News Dark Matter Dark Matter Season 2 Gets Release Date and a Plot Synopsis That Takes Us Beyond Blake Crouch’s Book Crouch also serves as writer and showrunner of the Apple TV series By Vanessa Armstrong | Published on April 7, 2026 Image: Apple TV Comment 0 Share New Share Image: Apple TV Apple TV’s adaptation of Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter is finally coming back for a second season this summer, and we’ve also gotten a tease of what potential future seasons of the show may entail. The first season starred Joel Edgerton as Jason Dessen, a man with a loving wife and son who gets abducted by a Jason from an alternate universe who invented universe hopping because he regrets not marrying Jason’s wife first. That season saw Jason trying to find his way back to his wife and his universe (the other Jason shunted him into the “black box” that allows for universe jumping). Here’s the official synopsis for what we’ll see in the upcoming episodes: Season two picks up with the Dessens as they settle into a quiet life in a world that finally seems safe until the unimaginable forces them to run once again. As Jason’s obsession with the Box deepens, Daniela’s (Jennifer Connelly) growing paranoia pushes her to the brink, threatening to tear their fragile stability apart. Elsewhere, Amanda (Alice Braga) and Ryan (Jimmi Simpson) join forces in a desperate attempt to find their way home. With Blair (Amanda Brugel) determined to stop him, Leighton (Dayo Okeniyi) relentlessly chases his grand vision of creating a perfect world. For those who have read Crouch’s book, that synopsis suggests that we will go beyond the events of the novel. Crouch, however, remains deeply involved with the show, serving as creator, executive producer, writer, and showrunner. All episodes, in fact, are co-written by him and Jacquelyn Ben-Zekry. The second season of Dark Matter premieres on Apple TV on Friday, August 28, 2026, followed by one new episode every Friday through October 30, 2026. We also got some first look photos today, which you can see above and below. [end-mark] Image: Apple TV Image: Apple TV Image: Apple TV Image: Apple TV The post <i>Dark Matter</i> Season 2 Gets Release Date and a Plot Synopsis That Takes Us Beyond Blake Crouch’s Book appeared first on Reactor.

News Buffet Infinity The Buffet Infinity Trailer Defies Explanation You’ll never look at retro low-budget commercials and/or buffets the same way again By Vanessa Armstrong | Published on April 7, 2026 Screenshot: Yellow Veil Pictures Comment 0 Share New Share Screenshot: Yellow Veil Pictures The critically acclaimed, certifiably weird comedy-horror film Buffet Infinity is coming for us, and there’s a new trailer for the film that is frankly worth watching without knowing anything about the movie. I suggest going to the bottom of this post and watching it now, though I’ll continue to write words if you’d prefer a written description instead. Buffet Infinity comes from writer-director Simon Glassman and is made up of television ads, some real, some fake, that tell a story about… well, I’ll just let the official synopsis do the heavy lifting here: Echoing the Canadian comedy classic SCTV and picking from hundreds of hours of original, low-budget TV ads to tell the sinister tale of two restaurants battling it out in the fictional town of Westridge County. Ads for insurance, used car rivals, a local religious scholar, and a recording artist converge to tell the story of an expanding sinkhole, a cult, and an ever-growing restaurant that becomes unsettlingly sentient. Sentient restaurants? Sinkholes? How did this film come to be? “The concept of a film told through advertisements has been with me since the mid-’90s,” Glassman told Variety when the film was picked up by Yellow Veil Pictures for distribution back in July. “At the time, The Simpsons were promoting a crossover episode with The X-Files where agents Mulder and Scully would be making cameos, and it was such a big deal that the network began referencing the episode inside other advertisements. Maybe it was just the Butterfinger commercial? Honestly, I can’t really recall… but I remember really liking that it was a strange, fully immersive experience.” Glassman added that he wanted to “tell a story of a brand as a sentient intelligence and invasive presence… how it grows, struggles, transforms, and sometimes attacks.” The film stars Kevin Singh, Claire Theobald, and Donovan Workun. It’s set to premiere in theaters on April 28, 2026, and on digital starting May 8, 2026. Check out the bonkers trailer below. [end-mark] The post The <i>Buffet Infinity</i> Trailer Defies Explanation appeared first on Reactor.

