lurkers-guide/guide/033

<h2><a name="OV">Overview</a></h2>

<blockquote><cite>
Sheridan is kidnapped and taken to an alien ship.  The Grey Council decides
Delenn's fate.  General Hague makes an unofficial visit to the station.
</cite>

<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Foxworth,+Robert">Robert Foxworth</a> as General Hague.
<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Teague,+Marshall">Marshall Teague</a> as the Narn.
</blockquote>

<pre>
Sub-genre: Action/intrigue
<a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/033">8.33</a>

Production number: 211
Original air date: February 15, 1995
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000087EYB/thelurkersguidet">DVD release date</a>: April 29, 2003

Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Mario DiLeo
</pre>

<h3><a name="WF">Watch For</a></h3>
<ul>

   <li> A momentary change of clothes.

</ul>

<p>
<hr size=3>

<h2><a name="BP">Backplot</a></h2>
<ul>

   <li> The Minbari have installed a new leader.

   <li> Sheridan's appointment to Babylon 5 was more than a coincidence.  He
	was picked by Santiago, who knew that his record made him look like a
	hard-nosed military man, just the sort Santiago suspected Clark would
	want to replace Sinclair with.  But Santiago also knew that Sheridan
	was a patriot who would stand against the forces seeking to undermine
	the Earth government.  In his first months on the station, Sheridan's
	real assignment was to evaluate the crew, find out who could be
	trusted.

   <li> General Hague, and others, are working to expose the machinations
	behind Santiago's death and other recent events.  They suspect the
	Psi-Corps is behind the conspiracy, but so far have been unable to
	prove anything.

   <li> Alit Neroon (head of the Star Riders clan, cf.
	<a href="017.html">"Legacies"</a>)
	has replaced Delenn on the Grey Council.

</ul>

<h2><a name="UQ">Unanswered Questions</a></h2>
<ul>

   <li> Sheridan's dream is a big unanswered question, lent weight by Kosh's
	comment after Sheridan's return.  See <a href="#AN:dream">Analysis.</a>

   <li> Why was Neroon appointed to the Council?

   <li> What does Delenn think is about to happen?  Why does she believe she
	is about to descend into darkness and fire?

   <li> Is the foray by the Streibs related to what the Shadows are doing,
	or is it just coincidental timing?

   <li> How did the Narn know so much about the Streibs and their ship?

   <li> What was done to Sheridan?  He was left with three scars on his
	face, one of them on his forehead.  Might he be carrying an implant
	of some sort now?

</ul>

<h2><a name="AN">Analysis</a></h2>
<ul>

   <li> Neroon's appointment to the council is troublesome.  Presumably new
	members are approved by majority vote.  The three warrior-caste
	members probably voted for him; that means one or two of the remaining
	five members must have voted for him as well, probably from the
	worker caste.  Valen's wishes seem to be held in less than the highest
	regard by some Minbari.

   <li> With four members, the warrior caste now effectively controls the
	Grey Council.  On any issue they need only win over one other member
	to have a majority.  It is unclear how far the Council's power
	extends now that a new leader has been installed, and that leader
	conceivably sides with the religious caste, but it looks like hard
	times have arrived for Delenn's compatriots.

   <li> That being the case, how does this mesh with Sinclair's gathering of
	rangers?  (cf.
	<a href="031.html">"The Coming of Shadows"</a>)
	Some of them, recall, are Minbari.  Are they primarily religious
	caste?  Is there enough difference of opinion within the warrior
	caste about humans that he's able to attract warriors?

   <li> We never actually hear Sheridan's answer to Hague, though it is
	probably "yes."  If it isn't, Sheridan's meeting with the
	rest of the command staff may be a ruse to draw Hague's people out
	into the open -- on the assumption that Hague will try to work
	via one of the others -- and expose the counterconspiracy.  Sheridan's
	possible link with Psi-Corps (see below and
	<a href="030.html">"A Race Through Dark Places"</a>)
	makes this at least a plausible scenario, if an unlikely one.

