THIS IS THE BEST WEEK EVER! Not only do we finally get to review the Babylon 5 episode that won the 1996 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, but later this week, we will also be reviewing one of its competitors, a DS9 episode that deserved the coveted rocket ship trophy just as much. Be prepared for a great deal of bouncing and fannish squealing.
Overall: 9.7
This is, hands down, one of the best episodes of Babylon 5 ever produced. It literally stuns you into silence -- even if you've seen it a hundred times. If, after a string of negative reviews, you readers have ever wondered why we picked up this classic canon to begin with -- wonder no more: this episode - and the arc for which it serves as a key turning point - is a HUGE reason why.
Plot Synopsis:
Get thee to the Lurker's Guide for the complete episode summary.
SABR Matt's Ratings:
Writing: 10.0
What we have here is a very rare moment in Babylon 5 canon history. A script that is not bloated with either exposition or purple prose (!). In point of fact, the incredibly rapid-fire onslaught of tantalizing foreshadow, potent drama and gut-wrenching irony leave the viewer a little stunned and deeply satisfied after the fireworks settle. My co-author has been chomping at the bit to comment on this one for the last week, so I'll let her go into exquisite detail about all of those key pieces to this functionally perfect and suspenseful script. There are just so many little writers' techniques that make this script so powerfully pleasing to a fan of artistic expression that I couldn't possibly hit them all. Multiple uses of overlapping seemingly unrelated action which is thematically tied (the discussion of the Rangers while the chess pieces begin moving on the station regarding outpost 14, for example)...the powerful role reversal we see between Londo and G'Kar (my co-author will detail this for you), the unbearable joy we see in G'Kar when the entire audience (and his drinking buddy) know the hammer has already fallen...I can't gush enough about how beautifully constructed this story really is.
Acting: 9.0
Aside from a bit of mediocrity from Michael O'Hare, Rick Biggs (who FUBARs a really important line delivered to G'Kar and kind of kills what should be a great scene for me) and Jerry Doyle, we've got wall to wall acting chops on display as well. Particularly in the bar-room scene for both Peter Jurasik and Adreas Katsulas...and later, in the final scene as Emperor Turhan dies from Jurasik. Not to be forgotten, Stephen Furst manages to shake off the comedic labels and hammer Londo with about as strongly-worded a condemnation as we could ever imagine Vir delivering...with perfect pitch (as an actor). I was also impressed with Turhan Bey (the Emperor) and, shockingly, even Bruce Boxleitner, whose confrontation with G'Kar outside Londo's quarters was unusually strong for a work-a-day utility actor.
Message: 9.5
When people comment on B5, the obvious "Greek Tragedy" stuff rises to the top...and yes, the Centauri/Narn story does indeed take on a classically tragic flavor...the apparent fatalism of the Narn/Centauri war arc and of G'Kar and Londo's relationship is not, however, inconsistent with my basic belief in free will and disdain for the whole concept of "fate." The key to any good Greek tragedy is that the "inescapable" events which unfold despite the wishes of the afflicted are COMPLETELY avoidable if not for some colossal character flaw in the victim. Greek tragedy does not communicate a belief in "fate"...it's an ancient form of FABLE with a life lesson to teach. Londo's belief that he cannot escape his own doom...his low self-worth...and his naked ambition...lead him to make precisely the decisions we all know he should not make. If Turhan had not collapsed, the same would be true of G'Kar...his blind rage and hatred would have cost Narn any chance at peace and very possibly led to the destruction of his homeworld just as Londo's actions did. The shadows pulling the strings are not meant to be viewed literally. They are a representation of the forces that drive humanity toward conquest and tyranny.
Stephanie S.'s Ratings:
Writing: 10.0 WITH A BULLET!
SABR Matt is right: this is a profoundly satisfying - and gut-wrenching - episode on so many levels. Below, I will train my focus on three scenes in particular that speak to this script's strengths.