News X-Men The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s X-Men Movie Officially Has Writers Director Jake Schreier shared that alums from Beef and The Bear will pen the script By Vanessa Armstrong | Published on April 7, 2026 Screenshot: Disney+ Comment 0 Share New Share Screenshot: Disney+ It’s been almost eight years since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, which means that fans have been waiting almost eight years to see the X-Men in their own Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. In that time, we’ve seen the X-Men in the delightful animated series, X-Men ’97 (pictured above), and Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, and others reprised versions of their X-Men roles in The Marvels and Multiverse of Madness (and also, it seems, the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday). But a standalone film (well, as standalone as an MCU movie can be these days) has proven elusive. Last July, however, we found out that Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier would be directing an X-Men movie for the MCU. We also heard in 2024 that Michael Lesslie was in talks to write a script, but today we got official news that two other writers are on board to pen the film, which is reportedly set to come out on May 5, 2028, although Marvel hasn’t officially announced its release date. In an interview with Collider to promote the second season of the Netflix series, Beef, Schreier shared that the X-Men movie he’s working on has two writers on board: Beef creator Lee Sung Jin and The Bear co-showrunner, Joanna Calo. The two also worked on the Thunderbolts* script with Schreier, meaning they’re all familiar with what it takes to make an MCU movie. In addition, Beef and The Bear have received critical and commercial acclaim for their character-based storylines, which is something Schreier suggested will help in drafting the X-Men script. “When you go back and read X-Men [comics], there’s ideology but also interpersonal drama, almost of a soap opera quality,” Schreier told Collider. “Having writers who understand both how to drive ideology from personal stakes, if we get that right, that’s what will feel most honest to what X-Men can be.” However, details on the plot of that script, or even which X-Men we’ll see on screen, remain tightly under wraps, as does pretty much everything else about the film. Having writers attached, however, at least means that the project is still ongoing, giving fans hope that the rumored 2028 premiere date will hold true. [end-mark] The post The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s X-Men Movie Officially Has Writers appeared first on Reactor.

Excerpts gothic horror Read an Excerpt From Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker Two people living centuries apart discover a door between their worlds. By Kylie Lee Baker | Published on April 7, 2026 Comment 0 Share New Share We’re thrilled to share an excerpt from Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker, a new horror novel interwoven with Japanese mythology, out from Hanover Square Press on April 14th. October, 2026: Lee Turner doesn’t remember how or why he killed his college roommate. The details are blurred and bloody. All he knows is he has to flee New York and go to the one place that might offer refuge—his father’s new home in Japan, a house hidden by sword ferns and wild ginger. But something is terribly wrong with the house: no animals will come near it, the bedroom window isn’t always a window, and a woman with a sword appears in the yard when night falls. October, 1877: Sen is a young samurai in exile, hiding from the imperial soldiers in a house behind the sword ferns. A monster came home from war wearing her father’s face, but Sen would do anything to please him, even turn her sword on her own mother. She knows the soldiers will soon slaughter her whole family when she sees a terrible omen: a young foreign man who appears outside her window. One of these people is a ghost, and one of these stories is a lie. Something is hiding beneath the house of sword ferns, and Lee and Sen will soon wish they never unburied it. Chapter 4 Len Lee slept through the moment his mother disappeared, but he saw it in his dreams. First, she lay down on the hotel bed and grew thinner, flatter, until she was barely there at all. A faceless man came in and folded her up like a piece of laundry. The man put her in a suitcase, zipped it up, and dragged her away. Lee wondered, sometimes, if