Overall: 9.3
This episode provides yet more evidence for my contention that JMS does his best work when he's writing Londo and/or G'Kar.
Plot Synopsis:
The Lurker's Guide has the summary here.
The Skinny:
Stephanie S.: SABR Matt asked a very interesting question while we were watching this episode together the other day: Why doesn't Kosh ever intervene with Londo the way he does here with G'Kar?
Said question is pretty easy to answer if you skip ahead to a later chapter. Early in the fourth season, the Vorlons start destroying entire planets that have been "touched by the Shadows." One presumes, then, that the Vorlons never intervene with Londo because they believe that Londo has been irreversibly contaminated by the Shadows' influence. In short, as far as the Vorlons are concerned, Londo is beyond saving.
Once you come to this conclusion, however, a wonderful irony is revealed. Kosh stops G'Kar in the central scene of this episode by telling him through a fatherly avatar that the Narn must put aside their thirst for vengeance in the struggle that lies ahead -- yet the Vorlons have no intention of doing the same. Kosh speaks to G'Kar because the Vorlons wish to use the Narn to utterly destroy their enemies. The fact that G'Kar gets something profound out of the encounter is merely an unintended side effect.
Do you begin to see why we hate the Vorlons? They are the ultimate hypocrites.
But now, let's talk about G'Kar. Back in our review of The Coming of Shadows, I noted that G'Kar was the beneficiary of actual grace. That observation is once again true in this episode. Other fans sometimes forget this, but G'Kar had every intention of seriously wounding Londo; if Kosh had not stepped in when he did, G'Kar would've continued the telepathic rape until Londo's mind was utterly destroyed.
I love that JMS and the actors do not shrink from portraying the horrific brutality of G'Kar's assault. The sight of Londo broken and bleeding and weeping for mercy is genuinely disturbing regardless of the evil things Londo has done. Said moment is, in truth, G'Kar's absolute bottom -- and that's what makes his subsequent epiphany so astonishing.
What G'Kar does immediately after his encounter with Kosh once again highlights JMS's deeply Christian understanding of atonement. A so-called religious conversion means absolutely nothing if you don't do penance for your previous sins -- if you don't allow your conversion to completely change your life. Fortunately, to JMS's eternal credit, G'Kar does in fact go all the way. He pleads guilty to his criminal charges. He nods, calm, when the judge shoots down the others' attempts to blame the assault on the dust. And, in the end, he happily accepts his sentence. This is what a deep conversion truly looks like!
In other news, I love Vir. I really, really love him and want to give him yet more squishy hugs. The Vorlons have written Londo off as irredeemable. The Minbari also believe that there is nothing that can be done. But Vir, in his quiet and unassuming way, outshines them all with his innate capacity for faith, hope, and love -- and, in the end, he is proven right.
When Vir is around, we see a definite change for the better in Londo. In particular, the final scene between the two of them is heart-meltingly sweet. Londo may cynically rip apart Vir's diplomatic reports, but in the end, his true feelings are finally revealed when he urges Vir to hold his head up and demand that Centauri Prime take him seriously. Aww. I honestly can't get enough of Londo and Vir and their BEAUTIFUL LOVE.
SABR Matt: My sister has covered in excruciating detail (ha) the plight of Londo and G'Kar and the development of Vir, and I echo her sentiments there with relative unanimity. I like how deeply Christian JMS is, no matter how hard he tries to fight it. Mwahahaha!! But I also wanted to comment on some other plot points, just for the sake of well-roundedness. I very much enjoy Bester in most of his appearances...every good show needs a guy you just love to hate. :) He's among the most layered and entertaining of JMS' villains. You have to appreciate his role in this dust-buster operation. And you equally have to appreciate Ivanova's attempted murder...that's good stuff, although the script does suffer from some liberal chest-thumping from Franklin (I won't allow murder...even if HILTER HIMSELF comes on board!...OK...he didn't actually say that, but he might as well have).
On the whole, if you can get past some really...really bad looking CGI (Kosh's angel looks like it was painted on by a four year old girl in pre-K art class, for example) and Franklin's self-righteousness, you have an episode that is entertaining at all times. Not just one plot shines here.
