Rewatch: "And a Sky Full of Stars"

[ruuger]

And so we begin the rewatch, with a jump straight into the deep end of the mythology pool.

I think we can assume that everyone participating has already watched the whole show, so no need to worry about spoilers. Also, if you have any fanworks that you've created about this episode (or want to rec some), feel free to link to them.

Anon comments are on, so those of you who wander here from Tumblr or don't have an LJ-account for some other reason are also welcome to join the discussion (you can also comment using Google+ or Twitter).

Bonus reading:

Analysis on Lurker's Guide
Discussion at B5_revisited

Comments

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

Everybody lies. Everybody has something to hide.

[nenya_kanadka]

I'd forgotten how mysterious Delenn was at this stage!

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

And already she is torn between two cultures. Her ambivalence and even distress at the idea of killing Sinclair, her doubts about the Grey Council, her (I think it's implied) inward comparison of Franklin's involvement in the war with her own culpability, all play to the inherent dichotomy that lies behind the show.

Also the contrast between Delenn's statements to Sinclair that she is his friend, that no one here will hurt him; to Sinclair's declaration that it was ages before he could look at a Minbari without wanting to choke the life out of them, and his recalled torture at her hands. Lots of good stuff there.

[nenya_kanadka]

All of this! I have so many feelings about Jeff and Delenn. Mostly I just want them to interact forever. But you can clearly see how both of them have such complicated feelings about the other side. I don't think Delenn is lying when she says she's his friend, and I do think he considers her one. At the same time, of course, it's just been shoved in his face that she's A Minbari, particularly one of the ones who fucked him up during the war. And how much of Delenn's worry for him is because he's her friend Jeff, and how much because of the Valen connection? Layers up on layers.

[alexcat.livejournal.com]

I can remember watching it the first time - my friend actually sent me copied videos of the show and photocopied paged from the guidebooks. I think season one was signs and portents/ It all so mysterious and so amazing as it unfolds throughout all of Season 1 and this episode really raises way more questions than it answers.

Sinclair was awfully dashing, wasn't he?

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

He was dashing, and what a lovely voice. I'd forgotten that, especially in the voiceover during the intro.

[nenya_kanadka]

So dashing! And when the opening credits came on I sighed happily. :D (I'm also partial to "last best hope for peace" over "something better--our last best hope for victory" so that doesn't hurt.)

But oh god, I'd forgotten about his eyebrows. Oh Jeff, sweetie. You rival Peter Capaldi here!

[alexcat.livejournal.com]

Forgive my awful typing!

[nenya_kanadka]

I've only been watching this show for about three years, but I remember when my sweetie sat me down and had me watch her five or six favourite episodes. (A bit like how we're doing now.) After about an episode and a half I stopped her and made her go back to Midnight On The Firing Line so I could see ALL of it. It was just that fascinating!

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

I also found myself eyeing Garibaldi's second, the one who shoots him at the end of the season...when Sinclair tells Garibaldi everybody has something to hide I kept wanting to say 'Pay attention! This is important!'

The whole season is like that in retrospect especially; signs and portents indeed.

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

Because who cares if I am late to work. Again.

From the scriptbooks:

This episode is deliberately filmed as a theatrical piece, as are several others (Z'ha'dum's Sheridan&Lorien sequences, Intersections, etc.) because Joe likes two person talkie scenes.

The dreams sequences were supposed to have been filmed with a special lens called a 'mesmerizer' but when filming day came it was out on loan to someone else. So those scenes were filmed through a plastic bowl from the munchie table that had been filled with pretzels.

Walter Koenig was originally meant to be Knight Two but suffered a coronary prior to filming. His consolation prize was the role of Alfred Bester (!)

Originally 'And the Sky' was meant to air before 'Mind War' (see above casting difficulties).

[nenya_kanadka]

Ahahaha, so THAT's why the dream sequences are so wonky!

[azarsuerte.livejournal.com]

You know you're on a tight budget when even craft service does double duty as spare lenses. ;-)