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The Last Best Hope…-“Point of No Return”

Thehighbureamancer

Last week’s episode ratcheted up the tensions among the Earth based characters, and delivered a bomb shell ending of the president declaring martial law.  This week is a great episode that shows off how big momentous things happening at the center of power take a while to affect every day people that live on the outskirts.  The ripples are coming for our characters, and at this point they are so far removed from the action that all they can do is watch on TV and try their best to react. This alone makes the political events feel very real for such a low budget scifi series.  Also this is the episode that Season 3 takes its name from. If the first season was about warnings, and the second season was about the emerging threat, this season has been all about how there is no way to stop what is coming.

As with last week, before we jump into the high stakes, life or death drama we get a quieter comedic scene.  Londo is still trying to “help” Vir re-write his report to make it more palatable to the Emperor’s inner circle.  Londo insists that the court must be protected from too much information and that they are happiest with information that makes everyone else appear less civilized then they are.  If ever there was a right wing media mission statement.  Londo’s critique is interrupted by a communique from homeworld, letting him know that Lady Morella will stop by the station for a tour.  Londo is excited to host the late emperor’s third wife, and hopes that everything will go well, only to be hit with the news about martial law.

We jump over to Sheridan and Ivanova talking with an unnamed associate of General Hague.  He gives them the grim news that before the Earth Senate could react to the martial law decree the president issued an executive order dissolving the Senate.  The Senators have either been arrested or are under siege in the Senate itself.  Even as they discuss this, their contact lets them know that the president’s elite guard have started shooting at the Senate building.  He lets them know that General Hague gave him a message to pass on of “Everything’s gone to hell John, God help us all, you’re on your own”.  With that cheerful message their contact pulls a pistol and runs off camera, and we get thrown to credits.

Watching these kinds of scenes in this day and age is more uncomfortable, but hey, at least it makes you appreciate the writing more.

Sheridan and Ivanova brief the staff on the situation and Lt. Corwin asks a question that feels very current day when he wants to know how this all happened and what did they do wrong to get there.  It stumps Sheridan and he leaves only to run into Garibaldi in the hall.  He lets them know that the government has issued an arrest warrant for General Hague, who is in the process of trying to rally the constitutionalist elements of the military.

Back at the security office our resident creepy Night Watch officer lets Zack know that there is another Night Watch meeting, and that he needs to attend, not tell anyone outside the group about it, and bring extra ammo for his gun.  Zack looks as upset by this as a normal person should.  

Elsewhere Garibaldi springs G’Kar early so that he can pull guards from prison duty and put them on patrol.  G’Kar is happy to leave early, and lets the Chief know that he may have something for him that could help. When G’Kar gets back to his quarters he runs into Ta’Lon who has been waiting for weeks outside the quarters.  He reveals the revelation he has been privy to to Ta”Lon, convincing him that the Narn must sacrifice for one another in order to save themselves, and that part of that will be working with the humans on the station.  He then leaves to let Ivanova know that he has an idea of how to help. 

Back in our Centauri plot Londo complains about how the collapse of the Earth government is going to affect his meeting.  He eventually reveals that Lady Morella is a seer, and that she can let Londo know if his destiny is something that he can escape.  Lady Morella does not follow the news and upon her arrival she questions why no one from Earth is there to greet her as well.  Later Morella questions why she is here, and she gets Londo to admit that he wants her to “see” for him.  She agrees to give him a reading before she leaves. 

This was a major guest appearance, and something of an olive branch to convince the fans of both shows to cool it. A lot of Barrett’s dialogue also resonates a little harder only a few years after Roddenberry had passed away.

Back with the command staff, they are talking with an Earthforce general who reminds them that they are all military officers and must respect the chain of command.  He informs them that the Political Office has assigned responsibility for offworld security to Night Watch.  While he discusses this with Sherdian and Garibaldi, we crosscut with our sleazy security guy informing his fellow Night Watch officers of the news as well.  

Sleazy guy gets right to work demanding that the other security officers join the Night Watch.  Some approach his little table and glumly take the armband and submit to the background checks, but at least one officer wordlessly takes off his gun and hands in while giving Zack and Sleaze a withering stare.  Garibaldi is furious about the situation and decides to go and confront everyone.  What follows is probably my favorite scene ever from the character across the entire series.  As he stomps toward the office, Zack intercepts him and tries to convince him to put on the arm band and play along, only for him to round on Zack and accuse him of not understanding what is at stake.  He bursts into the office, flips a table and begs the staff to tear off the arm bands and stand together.  Even though most of the staff cant meet his gaze it is not enough and he is relieved of duty and kicked out, leaving Zack in charge. 

More bad news comes in for Sheridan, with the official order from the President to enact martial law.  Before he can even make the announcement Londo, Vir and Morella end up witnessing the start of a riot in the Zocalo.  Heavy-handed Night Watch members try to bust up a crowd that is excitedly watching General Hague escape from an ambush at Io on ISN.  Again I love that most of the characters in this frontier station are reduced to hearing about these events from back home through newscasts.  While the riot kicks off Sheridan makes his announcement. Franklin swings by to try and comfort him, and I like how out of the command staff Franklin sounds the most like a regular guy, saying that maybe the Senate can or Hague can still fix this, that maybe their institutions can fight back.  Their discussion though triggers a realization on Sheridan’s part, and he begins putting a plan together while re-watching and analyzing the message from General Smits. 

Zack leaves the riot looking bushed only to find his quarters occupied by Ivanova, G’Kar and Garibaldi, with Sheridan appearing behind him and telling him to get in.  Zack leaves the meeting and goes back to Sleazman and lets him know that Sheridan asked him to help with a plan to import a few hundred Narn to replace the security teams.  Sleazy guy is excited telling Zack he did the right thing and rushing off to gather the troops to catch the Captain in an act of sedition.  Thankfully Zack double crosses the Night Watch and helps trap them in the docking bay.  While they are bottled up Sheridan drops his bombshell on them.  Since the Political Office issued the orders, and that office is outside the chain of command, they are illegal and constitute a mutiny.  It is a clever solution that avoids fighting, though everyone acknowledges that it will buy them days at most.  Sheridan and Garibaldi also reveal that G’Kar is willing to provide Narns to make up for the missing security officers; the only difference to the plan that Zack passed on is that the Narns are already on the station.  

I like the idea that even an old hand like Sheridan cannot sleep before taking this risky step. It really sells the pressure he is under, and it speaks to his character that only we the audience get to glimpse this.

While Lady Morella is helping to treat Vir’s wounds from the riot she gets a glimpse at Londo’s future.  She eventually sits him down and gives him some cryptic hints about how he can put himself on a path to be a good person.  She also reveals that at this point he cannot avoid becoming emperor.  While Londo is digesting that news she hits him and Vir with the prediction that Vir will also be emperor after Londo is dead. 

As we close out the episode, G’Kar corners Sheridan and demands to be let in on the alliance against the Shadows.  Londo and Vir have an awkward sitting session as they digest Lady Morella’s prophecies, and finally Ivanova and Sheridan get a quiet scene where they anxiously discuss the fact that General Hague’s coup attempt appears to be failing. 

For not really having much in the way of action, aside from the riot, this episode still hits really hard.  The intelligent way that the main crisis keeps escalating is interesting, as are the things that our characters do to keep up with it.  So far in the last episode and this one they have managed to outsmart their situations and resolve them without direct confrontation, but can they keep up that streak? We will find out in one of the best episodes of the entire series, “Severed Dreams”. 

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