Eyes

Funky dreams ahoy! Although are your dreams funkier if you are a Russian telepath, I think so! That’s a nasty scar on the Colonel’s face, but not nasty enough to detract from his huge jaw. Why is Ivanova so mad all the time? Oh, that’s right, she’s a woman and Russian. All women feel free to send your hate mail to me, I welcome it.

Written By: Lawrence G. Ditillio
Directed By: Jim Johnston

Bare Essentials:

A Plot - Colonel Ari Ben Zayne and his telepath partner Harriman Gray are on station to investigate the command staff of B5. Turns out the Colonel isn’t there to investigate but rather to take command of B5, a position he views as rightfully his. Sinclair, Garibaldi, and Ivanova all maintain their status with the help of Harriman and the Colonel is stopped in his bid for power.

B Plot - Ivanova is scared to death of being scanned by Harriman Gray and is ready to resign as a result. He fear of beings scanned causes her to take a lax attitude towards her job that she usually wouldn’t. Fortunately for her the problem with the Colonel is resolved before she ever has to undergo a scan.

C Plot - Garibaldi is trying to build a motorcycle, but he is stumped by it. Lennier helps Garibaldi finish building the motorcycle and they ride it all over B5.

More Arc, Less Arch:

Sinclair’s comment about people messing with his head is a reference to the Knights from And The Sky Full Of Stars. It’s also most likely a reference to the fact that he believes the Minbari messed with his head, as was revealed partially in And The Sky Full Of Stars and will be fully revealed in In The Beginning.

The fact that Psi Corps and some part of EarthForce want Sinclair removed continues the running trend of those people not being happy with who is in power at B5. This was first brought to light in And The Sky Full Of Stars and will come to pass again in season three full bore with Point Of No Return, Messages From Earth, and Severed Dreams.

Ivanova’s dream where she ends up as her mother under the control of sleepers is the first sign we are given that she is in fact a telepath herself. These abilities won’t be officially revealed until Divided Loyalties.

Ivanova’s mind also goes right to Talia Winters when Harriman mentions Psi Corps. Another sign of their burgeoning relationship that will reach its conclusion in Divided Loyalties.

It’s not really an in-universe arc part, but rather a nod to the arc from out of universe. The character of Jack, Garibaldi’s aide, will eventually be revealed to be a plant within B5 that has loyalties to Psi Corps. In this episode he is playing a Psi Cop in Ivanova’s dream, an out of universe tip of the hat to what we will learn about him in Revelations.

Who Are You? What Do Yo… Hey, I’m Asking The Questions Here!:

What would the Minbari do if Sinclair was removed from his command on B5? Would they sit back and do nothing or would they act to try and get Sinclair on Minbar sooner?

Idiosyncratic Musings:

The interactions between Ivanova and Harriman on the Observation Dome provide a good insight into Ivanova’s character. As do her later interactions with Garibaldi and Sinclair. When you bring the Colonel into the equation you get a nice contrast to play against Ivanova. Both Ivanova and the Colonel are ruled by their hatred and fears.

Ivanova hates Psi Corps and she lacks the basic ability to separate the individual telepath from the group they are a member of. Harriman Gray is truly a sympathetic character, but Ivanova is completely blind to that because she refuses to see him beyond his Psi Corps badge. This hatred and failure to differentiate can and will work against Ivanova. Ivanova fears becoming what her mother was and she fears the consequences of Psi Corps ever finding out the truth about her. However what separates her from the Colonel is that she can be talked out of rash actions based on her hatred and fears. She allows both Sinclair and Garibaldi guide her down a different path than the one she was going to take. This is a key character development that shows she has room for growth in the future and will not be brought down by her blinding hatred or overriding fears.

The Colonel on the other hand is guided only by his hatred and fears. He hates all those that he feels don’t respect the fact that he is better than they are. At the same time he fears people in power finding out about his hatreds and using that against him. What makes the Colonels hatreds and fears truly damning is that he lets them guide him completely. There is no talking the Colonel out of an action borne of his hatred and fears. That is what ultimately leads to his downfall and the reason why he is a person incapable of growth and in stark contrast to a character like Ivanova.

The ultimate irony of Eyes is that Sinclair, Garibaldi, and Ivanova are all relatively clean soldiers. They shouldn’t be under investigation at all, but when put under investigation Garibaldi and Ivanova do start to break the regs and do things that would warrant an investigation. Ivanova drinks while still on duty and destroys private property. Garibaldi finds out about this and ignores her actions, and arrests the men that she assaulted. After being clean soldiers for so long and only really bending the rules in situations that called for extreme measures they openly break the rules and commit egregious transgressions the moment they are put under the microscope. All that really saves them is the fact that Sinclair is so smart and the Colonel is over the top in his zealousness.

