Babylon 5 - Shadows Emerge! What Do You Want?

[@sandybeach123]

Once Babylon 5 reaches Season One's episode "Signs & Portents" and the character Mr. Morden makes his debut within the series, I realize it's time for me to fasten my seatbelt. During my first viewing of this series I remember it was from this episode onward that I became deeply-engrossed with the series. I enjoyed how the writers developed Morden's character. He was so quietly cunning and slippery. He was a magnificent antagonist.

[@JK-Visions]

Yes that's how I remember it too. Though I was in when the attack on the narn base occured in Chrysalis. And the mystery of Delenn in a cocoon was also breathtaking.

[@Quasimodo-mq8tw]

This Series was ahead of its time in terms of long term storytelling. I mean.... in this episode i thougt "finialy i think i get what is going on...".and than that giant spider made mincemeat out of the raiders. I made me realise i hadn´t even scratched the surface of the iceberg

[@Leondrius]

​@@Quasimodo-mq8twTotally. Once I saw that Shadow vessel, not knowing what the Hell it was, believing it was some kind of giant space squid or something, I knew I had just seen the beginning of something profound. I was determined to find out what it was from then on. The Shadows were the greatest scifi mystery of all times in my opinion.

[@TheShadowForgeStudio]

Everyone who answered Mr. Mordin got what they answered. Vir was the only one who didn’t regret it.

[@mrblueskyvandam]

Great focus on the essence of the Shadows introduction!

[@michelecastellotti9172]

Mordens actor was the perfect choice for the voice of the devil, its just... ooof, so good Also, THIS is how you make a powerful and scary villain, THIS is how you raise stakes in a show, THIS is how you make the perfect villains.

[@thegreenmanofnorwich]

I liked Morden. Subtle, sinister but with enough charm to be deniable. He had some level of goofiness when he was grinning in the lift, but there's real menace there too

[@SirMarshalHaig]

His confrontation with Kosh, when the lights go out...perfect. And later we hear Kosh´s suit was damaged...somehow.

[@FTKLOwner]

Agreed. That bit of goofiness is part of what made him charming and personable. Perfect for getting into people's heads before they even know he's done it. Definitely real menace in that.

[@FTKLOwner]

Morden is so effortlessly evil. The type of villain that just made you shudder a bit every time he appeared. And Ed Wasser portrayed him to perfection. "The question is its own purpose." Very foreboding line, yet he just kinda slips it in so innocuously.

[@douglasivison4439]

I've always thought that it was LONDO that gave Morden the "answer he was looking for." I now think that actually, he needed BOTH Londo and G'Kar's answers: to give the Shadows the conflict, that they believe in.

[@JK-Visions]

Yes I guess the shadows needed some convincing too;)

[@blusafe1]

They needed to know who would follow through. G'kar wanted to destroy the Centauri, Londo wanted to conquer the known universe. Very different wants.

[@douglasivison4439]

@@blusafe1 -- yes, they needed a conflict ... And found two opposite sides both committed to it.

[@recoil53]

They only needed one side, since the Centauri and Narn were already in conflict. G'Kar was already seeking allies to fight the Centauri. The Centauri were in a kind of malaise, but once they started fighting they were winning pretty easily - if they were attacked on a large scale they probably would have snapped out of it and had the same results. But because Londo had a more grandiose dream, he could be manipulated in the long term. G'Kar had a singular focus with defined terms.

[@Cenindo]

I think it is plain that it was indeed Londo who gave the "best" answer, from the Shadows' perspective. G'Kar was certainly driven, but once his lust for revenge would be satisfied, the whole thing just ... petered out. The Shadows might have gone with G'Kar if nobody else gave a better answer, but Londo did indeed: boundless ambition and desire for "glory." Make the Centauri great again! The Shadows had found their man!

[@Eddie42023]

I never saw this episode. '...and then what?' Best question Morden ever asked, like asking a dog what it will do with the car if he catches it.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

Kosh looks like he’d talking to Morden but on review he’s talking around him, he’s talking to the Shadows by his side…good bit of foreshadowing major issues ahead even if it’s subtle the first time

[@JK-Visions]

Yes he is talking to his masters. Even knowing what will happens still get me shivers all the time lol.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

@@JK-Visions i haven’t seen much of the Shadow War because i wasn’t into the show then and it lost me early on the first season but that’s a hell of a scene and leaves a lot of questions unanswered for a while yet makes the actions make sense i hate his ego and power trips, but JMS did a good job of setting the groundwork

[@recoil53]

@@bostonrailfan2427 Given how good Star Trek - Strange New Worlds looks on a streaming budget, I'd love to see how a Babylon 5 reboot would be now that special effects are so good. But even in the 90's he had such a bad reputation for being hard to work with, so nobody really wants to work with him.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

@@recoil53 he is the sole reason the franchise floundered untouched until very recently, he just can’t keep his ego in check! he blames everyone else for his micromanaging and megaplans clashing with how a show is supposed to be run

[@darthvex1971]

The absolute coolest scifi ships EVER

[@JK-Visions]

Not the coolest i like the original Battle Star Galactica and Cylons better but definitely the most scariest ones(shadows, ancients).

[@dayanson6920]

I like that this is almost like when the Vorlan and the Techno Mages ask questions to the younger races. They are that little devil on your shoulder nagging at you until you show your true desires .

[@colinrobert-kv2up]

B5 charm, mindwaves, give notice in calm, john.

[@IIISentorIII]

Vorlon walks into a bar and spots a Shadow in the corner. Who are you? Shadow: What do you want? Narn walks into the bar. Where did you come from? Minbari looks at them. Why are you here? Human bartender. Where are you going?

