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last_best_hope2010-06-25 02:45 pm
bluefall) wrote in last_best_hope2010-06-25 02:45 pm
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Discussion Post - 1x02 "Soul Hunter"
It'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.
no subject
Unfortunately, this is really really not my favorite episode. JMS was extremely, um, fervent that this was GIVING US QUESTIONS OMG and it just... didn't succeed in that. Well, OK, it may have succeeded in leading to questions about the Soul Hunter vs Minbari perspective, which is reasonable in and of itelf, but not to anything questioning the actual existence of such a soul-type-thing. (I eventually learned not to read the newsgroup for a week or so after the episode, because JMS was really fervent about just about anything regarding the show, and really doctrinaire. And he /really liked this episode/. A lot.)
It doesn't help that I also hated the way W. Morgan Sheppard played the main Soul Hunter guy. Made my teeth itch. (Wow, his actor has quite the resume.)
I did appreciate the Delenn hints, and they even make sense in later context. Yes, even the "you would do such a thing?!"
Ivanova was fun. Not enough Garibaldi, though I did like his interactions with Sinclair.
(I find I like Sinclair more in opposition to Sheridan, so at the moment I'm still going, "Wooooden," but he gets less irritating later.)
Favorite quote:
"Doesn't matter. If we lived two hundred years, we'd still be human. We'd still make the same mistakes."
"You're a pessimist."
"I'm Russian, Doctor. We understand these things."
(Stolen from some guy named Albert's incredibly useful quotes page.)