lurkers-guide/guide/073

<!-- TITLE Epiphanies -->

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

<blockquote><cite>
Bester arrives with news of an Earth Alliance plan to further isolate
Babylon 5.  Garibaldi delivers some surprising news to Sheridan.
</cite>

<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Koenig,+Walter">Walter Koenig</a> as Bester.
<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+London,+Damian">Damian London</a> as Minister.
</blockquote>

<pre><a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/073">8.43</a>

Production number: 407
Original air week: February 10, 1997
<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 Flinn III
</pre>

<p>
<hr size=3>

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

   <li>@@@855596642 With his Shadow allies gone, President Clark now views
	Babylon 5 as a significant threat to his power.  There are still
	elements of the Psi-Corps loyal to the Shadows.

   <li>@@@855596642 The telepaths rescued from the Shadows in
	<a href="058.html">"Ship of Tears"</a>
	are being kept aboard Babylon 5 in cryonic suspension until a means
	can be found of disentangling them from their implants.

   <li>@@@855596642 Lyta's telepathic powers have definitely been enhanced
	by the Vorlons, to the point where she can easily block a scan by
	a P12-level telepath while making telepathic contact across
	several light-years.

   <li>@@@855596642 Z'ha'dum has been destroyed, but not before the Shadows'
	allies left with unknown quantities of Shadow technology and artifacts.

   <li>@@@855596642 The Shadows' allies have arrived on Centauri Prime and
	begun deploying the keepers seen in
	<a href="061.html">"War Without End, Part Two."</a>

   <li>@@@855694042 After receiving a strange message from an unknown source,
	likely related to what was done to him in
	<a href="068.html">"Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?"</a>
	Garibaldi has resigned as head of security.  Zack has been promoted
	to take his place.

</ul>

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

   <li>@@@855596642 Since some in the Psi Corps apparently still side with
	the Shadows, did the Corps participate in the looting of Z'ha'dum?
	If not, is the Corps in contact with the looters?

   <li>@@@855596642 Did all the Shadows' allies go to Centauri Prime, or
	are there more of them headed for other destinations?

   <li>@@@855596642 Exactly how powerful is Lyta now?  Does she in fact have
	additional programming of which she's not yet aware?

   <li>@@@855635078 What does Bester know about Lyta that she doesn't want
	others to find out?

   <li>@@@855596642 What was the message Garibaldi received?  If it activated
	an implanted personality or some hidden programming, why did he resign
	after receiving the message?

   <li>@@@856342884 What exactly were the "station lock-down codes" Garibaldi
	gave Zack?  Are they something Garibaldi knows, or something he might
	have kept a copy of?

   <li>@@@855596642 What is Bester's "ace in the hole?"  Is it Garibaldi?

   <li>@@@855635078 How does he plan to recover Carolyn?

</ul>

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

<p>
   <li>@@@855596642 Even Bester isn't let in on the entirety of Clark's plan,
	just the part involving the Black Omega squadron.  What else is
	planned?  Bester's superior said the plan involves the Ministry of
	Peace and the Nightwatch, at least.

	<p>
	Apparently Bester either isn't strong enough to scan his superior
	without being detected (telepathic strength may determine one's
	placement in the Corps, so that's not surprising,) or he's loyal
	enough to the Corps as a whole to simply accept his boss's statement
	that he doesn't need to know the entire plan.

<p>
   <li>@@@857587089 Bester took quite a personal risk by warning Babylon 5 of
	Clark's impending plan.  The entire plan was known only by a select
	few, according to Bester's superior; presumably only Bester and his
	superior knew about the Black Omega operation.  If that was the only
	part of the plan that failed, some degree of suspicion would naturally
	fall on Bester as head of the squadron, subjecting his recent
	activities to scrutiny.  And if even one Nightwatch member noticed
	Bester's presence on Babylon 5 -- not too farfetched, since he entered
	through a public customs area -- Clark's people would presumably be
	able to put two and two together and conclude that Bester must have
	leaked the information.

<p>
   <li>@@@855943187 The Shadows, according to Anna Sheridan
	(<a href="066.html">"Z'ha'dum"</a>)
	believed they'd die if anything Vorlon touched Z'ha'dum.  Many of
	them did die when Sheridan arrived with a piece of Kosh.  And now
	Lyta's telepathy, enhanced by the Vorlons (and, indeed, genetically
	seeded by the Vorlons in the first place) has triggered the
	destruction of Z'ha'dum itself.