his mother disappeared because she fell into one of his dreams and couldn’t find her way out. He was twelve, on a trip to Cambodia with his parents during summer break. They were staying in a bungalow in the middle of a tropical garden, a place that was supposed to be perfect. Lee remembered bright fuchsia flowers, giant taro leaves, and guava that he could reach from the second-floor balcony. He remembered the haze of jet lag that made his body feel stuffed full of cotton instead of blood, how he’d been halfway between the real world and a dream when his mother opened the sliding door. That was the last mistake she ever made. Lee had cracked an eye open, watched his mother sitting in the open doorway, her feet on the sandy porch, staring out at the beach and the white sun and perfectly blue sky, so bright it had to be a lie. Her long brown hair blew behind her, and when she turned to look over her shoulder at Lee, the sun outlined her silhouette, and Lee couldn’t see her face. She was too bright. She was always too bright. “Go ahead and take a nap, Lee,” his mother said. “When you wake up, we’ll get dinner, okay?” Lee didn’t remember if he’d answered. He’d been thinking about the tire swing his mom had found at the edge of the forest, how his dad said not to push him too high in case he fell off, but his mom pushed him higher and higher and Lee thought if he just reached out, he would touch the sun. When he opened his eyes again, it was dark, and the breeze blowing in from the open door had turned cold. Lee shivered, pulled the blankets higher, and sat up. The sand looked almost blue at night, like he had fallen asleep on a distant moon. “Mom?” he said. The words blew back at him in the breeze and died on the sandy carpet. Back then, Lee thought his parents would always come home. That was his naive truth, and he believed in his heart that no force in the world could stop it. So he turned on the lamp on the nightstand and read his book and wasn’t particularly worried, though he still kept the door open for his mom. The night grew deeper, and eventually Lee’s father came back from his scuba diving trip, which Lee had been too young to go on. It was the reason his mom had stayed back with him, the reason she’d been sitting in the doorway instead of in the ocean. And even when his father called his mom, and then the police, Lee hadn’t really understood what it meant. He stared at the open door, sure that at any moment she was going to walk back through it. He knew, objectively, that people died. But people didn’t just disappear. The police combed through the forests and then the water, convinced that she’d gone for a swim and drowned. But Lee’s mom had always told him never to swim alone, so he didn’t think she’d broken her own rule. And if she had, she wouldn’t have left the door open while Lee was sleeping. Lee noticed the tracks in the sand before the police, but he didn’t say anything because he didn’t know what they meant. Curved lines, like two snakes had slithered away side by side, toward the forest. Later, the policeman told his father that they were wheel tracks from a large suitcase. Lee remembered his dream, his mom folded up and put away like a packing cube. And that was another moment when the pieces of the world did not fit together—you couldn’t quietly cram a person into a suitcase. Surely Lee would have woken up. And why wouldn’t they have taken him too? Buy the Book Japanese Gothic Kylie Lee Baker Buy Book Japanese Gothic Kylie Lee Baker Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget He never considered the possibility of a human trafficking ring until his mother’s disappearance ended up on the news and the reporters started throwing theories around, like it was a guessing game and not his mother’s entire life. Lee researched human trafficking in Cambodia and found out the country was considered Tier 3, meaning the government knows there’s human trafficking and doesn’t care. Foreign men are forced into manual labor, and foreign women and children are sold as prostitutes. Someone must have knocked his mother out, crammed her into a suitcase, and taken her away. At least, that was what the police thought. They didn’t want to pronounce someone dead without a body or massive amounts of blood, and they had neither. Lee couldn’t sleep for a long time after he read that. Twelve-year-olds shouldn’t have to lie awake at night contemplating whether it was better if their mothers suffocated to death inside a suitcase or were still alive in a