Yay, Jeffrey Combs guest starred! Sorry, I'm a Re-Animator fanboy, so sue me! Anyway Combs is a Psi Corps cop (but vows to Ivanova his allegiance to Earthforce, saying he wanted to be a pilot but was not allowed when he was discovered to be a telepath) who accompanies Colonel Ari Ben Zayn (a hissable Gregory Paul Martin, with a scar down his face, certain to assure us right away he's a heel that will cause a lot of headache to the principles) visiting Babylon 5 station to interrogate Commander Sinclair and his top officers. Ivanova says she will not receive a scan from Combs' Harriman Gray (a subplot concerns Ivanova's torment regarding the loss of her mother thanks to the dangerous Psi Corps), even saying she'll resign her post if ordered to do so. Sinclair is trying to search Earthforce law in order to countermand Zayn's mission to find something incriminating that will give him command of the station (this is actually a personal vendetta born from jealousy because of Sinclair's gaining the position over him despite his being higher up the list of candidates, with far more credentials). Sinclair's defiance to Zayn, superior in rank, could have him in front of a tribunal facing a court martial, but he will fight this agenda to see him in the gallows. Meanwhile, Garibaldi must work in concert with Zayn while he's investigating; soon Sinclair is removed from command with Zayn taking control of the station, exactly his sole purpose for coming to Babylon 5 to begin with. How will Sinclair stop Zayn and keep Ivanova from giving up her post? A minor subplot involving Delenn's assistant, Lennier, learning how to assemble a motorcycle for Garibaldi at least finally gives Billy Mumy something to do; it is also a nice bonding moment for Lennier and Garibaldi. While this episode could easily be viewed as a stand-alone, I think it has a relevance because it does comment on how fractured Earth (and Mars colony) is at the moment, how the political landscape is changing, how peace between alien races could be just a pipedream doomed to fail, and, important here, how Psi Corps is possibly gaining power, with Bester's influence noticeable (even when not present, Walter Koenig's character has an impact on the show). "Eyes" once again proves how resilient Sinclair is when up against it.
3 Reviews
Why is a colonel in Internal Affairs targeting Sinclair?
Tweekums18 July 2018
This episode sees a pair of suspicious characters arrive on Babylon 5; they start asking people about members of the command staff; in particular Commander Sinclair. At first it looks as they may be involved in illegal arms deals but when confronted it emerges they are Colonel Ari Ben Zayn and Harriman Gray, part of Earthforce Internal Affairs, AKA Eyes, and they intend to investigate the actions of the senior staff and telepathically scan then to ensure their loyalty... a procedure Lt Commander Ivanova absolutely refuses to undergo. In a secondary, minor story Lennier offers to help Garibaldi restore a classic motorbike.
I found this episode to be rather enjoyable; it starts well with some nice misdirection as the viewer is encouraged to assume Zayn and Gray are arms dealers before their real identity emerges. The way the investigation progresses creates an oppressive feel with the series three main human characters being targeted in what appears to be a witch hunt; for reasons that will ultimately be revealed. Gregory Martin does a solid job as Zayn even if, partially thanks to a large facial scar, his character becomes a bit of a pantomime villain. Jeffrey Combs is impressive as Gray; a character who is more nuanced than most members of Psi-Corps we have met so far. The secondary story involving Garibaldi's motorbike is a fun balance to balance to the main story.
I found this episode to be rather enjoyable; it starts well with some nice misdirection as the viewer is encouraged to assume Zayn and Gray are arms dealers before their real identity emerges. The way the investigation progresses creates an oppressive feel with the series three main human characters being targeted in what appears to be a witch hunt; for reasons that will ultimately be revealed. Gregory Martin does a solid job as Zayn even if, partially thanks to a large facial scar, his character becomes a bit of a pantomime villain. Jeffrey Combs is impressive as Gray; a character who is more nuanced than most members of Psi-Corps we have met so far. The secondary story involving Garibaldi's motorbike is a fun balance to balance to the main story.
A definite improvement over the last two episodes
planktonrules3 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
After two wretched episodes that did NOTHING to further the plot and featured really stupid plots, it's nice to see a show like this that returns to what made BABYLON 5 the great show that it was. In many ways, this episode is similar to an earlier one where Sinclair was kidnapped by a rogue group that tried to determine what this "hole in Sinclair's mind" was and why he'd survived an attempt to ramp a Centauri cruiser. However, instead of a rogue group, this is an official investigation by Earth-Gov and a hard as nails Colonel arrives to grill Sinclair along with the help of a telepath. However, it quickly becomes obvious that this really is a personal vendetta and the Colonel is more interested in destroying Sinclair than uncovering the truth. An excellent episode with some exciting moments.
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