Writing: 9.5 / 9.5
JMS really pours his full creative energy into this episode. Why am I not surprised that Londo, G'Kar, and Vir are the featured characters?
SABR Matt Chimes In: Half-point demerit for Franklin's line about murder in the first act...otherwise a very good (albeit melodramatic) story executed well.
Acting: 8.5 / 8.0
The perfomances are somewhat melodramatic at times, but it wouldn't be Babylon 5 if we didn't have at least some melodrama thrown into the mix. Besides, as SABR Matt states below, there is so much here that is very good. I am obligated to point out, for example, that Peter Jurasik's abject sobbing in this episode's core scene is extremely haunting.
SABR Matt Chimes In: Stephen Furst was his usual understated self (and we love him muchly for it)...I thought Andreas Katsulas was going to eat ME after he was done chewing the scenery...but I forgive him for that at least in part due to his drugged-up state. Walter Koenig (who we love for many reasons!) is of course awesome as always as Bester, and I thoguht Claudia Christian was unusually strong this week as well.
Message: 10.0+ / 10.0
SABR Matt's remarks below are absolutely correct, but I would also add that G'Kar serves as a fantastic model of genuine repentance. See above.
SABR Matt Chimes In: Blind revenge is an excellent motivator in times of war...but it's also a one-way ticket to nothing but more violence and hatred when the fighting is over. G'Kar learns a valuable lesson in mercy and forgiveness here...and I like that they placed him opposite Vir, who has clearly already learned that lesson well. When challenged by Londo's bad behavior and the understandable certainty amongst his colleagues that he is lost forever, Vir chooses to believe instead that something good can always come from something evil and that Londo...like all souls...can still be redeemed.
Highlights:
FRANKLIN: (in re: Bester) I will not support murder. We cannot kill him.
IVANOVA: Can we wound him? Just a little? (LOL!)
VIR: Well. That could've gone better.
DELENN: Yes. One is foolish; the other, frightened.
VIR: Telling which one is which, that's the hard part. (He sits.) You know, while I have you here, I want to thank you for helping me with my assignment on Minbar. At first, I didn't think that I would like it there, but the longer I stay, the harder it is for me to leave. Sometimes I think Londo could use a visit there. I think it would do him good.
LENNIER: A darkness carried in the heart cannot be cured by moving the body from one place to another. I don't think there is anything that can be done for him now.
VIR: That's because you don't know him. Someday he'll surprise you. (Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.)
LONDO: Do you really think the Minbari can be trusted?
VIR: Yes! Why?
LONDO: (chuckling) Ah, Vir. I have only seen political naivete this complete once before, in a speech before the Centaurum by Lord Jano. When he was finished, we recommended that he be sterilized in the best interest of evolution. But then we remembered that he was married to Lady Alano, so really, there was no need.
VIR: Londo, the Minbari are a very lovely people, interested in culture and art and --
LONDO: Decadent and soft. Probably out to impose their views on everyone else.
VIR: But their cities are thousands of years old!
LONDO: The lack of new construction is the surest sign of a faltering economy. This could make them very aggressive.
VIR: But they're a deeply spiritual people, Londo!
LONDO: Yes, that you can leave in. It always scares people.
VIR: Londo, are you -- are you deliberately trying to drive me insane?
LONDO: The universe is already mad. Anything else would be redundant. (LOL! Classic.)
MINISTER: Your shuttle leaves for Babylon 5 in two days. I hope that gives you enough time to put your affairs in order. Before you go, you will be given the official title of Ambassador. Obviously, we expect you to represent our people as best you can. Any questions?
LONDO: Just one. I would like to know why I was chosen for this... honor?
MINISTER: No one else wants it. The first four stations were destroyed or vanished, so it's not a very safe place to live -- and safety is much valued. Frankly, it's a mess.
LONDO: In other words, the position is really little more than, what, a joke?
MINISTER: Yes. And a bad one at that. (He chuckles.) I'm sorry, Londo. If I could've assigned anyone else, I would have. But your name floated to the top. Once Emperor Turhan saw it, well, that was the end of it.
(We hear G'Kar begin to laugh. The scene shifts, and when Londo turns, we see his adversary sitting in the black above him. G'Kar is clearly having the time of his life.)