sex ring. Not long after, Lee’s mother started to visit his dreams. He saw her sitting in the doorway every night, her hair blowing in the breeze, her face made of pure sunlight. In his dreams, she never spoke. She only screamed. His mother’s mouth was an abyss, and in it he heard the ocean churning. Her scream widened, and the ocean poured black from her lips, but nothing could dampen the sound. After that, Lee couldn’t look at boxes anymore. Tissue boxes, packages, desk drawers, violin cases. Every time he saw one, he could imagine his mother being folded up and shoved inside. He could see the exact way her bones would have to snap, which parts of her would have to be hacked off in order to fit. It turned into a gruesome game of How to Fit a Human into Any Sized Space, one his brain forced him to play every day. After enough practice, he determined that someone his mother’s size could probably fit in her entirety into a carry-on suitcase if you cut her up and smashed some of the bigger bones, but she wouldn’t fit into anything smaller unless you started getting rid of body parts. Perhaps counterintuitively, Lee had started cramming himself into small spaces. The wide expanse of his bedroom suddenly felt too exposed, so he crawled underneath his bed and slept flat on his stomach. He wedged himself in the small space under the kitchen sink, alongside all the bleach and extra dish soap and Windex. Once, and only once, he climbed into a suitcase and did his best to zip it up all the way. There, with his knees pressed to his forehead, where it was hard to breathe, he felt like he’d entered a sacred space. Is this how you felt, Mom? The thought. He ran his hands across the smooth fabric of the interior and imagined the pieces of his mom crammed in here with him, her severed fingers lac-ing with his. His dad found him and told him never to do that again, then cried for a long time. Lee hated seeing his father cry, so he apologized and tried not to even look at another suitcase. But he knew, even then, that something strange had happened inside the suitcase, both to him and to his mother. As if the world had slit its belly and showed Lee its pulsing organs and now Lee could see the truth that no one else dared to look at. The end of his mother was the beginning of something bigger. He was sure of it, even then. […] Chapter 7 Sen […] When Sen was seven, her father put her in a box and left her to die. It was a wooden crate that a servant had used to carry sacks of rice to the house. Sen was just small enough to fit inside if she hugged her shins and pressed her face against her knees. Her father had led her outside at night, placed her in the box, and told her to make herself small. She thought it was a game, at first. She’d climbed inside, imagined she was one of the tiny snails that oozed across the river rocks, hugged her legs tight and held her breath and tried to be so small her father couldn’t see her at all, because that would make him happy. Then her father nailed the box shut. The hammer jolted the wood, so loud, so close to Sen’s ears. He placed her in a hole in the earth and piled wet dirt on top of her until she could no longer see the sky. The box was poorly built, so the slats didn’t line up perfectly and dirt spilled through the seams, worms and beetles wriggling across Sen’s bare toes. You will know what it’s like to be dead, her father said. Sen had never thought she was scared of the dark, but she had only ever known darkness as starry skies and dim bedrooms with her mother sleeping beside her. This dark was all-consuming, a lead weight pressed down all around her, the sound of growing roots and scurrying bugs and the ache in her neck that bloomed into a sharp pain. Chichiue won’t let me die, she thought. It’s a game, and he’ll come back for me. But time had a strange way of unfurling in the dark. It stretched long and thin like dough, the strands snapping as they grew too worn. Sen spent years in the dark doing nothing but breathing. Her stomach cramped with hunger, and her mouth went dry, and as another year passed, she began to real-ize that her father would not come back. He had always wanted sons—he’d said as much to her mother. Maybe he’d just gotten rid of Sen so he could start his family over again. He no longer needed her, just like he hadn’t needed Kura. The worms wriggled over her toes and the beetles crawled into her ears, but Sen couldn’t move a single inch to pull them out. The box grew smaller and smaller, crunching down on her bones