<p>
   <li>@@@857890334 Why did Sheridan not realize where the Shadows' minions
	were headed?  In
	<a href="060.html">"War Without End, Part One,"</a>
	he saw that they had gone to Centauri Prime.  His failure to do
	anything about their arrival there probably explains Londo's
	accusation in that episode.

<p>
   <li>@@@856343437 The pattern of light in Garibaldi's message resembles the
	light shining on him from above in the escape pod in
	<a href="069.html">"The Summoning."</a>

<p>
   <li>@@@856651345 Why did Bester, who took pleasure in needling Garibaldi
	on his previous visits to Babylon 5, make no inquiry about Garibaldi's
	absence from the station's command staff?

<p>
   <li>@@@855943187 If Garibaldi's resignation is indeed a sign that he's
	been programmed, the programming may be much more subtle than the
	Control personality implanted into Talia Winters
	(<a href="041.html">"Divided Loyalties."</a>)
	The effect of the programming may simply be to cause Garibaldi to
	become disillusioned about Sheridan and his cause.  That would be
	useful to Clark, who could use Garibaldi as a weapon in his
	propaganda attack on Babylon 5.

<P>
   <li>@@@856812639 On the other hand, it may be that Garibaldi's programming
	hasn't been fully activated, and his resignation is his own choice;
	he may believe he can't be trusted until he can piece together what
	happened to him, and doesn't want to be in a position where he can
	compromise Babylon 5.

<p>
   <li>@@@857892236 In either case, Garibaldi's situation was foreshadowed in
	<a href="041.html">"Divided Loyalties,"</a>
	in which he pretended briefly to be Control while Lyta was sending
	the password to the command staff.

<p>
   <li>@@@856651346 Was Delenn's remark to Sheridan, "We are old souls," a
	casual observation, or does it have something to do with Minbari-human
	soul migration?  Might it relate to her observation in
	<a href="029.html">"Soul Mates"</a>
	that Minbari believe that souls that have known one another in one life 
	meet again in later lives to relive good relationships and to 
	correct bad ones?

<p>
   <li>@@@855943486 Do the Vorlons have allies like the Shadows do?  If so,
	are they looting the Vorlon homeworld?  The Vorlons have been known
	to keep members of other races on their homeworld (e.g. Sebastian in 
	<a href="043.html">"Comes the Inquisitor"</a>)
	and presumably those people were left behind when the Vorlons
	departed the galaxy.  What will become of them?

<p>
   <li>@@@855943486 At least some Vorlon technology was left behind: the
	White Star Fleet.  That would seem to give Sheridan a huge military
	edge against Earth, whose armed forces aren't even on par with the
	Minbari, let alone the Vorlons.  (Assuming, of course, that Clark
	and the Psi Corps didn't manage to procure any Shadow technology.)

<p>
   <li>@@@855997432 Who is in charge on Centauri Prime?  The minister told
	Londo that the position of regent was mostly ceremonial.  Londo is off
	on Babylon 5, presumably not spending his time dealing with matters
	of state.  That would seem to leave a rather large power vacuum.

<p>
   <li>@@@856167448 Why did G'Kar return to Babylon 5?  It's not a sanctuary
	for him any more, now that the Centauri have left Narn.  Perhaps
	he was simply returning to collect his belongings, or perhaps he
	intends to resume his role as ambassador from Narn.

<p>
   <li>@@@855997432 Sheridan's comment about further troubles at the beginning
	of the episode, "But that's tomorrow," echoes Vir's admonition to
	Londo to be happy about his victories
	(<a href="072.html">"Into the Fire."</a>)

<p>
   <li>@@@855997432 Zack and Garibaldi parallel each other to some extent.
	Garibaldi was willing to go on instinct and hire Zack when he was
	warned against it.  Sinclair made the same leap of faith by hiring
	Garibaldi
	(<a href="000.html">"The Gathering."</a>)
	Further, Zack's socializing with Lyta parallels Garibaldi's interest
	in Talia Winters.  Given the way Garibaldi is acting now, do these
	parallels foreshadow any unpleasant developments for Zack?

