YGCTO Episode 7 - In the Shadow of Za'Ha'Dum
Listen to Episode 7
Babylon 5 Season 2 Episode 16: In the Shadow of Za’Ha’Dum
This is the episode where Sheridan goes full wife guy on Morden. Luckily, we get Vir thumbing his nose at Morden’s shadow question up top. He’s so much more on top of this than the rest of the main cast, someone should put him in charge…
Even before that, we see the Narn refugees taken in by B5. These are the first beings put up against the wall via the Shadow war. Shows that you can’t exterminate ideas through genocide, only create martyrs and believers in the other cause.
Today was the largest “No Kings” protest to date in the US. While I have little hope for this changing the minds of people hopped up on right-wing propaganda, it gives me hope to see communities forming around this. Can Republican politicians and pundits keep painting anyone not on board with Christain Nationalism as terrorists when so many people see through these lies? Babylon 5 shows a way forward as Sheridan and the crew take the approach of reaching out and showing those on the other side a better way rather than shunning them - or outright murdering them.
For the first time since MAGA rose up, I have a friend who is a MAGA supporter. It’s good to know tactics to continue a conversation with them about how Fox and other media outlets are using his religious beliefs against him. For example, we were sitting down to a rehearsal looking up performance songs on his YouTube page. I saw all the Fox news clips and he took a random side swipe at how democrats support people of color killing innocent white women and children.
Where before, I would have instantly cut him out of my life, I instead told him to look closer at the issue. He’s a deeply Christian person and I reminded him that no one intentionally does harm to others… and that the mainstream media is incentivized to keep us angry. When talking to someone on the other side it helps to not blame Fox itself or right wing media, but to label it all part of “mainstream media”. It was a very quick exchange and we got right back to practice, and remained friends.
To stay strong these days is to not cower away from those who differ - but to hold on to my beliefs in a way that doesn’t ostracize them. And that is extremely difficult to do. But that’s what great art should do: inspire the way forward.
His Wife!
As I started… this is the episode where Sheridan goes full wife guy on Morden. Sheridan’s actions this episode feel so out of place. It is the episode that tipped the Shatner/Picard index completely to Shatner. It’s good that the show knows he’s in the wrong and tells us that by having literally every other main character warn him against his actions.
In the end, Sheridan sees the bigger picture. His biggest flaw is clearly his self-importance and righteousness. Through the rest of the series, we’ll see him grapple with this aspect in many ways. Mostly through having to resist the messiah complex pushed on him.
Mike’s Image Picks
Vir demonstrates the only proper way to respond to facism
Up yours, Morden
Morden, from much more fashionable days in that… hoodie?
The first thing the Shadows take is the smile
Sheridan is one step away from rearranging Morden’s kidney and spleen here
The face of Morden's doom
Setting up a telepath like this deserves a sucka slap to the face
Is this where Haircut's telepath fetish awakened?
JMS says that the shadows accompanying Morden are quick like arachnids - which is why no one ever bumps into the invisible behemoths by accident. I remain skeptical.
Shadow People
What Did We Learn?
Sheridan is a wife guy
Next Episode
We cover Babylon 5 Season 2 Finale “The Fall of Night” on the next full episode. Coming to you Sunday, November 2nd.