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   _Contents:_ [9]Overview - [10]Backplot - [11]Questions - [12]Analysis
   - [13]Notes - [14]JMS
   
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Overview

     Sheridan's forces attempt to liberate Proxima 3. Londo tries to
     enlist G'Kar's aid in backing Sheridan against Earth. [15]Marcia
     Mitzman Gaven as Commander Levitt. [16]Richard Gant as Captain
     MacDougan. [17]Ken Jenkins as Captain Hall.
     
[18]P5 Rating: [19]9.16

Production number: 415
Original air week: May 26, 1997

Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Mike Vejar

     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Plot Points

     * Sheridan's forces have liberated Proxima 3. In the process,
       several additional Earth Alliance cruisers defected to his side.
       Some are remaining to guard Proxima 3 against retaliation by
       President Clark.
     * During the Earth-Minbari War, G'Kar personally supervised the sale
       of Narn weapons to Earth.
     * Londo and G'Kar have agreed to throw the support of their
       respective governments behind Sheridan. The nonaligned worlds have
       apparently dissolved their mutual defense pacts with Earth and are
       staying out of the conflict, aside from loaning ships to help
       defend Babylon 5 itself.
     * Garibaldi has left the station for Mars, and never intends to
       return. He plans to try to help free Earth, but not in concert
       with Sheridan, whose methods Garibaldi opposes.
       
Unanswered Questions

     * What exactly will come of the declaration of support by Centauri
       Prime and Narn? Will they provide military support to Sheridan?
       Did he know the declaration was coming?
     * Does Londo's declaration mean that he has voided the nonagression
       treaty between Centauri Prime and Earth ([20]"The Fall of Night?")
       Does the implantation of a Keeper on at least one Centauri
       official ([21]"Epiphanies") spell trouble for Centauri support of
       Sheridan's cause?
     * What was Vir writing when he fell asleep?
     * What business did Garibaldi have in Centauri space?
     * What does Garibaldi plan to do to fight for Earth?
     * How does Sheridan hope to use the frozen telepaths?
       