At the start, we see G'Kar preparing to assassinate Emperor Turhan. The personal guilt of the emperor - or lack thereof - hardly matters; all that matters to G'Kar is his desire to settle the score for his race. Thus, when Turhan collapses, G'Kar is profoundly disappointed. He really does want to strike that fatal blow - until, that is, Dr. Franklin informs G'Kar of the reason for the emperor's visit. When the good doctor tells G'Kar that Turhan wished to apologize to the Narn, G'Kar, for the very first time, sees hope where before he saw only blood. Meanwhile, Londo, under pressure to cut a flash back home, makes a conscious choice to use the Shadows to strike the Narn. This time, Londo can't fool himself; he knows already what happened to the Narn outpost in Quadrant 37. He is, as my German friend has put it, plunging into hell "with his eyes wide open." And so, when Londo and G'Kar meet again, what results is that iconic scene in the Zocalo -- that painfully ironic moment in which G'Kar, flush with a sudden, irrepressible optimism, buys Londo a drink and raises a toast to the health of the emperor. Every time I watch this scene, I stop breathing, struck by the terrible sense of what might have been.
It is at this point that this episode rewards the patient and the attentive in a big way. To explain what I mean, I must indulge in a brief flashback: As you may recall, when the Narn attacked the Centauri outpost at Ragesh III back in Midnight on the Firing Line, Londo's first impulse was to murder G'Kar to avenge his nephew -- and it was only when Garibaldi appealed to Londo's deep-seated patriotism that Londo at last backed down. Now let us return to the present: Now it is the Narn who are the victims of a surprise attack - and now it is G'Kar who decides that blood must be avenged with blood. Here, Sheridan, like Garibaldi before him, steps in as the voice of reason, his words an eerie echo of Garibaldi's own many episodes ago. The two scenes bookend each other; they are in perfect symmetry. And, as SABR Matt has already noted, that symmetry highlights how very much alike Londo and G'Kar really are. I think it's very important to remember this last point, as it is a beautiful bit of nuance that is sometimes forgotten in fannish discussions.
And then there's Vir - precious Vir. Just as it is a turning point for the relationship between Londo and G'Kar, The Coming of Shadows is a turning point for the relationship between Londo and Vir. Since The Geometry of Shadows, Vir's suspicion of Refa has only intensified, this time to such a degree that Londo himself acknowledges it. In a moment that we will ultimately come to see as typical of their interaction, Londo asks Vir if Refa's machinations make him uncomfortable. Vir's response is an emphatic "Yes!" -- and Londo nods and says that is one thing they have in common. The openness that Londo displays here and elsewhere is surely against the current of his own society; it is remarkable that he is willing to express doubt before a subordinate in this manner. This is the very thing that Vir latches on to in the years ahead. This is the very thing that drives Vir's panicked response when Londo decides to utilize the services of Mr. Morden to attack the Narn in Quadrant 14. Able to see what lies ahead and desperate to reach the part of Londo that doubts, Vir openly argues with Londo, his voice taking on a frightened and pleading edge we've never heard him use previous to this point -- and what results is an absolutely fantastic scene - a scene that is certainly among Vir's top five.
I could go on forever about this episode. If anything, SABR Matt understates my excitement in his commentary. While watching this episode for the eighty-billionth time last night, I found myself transported to that day many years ago when I saw this episode for the first time. I felt the anguish, the horror, and the heartrending tragedy of this story - one of Babylon 5's top ten episodes, if not one its top three - just as keenly as I did as an unspoiled newbie. That this episode should retain this power after all this time is proof that it deserves near-universal recognition as an unqualified masterpiece. And there's even better news: for Londo and G'Kar at least, it does not go downhill from here. Symmetries upon symmetries, motifs upon motifs, and layers upon layers -- I've said this before, but I'll say it again: the artistry and care with which JMS develops the Narn/Centauri arc far outshines what we see in the rest of the series.