from the weight of earth, and Sen imagined she was a rotting corpse melting back into the ground. And then, in the dark, came a thin voice. Satō? it whispered. Sugar. Sen remembered sugarcane in Kura’s tiny hands, her wet smile with fibers caught in her teeth. A small white hand parted the curtain of darkness and reached out for Sen. Sen couldn’t make out Kura’s face, but she could feel Kura’s stringy hair as it spilled across Sen’s bare legs, Kura’s jagged nails on her calves, Kura’s cold hand on Sen’s arm. “Kura,” Sen whispered into the darkness. “Chichiue has left me to die.” The hand tightened on her arm. Why would he do that? “Because I’m worthless,” Sen said, coughing as she breathed in wet dirt. “Because I’m weak.” The hand pinched down, fingers biting into Sen’s arm. He does this because you’re strong, Kura said. He does this to show you what you will become if you give in to your weakness. Then Kura set her hands on Sen’s knees and leaned closer, brushing the darkness aside like a silk curtain. Kura’s skin pulled taut and gray against her skull, wrinkled as worn leather hide. Her baby teeth hung loose from her gums, tethered by thin ligaments, jingling like wind chimes. Maggots crawled out of her ears and nose, their tiny fangs leaving scars on her face. And worst of all, her eyes had gone cloudy, like she was lost in a dense fog and would never find her way out. Satō, Kura said. Satō Satō Satō Satō. Sen could do nothing but hold tight to the pieces of herself and wait. After many years, her father returned and hauled the box back to the surface, removed the lid, and plucked her out. “Thank you, Chichiue,” Sen said as he set her on unsteady legs. “Thank you for showing me this.” “And what have I shown you?” her father said. Sen remembered Kura’s jingling teeth, wet globs of bloody drool that fell to her feet. “That life and death are one and the same,” Sen said. “That I exist because I am strong, and if I give in to fear, I will no longer exist.” Her father nodded, then turned and gestured for Sen to follow him. “Wipe your face,” he said. “We have work to do.” Sen quickly scrubbed her face with her muddy sleeves. It was the last time she ever cried. The Sen who had tasted death remained in the dirt among the worms, while the rest of Sen followed her father back to the house. From Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker. Copyright 2026 by Kylie Lee Baker. Published by Hanover Square Press, an imprint of HTP/HarperCollins. The post Read an Excerpt From <i>Japanese Gothic</i> by Kylie Lee Baker appeared first on Reactor.

Column Babylon 5 Rewatch Babylon 5 Rewatch: “Strange Relations” Bester arrives at the station to arrest the Downbelow telepaths… By Keith R.A. DeCandido | Published on April 7, 2026 Credit: Warner Bros. Television Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: Warner Bros. Television “Strange Relations”Written by J. Michael StraczynskiDirected by John C. Flinn IIISeason 5, Episode 6Production episode 507Original air date: February 25, 1998 It was the dawn of the third age… Delenn speaks to Lochley on the subject of her past relationship with Sheridan. Specifics are not mentioned, but Lochley asks Delenn to keep this revelation secret, to which she agrees. Garibaldi, however, overhears the conversation. Allan informs Mollari that the ship that is taking him to Centauri Prime is coming through the jumpgate. Allan is surprised at how down-in-the-mouth Mollari is about his impending emperor-hood. One of the erstwhile ambassador’s regrets is that he’ll probably never return to B5, except maybe for an official function or two. Unfortunately, there’s an accident in the docking port involving a ship that doesn’t give control to CnC and crashing into the dock wall. Ships are stuck waiting outside the station until repairs are made, including the Centauri ship and a Psi Corps vessel. Franklin walks in on Alexander purloining medical supplies for the telepath colony. It’s all stuff Franklin can spare, and so he lets her take it on the condition that next time she ask first. Franklin is then approached by Delenn and G’Kar to research and collate medical information on all the IA species, which Franklin jumps at the chance to do. Alexander takes the supplies to a grateful Byron. When she urges Byron himself to take some of the vitamins, and also get some rest, he tries and fails to distract her with a stupid parable. Then all the telepaths get squirrelly, because they sense the presence of Psi Corps bloodhounds. A guard comes into