   <li> <a name="AN:dream">There's more to the dream sequence</a>
	than is apparent at first glance,
	and it's chock full of ambiguities.  A shot-by-shot rundown with
	analysis (another, simpler, possible interpretation follows the
	rundown):

	<ol>

	   <li><b>Sheridan is in his quarters, in uniform.  The lights are out.
		</b>

	   <li><b>Ivanova is in the quarters with him, in uniform, hair draped
		over her left shoulder.  The door is open.  She raises her
		fingers to her lips and says, "Shh."
		</b><br>
		<em>Analysis:</em> Someone or something has entered Sheridan's
		mind to give him a message, and is warning him to watch and
		listen, not try to participate.  The "something" might also
		simply be part of Sheridan's own subconscious.  This probably
		relates to Kosh's answer to Sheridan's first question.

	   <li><b>Sheridan looks confused.</b>

	   <li><b>Ivanova, now with a raven perched on her right shoulder,
		says, "Do you know who I am?"
		</b><br>
		<em>Analysis:</em> The raven is typically symbolic of death;
		Ivanova may represent destruction, perhaps eventually siding
		with the forces of darkness.  In older literature, the raven
		was often a thief, rather than a harbinger of death.

	   <li><b>Sheridan looks to his right, and finds himself in a Babylon 5
		corridor.  He looks up.
		</b>

	   <li><b>On a catwalk, in harsh lighting, gripping the railing, is
		another Sheridan.  He looks to his right.
		</b><br>
		<em>Analysis:</em> It's unclear what kind
		of uniform the Sheridan on the catwalk is wearing; possibly
		a Psi-Cop uniform.  The angle of the shot is similar to
		Sinclair's first view of Knight Two in
		<a href="008.html">"And the Sky Full of Stars."</a>  This
		Sheridan perhaps represents another side of Sheridan's
		personality (more on that below.)

	   <li><img align=left width=128 height=96 hspace=4
		src="/lurk/gif/033/dove.gif">
		<b>Garibaldi, also apparently on the catwalk, is in uniform and
		has a dove(?) on his left shoulder.  "The man in between is
		searching for you," he says.
		</b><br>
		<em>Analysis:</em> "The man in between" may refer to the
		Sheridan on the catwalk, a part of Sheridan that isn't sure
		which side it should be on.
		Of course, it could be a reference to someone else
		entirely: someone between light and darkness, for instance.
		(Sinclair?)
		As for Garibaldi's dove, the dove is traditionally a symbol
		of peace, perhaps implying that Garibaldi will work to stop
		the Great War.
		<a href="020.html">"Babylon Squared"</a>
		strongly suggests that Garibaldi will ally himself with the
		side of light.

	   <li><b>Ivanova, in a veil and black dress, is standing behind
		Sheridan, who is now wearing a turtleneck and a jacket.
		</b><br>
		<em>Analysis:</em> This funereal garb lends some weight to
		the idea that Ivanova represents death.  (It really is
		Ivanova, though some readers have disagreed; see
		<a href="#JS:veil">jms speaks</a>.)

	   <li><img align=left width=128 height=96 hspace=4
		src="/lurk/gif/033/psicop.gif">
		<b>As he turns, we get a brief glimpse of a metal pin on the
		left breast of his jacket: a Psi-Corps badge.  And in fact,
		his jacket appears to be the uniform of a Psi-Cop, with the
		leather strap down the right side in front.
		</b><br>
		<em>Analysis:</em> Sheridan's change of clothes is perhaps the
		most ominous part of the entire sequence.  Combined with
		Bester's comment in
		<a href="030.html">"A Race Through Dark Places"</a>
		that he was told to expect Sheridan to be sympathetic to
		the Psi-Corps, it suggests some yet-to-be-revealed connection
		between Sheridan and the Corps, something that may cause
		a conflict of interest as he works with Hague's people.

