lurkers-guide/guide/077

<!-- TITLE Lines of Communication -->

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

<blockquote><cite>
Franklin and Marcus try to convince the leaders of the resistance to go along
with Sheridan's plan to unseat Clark.  Delenn investigates a series of attacks
on Minbari allies.  Minbar begins to slide toward civil war.
</cite>

<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Monaghan,+Marjorie">Marjorie Monaghan</a> as Number One.
<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Seganti,+Paolo">Paolo Seganti</a> as Phillipe.
<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Stevens,+G.+Wesley">G.W. Stevens</a> as Forell.
</blockquote>

<pre><a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/077">8.30</a>

Production number: 411
Original air week: April 28, 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>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000ADJR/thelurkersguidet">An
episodic soundtrack is available.</a>

<p>
<hr size=3>

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

   <li>@@@862188871 At least one race, the Drakh, made its home on Z'ha'dum
	during the Shadows' tenure there.  They evacuated before Z'ha'dum's
	destruction and are in search of a new home and revenge against the
	people who defeated their masters.

   <li>@@@862188871 Marcus and Franklin have convinced the resistance movement
	on Earth and Mars to follow Sheridan's lead, and to refrain from
	future terrorist attacks aimed at destabilizing Earth's government.

   <li>@@@862188871 Ivanova is preparing for an additional job, as head of the
	"Voice of the Resistance," an attempt to counter ISN by broadcasting
	opposition views, as well as messages intended for the resistance
	fighters themselves, to Mars and Earth.

   <li>@@@862820397 ISN, meanwhile, seems to be preparing Earth's citizenry
	for an eventual assault on Babylon 5, building up public support for
	such a move in advance.

   <li>@@@862215725 Sheridan was involved in the suppression of the food
	riots on Mars after the Earth-Minbari War, for which he's resented
	by some Mars residents.

</ul>

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

   <li>@@@862188871 Are the Drakh the only survivors of Z'ha'dum?  How many of
	them remain?

   <li>@@@862188871 Are the Drakh the ones responsible for planting Keepers on
	the Centauri Regent
	(<a href="073.html">"Epiphanies"</a>)
	and Captain Jack
	(<a href="076.html">"Racing Mars"</a>)?

   <li>@@@862724503 Why did the Drakh emissary appear to shimmer?  Do the
	Drakh have access to the Shadows' invisibility technology?

   <li>@@@862188871 What does the warrior caste hope to gain by forcing the
	other castes out of cities?

</ul>

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

   <li>@@@862188871 Franklin has bought into Sheridan's cult of personality,
	though it's not entirely clear why.  His reaction to the skeptical
	resistance leader is exactly the kind of thing Garibaldi complained
	about in
	<a href="076.html">"Racing Mars,"</a>
	and may be counterproductive in that it makes Garibaldi's allegations
	all the more credible.

   <li>@@@862821766 Phillipe bombed the Red Planet Hotel, which was where
	Franklin and Marcus were staying.  Was the appearance of the Earth
	security forces there a coincidence, or were they after Franklin and
	Marcus?

   <li>@@@862820397 Why does Sheridan think he has the power to promise Mars
	independence after Clark is out of office?  Does Sheridan plan to
	assume the presidency himself?  Or was that simply more improvisation
	on Franklin's part?  Presumably not; it's unlikely Sheridan gave him
	the authority to make that kind of promise without consultation.

   <li>@@@862188871 How will Sheridan break through Earth's jamming of
	outside broadcasts?  Franklin was able to get a message back to
	Babylon 5, but presumably it's a thornier problem to try to
	broadcast programming to all of Earth.  Perhaps he'll enlist the
	help of Draal; Epsilon 3 likely has the power to cut through
	whatever interference Earth can muster.  Delenn is unlikely to be
	able to provide any Minbari assistance, considering what's going
	on on Minbar, though the White Star fleet might be useful mobile
	transmitters.

   <li>@@@862513121 If Number One indeed treats all her former lovers like
	she treated Phillipe, Franklin may be in for a rough ride.

   <li>@@@863024596 In the first scene with Franklin, Number One rubbed her
	neck, similar to Captain Jack before his Keeper was discovered
	(<a href="076.html">"Racing Mars."</a>)
	Any significance, or just a stiff neck?

   <li>@@@862188871 The Drakh ships, especially the transport, looked more
	Vorlon in design than Shadow.  Have they looted the Vorlon homeworld
	as well, or is it just a coincidence?