the security office looking for Allan, but only finds Garibaldi, who is also waiting for Allan. Reluctantly, the guard gives Garibaldi the message: Bester is on board. Garibaldi immediately storms to the captain’s office to find Lochley and Bester having a pleasant conversation over tea. Before Garibaldi can beat the shit out of Bester, Lochley has him arrested. Sheridan is not thrilled at Bester’s arrival nor at Garibaldi’s being detained, but Lochley stands by her actions. Psi Corps has every right to be here, by dint of the very sovereignty the IA promised all its member worlds. Sheridan reluctantly agrees but also makes it clear that Byron’s gaggle has been granted asylum, and instructs Lochley not to let Bester take them. Credit: Warner Bros. Television The Centauri ship is on a schedule and can’t wait for the dock to be fixed to pick up Mollari. Corwin says he’ll pass on their regrets to the future emperor. Then, as soon as the Centauri ship sends a signal to the jumpgate, it explodes. Allan’s people investigate, and discover that the bomb was tied to the navigation system—specifically to go off when the ship was heading back to Centauri Prime. This indicates that the target of whoever planted it was someone who was bound for Centauri Prime on that ship from B5. The most obvious target would be Mollari. Alexander manages to block Bester and his bloodhounds (totally the name of my next band) physically, telepathically, and telekinetically. Bester suspects that she can’t do that forever or against a larger group of people, but he retreats for the time being. Alexander then urges Byron to scatter his people about the station. Lochley confronts Garibaldi in detention. She explains why she was so chummy with Bester: he stopped a rogue telepath who was murdering people on a base she commanded. She doesn’t trust him or Psi Corps, either, but she is grateful to him and, again, he has a right to be there. Garibaldi finally admits that he is suspicious of her because he doesn’t know why Sheridan chose her, especially since she seemed to be on the other side of the civil war. Lochley finally explains it while the cameras are rolling: she and Sheridan were married for about seven-and-a-half seconds after EarthForce training. They split amicably. Sheridan wanted the symbol of someone on the other side of the civil war, but also wanted someone he could trust. Garibaldi then asks to be let out, and Lochley refuses for the moment. Then Allan contacts her, saying Bester has started rounding up the telepaths. Alexander is frustrated by the telepaths being rounded up, while Lochley is frustrated by Bester doing everything by the book and therefore giving her no in to keep the telepaths on the station. Byron insists on allowing himself to be captured, as he doesn’t want to abandon his people, even though Alexander offers to protect him. Credit: Warner Bros. Television Franklin informs Lochley of the new task the IA wants him to perform, which means he’ll need to reduce his time in medlab. Lochley approves, saying Hobbs can pick up the slack. His mention of quarantine procedures gives the captain an idea. She informs Bester, pseudo-reluctantly, that due to quarantine regulations, the telepaths need to stay on B5 for another 60 days. After that, Bester can have them. Bester is not at all happy about this, but accedes, provided Lochley puts this all in writing. Delenn and G’Kar discuss the assassination attempt on Mollari, and they agree that Mollari will need a bodyguard on Centauri Prime—someone they can trust. To G’Kar’s horror, Delenn suggests G’Kar himself be that bodyguard. To his greater horror, he realizes that he’s the right person for the job. To Mollari’s even greater horror, he agrees to it, agreeing that the symbolism is entertaining. They head off to another transport—this one presumably bomb-free—and argue over the seating arrangements. Corwin commends Lochley on her handling of the telepaths. Belatedly, Lochley remembers that she hasn’t freed Garibaldi yet… Alexander joins the telepaths in a singalong that isn’t at all creepy and cult-like, taking care to remove her Psi Corps badge before doing so. Get the hell out of our galaxy! Sheridan very obviously really really hates that he can’t just kick Bester off the station. Never work with your ex. Lochley actually follows the rules and is pretty much the only grownup in the story. The household god of frustration. Garibaldi gets thrown in jail for being a doofus. And deserves it. If you value your lives, be somewhere