Analysis

     * Sheridan told Commander Levitt the League wasn't getting involved
       because he wanted this to be a clean fight, presumably meaning no
       alien involvement. But in fact, aliens are already involved; the
       crew of the White Star fleet is largely Minbari, and the ships
       themselves are a Minbari/Vorlon concoction.
       Earth forces being attacked by Minbari-made vessels with Minbari
       crews would seem perfect propaganda fodder for Clark, further
       "evidence" that Sheridan has gone over to the Minbari side as
       suggested in [22]"The Illusion of Truth."
       Of course, it could be argued that many Minbari are part human
       anyway ([23]"Atonement") and thus aren't completely out of place
       in a human civil war, but that argument would likely do little to
       dampen the effect of Clark's propaganda, should he choose to
       concoct any.
     * Patriotism and its effects played a key thematic role in this
       episode. Sheridan's patriotism (as described when he spoke to the
       other captains about the ideals of the Alliance) drove him to
       attack his own people. Garibaldi's patriotism, if his conversation
       with Vir is to be believed, is strong as well, but Sheridan's
       methods are abhorrent to him. Londo's patriotism led him to
       forsake his friends, and now he finds himself alone. G'Kar's
       patriotism lost him his eye.
       Perhaps even Clark believes he's acting in Earth's best interest,
       though that puts him on a collision course with Sheridan.
     * Did Garibaldi tell Edgars about Sheridan's imminent campaign? If
       so, Edgars doesn't appear to have relayed the information to Earth
       Force, since the commanders at Proxima 3 were unaware Sheridan was
       on the move. On the other hand, Garibaldi didn't know the
       particulars of the first phase of the campaign.
     * Garibaldi apparently didn't visit G'Kar to say goodbye (or at
       least, no such visit was shown.) Why not, especially given what
       G'Kar went through while searching for him?
     * G'Kar is apparently still working on the book he started while in
       prison ([24]"Messages from Earth.")
     * When Londo asked about G'Kar's eye, G'Kar responded, "It sees."
       His eye is therefore probably not, at present, the "eye that does
       not see" from Lady Morella's prophecy ([25]"Point of No Return.")
       Was his natural eye in fact the one referred to by the prophecy?
       Since it needs to be recharged nightly to continue seeing
       ([26]"Atonement") and since it's not in evidence 17 years in the
       future, when G'Kar and Londo kill each other ([27]"War Without
       End, Part Two") the artificial eye may yet turn out to be the one
       Morella was referring to.
     * Londo offered a toast to the humans, who he regards as a bridge
       between the Centauri and Narn. This echoes Delenn's statements
       ([28]"And Now For a Word," [29]"Lines of Communication") that
       humanity's greatest strength is the ability to form communities of
       diverse people.
     * The drink Londo referred to while talking to G'Kar was in [30]"The
       Coming of Shadows," bought by G'Kar after he learned the Centauri
       Emperor had come to make peace with the Narn.
       Shortly thereafter, Londo did have some inkling that he was losing
       his friends thanks to his activities; he offered Garibaldi a drink
       in [31]"Acts of Sacrifice," acknowledging that the two were still
       "friends, if only for a little while."
     * Londo's rationale for the joint declaration was nearly identical
       to Sheridan's argument for allowing the White Star fleet to patrol
       Narn and Centauri space ([32]"Conflicts of Interest.") However,
       since Sheridan apparently decided not to publicize the fact that
       both the Narn and Centauri had agreed to the patrols (assuming the
       Narn agreed -- it's only been explicitly stated that the Centauri
       did) this joint declaration is the first official act of unity
       that's been shown.
     * Vir's nightmare presumably related to the assassination of
       Cartagia ([33]"The Long Night.") It's odd that he cried out, "I
       didn't do it," when in fact he did kill Cartagia, perhaps an
       indication that part of him still doesn't believe what he did.
       On the other hand, it's possible he was dreaming of something
       else, perhaps one of the precognitive dreams Centauri have. In
       that case, one candidate that'd fit his exclamation would be his
       discovery of the dead bodies of Londo and G'Kar ([34]"War Without
       End, Part Two.")
       One other Centauri has been shown awakening from a nightmare
       recently: the Regent in [35]"Epiphanies," who awoke to discover he
       had a Keeper attached to his neck.
     * Earth appears to have improved its scanning technology; White Star
       ships were hit more than once during the battle. Previously, Earth
       weapon systems haven't been able to lock onto Minbari ships (e.g.
       [36]"Points of Departure.") Presumably the White Stars, which
       incorporate much more advanced Vorlon technology as well, are even
       harder to get a fix on. Perhaps the Shadows supplied Earth with
       some technical tips.
       It's possible manual targeting was used (novel [37]"The Shadow
       Within") and the Earth ships simply got in a few lucky shots, but
       that runs counter to Sheridan's message to the other captains that
       he wouldn't consider them hostile if their weapons didn't lock on.
       That message wouldn't make sense if they weren't capable of
       locking on anyway. On the other hand, since Sheridan wanted to
       test the hostility of the Earth ships, he may have ordered the
       White Stars to turn off their countermeasures. In [38]"Points of
       Departure" Minbari ships were able to make themselves trackable by
       the station's scanners as desired.
       Either way, only one White Star was seen to have been destroyed,
       and then only because it smashed into a cruiser seconds after
       being hit. Possibly the White Stars are advanced enough that a
       momentary loss of control is the only real impact from a single
       hit by Earth weapons.
     * While Marcus was gathering information on the hostility of the
       Earth cruisers, his contact on Proxima 3 was under attack by
       ground forces. What happened to the ground forces after the space
       battle? Sheridan appeared to consider the planet liberated once
       the commander of the Heracles capitulated; did she have authority
       over all Earth forces in the region, or are there still holdouts
       on the surface?
     * Sheridan promised to liberate Proxima, then take the battle to
       Mars and finally to Earth. What about the colony on Orion 7, which
       seceded from the Earth Alliance at the same time Proxima 3 did?
       ([39]"Severed Dreams") Perhaps it has already fallen, or maybe
       it's not under as much duress as Proxima was, so Sheridan felt the
       best way to liberate it was to take back Earth. Or perhaps it's a
       small colony and Clark didn't deem it worth the effort to take
       back.
     * In [40]"War Without End, Part One" the White Star's Vorlon
       technology adapted its defenses to shrug off blasts from Shadow
       fighters after it was hit. Will the surviving White Stars from the
       battle at Proxima 3 now be more resistant to Earth's weapons, and
       thus even more potent weapons?
     * Commander Levitt knew that the League worlds had sided with
       Sheridan. How did she know, if Babylon 5 is officially cut off
       from Earth? The most likely answer is that she'd been watching the
       Voice of the Resistance broadcasts, which indicates that they are
       indeed reaching the colonies.
       
