lurkers-guide/guide/069

<!-- TITLE The Summoning -->

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

<blockquote><cite>
Zack makes a discovery in the search for Garibaldi.  Delenn's plan to attack
the Shadows runs into trouble.  Ivanova and Marcus attempt to solicit aid from
more First Ones.
</cite>

<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Alexander,+Wayne">Wayne Alexander</a> as Lorien.
<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Krimmer,+Wortham">Wortham Krimmer</a> as Emperor Cartagia.
Eric Zivot as Verano.
Jonathan Chapman as Ambassador Lethke.
</blockquote>

<pre><a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/069">8.66</a>

Production number: 403
Original air week: November 18, 1996
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000DGBEY/thelurkersguidet">DVD release date</a>: January 6, 2004

Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by John McPherson
</pre>

<p>
<hr size=3>

<h2><a name="BP">Plot Points</a></h2>
<ul>

   <li>@@@848311149 Lyta's telepathic abilities were enhanced by the Vorlons
	to enable her to more easily carry one of them.

   <li>@@@848310531 The Vorlons, apparently determined to wipe the Shadows
	out once and for all, have begun destroying worlds that have had
	contact with the Shadows, and to that end have amassed a fleet of
	thousands of ships.

   <li>@@@848310531 Sheridan has returned to Babylon 5, as has Garibaldi.

   <li>@@@848310531 Initially, when the Vorlons and Shadows took on the task
	of looking after the younger races, they were equally balanced, obeyed
	rules of engagement, and respected each other's perspectives.  But at
	some point, one of them grew tired of the arrangement and the two
	started fighting in earnest, with the younger races caught in the
	middle.

</ul>

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

   <li>@@@848647375 Who, if anyone, was on the ship that carried Garibaldi's
	lifepod?  Why were they transporting him, and why did they
	self-destruct?

   <li>@@@848310531 What was done to Garibaldi?  Was he implanted with a new
	personality, like Talia Winters?

   <li>@@@850299655 What was the program that activated as Garibaldi's pod
	was ejected?

   <li>@@@848310531 Why did Lorien accompany Sheridan?

   <li>@@@848310531 How did they get to Babylon 5?  Was that Lorien's ship?

   <li>@@@848647375 What exactly did Lyta learn when she scanned Kosh?

   <li>@@@848785481 What exactly does Sheridan have in mind to end the war
	once and for all?

   <li>@@@848989312 What happened to Marcus' family?  His brother died in a
	Shadow attack
	(<a href="045.html">"Matters of Honor,"</a>)
	but what about his parents?

</ul>

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

<p>
   <li>@@@848786516 Delenn said, "Everyone I hold dear is gone."  She didn't
	list Lennier among them.  Why not?

<p>
   <li>@@@848481032 Lyta says she allowed the Vorlons to modify her because
	she believed.  Believed in what?  What did they tell her about their
	intentions?  Does she know anything about the Shadows and Vorlons,
	and the nature of their conflict, that Sheridan would find useful?

<p>
   <li>@@@848358319 What made the Vorlons change their strategy?  Most likely
	it has something to do with the "unexpected door" they feel Sheridan
	opened on Z'ha'dum
	(<a href="067.html">"The Hour of the Wolf."</a>)
	By attempting to wipe out the Shadows, it's arguable they've lost the
	war on a philosophical level; attempting to wipe out a race to gain
	supremacy is exactly the method the Shadows advocate.

	<p>
	On the other hand, if there's no way to get the Shadows to stop
	fighting and causing wars except by completely destroying them, the
	Vorlons may have reached the conclusion that the very existence of the
	Shadows means their philosophy can never take hold.

<p>
   <li>@@@848358319 Given that the old Kosh, at least according to Lyta,
	cared about the younger races, would he have approved of the Vorlons'
	change in strategy?  If not, will the piece of him still alive in
	Sheridan try to stop the plan?

<p>
   <li>@@@865641416 Lyta referred to the old Kosh as "the <em>real</em> Kosh."
	What isn't real about the new Kosh?  What is the new Kosh's actual
	name (or its human-pronounceable version?)

<p>
   <li>@@@848785482 Lorien's visit to B5 would seem to indicate that he, at
	least, still cares about the younger races.  What can
	he do about it?  Presumably he'll be able to provide valuable
	information, but does he have any capabilities beyond that?  For
	example, does he have access to technology millions of years more
	advanced than even the Shadows and Vorlons?
	