Acting: 9.5
I don't really think the late Rick Biggs muffs his important scene, but other than that, I agree fully with SABR Matt's comments on the performances. I believe it was Bruce Boxleitner who once remarked in a commentary that "if you are in a scene with Andreas and Peter, forget it. You might as well be the wall." And for those who think this is solely due to the "bigness" of Londo and G'Kar, allow me to point you to this episode as proof that these men could in fact do "subtle" extraordinarily well. Watch Katsulas deliver G'Kar's declaration of war in the council chamber. Watch the emotions that flicker across Jurasik's face in - well - just about every scene he's in. These guys are master character actors. In my opinion, only Stephen Furst successfully avoids blending into the background in their presence, perhaps because he doesn't consciously attempt to compete, but instead accepts his secondary role and works to make it interesting on its own terms.
Message: 10.0
Neither G'Kar's salvation nor Londo's damnation was a foregone conclusion; up until Turhan's collapse, it could've gone either way. If Turhan had lasted a few minutes longer, G'Kar would've started the war, and the Narn would've received very little succor in their fight against the Shadows. Fortunately for G'Kar, a moment of pure grace turns things around entirely. Which isn't to say that G'Kar himself bears no responsibility for what he does when push comes to shove; it is, after all, left to us to choose whether or not to accept the graces we are given.
As explained above, this episode brings the similarities between Londo and G'Kar into sharp relief, but it is also the point at which their arcs begin to diverge, for while G'Kar takes his first step towards the light, Londo, tragically, goes in the opposite direction. Sheridan urges G'Kar to decide what matters more - revenge, or the safety of his people - and G'Kar, crucially, follows the callings of grace. Meanwhile, Londo makes his own choice, yet he denies that it is in fact a choice and thus starts his walk to perdition. Even Emperor Turhan serves to amplify the overarching message of this episode when he observes that his visit - his apology tour, in truth - to Babylon 5 is the first free choice he has ever made. Everything that happens hinges on these characters' willingness - or failure, in Londo's case - to acknowledge that they are free actors in the drama of life. This, as we will come to see, is one of the Big Themes of the series as a whole, and it serves to remind us that, though God may be guiding us on our way through the gifts of actual grace, we too are in charge of our ultimate destinies.
Highlights:
G'KAR: It is a strange feeling, Kha'Mak, to know suddenly that all the decisions in your life have brought you to this place - that there is no longer doubt or uncertainty. The future now consists of only three probabilities. (G'Kar opens a box and removes a dagger.) In the moment that I strike, the emperor and I will both die... or he will die, and I will spend my life in prison... or I will fail and be killed. For the first time in my life, the path is clear. (And it's about to get murky again in a bit, G'Kar.)
SHERIDAN: Your Majesty? You asked to see me?
EMPEROR TURHAN: Captain, may I ask you a question?
SHERIDAN: Depends on the question, I guess.
EMPEROR TURHAN: Why are you here, in this place - in that uniform? Was it your choice, or were you pressed into service?
SHERIDAN: It was my choice. The planetary draft didn't start until the war, a few years later. I guess I wanted to serve something that was bigger than I was. Make a difference somewhere, somehow. (A beat.) You seem interested in why people chose to be here.
EMPEROR TURHAN: It has occurred to me recently that I have never chosen anything. I was born into a role that had been prepared for me. I did everything I was asked to do because it never occurred to me to choose otherwise. And now, at the end of my life, I wonder what might have been.
SHERIDAN: That's why my father told me to live each second as if it were the last moment of my life. He said, 'If you love, love without reservation. If you fight, fight without fear.' He called it 'the way of the warrior.'
EMPEROR TURHAN: No regrets, then?
SHERIDAN: A few. But just a few. You?
EMPEROR TURHAN: (sighing) Enough to fill a lifetime. So much has been lost... so much forgotten... so much pain... so much blood. And for what, I wonder? The past tempts us, the present confuses us, and the future frightens us... and our lives slip away, lost in that vast, terrible in-between. (That is a beautiful line.) But there is still time to seize that one last fragile moment. To choose something better. To make a difference, as you say. And I intend to do just that.
LONDO: I hear word of this has already reached homeworld.