else. Delenn comes up with the hilariously brilliant idea of G’Kar being Mollari’s bodyguard, which is completely hilariously brilliant. In the glorious days of the Centauri Republic… Mollari’s not even emperor yet, and he’s already had an assassination attempt. You have to admire the efficiency. Though it take a thousand years, we will be free. After spending pretty much his entire time on the station wanting Mollari dead, G’Kar is now tasked with keeping him alive. Like I said, hilariously brilliant. Credit: Warner Bros. Television The Corps is mother, the Corps is father. Byron’s telepaths are fugitives from Earth, which means Earth gets to arrest them by the terms of their membership in the IA. Sheridan probably should’ve checked to make sure they weren’t fugitives before granting them asylum… Looking ahead. Bester hints at Byron’s rather nasty past, which will be revealed before too long. No sex, please, we’re EarthForce. Sheridan and Lochley were married. They split up when they realized that they both wanted to be in control too much. Welcome aboard. It’s recurring regular theatre! Back from “Rising Star” is Walter Koenig as Bester; he’ll return in “A Tragedy of Telepaths.” Back from “A View from the Gallery” are Robin Atkin Downes as Byron and Joshua Cox as Corwin. Down will return next time in “Secrets of the Soul,” while Cox will be back in “Day of the Dead.” Trivial matters. The details of what Bester did to Garibaldi were spelled out in “The Face of the Enemy.” Though they are not seen, both Connoly, the head of the dockworkers union whom we saw in “By Any Means Necessary,” and Hobbs, the deputy chief medical officer who ran medlab while Franklin was on walkabout, whom we saw in “Interludes and Examinations” and “Walkabout,” are mentioned as still doing their jobs. J. Michael Straczynski wrote the song the telepaths sing at the end. The echoes of all of our conversations. “I have an obligation to be courteous.” “And I have an obligation to shove his face through a bulkhead.” “Your hobbies are your concern, Mr. Garibaldi.” —Lochley and Garibaldi discussing Bester. Credit: Warner Bros. Television The name of the place is Babylon 5. “I’m caught in a web of my own good intentions.” This should be a much better episode than it is, and while two of the reasons why it isn’t are ones I’ve mentioned before since we started in on season five—the severe limitations of Robin Atkin Downes and Tracy Scoggins—they’re far from the only ones. Let’s start with this: two entire ships are blown to pieces and the only manner in which either of these are discussed are (a) how it affects the traffic on the station because of the dock damage, and (b) what it means for Mollari’s safety going forward. The fact that two shipsful of people are dead never once is even mentioned. The deaths of dozens of people is an abstraction at best, and it’s revolting. Next is the out-of-left-field revelation that Lochley and Sheridan were married. First off, there was no kind of indication or hint previously, even in scenes with just the two of them. Secondly, Sheridan supposedly chose Lochley because she’s a symbol of unity, a person on Clark’s side of the civil war working with Sheridan. Except she’s moved heaven and earth to keep the fact that she was on Clark’s side a secret for the past several episodes (and who can blame her, as Clark was a fucking war criminal), so not really that effective a symbol now, is it? The moment where the fifth season lost me completely the first time I watched the show twenty-six years ago was the end of this episode, when Alexander joins the cringey singalong. I swear, I remembered them actually singing “Kumbaya,” which they obviously didn’t sing, but it was in the same vein and was just awful. Given what eventually happened with these telepaths, having them come across as creepy kinda works, but the execution of the scene was, well, not great. Ditto the latest in a series of Lochley-Garibaldi dialogues that just fall flat thanks to Scoggins’ inability to convey human emotion. As usual, it’s left to Andreas Katsulas and Peter Jurasik to provide the episode’s only watchable moments, though even their scenes are muted and not all that, especially since they’re overshadowed by the total lack of concern for the shipful of people who died on the Centauri transport. Even Walter Koenig’s magnificently slimy Bester can’t salvage this. Next week: “Secrets of the Soul.”[end-mark] The post <i>Babylon 5</i> Rewatch: “Strange Relations” appeared first on Reactor.