	<p>
	In
	<a href="068.html">"Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?"</a>
	he appeared to have a significant presence on the "dream plane" (for
	lack of a better term) through which Kosh sent the dreams to Sheridan in
	<a href="033.html">"All Alone in the Night"</a>
	and
	<a href="059.html">"Interludes and Examinations."</a>
	It's plausible that that's where much of a Vorlon's consciousness
	lives; if so, Lorien may be capable of much more direct impact on the
	Vorlons than his physical presence implies.  Whether the same is true
	in the Shadows' case is less clear, but the fact that the Eye at
	Z'ha'dum found Ivanova while she was in the Great Machine
	(<a href="049.html">"Voices of Authority"</a>)
	suggests that they too have some presence in that mode of existence.

<p>
   <li>@@@848614209 Destroying planets may seem excessive, but perhaps the
	Vorlons are doing so, rather than simply wiping out all surface life,
	because of the Shadows' habit of burying their ships underground
	(<a href="052.html">"Messages From Earth"</a>)
	and building cities underground
	(<a href="066.html">"Z'ha'dum."</a>)
	They may feel that completely destroying a planet that's been visited
	by the Shadows is the only way to ensure that there are no surprises
	left behind.

<p>
   <li>@@@854124175 Is the current Vorlon rampage due in part to the death
	of the original Kosh at the hands of the Shadows?  If so, there's a
	parallel to the Earth-Minbari War, in which, according to Delenn
	(<a href="055.html">"Ceremonies of Light and Dark"</a>)
	the Minbari went collectively mad after the death of their leader
	Dukhat at human hands.

<p>
   <li>@@@848358915 By wiping out younger races as they battle the Shadows,
	the Vorlons can no longer really claim to be looking after their
	juniors.  What will the other First Ones think of that?  They don't
	seem to be on particularly good terms with the Vorlons to begin with
	(<a href="049.html">"Voices of Authority"</a>)
	and this change in attitude may further irritate their peers.  Lorien
	will likely be able to provide greater insight into the feelings of
	the other First Ones toward the Vorlons.

<p>
   <li>@@@848684259 If the Vorlons are truly intent on wiping out any worlds
	the Shadows have touched, that means they'll be targeting Mars,
	Centauri Prime, Earth, and B5.  Depending on how recently a planet
	has to have had contact to be considered tainted, they may also
	destroy Narn.  Only the Minbari seem, so far, to have never been
	under Shadow influence, so their homeworld may be spared.

	<p>
	The only evidence so far of Shadow influence is the assassination
	attempt against Kosh in
	<a href="000.html">"The Gathering,"</a>
	but given that the Shadows didn't try to touch Kosh until the Vorlon
	offensive in
	<a href="059.html">"Interludes and Examinations,"</a>
	the hallway meeting in
	<a href="013.html">"Signs and Portents"</a>
	notwithstanding (Kosh initiated that confrontation too)
	it's more likely the Minbari warriors were acting of their own
	volition.

<p>
   <li>@@@865733889 The Vorlons' new tack is somewhat ironic, given that they
	filed an official protest when the Centauri used mass drivers to
	bombard Narn from space
	(<a href="042.html">"The Long, Twilight Struggle."</a>)
	Clearly the Vorlons don't have any qualms about attacking planets
	from space if <em>they're</em> the ones doing it.

<p>
   <li>@@@848684377 Since the Shadows have already come to Centauri Prime,
	could the blasted landscape of
	<a href="061.html">"War Without End, Part Two"</a>
	be due to a Vorlon attack, not the doing of the Shadows?  If the
	Vorlons attack because of the Shadow presence, that would explain
	Londo's bitterness toward Sheridan, who he might consider to be
	on the side of the Vorlons.

<p>
   <li>@@@848786082 Does Sheridan share the Vorlons' goal of wiping the
	Shadows out completely, or does he have some other plan in mind?  The
	fact that Lorien accompanied him suggests the latter, since Lorien
	commented that he didn't approve of warfare among his juniors
	(<a href="068.html">"Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?"</a>)
	On the other hand, his speech to the crowd did imply that he had
	genocide against the Shadows in mind.