REFA: Our competitors are moving into position... setting themselves up to ascend the throne the moment he dies. Before that happens, we have to rise above the others. We must do something extraordinary - something unparalleled.
LONDO: (thinking) He said, 'Just pick a target.'
REFA: I'm sorry?
LONDO: I believe there is a Narn colony on the border of Centauri space. Quadrant 14.
VIR: (piping up from the back) Londo...
(Londo quiets Vir with a motion of his hand.)
REFA: A colony? It's a listening post. They've been using it to spy on us for years. By all rights, that entire planet should be ours.
LONDO: Well, then - let us take it back.
(The camera trains its focus on Vir for a moment, and we can see that he does not like where this conversation is going.)
REFA: (disbelieving) We couldn't take it without a major assault. We would lose thousands of lives.
LONDO: I will take care of it. Have your contacts in the military send an expedition to Quadrant 14.
REFA: I can only guarantee a few ships.
LONDO: It will be enough.
REFA: I hope you know what you're doing Mollari.
(Refa leaves.)
LONDO: (to Vir) Find Mr. Morden. Bring him here.
VIR: (deadly serious) Londo, don't do this.
LONDO: I have no choice!
VIR: (with pure, unadulterated panic in his voice) YES, YOU DO! Londo, please, please, please - I know you don't listen to me, but I'm asking you just this one time, DON'T DO THIS! There's no turning back once you start down that road!
LONDO: Do I have to go find him myself?
VIR: (defeated) No. No, I'll go. I'll go, and I'll bring him back. And someday, I'm gonna remind you of this conversation, and maybe then - then - you'll understand.
LONDO: (grim) I understand... just fine. By this time tomorrow, we will be at war with the Narn. May the Great Maker forgive me. (VIRISAWESOMEANDLONDOISFRUSTRATINGAAAAIEEEEEEEEEEEEE! The tension is so thick here that you can forget about cutting it with a dinky old knife. And just in case we haven't made it perfectly clear already, we love Vir with the fiery heat of a thousand burning suns.)
G'KAR: (to his contact on Narn) I was ready! I had prepared myself! I had made my peace with the universe - put all my affairs in order! I had the dagger in my hand... and he has the indecency to start dying on his own. (LOL!) Never in my life have I seen a worse case of timing. Well, you'd think he could've waiting a few more minutes before --
(G'Kar is interrupted by the door chime.)
G'KAR: Who is it?
FRANKLIN: Dr. Franklin.
G'KAR: (leaning close to the comm screen) Maybe's it's good news. With luck, he's feeling better. All they have to do is prop him up for two minutes -- I'll call you back.
(The connection to Narn is severed. G'Kar quickly wipes all evidence of his plotting off of his face and straightens his uniform.)
G'KAR: Enter.
FRANKLIN: (upon entering) I just came from seeing the Centauri emperor.
G'KAR: (with very false solicitude) How is the poor fellow? I was so looking forward to meeting him and opening up... a dialogue. (The last word is said with distinct distaste.)
FRANKLIN: Funny, he was looking forward to meeting you too. He had a message for you. Given his present condition, he asked me to relay that message for him.
G'KAR: I have no time for threats!
FRANKLIN: He wanted to say he's sorry.
G'KAR: (turning) What?
FRANKLIN: He came all the way out here - risked his health and endangered his life - so that he could stand beside a Narn in neutral territory and apologize. For all the things the Centauri have done to your people. For all the things his family did. He said: 'We were wrong. The hatred between our people can never end until someone is willing to say I'm sorry... and try to find a way to make things right again. To atone for our actions.' He said it was the only choice he has ever made in his life... and now that seems to have been taken away from him.
G'KAR: (clearly moved) I had... I had no idea.
FRANKLIN: No, I'm sure you didn't. Maybe that's the biggest tragedy of the whole damned story. (This line? Steph has an LJ icon based on it.)
G'KAR: Mollari!
(Upon seeing G'Kar, Londo tries to flee like a frightened mouse.)
G'KAR: You!
(G'Kar grabs Londo by the arms.)
LONDO: (pathetic) I can explain everything...