	   <li><b>Ivanova, still veiled, says, "You are the hand."
		</b><br>
		<em>Analysis:</em> Hands abound in <cite>Babylon 5</cite>,
		from Kosh's hand in
		<a href="000.html">"The Gathering"</a>
		to Londo's dream hand in
		<a href="031.html">"The Coming of Shadows."</a>
		Presumably Ivanova isn't referring to Kosh's hand.  If she
		is referring to the hand from Londo's dream, it suggests that
		Sheridan will become a pawn in Londo's machinations; recall
		Elric's comment in
		<a href="025.html">"The Geometry of Shadows"</a> --
		the hand reaching out across the stars is Londo's.
		Alternately, if Sheridan's Psi-Cop uniform is taken to mean
		that he's symbolic of Psi-Corps as a whole, perhaps she means
		that Psi-Corps, not Sheridan, is the hand.  Or, more sinister,
		that Sheridan is unknowingly acting on behalf of the Psi-Corps,
		perhaps as the result of some mental conditioning (which
		would explain Bester's comment at the end of
		<a href="030.html">"A Race Through Dark Places."</a>)

	   <li><b>Kosh is standing behind Sheridan in the corridor; Sheridan is
		back in his normal uniform.  Sheridan starts to turn toward
		him.
		</b>

	   <li><b>In what seems like a simple switch of camera angles, Sheridan
		now appears to be sitting down in front of a backlit wall
		with an organic look not unlike that of the Streib ship's
		interior.  "Why are you here?" he asks.
		</b><br>
		<em>Analysis:</em> The change of scenery suggests that "here"
		refers to a different place or time or context than the rest
		of the sequence.  Perhaps the question means, "Why are the
		Vorlons involving themselves with the other races?"  Of
		course, it could mean what it looks like: "Why are you in
		my dream?"

	   <li><b><a name="AN:weme">"We were never away,"</a>
		Kosh answers from the corridor.  "For
		the first time your mind is quiet enough to hear me."
		</b><br>
		<em>Analysis:</em> Depending on the meaning of Sheridan's
		question, the answer says different things.  If the former
		refers to the Vorlons in general, the answer can be taken to
		mean, "We've only just allowed you to notice us."  The second
		part of the answer suggests that Sheridan's question refers
		to the dream, though.  See below for a possible explanation
		of this question and the rest of the dream.  Also note that
		Kosh uses both "we" and "me" -- see
		<a href="#JS:kosh">jms speaks.</a>

	   <li><b>Sheridan is back in the corridor, standing.  "Why am I here?"
		he asks, in a tone that makes the question sound unconnected
		to the previous one.
		</b><br>
		<em>Analysis:</em> Again, it's unclear what "here" means.
		Babylon 5?  The dream?  His circumstances?

	   <li><b>"You have always been here," answers Kosh.
		</b><br>
		<em>Analysis:</em> Kosh's repetition of this statement after
		Sheridan's return may mean it is very important; or perhaps
		Kosh was indirectly telling Sheridan that the dream wasn't
		a simple construct of his subconscious.  (Of course, Kosh
		might have read Sheridan's mind outside medlab and pulled the
		line from Sheridan's memory of the dream.)  As for the meaning
		of the line itself, only time will tell.  "You" might refer
		to Sheridan himself, or to some group (e.g. the human race)
		of which Sheridan is a part.
	</ol>

   <li> Another way of looking at the dream sequence, more metaphysical,
	is that Sheridan entered a psychic continuum, an astral plane, for
	lack of a better term.  That makes many of the comments less ambiguous:

	<ul>
	   <li> "We were never away.  For the first time your mind is quiet
		enough to hear me."  This is the first time Sheridan has
		been in a mental state to consciously recognize the plane;
		Kosh and everyone else have always been there to some degree.
	   <li> "You have always been here."  Sheridan has always had some
		presence in this psychic world; he just hasn't been able to
		consciously recognize it.
	   <li> "The man in between" refers to someone between the physical
		and spiritual worlds.  Perhaps the Sheridan in the sequence
		is Sheridan's spiritual side, and "the man in between" is
		Sheridan, searching for his higher soul.
	   <li> Ivanova and Garibaldi, as shown in the sequence, are either
		the projections into this other world of the real people,
		or are abstractions for something else (darkness and
		light?)
	   <li> Sheridan's Psi-Cop uniform may mean that the Corps plays
		a part in bridging the physical and astral worlds.
	</ul>
</ul>

<h2><a name="NO">Notes</a></h2>
<ul>

   <li> The Streibs are probably a reference to Whitley Strieber, whose popular
	book "Communion" dealt with alien abduction.