</ul>

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

   <li>@@@855943187 Bester founded the Black Omega Squadron.

   <li>@@@855597447 The season-three theme music was played at the end of
	the end of this episode during the original US broadcast, just like
	<a href="071.html">"The Long Night"</a>
	and
	<a href="072.html">"Into the Fire."</a>

   <li>@@@856303420 A visual pun: Zack commented to his staff that he wanted
	to get away before the next person came through the customs area, since
	with his luck it'd be the Second Coming.  The next people through the
	door were three Kings -- Elvis impersonators, a little far from
	Bethlehem.

</ul>

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

   <li>@@@855593777 The rest of the season will actually continue to
	increase in intensity, not decrease.  "Epiphanies" for me is an episode
	where I can feel the gears changing between war and post-war just a
	bit, but overall it's not bad.  And there's some *mean* stuff coming up
	very soon.

<p>
   <li>@@@856812689 That's one more reason why I wanted to get the war out
	of the way...because too many people were focusing in on the show as
	being about the war.  It ain't.  It's about the changes that happen
	before, during, and *after* a war.  And what's coming up is in some
	ways stronger because it's more personal.

<p>
   <li>@@@856337711 <em>About the dance music</em><br>
	Chris [Franke] wrote the music for us, in Big Band style.

<p>
   <li>@@@860653613 <em>How was Garibaldi's message produced?<br>
	(Answered by coproducer George Johnsen)</em><br>
	Believe it or not, that piece started as color bars.  It was twisted
	using Flint software from Discreet Logoc on an SGI Maximum Impact using
	fractal morphing plug ins.

	<p>
	Feedback is a wonderful thing......

	<p>
	It is certainly concievable that Fractint would work to create a similar
	effect.

<p>
   <li>@@@855800798 <em>Sheridan was very sharp with Bester.</em><br>
	Yeah...Sheridan's taking a different tone with a lot of people
	these days.  I guess being dead for a while does that to you....

<p>
   <li>@@@855800798 <em>Was Bester trying to scan everyone at the conference
	table?</em><br>
	He tried to scan, but she kept blocking him.

<p>
   <li>@@@855997598 <em>The scene between Sheridan and Delenn on the White
	Star was edited.</em><br>
	"Was this your intention - to get a response from those of us who follow
	the Sheridan and Delenn story line closely? Some how, I feel manipulated
	and very disappointed."

	<p>
	Yes, as I sat in the editing room, I thought, "Hmmm...if I do this,
	it'll get the Sheridan and Delenn fans' knickers all in a knot...."

	<p>
	Every scene goes through some editing...there is barely a scene we film
	that doesn't get a line or two or three snipped.  Sometimes the edit is
	noticeable, sometimes it ain't.  The only thing you can decide is, "Does
	this move the story along or not?"  I was chasing about another 20
	seconds (which was all we're talking about here), and the back-and-forth
	didn't really add anything to what was already in that scene.  I treated
	it the same as I would treat any other scene.

<p>
   <li>@@@855996602 Lyta doesn't officially work for Sheridan, but she has
	nowhere else to go, and is beholden to him just for everyday survival
	and protection against the Corps.  That makes her answerable to him.

<p>
   <li>@@@855941071 <em>Why didn't Londo have guards while he was
	shopping?</em><br>
	Because Londo wouldn't abide that for more than five minutes;
	it'd cramp his style.

<p>
   <li>@@@856342615 The G'Kar/Londo dynamic isn't quite over yet...there's
	more to come, and that relationship is going to continue having its ups
	and downs.

<p>
   <li>@@@856337851 RE: the regent...well, if you want to do something
	really nasty, you want to do it to somebody everybody kinda likes, so
	you feel for the situation.

	<p>
	Ah likes doing that sorta thing...dropping anvils on characters
	to see what pattern splat they make....

<p>
   <li>@@@855996861 <em>Disneyplanet?</em><br>
	Give 'em time, and they'll try to buy a planet.  It's
	inevitable.

	<p>
	With Earth now in the present, that'd make two.

<p>
   <li>@@@857554667 Speaking of visual puns, someone pointed out that
	in "Epiphanies," you've got Zack leaving customs, saying of whoever
	comes through next, "it might be the Second Coming and I'm five sins
	behind on penance," and who walks in...but the Three Kings....

</ul>