   <li>@@@865362770 The Drakh aren't the only race who worked for the Shadows,
	though of course they might have been the only ones to escape with
	technology from Z'ha'dum.  Neither the surgeons and pilot in
	<a href="058.html">"Ship of Tears"</a>
	nor the creature in
	<a href="027.html">"The Long Dark"</a>
	were Drakh in appearance, though the latter arguably bore a
	resemblance when it was shown briefly reflected in Mariah's tube.

   <li>@@@862858863 It's also possible the Drakh weren't allies of the Shadows
	at all; the Vorlons may have similarly had minor races acting as
	aides, and those aides would likely be just as upset as the Shadows'
	about Sheridan and Delenn driving their masters away.  Of course,
	the statement that the Drakh had just lost their home would seem to
	indicate that Delenn's supposition about their association with
	the Shadows was correct; the Vorlon homeworld is probably still intact.

   <li>@@@862817771 The Drakh may have some kind of group mind.  At the very
	least, they have a different notion of personal identity than most
	other races.  They appear to regard the name "Drakh" as both a
	collective name and a personal one, and their emissary interrupted
	Forell before he could utter Delenn's name, dismissing it as
	"unimportant."  On the other hand, they're familiar enough with the
	notion of individual names to recognize Delenn's once it was spoken.

   <li>@@@862793127 Delenn's reaction to the destruction of White Star 16,
	while arguably justified, bore similarity to her reaction to the
	death of Dukhat: ordering a relentless attack on those responsible.
	Of course, this time she was in control of the situation and wasn't
	enraged, but it's interesting in light of her earlier comment that
	she wouldn't repeat the mistakes made during first contact with
	humanity.

   <li>@@@864957852 Delenn commented to Sheridan that she felt humans could
	have been Minbar's most dangerous enemy due to their ability to form
	communities of diverse elements.  This echoes her comment in
	<a href="037.html">"And Now For a Word,"</a>
	in which she said that the forming of communities was one of humanity's
	greatest strengths.

</ul>

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

   <li>@@@862815695 Marcus said he was from Arisia Colony.  That's a reference
	to the Lensman series by E. E. "Doc" Smith.

   <li>@@@862793127 Sheridan referred to the Drakh as "wild cards."  And in
	fact, "Drakh" is "card" pronounced backwards.

   <li>@@@861953516 One of the Minbari seen reacting in fear from the
	Drakh emissary is Dennis Michael, a 
	CNN entertainment reporter and a big fan of the series.
	He was also a Narn in
	<a href="043.html">"Comes the Inquisitor."</a>

   <li>@@@862858863 As the Drakh emissary entered the White Star's bridge,
	the lights on the wall dimmed.  

   <li>@@@866950614 The real reason the Drakh shimmered, according to
	special effects technician Ken Busick, was that the costume didn't
	look convincing enough.  So to give the Drakh an otherworldly
	appearance, the scene was digitally manipulated in postproduction.

</ul>

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

   <li>@@@862724503 <em>Why did Franklin send a video message?</em><br>
	So they could see him and know by seeing him that he arrived
	safely; a text message could be sent by *anyone* who could've
	intercepted them.

<p>
   <li>@@@862765238 The issue of waste of bandwidth is not as big a deal to
	an advanced technology (from today's standards); also, any really good
	telepath could rip out those codes and keys in about 10 seconds. 
	Further, they would've had a password to use (as in "the board," which
	he used) to verify that he was all right and not being forced to make
	the call.

<p>
   <li>@@@863020903 In that scenario, there is no such thing as ANY kind of
	secure communication, which puts us pretty much back where we started.

<p>
   <li>@@@862818984 <em>About the Drakh ships</em><br>
	I indicated a flower-like design.  With the lethalness
	behind them, it seemed like a nice contrast.

<p>
   <li>@@@862989808 <em>White Star 16 wasn't too tough.</em><br>
	Of course, you have no way of knowing how many previous hits it
	took during the fight, and are assuming it only got two.

<p>
   <li>@@@863020810 <em>Why did Delenn run?</em><br>
	As she states in the episode, they were at that time
	*surrounded* and if they turned to fire, would get destroyed. 
	Firepower doesn't solve every problem; one good hand-held Lancet
	missile can put down a full-sized cruiser if it hits right.  They were
	in the MIDDLE of the Drakh, just as they said, and that's NOT a
	defensible position.  They had to get away, outside that group, so they
	could mount an offensive.  This they did.

</ul>