Babylon 5: S04E03: The Summoning

Update 2019: This review was written in 1999 at a time when we were more concerned with writing the correct html than the length of content for our reviews. It’s a little cringeworthy I’m afraid, but in those days before broadband, this would have been considered a little lengthy  🙂

G’Kar is taken to Centauri Prime for torture by the mad Emperor Cartagia and is presented to Londo as a present. This upsets Vir but Londo is biding his time and urges patience. G’Kar is winding Cartagia up by not submitting to his torture and screaming in pain. Cartagia is intent on hearing G’Kar scream in agony and decree’s that if this does not happen after the fortieth stroke of the electronic whip, G’Kar will be executed. You can take pride too far sometimes.

I’d have screamed just looking at the whip. Londo persuades G’Kar to scream and live (an unbelievably difficult process) and indicated that G’Kar can get his own back by helping Londo to kill Cartagia and free the Narn homeworld.

This is really quite an interesting dilema. What would you do if you were G’Kar? Would you trust the Centauri and possibly live to be tortured again in the belief that the Narns could eventually be liberated? Or would you simply conclude that all Centauri are tosspots and not give any of them the opportunity of exploitation under any circumstances. G’Kar reluctantly chooses the former.

While Ivanova is looking for some more First ones she comes across a huge Vorlon warship. She doesn’t know what it is doing there or where it is going.

Delenn is trying to persuade the other races at the War Council that they, and the Rangers, should attack Z’ha’dum. They are definitely having none-of-it. 

They are all assembled in the Zocolo, a popular Babylon 5 pub, arguing when, who should make the entrance of entrances, but our very own Captain Sheridan. He urges the support of Delenns initiative but also adds that he knows the objectives of the Vorlons AND the Shadows and that the balance between them is now broken. The assembled cheer in support of Delenns plan.

To complicate things further however, it seems that the Vorlons are wiping out worlds that have, or that are harbouring, Shadow equipment or support.  The Army of Light must stop the Shadows and the Vorlons.

Some chance! Huh? If you were there, what would you say?

“Yeah I’ll have some-o’that! Let’s go and smash the two mightiest powers in the Galaxy with our meagre little spaceships, can I come? Can I?”

A terrific show – I rated it 33,313 out of 10.
What did you think?

The “The Summoning” episode review is © 1999 – 2001 Tony Fawl
and not for reproduction without the authors express permission

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