<p>
   <li>@@@864692014 Effects glitch: When Ramirez' damaged Starfury jumps back
	to normal space, the vortex is orange, not blue as it normally is when
	a ship is arriving.

<p>
   <li> Marshall Teague, the Narn, also played Nelson Drake, the assistant
	turned living weapon, in
	<a href="004.html">"Infection."</a>

<p>
   <li> Ravens and doves, from the King James Bible:
	<ul>
	<p>
	   <li> And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened
		the window of the ark which he had made; and he sent forth a
		raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried
		up from off the earth. Also he sent forth a dove from him, to
		see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;
		but the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she
		returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face
		of the whole earth; and then he put forth his hand, and took her,
		and pulled her in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet
		another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the
		ark; and the dove came in to him in the evening; and lo, in her
		mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off; so Noah knew that the waters
		were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet another seven
		days, and sent forth the dove, which returned not again unto him
		any more. --Genesis 8:6-12
	<p>
	   <li> And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead,
		said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom
		I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but
		according to my word. And the word of the Lord came unto him,
		saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide
		thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it
		shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have
		commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
		<p>
		So he went and did according to the word of the Lord; for
		he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
		And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and
		bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.
		--1 Kings 17:1-6
	</ul>

<p>
   <li> Some raven references in various other mythologies:

	<ul>
	   <li> Hugin and Munin: Odin's two ravens (thought and memory)

	   <li> Kurkil: Mongol creator god who flew to create the Earth and
		mankind

	   <li> Mictla or Mictlantecuhtli: Aztec god who rules the underworld

	   <li> Moragga: Celtic.  The incarnation of the Goddess as war.

	   <li> Raven: Amerindian creator and trickster god. Created all living
		creatures out of wood and clay. Similar to Coyote.

	   <li> Yangwu: Chinese. The sun-crow.

	   <li> Yetl: Amerindian. The thunder-raven who dragged the flooded
		earth above the water.

	   <li> In Japanese culture, the dove symbolizes war because doves
		were used as messengers during battles.

	</ul>

</ul>

<h2><a name="JS">jms speaks</a></h2>

<ul>

   <li> One episode will look very much unconnected to the arc until the
	last five minutes, at which point there's a revelation that will likely
	astonish some and confirm suspcions for some other viewers.

   <li> Streibs, actually.  Similar to, but not quite the same as the
	<a href="015.html">Grail</a>
	bunch.

   <li> Delenn's flyer is called Zhalen.

   <li> <a href="#AN:weme" name="JS:kosh">Re: we/I...</a>
	yes, it's interesting, isn't it?  You'd almost think it
	was contradictory or something.

   <li> And of course there's the story of the man who dreamed he was a
	butterfly, and when he awoke, wondered if he was actually a human
	who dreamed he had been a butterfly, or a butterfly who was dreaming he
	was a human....

   <li> <a name="JS:veil"><em>Who was the woman in the veil?</em></a><br>
	It's Ivanova.

   <li> In a way, there are several Sheridans in that dream, signifying
	changes currently in the works, changes yet to come, messages
	forthcoming or unrecognized.  It's a very reflective dream, which will
	grow clearer the deeper one gets into the show.
 
   <li> Certainly there are some archetypes that always creep into a work
	of this sort; for all we all not Jung at heart...?

   <li> You'll see at least one piece of Sheridan's vision decoded before
	season's end.

