is to watch the pilot and be turned off but catch bits and pieces of seasons 1 and 2 in between commercial breaks of TNG reruns where you slowly get sucked into the later part of season 2 then watch season 3 except you miss and episode-or-two while watching reruns of seasons 1 and 2 out of order. Then you watch 1 2 and 3 in order before seeing all of S4. Then the movies then S5 all with a hearty dose of fan fiction (but not the actual tie in novels). Holy poo poo this was my experience exactly, except that I didn't get to watch Season 5 when it came out because it moved to a cable network, and we were too poor for cable.
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May 5, 2023 15:31
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MrL_JaKiri posted:Spoilers suck if you're trying to avoid them, but B5 is much more about the journey than the destination. My first episode of B5 was the start of S4 - when you get there, consider how confusing it was. While you are correct, there's a difference between foreshadowing and shots called by JMS, and seeing OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE MAINTENANCE TECH 2 IS SPIDER-MAN! WHAT A REVEAL! The ideal experience of b5 is to get  where it is intended, like us old timers got. Then going back and watching it again and  where things were sitting right there but you didn't know the context so you missed it.
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May 5, 2023 16:06
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Chef Boyardeez Nuts posted:[spoiler]THE FLARN IS PEOPLE [/poiler] But the Spoo is ok?
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May 5, 2023 16:59
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DrBouvenstein posted:But the Spoo is ok? Spoo is always okay. But it's never really good. It's spoo innit?
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May 5, 2023 17:13
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CainFortea posted:Spoo is always okay. But it's never really good. It's spoo innit? JMS's description of spoo is hilarious and also completely spoiler free. JMS on What is Spoo? posted:Spoo is/are (the plural of spoo is spoo) small, white, pasty, mealy critters, rather worm-like, and generally regarded as the ugliest animals in the known galaxy by just about every sentient species capable of starflight, with the possible exception of the pak'ma'ra, who would simply recommend a more rigorous program of exercise. They are also generally considered the most delicious food in all of known space, regardless of the individual's biology, almost regardless of species, except for the pak'ma'ra, who like the flavor but generally won't say so simply to be contrary.
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May 5, 2023 17:25
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Sounds vaguely Douglas Adams-esque. I've never seen that before but that's good.
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May 5, 2023 17:37
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Doctor Zero posted:While you are correct, there's a difference between foreshadowing and shots called by JMS, and seeing OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE MAINTENANCE TECH 2 IS SPIDER-MAN! WHAT A REVEAL! Sometimes spoilers take on a different meaning in context. I watched through several seasons of BSG thinking I had been spoiled on Baltar being a Cylon, but that turned out to just be a short dream sequence. I was really looking forward to seeing how they would tie that together...
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May 5, 2023 20:46
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If I recall properly, JMS posted that after being asked what spoo was dozens or possibly hundreds of times. For some reason everyone just got really curious about the nonsense foodstuff word and would not stop bugging him about it.
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May 5, 2023 23:18
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It's a really funny word.
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May 5, 2023 23:21
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Gonna have to figure out how to mod spoo into Slime Rancher
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May 5, 2023 23:41
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it also predates B5 back to when JMS was writing on He-Man. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsSNhIx9-T8
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May 5, 2023 23:48
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Jedit posted:JMS's description of spoo is hilarious and also completely spoiler free. https://youtu.be/hMf15P38BCw
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May 5, 2023 23:56
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idonotlikepeas posted:If I recall properly, JMS posted that after being asked what spoo was dozens or possibly hundreds of times. For some reason everyone just got really curious about the nonsense foodstuff word and would not stop bugging him about it. Spoo was first mentioned in the original She-Ra cartoon when JMS was doing that. Whether that means B5 is set in the He-Man/She-Ra universe is left as an exercise to the reader. E:f;b. Also, if you're avoiding Youtube for fear of spoilers, I wouldn't risk those links. Narsham fucked around with this message at 00:08 on May 6, 2023 |
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May 6, 2023 00:06
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3x11: Ceremonies of Light and Dark It just occurred to me to wonder how seceding from Earth is going to affect Sheridan and company's relationship with Londo. Earth Alliance signed an ill-advised treaty with Centauri Prime, so that puts Londo and the rebels (for lack of a better term) in an awkward position. FWIW, Londo is "encouraging" Lord Refa (?) not to continue doing business with Morden. It has less to do with not associating with evil than protecting his lovely government, but I guess it is something. "Face your greatest fear, knowing that it will destroy you" was one of the chances Londo had to redeem himself. I can't help but wonder whether participation in this rebirth ceremony was that chance, since the ritual involves admitting something that no one else knows. Also: "I think I loved Talia". A low-key admission like that was pretty revolutionary for 1996. I'm genuinely impressed. I don't know who the actor was who played 'evil Felix Biederman' (the one who had picked up the Minbari language), but he was well chosen. That guy had the vacant stare of a real psychotic son of a bitch.
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May 6, 2023 01:32
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F_Shit_Fitzgerald posted:3x11: Ceremonies of Light and Dark Here's a question that I was asked at this exact point: now that you're halfway through, where do you think this is going? Let's hear your best guesses as to what's coming up in the second half of the show. (They'll be a lot of fun to look back at when you finish.)
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Powered Descent posted:Here's a question that I was asked at this exact point: now that you're halfway through, where do you think this is going? Let's hear your best guesses as to what's coming up in the second half of the show. (They'll be a lot of fun to look back at when you finish.) Fun question! Londo Mollari: I think Londo's character arc is leading to a confrontation, possibly with Vir, where he will have to decide which side he's on - Light or Shadows. As much as I like Londo I'm not sure he will take the chances for redemption predicted by Lady Majel, either because he's too hung up on nationalism or hatred of the Narn. Ironically, I think Londo will get everything he ever wanted - power, prestige, the Emperorship - but he'll have to sacrifice things that he cares about - his friends on B5, esp. Vir. Earth Civil War: I already know that Sheridan is going to die, or at least appear to be dead, at some point. I think there will be a final apocalyptic battle for Earth that will resemble the Colonial attack on the Cylon colony and/or Sisko's final battle with the Pah-Wraith. Sheridan will sacrifice himself to save Earth from itself/the Shadows. Maybe he'll take out Clark and Bester while he's at it. Earth itself will be 'reborn' without all the racism (Home Rule or whatever that organization's name), Morden, and the Psi Corps. Meanwhile, I stick with my previous prediction that rather than attacking B5 directly (it's too valuable a target), Clark or whomever is pulling his strings will fight a war of attrition and/or terrorism against it. Minbari: My ears pricked up when someone - I think it was Delenn - mentioned something in the previous episode about humans being a "part" of the Minbari. There's more here that has yet to be revealed and it's going to be a doozy. I predict it's going to be something like humans/Minbari merging like Decker and V'ger in Star Trek: The Motion Picture or humans being the distant ancestors of the Minbari; something along those lines. Miscellany: I already know that Garibaldi survives to later in the series because I've seen pictures of his bald head, and G'kar because of a video on Youtube (which I haven't seen) from season 5. I highly suspect that Talia Winters will be seen again in some capacity, and in fact I'm surprised she hadn't already popped back up before the Earth Civil War. Since the plot hasn't forgotten about Franklin's stim addiction, I suspect that will make an appearance at some key point too. F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 02:47 on May 6, 2023 |
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May 6, 2023 02:43
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