G'KAR: I am going to get you... a drink!
(G'Kar starts to pull Londo over to the bar.)
LONDO: I don't know...
G'KAR: Sit! Sit, sit, sit, Mollari! It's not every day I have a revelation, you know. (He slams his fist on the bar.) Two of your finest! (A beat.) I have heard something, and it makes me think there is still hope for us after all. (The look on Londo's face here is ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATING.) I'd believed your people capable of only... murder and pain. But apparently there is still... a spark of decency in your genetic code. It's not much of a foundation, I'll grant you that, but... (He clasps Londo's arm.) ... it's a start. I never thought I would be saying this Mollari, but... (He lifts a glass.) ... to the health of your emperor... and, perhaps, to your health as well.
(Londo sits in stunned silence for a moment before he raises his own glass.)
LONDO: (softly) To the emperor. (OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW! The dramatic irony here hurts with a physical pain!)
(After G'Kar learns of the attack on Quadrant 14:)
G'KAR: I reached out my hand... and he betrayed me. He knew, and HE BETRAYED ME! (And G'Kar breaks his stone table in half. Good grief, he's strong. Also, notice how personal he makes this. It's not, "those bastard Centauri are at it again," but "Londo betrayed me!" Hmmmm.)
(Then, a bit later, we find an enraged G'Kar taking down security personnel outside Londo's quarters.)
G'KAR: MOLLARI! MOLLARI!
(At the end of the hall, Sheridan is waiting with a phalanx of security officers.)
SHERIDAN: That's far enough. Go to your quarters and no charges will be pressed. (G'Kar continues to move forward. We hear several PPG's charging up.) I mean it, G'Kar! You will go to your quarters, and you will go now.
G'KAR: They're doing it to us again! Step aside, Sheridan! I won't let this happen! NOT AGAIN!
SHERIDAN: Then you're going to need all the help you can get. Set one foot inside Ambassador Mollari's quarters, you'll either be dead or gone. Either way, you won't help your people.
G'KAR: They'll kill everyone! Don't you understand?! They've done it before! THEY'LL KILL EVERYONE!
SHERIDAN: Then you're gonna have to decide what's more important to you, G'Kar: revenge, or saving the lives of your people.
(G'Kar struggles with this for a long moment. Then, just when it appears he's going to go on the attack again, he collapses, sobbing. A few of the security men approach.)
SHERIDAN: No, leave him alone. Just... leave him alone. (HO-LY CRAP ON THE STICK, this scene is awesome.)
REFA: (in re: the emperor) Mollari, what did he say, really?
LONDO: (haunted) He said... that we are both damned.
REFA: Well. It's a small enough price to pay for immortality.
(At that, Refa walks away laughing. The camera then lingers on Londo's face. Unlike Refa, Londo is keenly aware of the mortal sins he has just committed. And that right there is another sign that Londo is ultimately redeemable.)
SHERIDAN: Ambassador? (G'Kar is sitting on the floor clutching his Book of G'Quan.) We think we have an idea on how we can help. We've called a council meeting. I hope you can come.
(Sheridan starts to leave, but G'Kar stops him.)
G'KAR: Sheridan. I will attend. (A beat.) And thank you... for stopping me.
DELENN: Ambassador G'Kar.
G'KAR: (nodding) Before coming here, I received a communique from my government. For a hundred years, the Centauri occupied our world... devastated it. We swore that we would never let that happen again. This attack on our largest civilian colony has inflicted terrible damage and loss of life. They have crossed a line we cannot allow them to cross. As of two hours ago, my government has officially declared war against the Centauri Republic. Our hope for peace is over. We are now at war. We are now at war. (OMG!)
VIR: I'm surprised. You could've asked to be named to the Royal Court. It could've put you in a position to become emperor yourself one day. That's what you want, isn't it? (Again, Vir is completely and utterly serious here.)
(Londo flashes back to his death dream.)
LONDO: No, I have no desire to be emperor. No, I prefer to work behind the scenes. The reward is nearly as great - and the risk far, far less.
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