Discussion Post - 1x02 "Soul Hunter"
Jun. 25th, 2010 02:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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last_best_hopeIt's Friday night afternoon, it must be time for a discussion post! This week's offering:
1x02: Soul Hunter
A badly damaged ship is brought into the station, and the strange alien inside is identified as a Soul Hunter - an immortal race who can sense death and supposedly steal someone's soul.
Vital Stats
Production number: 102
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Jim Johnston
Original air date: February 2, 1994
Arc Notes / Story Points of Interest
- The big unsubtle info this time around is, of course, Delenn's political status, and the major question it provokes: what is a member of the Grey Council doing playing ambassador on Babylon 5?
- The more subtle hints are mostly derivations of that larger plot point; the Soul Hunter's incredulous "you would do such a thing?" (referring, one assumes, to Delenn's Chrysalis plot), the death of Dukat, and Delenn's comment toSheridan Sinclair that "they" were right about him.
Trivia
- It was JMS' intention that the question of who's right - the Soul Hunters, Franklin, or the Minbari - be left ambiguous. I think he forgot what genre he's in.
- This ep was produced only a couple years after Issac Asimov's death; JMS named the Asimov (on which Franklin arrives) in tribute both to Asimov himself and to Harlan Ellison, a creative consultant on B5 and one of Asimov's close friends.
This one's fairly thinky, guys. So what did you think? Did JMS pull off the ambiguity he was shooting for? Did he make you stop and ponder? Who impressed you, what bored you, and do the Soul Hunters count as rubber forehead aliens or not?
A reminder: not everyone playing along has seen the series before, so please be considerate about major spoilers. Vagueness, warnings and/or spoiler tags are appreciated.
1x02: Soul Hunter
A badly damaged ship is brought into the station, and the strange alien inside is identified as a Soul Hunter - an immortal race who can sense death and supposedly steal someone's soul.
Vital Stats
Production number: 102
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Jim Johnston
Original air date: February 2, 1994
Arc Notes / Story Points of Interest
- The big unsubtle info this time around is, of course, Delenn's political status, and the major question it provokes: what is a member of the Grey Council doing playing ambassador on Babylon 5?
- The more subtle hints are mostly derivations of that larger plot point; the Soul Hunter's incredulous "you would do such a thing?" (referring, one assumes, to Delenn's Chrysalis plot), the death of Dukat, and Delenn's comment to
Trivia
- It was JMS' intention that the question of who's right - the Soul Hunters, Franklin, or the Minbari - be left ambiguous. I think he forgot what genre he's in.
- This ep was produced only a couple years after Issac Asimov's death; JMS named the Asimov (on which Franklin arrives) in tribute both to Asimov himself and to Harlan Ellison, a creative consultant on B5 and one of Asimov's close friends.
This one's fairly thinky, guys. So what did you think? Did JMS pull off the ambiguity he was shooting for? Did he make you stop and ponder? Who impressed you, what bored you, and do the Soul Hunters count as rubber forehead aliens or not?
A reminder: not everyone playing along has seen the series before, so please be considerate about major spoilers. Vagueness, warnings and/or spoiler tags are appreciated.
