Strange Relations | For the Second Time

] The year is: 2026

[0:52] Welcome to Babylon 5 for the second time. My name is Brent Allen. And my name is Jeff Akin. Brent and I used to be Star Trek podcasters, but then we watched Babylon 5 for the first time and everything changed. So now we're watching this incredible series for the second time because Babylon 5 is a show that you get to watch for the first time twice. Choice. That's right. And for the first time, but actually we've already done it once before, Jeff and I are going to be looking for what Babylon five is trying to teach us. Is it something JMS intentionally put into the episode or is it something that we're just drawing out? It could be either one fair game, but kind of a litmus test we use for this is we look for things that hold up a mirror to society. We look for ways that things are going to be better in the future, kind of give us hope or maybe they just tell us how to be better human beings to one another, now that being said jeff and i have been through this incredible series once before all through we went spoiler free because from this point forward everything is fair game for jeff and i to talk about if you have never seen this incredible show for the first time for yourself stop, go somewhere else don't listen to this episode go listen to our other episode on strange relations and then when you get done come back and join us for the second watch uh just understand from this point forward You have been warned. My warning is sincere. Ignore it at your own peril. This week, Brent, we're watching Strange Relations for the second time.

[2:19] When we watched this the first time around, we played a game where we would predict what each episode was going to be about based on the title alone. What did you predict Strange Relations was going to be about?

[2:29] Well, call me crazy, but I thought it was going to have to do with relations, right? I thought it was going to be all about relationships. You've got Sheridan and Lynn. If you remember at the end of last episode, she's all miffy because she found something out that we don't know about yet. Turns out Sheridan and Lockley used to be married. So Sheridan and Lockley have some sort of past relationship that we now need to explore. By the way, my note when I said this in the first time around was I hate this idea and I still hate this idea. Also there's lease and garibaldi that's a whole relationship that we haven't, done anything with and we haven't seen i don't remember if lease comes back in this episode or not but she probably should but then i went for it, i swung big and i said also featured in this episode you know we haven't seen in a long time mrs malari tamav would return to the show lano malari and thus, this would be one giant comedic episode boy was i wrong just a bit.

[3:28] Completely is all you know what my episode would have been better i and you all agree so don't at me i'm not gonna disagree i don't think i don't know that, would have been a good one what about you jeff what did you think i thought this was going to be sheridan and lockley right we just learned they've got some secret some past and this was going to be diving into that would give sheridan and delen their first bit of marital strife we'd have to see him kind of work through that and then i thought we'd shift over to linear and what is linear actually up to. We heard that people are worried about him. He's pushing a little bit too hard.

[4:05] Yeah, pretty boring prediction on that one, but I was playing it a lot safer than you this time around. You know, sometimes you step up and you swing big and you knock it out of the park and other times you swing big and you give people a cold from the lift. Exactly. Well, Jeff, let's revisit our first wash and see, uh, not what our prediction was, but what we actually thought of the episode. Yeah, let's, uh, let's do that.

[4:30] Previously on Babylon 5 for the first time, Strange Relations. Not even Bester could save this episode. Byron has tanked this whole show. He is so dull. This guy is about as bland as tepid water. And like tepid water, I just want to spit the whole thing out of my mouth. With Byron being the guy for the telepaths, I get why there's going to be a war. Yeah. I'd go after this guy, too. The last time I slept was four, five lifetimes ago. And then he's like, no, seriously, like, I'm totally Jesus. Hi, here's the sign. I'm telepath Jesus. Byron's going to have these folks drinking Kool-Aid here in the next couple episodes, right? Bester kind of had it in for Byron there at the end. Do you think they have a relationship? I'll put it this way. I would be highly disappointed if they went that route. Because it would be very unearned, and it would be so cliche. Byron is leading a group of rogue telepaths that Bester thinks are his property.

[5:36] I like that. It's almost a personal affront to him that he's leading these people. Do you think maybe they grew up in the core together or anything? I don't think like he was in the core and then he got out or anything like that. I don't think that's it at all. So I'm watching this where they're like, I was married. And I'm just like, are you kidding me? I'm out. If this was the planned relationship between Lockley and Sheridan, mission unsuccessful. Failure of execution right there. A lot of Lockley's lines, I felt like they tried to infuse a little more personality and character. But those sounded like lines that were written for Ivanova.

[6:20] Now you finally convinced me. I just decided if you can't join them, beat them. And I think Ivanova would have said that a lot better. So on Londo and Jakar. Jakar is effectively the Secretary of State of the Alliance. The last surviving member of the Kha'ri. Jakar is not going to go be somebody's personal bodyguard. And also, have you seen the way the Narn fight? Yeah, I don't want a Narn. I don't want a Narn being my bodyguard. Give me somebody out of the Muda Do. Yeah. Right? This is where Walker Smith comes back. This is time. Time uh is jakar also the narn ambassador.

[6:58] So that are the narn going to be unrepresented now or do we get talon maybe this is talon comes back he wears his sword and he comes back that'd be cool i'd be all right with talon being around, hey talon comes back and he's the ambassador and he becomes the new ambassador that works i'm for that man, i said that if it turns out that bester and byron have a relationship that i'd be very disappointed because it was unearned now you and i know that there was a relationship because byron was like his lackey trainee something and then he goes rogue how do we feel about that, like are we disappointed or are we actually okay with that particular relationship being being there i, i just want to have to watch for the second time i think i'm okay with it.

[7:39] I think I'm okay with it. Yeah. I think it's like if it was like he's his nephew. Like I was thinking more like familial relationship that it would be really unearned and like, no, I ain't going to go with that. But I think I'm okay with the idea that he's like a former trainee, you know, gone off the rails. I think I could be okay with that. So I don't know about you, man, but I'm ready to dive into this one. Oh, I don't know that ready is the exact word I would choose, Jeff. But I think we're going to do it. I'm looking to be pleasantly and unexpectedly surprised at this one. Let's see. Let's see how it works. That's what we're going to do right now. If you're joining us for the first time, I want to say welcome and ask you why this episode? Just very curious as the YouTube algorithm pushed it into their feet. I'm just very curious. But the truth is that every episode is someone's first. So if you are here for the very first time, awesome. We're super glad that you have joined us and this is what's going to happen. This isn't like a lot of the other podcasts or reaction videos that are out there. We do things a little bit differently, right? We've been chatting a little bit about the episode itself. Now we're going to bring up the episode, watch it, and discuss it at the same time. We'll pause it. We'll talk about things that we're observing. We'll pull out those messages and dive into those during the episode, watch itself. Then we'll have some conversation about it afterwards as well on YouTube. It will be edited up like the reaction videos that you have likely seen out there.

[9:06] The full the unedited version of this is posted on our Patreon page about a week before it hits the YouTube and that's at patreon.com slash bad nerds that's right and if you're listening to us on an audio podcasting app never fear Jeff is here, So is Brett. But we're also, we're going to have the video. We'll have all that conversation inside of the audio recording. And then, of course, you'll get all the stuff on the backside. So, Jeff, deep breath. Let's go. You can do this, man. You got this. Accessing file. No, not at all. This is. Dillon's about to shank. Right. Right. She's like, hey, can I walk with you? Bitch. But since others might not be quite so understanding i would uh really prefer to keep this between the two the three three of us hey that's the perfect memory number i agree with that that doesn't need to be aired for everyone, i absolutely agree and of course he was right there would you like me to tell you what i see mr allen i see a little silhouette of a man the end of the line.

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