   <li> Remember, Kosh was the one who sent those images into Sheridan's
	brain, not anybody else; he was communicating useful information that
	may come up down the road, but in rather symbological form.

   <li> Yes, Sheridan was speaking in the Drazi's native language, trying
	(without success) to get through; they're a cranky species to start
	with, and this didn't help.

   <li> Sheridan learned a smattering of various languages while on patrol on
	the Agamemnon.

   <li>@@@850607230 During the Minbari war, the Narns were selling us
	weapons, so Sheridan and other Earthforce captains had to learn at
	least a smattering of Narnish for purposes of negotiations.

   <li> The aliens from Grail are similar to, and distant relatives of, the
	streibs, but not the same, no.  A closer shot would've revealed red
	slitted eyes instead of the black eyes of the one in Grail.

   <li> Pledging oneself to someone's side is not common, and carries great
	significance.  From that point onward, you are bound to that person
	until your death, and you must defend that person at the cost of your
	own life.

   <li> Some tie-ins...remember Sheridan in "A Distant Star" saying that he
	was feeling beached, abandoned?  His unsureness in taking on this post,
	what if it was a mistake?  A number of his actions come into a clearer
	light once you know he was in essence checking them all out, and putting
	on a hard "I'm a nice guy" attitude.

   <li> <em>Wasn't attacking the Streibs an act of war?</em><br>
	The Streib saw an alliance between Earth and Minbar at that moment,
	which is the LAST thing they wanted to go up against.  Also, you don't
	go to war at the drop of a hat just because somebody sinks or shoots
	down one of your ships.  This is one of the cliches in storytelling.
	And what the Streibs were doing was totally unjustifiable in any event.
	Do you gear up for the massive hassle of total war -- supply lines,
	fleets, all the rest -- because of this incident?  Remember, the purpose
	of the ship was to find races weak enough for them to attack with
	impunity; they don't want to go up against a force that can strike
	back.

   <li> I doubt we'll be seeing these guys again for a long time, if ever. 
	So I don't consider them on the level of certain shadows or stuff. 
	They came, they grabbed, we whomped.

   <li> By the way, in addition to the re-appearance of Neroon, you may have
	noticed that the first Grey Council member Delenn addresses is the
	same one we saw in "Points of Departure."

   <li> Membership in the Grey Council is usually for life; a person
	can choose to leave but only under truly extraordinary circumstances
	(kind of like being appointed to the Supreme Court).  In Delenn's case,
	though, remember that she didn't quit, she was booted out.

   <li> Sheridan and the other fighters flew at a slight angle right past
	the window in C&C.  I don't see where the problem is in this.  The 
	window wasn't used as a monitor, it was used as a window.  The 
	starfuries came out of the cobra bays as the station rotated them 
	planet-side, they banked, and headed toward the gate, passing C&C.

   <li> Ejecting would not have purchased Ramirez's life because when the
	system came back on line with its analysis, it announced that the
	radiation was "already at terminal levels."  From the instant he 
	heard that, he was a dead man waiting to stop moving.  He could've 
	sent the ship back, risking a faulty autopilot...and might've died 
	for nothing if it encountered the *slightest* glitch en route.

   <li> One of the themes in this show is how you face life...and how you
	face death.  Ramirez faced his honorably.  In the end, honor and 
	dignity are all we have left. 

   <li> If you trust Sheridan, there's no need for a lengthy report; plus,
	a written report, no matter how well encrypted, can be broken or fall
	into the wrong hands.  The best record of a secret meeting that could
	get you fired or killed is no record at ALL.

   <li> Re: Kosh's voice carrying some emotion...starting at about "All Alone
	in the Night," or maybe one before (memory fades), I took on the job 
	of directing the voice sessions for Kosh.  He was moving from a neutral
	delivery to things that had to carry specific emotions and implications
	for the future, and nobody else knows what all this stuff means, so it
	fell to me.

   <li> Also, I noted somewhere in a preview for upcoming episodes, among the
	things coming, "conspiracies of light as well as dark."  Perhaps that
	is now clearer.

</ul>