YGCTO Episode 4 - Chrysalis with Evynne Stitely

Season 1 Wrapup

Closing out the first season of Babylon 5 left me ready for more. I thoroughly enjoyed every episode, even as the larger story hasn’t started cooking. The characters were all engaging. JMS really leaned into having characters act differently than their words. As well as Sucka Punches.

I’m currently in season 3 of my Babylon 5 watch. I’m surprised that there aren’t more plots that JMS returns to as a regular “once per season”. Like a regular holiday episode for most running sitcoms. Always a special episode on Christmas. It would have been easy for JMS to set up a regular “holiday” episode based around a Minbari or Narn ritual. Or set up a regular episode for one of the side races to have their own cultural hijinx, like Season 2’s Drazi Color War from “The Geometry of Shadows”… coming soon to a YGCTO podcast feed near you!

But this season really felt like its own thing to establish the setting and characters. Especially with the literal changing of the guard between Sinclair and Sheridan. As we discovered, you can get away with watching just two episodes from season 1 and get the basics of what you need to speed through the series. But the charm of season 1 is in the poor sets and the actors figuring out what to do with their hands.

This Week’s Guest

Evynne Stitely

Evynne Stitely is a Drummer / Teacher / YouTube Creator / Writer / Graphic Artist living in Chicago. I’ve had the privilege of playing music with Evynne several times. She is definitely not JMS in disguise, no matter what Dre tells you.

Babylon 5 Season 1 Episode 22: Chrysalis

This was easily my favorite of the first season. It was kind of designed to be the culmination of a few storylines and a secret send-off for Sinclair. I was completely engrossed on my first watch. It’s good knowing early on that JMS knows how to construct a seasonal arc. Points to higher highs in later seasons.

The episode really knew how to swap points of view for longer stretches than a single scene. It really felt that Delann, Garibaldi and Sinclair were all the protagonists of their own storylines that built on each other. Having them all culminate around the assassination was a great way to construct the plots.

For me, this was a great example of an episode that makes me want to get into the series more. Delann’s cliffhanger in the cocoon is pretty standard and will play out as expected. But the way JMS has got me invested in the characters, setting and plot is what I want out of a first season.

The only downside is that the seasonal arc is not a closed one. The ending with Clark is where the main conflict for the entire series is introduced. JMS introduced a lot of ongoing plots that wouldn’t get resolved in the way he expected them to due to actors leaving the show. But his Plot Traps set up as backups served him well.

As a result, Season 1 ended up being more focused on worldbuilding and smaller relationships between pairs of characters. Exactly what is needed to construct a larger drama out of political conflict. Like setting up various rock-paper-scissors situations between trios of characters. If character desires are clear, the interactions and plot decisions will naturally have more conflict.

Season 1 was a blast to get through with Dre. We’ve already got all of season 2 recorded and are still going strong. We’ve continued to have great guests on the show that make it a pleasure to record. We’re already starting to set up the next YGCTO subject for our season 2. No direct hints, but I’m sure we’ve given it away for close listeners.

Cheers All!