Notes

     * The Alexander ([41]"Severed Dreams") has survived and is
       apparently now patrolling Proxima 3 to guard against retaliation
       by Clark's forces.
     * The Vesta's logo (visible on the bridge) is a stylized flame in a
       brazier. Vesta is the Roman goddess of the hearth. The Heracles'
       logo appears to incorporate arrows in the "H" at the bottom,
       probably a reference to Heracles' poison arrows from Greek
       mythology.
     * The ship that withdrew from the battle was the Juno. In Roman
       mythology, Juno was the goddess of light and birth. In Greek
       mythology she was called Hera.
     * The names of two of the ships that surrendered had symbolic
       relation to Sheridan's campaign. The Furies were goddesses who
       punished crimes against one's kin. Nemesis was the goddess who
       punished hubris -- putting oneself above the gods.
     * The Pollux was named after Greek mythology as well. Castor and
       Pollux, the two main stars of the constellation Gemini, were
       brothers. When Pollux was killed, Castor was so despondent that
       Zeus agreed to turn them both into stars so they could always be
       together.
     * Possible continuity glitch: Just before Garibaldi's arrival, Vir
       drops his pen while he's asleep. When he stands up, he's holding
       the pen again. Of course, he might have picked it up upon
       awakening.
     * Effects glitch: The Earth Alliance logos on the Pollux and the
       Furies are backwards. The "E" can be seen to point to the left
       rather than the right.
       
jms speaks

     * _Why don't we ever see Clark?_
       I wanted to keep Clark more a force than a person...and Vir has
       just been off doing his usual Vir stuff...he's back this coming
       week.
     * Proxima 3 is in the Proxima Centauri system, next door to Proxima
       2, but no one goes there because the tourist season is way too
       short.
     * "It seems to me that the White Stars (particularly in the numbers
       I perceived in this Ep) should have been able to deal with the
       Earth ships like lamb to a slaughter."
       Yeah, if all you want is to slaughter fellow humans and officers;
       if you want to try to minimize the body count of your fellow
       officers, who you want to eventually side with you, it's more
       difficult, you have to keep the kid gloves on...which endangers
       you in the long run.
     * "were these White Stars tired or something? I would've expected
       that a couple of them could just go slice-slice, sever the
       rotating sections on the EA ships and have 'em for breakfast."
       Sure, if all you're interested in is slaughtering the
       opposition...they were designed for "destroy"...when you have to
       pull your punches to avoid just going in and killing EVERYthing in
       sight...which will only work *against* you in the long run, it
       becomes more difficult.
     * _There were a lot of ethical decisions on all sides, something you
       don't usually see in military SF. Were you in the military?_
       No, I wasn't in the military, just having missed the Vietnam
       draft. The points you mention are all the ones I wanted to get
       into with that episode, and the ones a lot of folks have
       overlooked in suggesting that it should have been an episode about
       slicing-and-dicing the enemy (the enemy in this case being our own
       species). The show, at root, is about ethics, among other things,
       and the ethical choices will continue to get more difficult the
       deeper you go. There is a very fine line that Sheridan's walking
       in all this.
     * It's certainly an issue I care about quite a lot, and the delicate
       balance between orders and conscience, between what you think you
       should be doing vs. what you feel you *must* do, is the heart of
       99% of all drama.
     * "G'Kar seems to know that it's Mollari at his door -- why else
       would he wait so long to call, "Enter?" But how did he know -- was
       it an official request by Londo?"
       If you recall, when Garibaldi visited Vir, Vir mentioned that
       Londo was arranging a meeting with G'Kar, so it was definitely set
       up in advance.
     * The Londo/G'Kar stuff was nifty...and yes, he's struggling toward
       redemption as best he can, making a real effort, which is
       important, because if he's going to end up with a Keeper on him
       eventually, as we've seen, best to feel for him, which you can't
       if he's a bad guy.
       Set 'em up, knock 'em down....
     * If G'Kar came around too easily or quickly, it would ring false;
       it had to go through some time and reflection. But even though one
       could certainly agree with his anger over what's happened, G'Kar
       has to try and overcome that and even transcend it.
       

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      [48]Last update: September 21, 1997

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