"The Well of Forever" Review

First Published: 06/24/99

"The Well of Forever" will probably turn out to be a typical Crusade episode. The story is set on the Excalibur, and most of the main cast are involved. While not quite as good as "The Long Road", it is a solid episode. This is the first of two episodes written by Fiona Avery.

The story deals with agendas and trust. Most of the characters have an agenda, and several of them violate a trust to pursue their agenda. Galen's agenda drives the plot. He has been on a quest for years to find the mythical Well of Forever, a powerful crossroads in hyperspace. Now, with the Excalibur's help, he believes he can finally reach it.

The Excalibur sets off on the long and dangerous voyage while some of the crew question whether Galen was completely honest about his motives. Captain Gideon, however, has his own agenda and his own dubious motive for agreeing to the journey.

An unwilling passenger on the journey is Mr. Jones from the Senate Metasensory Agency. In the post-Psi Corps era he acts as a sort of internal affairs agent with broad powers to determine whether Lt. Matheson has abused his telepathic talents - even accidentally.

While short on action, "The Well of Forever" does deliver on J. Michael Straczynski's promise of visiting amazing alien worlds. This episode is a personal journey for several of the characters. While the outcomes of some of these journeys are not completely clear - even after Galen's ineffectual attempt to explain them - the paths followed make this an entertaining episode.

This episode was obviously intended to run much later in the season. There are a couple of references that indicate that the crew has been through much together already.

"The Well of Forever" provides good insight into the personalities of several characters. The increased role for Lt. Matheson is welcomed, and Gary Cole performs well as Captain Gideon.