I don't know that it's a situation where the Shadows are ever supposed to be sympathetic so much as just more than what they appear. Everything about them is too cloaked in traditional dark imagery for them to shake it off, even a little. It seems more that JMS is trying to play with expectations concerning just how a…

Maybe, but the conclusion is more Mass Effect, with Sheridan having enough Paragon points to choose the upper left option.

Look, just tell them it's over when we decide it's over, and to get the hell out of our internet.

"What's the deal with the Warrior Caste?"

So, what was the Shadow plan for Sheridan, assuming he said yes? Or even no? We're clearly meant to think they would destroy the station, but wouldn't it be more productive to have him there, under their control and subverting the thing he built?

I think it works enough to do what it needs to in the show. I love the way it twists around the usual conception of ancient evil vs. ancient good.

Rewatching this episode, it seems pretty clear that Justin is a failed attempt at subverting an image JMS thought he had set up of an obviously evil, possibly Dark Lord-esque figure. We're supposed to be surprised when we see that the Shadow point man is a frail old man and we are, but for entirely different reasons…

Another one of those bits of culmination: Delenn did a lot of stuff to prepare for the Shadow War, not all of it above board, and now it's coming back to haunt her (and I want to give props to Mira Furlan this episode. She sells everything she needs to).

Y'know, maybe the fact that Shadows don't consider it likely that anyone would actually attack their homeworld to be a clue of sorts to the larger picture…

I'm really going to be disappointed if we don't get the chance to hash out the stuff with Lorien and the conclusion to the Shadow War. It alternates between befuddlement and brilliance and I'm ready to defend it to the death.

Oh god, Sleeping in Light. That is an hour of television that needs a communal response.

Here's the thing about the Shadow philosophy as explained: right now it seems contingent on opposition by the Vorlons. The entire idea of growth through conflict only really works if there is some kind of stable starting point. There has to be an anthill to knock over in the first place. I've always wondered just how…

It was the end of summer in the Earth year 2013 and the reviews had paused. Suddenly, unexpectedly…

So, I'm guessing Mr. Morden really doesn't like it when people tell him to wish upon a falling star?

Considering the way such a big deal is made of him being a "middleman", maybe he's a failed attempt at showing a Wolfram and Hart-esque figure of banal evil?

Hey, maybe you could toss in a word about the status of potholes in large city areas. I know there's a war on and funds are tight, but someone could fall into one of those.

Douay-Rheims-Challoner: Ah, I never saw that much of Wonderfalls, so the comparison is a bit lost on me. Anyway, I get what you're saying about lack of audience history, but for me it works better because it expands the scope of the conflict on a personal level. The stuff coming into play isn't just from immediate…

I' m still not really sure what to properly call Foundationism, but everything we hear about it makes it sound like something incredibly devoid of anything resembling actual spirituality and closer to something that people came up with to superficially reject old-school religion to show how 'advanced' they now are.…

Apparently I'm in the minority on this one, but I kinda like that Anna Sheridan is someone from the past. Yeah, there's a lot to be said about featuring someone with whom we would have an emotional connection, but I prefer the form we get where it's something the character has dealt with even before coming to the…

BSG might not have had the variety of B5, but the storming of New Caprica is one of the most intense space battles I've seen committed to television. And it even has some actual tactical considerations going on, to boot.