100 Things: Marcus Cole (Babylon 5)
This post is part of the 100 Things: A Blogging Challenge; please click here to learn more about the challenge and the full list of topics I've discussed.
MARCUS COLE (BABYLON 5)
Marcus Cole was a later addition to the cast, coming in at season 3 but he quickly became a favourite character of mine with his witty lines, his physical prowess as a Ranger and of course, that accent and that hair (no, seriously, he's got better hair than I do, that's not fair). He's also an interesting character precisely because he's not associated with the Earth Alliance or Earthforce like Sheridan or Susan Ivanova is so his perspective on matters can be pretty interesting.
Anyways, like before, if you're planning on watching this show at any point there's potential spoilers ahead! as I will be talking about her character development from the first time she appeared in the show right up to her last appearance. But of course, I try to keep it as vague as I can whenever so that you can still enjoy it ^_~
Marcus Cole is...a fascinating character. lol. He's an enigma. A conundrum. He doesn't make sense when you look at his personality...and yet he does. On the one hand he's a serious man (especially when he's on a mission), a member of the Anla'shok/the Rangers, who's pretty lethal with the denn'bok (the fighting pike) and will use whatever means to fulfill his objective. Yet on the other hand he can be a rather silly man (playing 'I Spy' in the cargo bay with Stephen Franklin en route to Mars, creating a structure of Babylon 5 using the Ottoman Empire as a model, singing that song at the end of...episode 4.08 (around)) who plays with people's perspectives a little, doesn't take things too seriously. Not to mention he's quite learned, making historical and cultural references here and there. He doesn't really put a whole lot of trust in plenty of people and doesn't believe in a lot of things and yet he's quite the romantic.
Like I said, he's enigmatic.
And yet his character totally makes sense. Perhaps that light-hearted side of him was who he was before he lost everything he was and his family thanks to the Shadows, before he joined the Rangers. As Delenn and Lennier pointed out on occasion, his dedication to the Rangers seemed to also stem (perhaps subconsciously) from the fact that he lived while others died from that attack years ago. He's found a cause to dedicate himself to through the Rangers (and quite embodied the meaning behind being a Ranger and the words they swore to; have Neroon quite the lesson that time =P) and his unwavering romantic beliefs seem to suggest that underneath some of his cynicism towards people and organisations, he's quite the idealist. His fight against Neroon as a way to stall time for Delenn's ceremony and his ultimate sacrifice for Ivanova in season 4 also shows that he is willing to risk his life to save those closest to him (however much it left me all ;_;)--even though he famously said in season 3 that he wanted to live forever ^_~
Having said that, his relationship with the rest of the crew is interesting, if rather uneven given the amount of time he spent with them. He obviously holds Delenn in high regard since she is Anla'shok Na but he became quite close to Lennier and Franklin and I love how those friendships played out. I wished we got more screentime between him and Sheridan because that one time he accompanied Sheridan on a mission against Earth forces in season 4 was rather interesting, curious if only because they see things rather differently (Marcus seemed rather pessimistic in contrast to Sheridan's optimism). Garibaldi and he didn't interact much but the one time they did, well, Garibaldi found him rather annoying =P As for Ivanova...well, that will be a post of its own ^_~
Marcus is a confusing fellow but I guess it's that mish-mash of different personality traits and quirks that makes him such a fascinating and amusing character. He's outside of the command structure (as Ivanova liked to point out early in season 3) but it's what makes his character work; I forgot what episode it was but Sheridan did point out that it had its benefits that worked for Marcus in gathering information and a lead when things go amuck. I absolutely missed his character in season 5; like Lennier said, I was used to seeing him on the show with the rest of the crew, he really was a part of their family. With the way that season 4 turned out, the end of his storyline makes sense but it still guts me.
But, of course, there's always the short story "Time, Space & the Incurable Romantic" =)
Some scenes featuring Marcus (gosh it's so difficult to find some on YouTube that's not a fanvid:
Marcus' first appearance in the season 3 premiere
Classic Marcus making the occasional quip =P
Marcus stalling Neroon in episode...3.19?
Last scene from that episode...in pain, Marcus still manages to utter a clever line xD
Marcus singing at the end of episode 4.08...I think, I used to remember the episode order...
