Or, I wish Crusade was actually three hours long.

Actually, I should also mention that this episode of Crusade follows without the doubt one of the most distressing scenes from TNT Nitro...

Some big wrestling dude is literally plumetting two blonde females, screaming at them, pushing them into walls, and just generally being physically abusive.

Makes me glad that JMS stood his grounds with TNT and their so-called plans for improvement. </bitterness>.

Okay - just had to get that out of the way.

We find our group of castaways in front of a really big tower.  Apparently they've been there for hours, not getting anywhere and tempers are getting very frayed.  Max is obviously very frustrated, and when Gideon asks what his status report is, he answers with "Oh right, I found a way in half an hour ago, I just failed to mention it. Silly me."

Galen, obviously annoyed, wants Max to repeat the translation of the wall again.

Max, loses his cool, and informs him that it says the same thing over and over again, in the forty or so languages that he's been able to translate. Galen keeps trying to interrupt Max while Max is obviously at wit's end.  You can't climb the walls, you can't enter the doors, you can't cut through it, and you can't blast through the doors because it will ruin anything of worth inside the doors.  He just thinks that Galen has sent them on a wild goose chase again. Quite frankly, Max has no idea what "the path of sorrows is supposed to mean."

Galen, decides to shut up Max once and for all, and proceeds to create "Sparky" the plasma ball. Galen, giving it a gentle puff of breathe, Sparky zips over to Max and threateningly hovers in front of his face.  Max, not wanting to be turned into a flaming max-ka-bob,  calms down somewhat, and glares at Galen, and finally answers Galen's question ... "Enter freely through the path of sorrows ..."

Galen, displaying his dark side again, proceeds to browbeat Dureena into tears, while the boys of Crusade watch.  She begins to cry, and he takes one of her tears on his finger and places it on the door.

"Open Seasame! Shazam!" the doors open, and the group walks in.  Max discovers the alien in the bubble, and Gideon proceeds to have a pyschic encounter with the "Bubble Alien."  He relives the Cerebus encounter, and sees the alien inside.  They're taking the bubble with them to the ship.

Max asks, "Are you sure that it's such a good idea?"

Gideon "Yes."

Max wonders what is up with the captain.

Dureena: Well, haven't you noticed by now? He never walks away from a distress signal or abandons someone who might be in trouble. He never leaves anyone behind.
Max: Why?
Dureena: I don't know. He never talks about it.

And with that, some fifteen minutes into the show, Max is sent to his quarters to watch his "Special videos" and he is not seen again.

Questions-

Why doesn't Gideon slap Galen down hard? He threatened the Sardonic one with Fire, and was purposely abusive to Dureena in order to make her cry.  Why does Gideon allow this? Does Galen's help really justify treating the fellow Crusaders that way?
 

Max Factors-

I Give it two max.  Max is there, in the forefront of the search to get into the building, complete with leather jacket, but it's a tease, nothing more.  He's there, being brilliant and sarcastic, and the character is dropped in order to promote Gideon, Matheson and Galen. It's not a bad thing, but I would love to have seen Max meet up with the boy in the bubble.  Is Max looking for forgiveness? If so, what is the incident that he can't forgive himself?