<p>
   <li>@@@848787026 The original Kosh tried to train Sheridan "to fight
	legends"
	(<a href="035.html">"Hunter, Prey."</a>)
	But in his speech, Sheridan appeared to be setting himself up as a
	legend of sorts: "the only man to come back from Z'ha'dum alive."
	(A claim, incidentally, which isn't true; Morden and Anna were on
	Z'ha'dum and left alive, if changed.) His bravado seems to indicate he
	now sees himself as having a larger role to play than before, and
	validates the Shadows' view of him as a nexus
	(<a href="066.html">"Z'ha'dum."</a>)

	<p>
	@@@850286419 Oddly, in
	<a href="059.html">"Interludes and Examinations,"</a>
	Sheridan pointed out to Kosh that the <em>Vorlons</em> were legends,
	or wanted to be perceived as such.  Did Kosh know that eventually
	Sheridan might have to combat the Vorlons?

<p>
   <li>@@@848787026 Sheridan returned from Z'ha'dum under unknown
	circumstances, accompanied by an alien he won't tell anyone about.
	Garibaldi's whereabouts were unknown for two weeks, and he turned up in
	a ship that self-destructed to avoid being closely investigated.  Why,
	then, do Delenn, Ivanova, and the others accept both of them back
	seemingly without question?  Given the threat of implanted
	personalities and other modifications
	(<a href="041.html">"Divided Loyalties,"</a>
	<a href="066.html">"Z'ha'dum"</a>)
	the crew should at least be skeptical that both returnees are what they
	appear.

<p>
   <li>@@@865734218 Sheridan's speech from the catwalk echoes his appearance
	on the catwalk in the dream in
	<a href="033.html">"All Alone in the Night."</a>
	If Garibaldi symbolized "the man in between," a description that fits
	Lorien at least as well as anyone else, then was the Sheridan on the
	catwalk "the man on the other side," presumably the other side of
	death?  If so, Sheridan has now become that man.

<p>
   <li>@@@855943691 G'Kar's refusal to scream was foreshadowed in
	<a href="005.html">"The Parliament of Dreams."</a>
	In that episode, when he was put into paingivers by the Narn assassin
	and tortured, he said he would rather die than cry out.

</ul>

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

   <li>@@@853315199 Marcus has never been romantically involved with anyone.
	This was hinted at in
	<a href="057.html">"A Late Delivery From Avalon,"</a>
	in which he jokingly compared himself to Sir Galahad, the chaste knight
	from Arthurian legend.  In
	<a href="055.html">"Ceremonies of Light and Dark,"</a>
	he told Delenn he'd lost a woman he cared a great deal for, but that's
	not necessarily a contradiction; he didn't say she felt the same way.

<P>
   <li>@@@848346315 The scene in which Ivanova asks Delenn for one of the White
	Star ships was originally written and filmed for
	<a href="068.html">"Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?"</a>
	but was cut from that episode for time.

<p>
   <li>@@@850502410 This is the first regular episode to feature all the cast
	members listed in the opening credits; aside from
	<a href="000.html">"The Gathering,"</a>
	all the earlier episodes were missing at least one.

<P>
   <li>@@@848389578 G'Kar was whipped 39 times, because 40 would kill a Narn.
	That's probably a reference to the Old Testament.
	<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/bible?passage=Deuteronomy+25:1-3">Deuteronomy 25:1-3</a>
	warns against whipping a man more than 40 times; more than that will
	cause one to lose the respect of one's brothers.

	<p>
	@@@850286419 Some renditions of the New Testament also show Jesus
	being whipped 39 times by Pilate, though that number doesn't appear
	in the Bible itself.  The Apostle Paul was whipped 39 times, which
	was the maximum number under Jewish law, to ensure that miscounting
	wouldn't cause one to give more than 40 lashes.

<p>
   <li>@@@878759696 This is the second time Garibaldi has awakened from a
	traumatic event and found his commanding officer missing; Sinclair
	left the station while he was in a coma
	(<a href="024.html">"Revelations."</a>)

</ul>

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

<p>
   <li>@@@850327099 <em>About Londo and Vir deferring to each other before
	the G'Kar torture scene</em><br>
	It's the roller coaster theory: if you move someone to horror or fear or
	shock from a neutral place, the emotional jump is less than if they're
	laughing...then suddenly you whipsaw them into the absolute emotional
	opposite.  