This entry was originally posted at http://caffeinatedlife.dreamwidth.org/396879.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
MARCUS COLE (BABYLON 5)
Marcus Cole was a later addition to the cast, coming in at season 3 but he quickly became a favourite character of mine with his witty lines, his physical prowess as a Ranger and of course, that accent and that hair (no, seriously, he's got better hair than I do, that's not fair). He's also an interesting character precisely because he's not associated with the Earth Alliance or Earthforce like Sheridan or Susan Ivanova is so his perspective on matters can be pretty interesting.
Anyways, like before, if you're planning on watching this show at any point there's potential spoilers ahead! as I will be talking about her character development from the first time she appeared in the show right up to her last appearance. But of course, I try to keep it as vague as I can whenever so that you can still enjoy it ^_~
Marcus Cole is...a fascinating character. lol. He's an enigma. A conundrum. He doesn't make sense when you look at his personality...and yet he does. On the one hand he's a serious man (especially when he's on a mission), a member of the Anla'shok/the Rangers, who's pretty lethal with the denn'bok (the fighting pike) and will use whatever means to fulfill his objective. Yet on the other hand he can be a rather silly man (playing 'I Spy' in the cargo bay with Stephen Franklin en route to Mars, creating a structure of Babylon 5 using the Ottoman Empire as a model, singing that song at the end of...episode 4.08 (around)) who plays with people's perspectives a little, doesn't take things too seriously. Not to mention he's quite learned, making historical and cultural references here and there. He doesn't really put a whole lot of trust in plenty of people and doesn't believe in a lot of things and yet he's quite the romantic.
Like I said, he's enigmatic.
And yet his character totally makes sense. Perhaps that light-hearted side of him was who he was before he lost everything he was and his family thanks to the Shadows, before he joined the Rangers. As Delenn and Lennier pointed out on occasion, his dedication to the Rangers seemed to also stem (perhaps subconsciously) from the fact that he lived while others died from that attack years ago. He's found a cause to dedicate himself to through the Rangers (and quite embodied the meaning behind being a Ranger and the words they swore to; have Neroon quite the lesson that time =P) and his unwavering romantic beliefs seem to suggest that underneath some of his cynicism towards people and organisations, he's quite the idealist. His fight against Neroon as a way to stall time for Delenn's ceremony and his ultimate sacrifice for Ivanova in season 4 also shows that he is willing to risk his life to save those closest to him (however much it left me all ;_;)--even though he famously said in season 3 that he wanted to live forever ^_~
Having said that, his relationship with the rest of the crew is interesting, if rather uneven given the amount of time he spent with them. He obviously holds Delenn in high regard since she is Anla'shok Na but he became quite close to Lennier and Franklin and I love how those friendships played out. I wished we got more screentime between him and Sheridan because that one time he accompanied Sheridan on a mission against Earth forces in season 4 was rather interesting, curious if only because they see things rather differently (Marcus seemed rather pessimistic in contrast to Sheridan's optimism). Garibaldi and he didn't interact much but the one time they did, well, Garibaldi found him rather annoying =P As for Ivanova...well, that will be a post of its own ^_~
Marcus is a confusing fellow but I guess it's that mish-mash of different personality traits and quirks that makes him such a fascinating and amusing character. He's outside of the command structure (as Ivanova liked to point out early in season 3) but it's what makes his character work; I forgot what episode it was but Sheridan did point out that it had its benefits that worked for Marcus in gathering information and a lead when things go amuck. I absolutely missed his character in season 5; like Lennier said, I was used to seeing him on the show with the rest of the crew, he really was a part of their family. With the way that season 4 turned out, the end of his storyline makes sense but it still guts me.
But, of course, there's always the short story "Time, Space & the Incurable Romantic" =)
Some scenes featuring Marcus (gosh it's so difficult to find some on YouTube that's not a fanvid:
Click to viewMarcus' first appearance in the season 3 premiere
Classic Marcus making the occasional quip =P
Marcus stalling Neroon in episode...3.19?
Last scene from that episode...in pain, Marcus still manages to utter a clever line xD
Marcus singing at the end of episode 4.08...I think, I used to remember the episode order...
This entry was originally posted at http://caffeinatedlife.dreamwidth.org/396879.html. Please comment there using OpenID.