I See What You Did There:

Eyes is full of references to past episodes,

–Lennier references Shaal Mayan returning to the station. She is the Minbari poet that was attacked and branded by the Home Guard in The War Prayer.

–A video shot is shown and a reference is made about the Vorlons killing Jha’Dur as seen in Deathwalker.

–Ragesh 3 from Midnight On The Firing Line gets mentioned.

–The dock workers strike from By Any Means Necessary is referenced.

–Jason Ironheart is brought up from Mind War.

–Finally the incident with the Cobra Bays from Survivors is mentioned.

Ivanova was born August 10, 2230 in St. Petersburg, Russian Consortium.

Per B5’s trade agreement all aliens have the right to sell arms on station as long as the physical transfer of goods takes place off station.

LeGrange 2 is a settlement of some sort, it’s not made clear whether it’s a planet or outpost, near Mars Colony.

Garibaldi’s security password is peek-a-boo.

Mr. Bester doesn’t make an appearance, but he is referenced a few different times.

Colonel Ari Ben Zayn was in the top 10 for taking command of B5 before he was passed over for Sinclair.

New Jerusalem and Cryus 3 are possible planets that are mentioned.

Harriman Gray is not a Psi Cop, but based on his role in the military he is most likely at least a P10. His attack on the Colonel is the first instance that we are shown that telepaths can cause pain to a mind without having to lift a finger.

It’s Your Cultural Imperative:

Free Mars is a Martian independence group.

The last gas powered motorcycle was built in 2035.

Telepaths are not allowed to serve in regular fashion in EarthForce.

I Think This Might Be Based On Something:

Lennier’s chant “Za ga ba bee” is the title of an album from one of Bill Mumy’s bands, Barnes And Barnes.

You Look Mighty Familiar:

Marie Chambers, Sofie Ivanov, played I believe, Angel’s mother for a trio of episodes of Angel.

Jeffrey Combs’, Harriman Gray, most recognizable genre role would be the recurring character of Kevin Burkhoff on The 4400. He also played Edgar Allen Poe in The Black Cat for Masters Of Horror. He voiced The Question in a few episodes of Justice League. He played Commander Shran for a bunch of Enterprise episodes. He was Lt. Dan Margolies in the not so good thematic version of Faust: Love Of The Damned. He appeared numerous times in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Weyoun as well as the character of Brunt. Combs is a man that has made a living in the sci-fi/fantasy/horror/comic book genre and he has too many roles for me to list.

Gregory Martin was the character of Gareth in the Dragonslide episode of Sliders. He also played Marcus Rawlings in the SeaQuest: DSV episode Dead End.

Casting Ahead:

David L. Crowley is back on station as Officer Lou Welch.

Macaulay Bruton is back on station, although not as Jack. This time he plays Tragedy in Ivanova’s dream.

That Wasn’t Supposed To Happen:

Ivanova’s age discrepancy becomes an issue again. It affects the timeline of the Earth-Minbari War and when her mother both went on the sleepers and died. According to Eyes her mother was in her mind numerous times before she died, and if her mother did die a year before her brother did and her brother died around 2246 that would mean her mother was only in her mind from when she was born until she turned five. However later developments will clash severely with this estimate as Ivanova will somehow jump ahead a few years in age in the timeline. As well her age when her mother started taking the sleepers will change as will her age when her mother died. All in all Ivanova’s age is a dicey subject and it is a strike against any show where it and her relative experiences with her mother are brought up.

The Ombuds Have Decided:

Good, solid ep from start to finish. It’s not a great episode, but it’s not a bad episode by any means. Eyes hits all the right buttons and conveys the story in a direct and concise manner. However while it doesn’t do anything bad it also doesn’t wow or do anything spectacular. It plows along and gets the message and theme of the episode across in a good manner but it never does anything that jumps out at you and screams, “hey, this is a great episode, pay attention.” That is because Eyes is an episode that doesn’t take any chances and isn’t all that daring.

The Garibaldi and Lennier motorcycle storyline is completely frivolous, but it does something that Babylon 5 does better than almost any other show. It connects two characters in the universe that appear to be worlds apart. It does this in small ways that make all their later interactions all the more fruitful.

Sinclair’s flaunting of his knowledge of the regs is a nice way of showing off his cunning and wits, and it works really well. You can tell he is being condescending, but at the same time the way the scene is presented you completely agree with him and are impressed by the way he has handled the situation.

Garibaldi and Lennier riding the bike through the station is a little too cheesy for my liking. It’s not a horrendous scene or anything, but it doesn’t strike me as very realistic looking at all. Other than that there is the ongoing issue of Ivanova’s age and no other big mistakes or happenings. But, as I said earlier Eyes is an episode that doesn’t wow in either direction, bad or good.

Rating:

82/100

B

That’s all that I have for you this week. Next on tap we will take a look at Legacies, a topic I know nothing about.

Cheers,
Bill

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