<p>
   <li>@@@848469111 <em>A planet-busting weapon is so improbable as to be
	more magic than technology.</em><br>
	Re: "magictech"...I believe it was Arthur C. Clarke who pointed out,
	"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

	<p>
	You wanna go argue with Clarke, feel free.

	<p>
	Lemme just make one point here.  In the handful of decades between the
	discovery of the atom, and its use at Hiroshima, we learned how to
	blow up substantial portions of the planet and render it
	uninhabitable.  But it would've taken a lot of them, hundreds, to do
	the job.  In the 50 years since then, with the development of
	thermonuclear weaponry, the job is even easier.  It's been reckoned
	that you'd only need about 75 really decent sized thermonuclear
	detonations to render the entire continental United States dead and
	uninhabitable.

	<p>
	The shadows and the vorlons are *millions* of years ahead of us.
	We're talking differences in technology that are orders of magnitude
	beyond what we can hope to comprehend.

	<p>
	I think a planet killer eminently achievable.

<p>
   <li>@@@848607166 <em>If the Shadows and Vorlons are so far advanced, why
	haven't the Shadows wiped everyone out already, including B5?</em><br>
	Because up until now, they haven't been out to destroy
	everyone, that's not the point...you can't sow chaos if there's no one
	around in which to sow that chaos.  And they may have some ideas on how
	B5 could be turned to their advantage....

<p>
   <li>@@@848786154 Bear in mind that the White Stars are partially based on
	Vorlon technology, which is similar in strength to the Shadows.  That
	helps a lot. Also, other ships can have an influence in sufficient
	numbers. Even a lion can be brought down by a sufficient number of
	hyenas.  The idea that higher technology always equals victory didn't
	help Custer.

<p>
   <li>@@@850325094 I don't see it really as a change of heart...they've always
	been very ruthless in their way.  Remember, it was the Vorlons who
	simply decided to off Deathwalker in first season.

	<p>
	There's some amount of escalation going on, obviously, which
	will be explained a bit more in upcoming episodes, but they've always
	been this way, it's your perception of them that's at odds.  You fell
	for what they wanted you to see them to be.

<p>
   <li>@@@850523463 <em>Who's the worse enemy, the Shadows or the
	Vorlons?</em><br>
	Who is the greater foe?

	<p>
	It is always the one closest to where you live.

<p>
   <li>@@@848917005 <em>About the original Kosh</em><br>
	Certainly he came to care about us more than the vorlons
	intended.

<p>
   <li>@@@848481032 <em>Kosh can keep secrets from Lyta when she's carrying
	him.  Can she do the same?</em><br>
	She can keep secrets a little...but not if he pushes.

<p>
   <li>@@@848917005 <em>Was Sheridan's uniform different?</em><br>
	No, that's the funny thing...I've seen a number of posts about
	how his uniform was changed, but it *wasn't*.  It was exactly the same
	outfit right out of the wardrobe closet...not sewn, not cleaned, just
	dusted off a bit, by hand, the way he might've upon coming in.  You can
	clearly see that the sleeve is still torn as he's up there.

	<p>
	All I can figure is that the red Z'ha'dum lighting made it look
	a lot worse than it was.

<p>
   <li>@@@850550250 <em>Is Ivanova's hug a sign she's attracted to
	Sheridan?</em><br>
	No, it was just relief, letting her guard down, allowing
	herself to feel, which she hadn't done much before this.  There's no
	romantic interest there.  You can have situations where men and women
	work together, and can care about one another, without it turning into
	more than that.

	<p>
	Men seem to understand this less often than women.

<p>
   <li>@@@848684042 <em>Sheridan seemed a lot more belligerent, and
	seemed to be suggesting genocide against the Shadows.</em><br>
	Yup, I'd say it's very likely that some people close to Sheridan are
	going to be wondering about his attitude...and maybe even acting on it.

<p>
   <li>@@@848786154 Someone should get outraged...and will.  It's
	simply a matter of picking the right time and place to *do* something
	with it.

<p>
   <li>@@@865283274 Certainly there will be some people who will wonder
	exactly the same thing you do, within the context of the show...and
	wonder if Sheridan's gone too far, gotten too messianic in his
	approach....

	<p>
	Ah, the fun never stops....

</ul>