[@JK-Visions]

Great lines!

[@темныйангел-н3я]

Shadow : what do you want? Whiskey? Vodka? Cognak? 😁

[@catsi563]

@@темныйангел-н3я Vorlon: drinks are a three edged sword

[@ReaverLordTonus]

Morden asking "Then what?" May have averted Jakar from being the one the Shadows ally with. Because when asked, Jakar stopped and realized there was no point to all that stuff he thought he wanted. Whereas Molari wouldn't have that revelation till much later.

[@georgelionon9050]

Molari wants to Make Centauri Great Again..

[@Gothic7876]

It shows why nationalism is a toxic concept.

[@chrisdufresne9359]

I only just noticed that the Aunts prediction wasn't wrong @1:31

[@Darkwintre]

Its been quite a few years since I watched this! Any chance of a blu ray release this time round?

[@JK-Visions]

I don't think so. It's available online these days. But remastered so that is a good thing. When I can get it in Europe i will subscribe for a while.

[@georgelionon9050]

IMO it was not recorded in the first place in high enough quality for blueray to be sensible. I still wonder if I'd like a reboot of the whole series.. depends highly how well it is done, could be anything from awesome to a disgrace.

[@DennisConnor-wc2lm]

Definitely loved the show when it was on the air and if you can do full episodes that would be badass

[@JK-Visions]

Full episodes is not allowed sorry. But I do my best to make recaps.

[@DennisConnor-wc2lm]

@@JK-Visions fair enough that kinda sucks though lol

[@richtea615]

G'Kar could see nothing beyond his petty desire for revenge; but Londo had a vision of greatness and rebirth, which perfectly fit the Shadow philosophy of 'survival of the fittest'.

[@JK-Visions]

And later on things turned around;)

[@TheGreatGooglyMoogly430]

I've wondered why they never explained what that triangle was on Delenn's forehead. Also, August 3rd, 2258 is a Tuesday

[@zephyr8072]

_Never ask that question._

[@JK-Visions]

2 nd best episode of season 1. What do you think? Is it the best of this season or do you have another favorite?

[@babylon5reimaginedseries]

I want 1,000 subs....then I want more subs than PewDiePie!!!

[@JK-Visions]

@@babylon5reimaginedseries i subbed;)

[@babylon5reimaginedseries]

@@JK-Visions Thanks bro! 😁

[@dennispersson9466]

Mr. Morden had BETTER NOT ASK ! After working for the betterment of this Country, and being subjected to the whims of POLITICAL MICRO-BRAINS, for so many years, they would be Running and Screaming in Fear, of the Shadows coming to PAY THEM A VISIT. And then, visiting their counterparts Around the World !

[@davidgriffin8334]

For me the overall best episode or in this case episodes of all is War without end. Does your head in working that out with lots of what if's. "He is the closed circle, returning to the beginning".

[@sandal_thong8631]

Lady Morella's prophecy said "You must save the Eye that does not see." Londo failed to save The Eye, so the Shadows took it and gave it to him, so he would be in their debt. The next one was "You must not kill the one who is already dead." To many of us that meant Mr. Morden since he was already dead to Earth Gov. Unfortunately, nothing showed up at that time to warn them. It's not like Lady Morella called Vir and said to stop Londo from killing his prisoner, the one who is already dead. Vir said "they never listen." So if he had run in to try to stop Londo, then Londo might have ignored him, anyway. Perhaps if he lived, he could have been converted to serve the Centauri and be the go-between for the Drakh, telling them to back off, and move on from Centauri Prime.

[@selderane]

The Narns weren't useful because they just wanted revenge. The Centari were useful because they had ambition.

[@colinrobert-kv2up]

Word smirs, blired time slips,voids sleep too be, want, old ones unknown careful of what it is? First. Art of words. .

[@SlideRulePirate]

No Vir scene? Vir's the Man.

[@JK-Visions]

No sry. He will be in other videos;)

[@shadow-js2hn]

Londo!👍

[@juanvilches530]

Hola, un tal "The Relay Sci-fi" está usando tus vídeos...

[@trenwilson6613]

Too bad you missed my favorite answer from Vir Cotto ; )

[@JK-Visions]

I did? He says so much lol. There has to be something left to watch the episodes;)

[@epiendless1128]

I think the idea to to take all the clips from one episode. Vir's answer was much later.

[@темныйангел-н3я]

Vir? Not in this episode.

[@greggweber9967]

What is it that you want all back? If it's really good then that's a fine want. But it wasn't. What do we want that's good?

[@JK-Visions]

It's just that some people think that all things were better in the old days. But that's a Napoleon attitude. A bit like what we have in the real world from time to time ..

[@F40PH-2CAT]

Why on Earth did he ever bother with the Minbari?

[@JK-Visions]

They probably wanted to know if they still wanted to kill the humans. The shadows thrive on conflict and try to induce it to speed up the development of the strongest races.

[@wolf99000]

Such a great episode that sets up everything to come especially how Londo stumbles into his darkness not wanting it but un able to escape from it

[@recoil53]

Well Londo was always "my country right or wrong" but often left of the part about setting things right if wrong. So death prophecy aside, Londo was always the main cast character most likely to come to a bad end.

[@Neyonius]

I'm beginning to think the The Lost Starship novels are mostly just a super fans rehashing of the content of B5.

[@JK-Visions]

Never read them. Who write them?

[@Neyonius]

@@JK-Visions Vaughn Heppner; 17 books of decent fiction.

[@DSas2300]

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