Sacred Omega

Story: Ruling from the Tomb
Written By: Peter David
Season: Crusade

It should be noted that there are several different viewing orders to watch Crusade.  I decided to go with the chronological order, as that seemed to make the most sense to me, even if it is not necessarily JMS’ preferred order.  The truth is I’ve got the impression that no matter what you choose, the show was kind of a mess. When there is not a clearly defined starting point in any episode, and the order depends on how you prefer to view it, then something is probably going to be screwy with characterization and storylines.  This episode made me realize how bad the characters have been so far. 

I’m not sure if it is the screwy viewing order (maybe I chose the wrong path, but I’m sticking with it), or if it is a legitimate problem, but it feels like a lot of the characters feel underdeveloped.  When a character in this episode says “he’s who inspired me to become a priest” I had no idea who the guy really was so it wasn’t a shocking statement, I just got confused and thought “wait he’s a priest, how did I miss that!?”  Then it turns out he isn’t one, he drifted from that path yadda yadda.  The point is, because I have no idea who most of the characters are, a moment like this just left me confused until the plot was expanded and I put two and two together.

The characters of Lochley and Gideon seem to meet in this episode, which suggests that I’m not entirely wrong on my order, and it is clear that a relationship between the two is on the horizon.  It isn’t particularly interesting.

This was a character building episode, and for the first time, at least in this viewing order, I was starting to get a sense of who these characters are…and I don’t really like them.  I like elements of Gideon, Lochley is still okay but not particularly thrilling to watch.  Dureena is an interesting character who is wasted here.  Dr. Chambers has no character so far.  I doubt this show will improve, but here is hoping.

NEXT TIME: Propaganda Specialists