G'KAR: Who would believe it? The great and powerful Londo Mollari got his job because no one else was stupid enough to take it!
LONDO: Get out of here! I have nothing to say to you!
G'KAR: Oh, but there's so much more to see, Mollari! (The angle shifts again. Now G'Kar is right beside Londo.) How does it feel to be helpless? To be the victim? Does it help you to understand how we feel? Does it help you to understand our pain? (The angle shifts for a third time.) Show me your secrets, Londo! Show me you secrets!
(Flashback #2)
LONDO: What have you done?
MORDEN: Only what you asked me to do. You had a problem with Quadrant 37, we took care of it for you.
LONDO: Yes, but you killed ten thousand Narns!
MORDEN: I didn't know you cared. Ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million -- what's the difference? They're Narns, Ambassador. Your sworn enemy.
(Flashback #3)
LONDO: Why don't you eliminate the entire Narn homeworld while you're at it?
MORDEN: One thing at a time, Ambassador. One thing at a time.
G'KAR: You. It was you. You were at the center of it all. And the others? The ones you were working with?
LONDO: No, not anymore. It was a mistake. I have nothing more to do with them!
G'KAR: Who are they? Tell me. Tell me or I'll rip it from your mind!
LONDO: No!
G'KAR: Then I'll take it from you, neuron by neuron! All of it, Mollari! ALL OF IT!
(More scenes from Londo's life flash by at high speed. But then:)
NARN/KOSH: It is enough.
G'KAR: (slowly standing) Who's there?
NARN/KOSH: Just... us.
G'KAR: Who are you?
(G'Kar turns. He sees the image of his father hanging from a tree.)
NARN/KOSH: I am... who I have always been.
G'KAR: Father?
NARN/KOSH: It is too late for me, G'Kar. It is not too late for you. Honor my name. Honor... my name. (He appears to die.)
G'KAR: No --
(The angle shifts.)
NARN/KOSH: We are a dying people, G'Kar. So are the Centauri. Obsessed with each other's death until death is all we can see and death is all we deserve.
G'KAR: But the Centauri started it.
NARN/KOSH: And will you continue until there are no more Narns and no more Centauri? If both sides are dead, no one will care which side deserves the blame. It no longer matter who started it, G'Kar. It only matters who is suffering.
G'KAR: No. No, I have an obligation to honor my father's name.
NARN/KOSH: And how have you chosen to honor that name? What is there left for Narn if all of creation falls around us? There is nothing. No hope. No dream. No future. No life, unless we turn from the cycle of death towards something greater. If we are a dying people, then let us die with honor by helping the others as no one else can.
G'KAR: I don't understand.
NARN/KOSH: That is because you have let them distract you -- blind you with hate. You cannot see the battle for what it is. We are fighting to save one another. We must realize that we are not alone. We rise and fall together -- and some of us must be sacrificed if all are to be saved. Because if we fail in this, then none of us will be saved -- and the Narn will be only a memory. (The figure of G'Kar's father disappears. We now hear his voice overhead.) You have the opportunity here and now to choose -- to become something greater and nobler and more difficult than you have been before. The universe does not offer such chances often, G'Kar.
G'KAR: Why now? Why not earlier? All this time... where have you been?
NARN/KOSH: I have always been here. (This is pretty much the core of the episode right here.)
VIR: Will he be all right?
FRANKLIN: I think so. We'll know in a few hours. You know, you shouldn't be out of bed yourself. You got knocked around pretty bad.
VIR: I should be here. He'll need me. (Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.)
LONDO: Looks like both of us have been through a war, hmm?
VIR: I just wish I could've stopped him.
LONDO: Oh no, he would've torn you to little pieces and then stomped up and down on them. And then he would've gotten nasty. (They laugh, but then Vir grimaces from the pain.) It's good to have you here again, Vir. How long can you stay? Another day or two, I hope.
VIR: No, I just got word. I have to leave tonight. Centauri Prime wants me back on Minbar for some... special ceremony.
LONDO: Ah, well. Good. Good. They are seeing the value in your position. It should never be a joke to them, Vir. Never let them think that.
VIR: I won't. (Very nice.)
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