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333 lines
18 KiB
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[1][ISMAP]-[2][Home]
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### GUIDE ### [3][Background] [4][Synopsis] [5][Credits] [6][Episode
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List] [7][Previous] [8][Next]
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_Contents:_ [9]Overview - [10]Backplot - [11]Questions - [12]Analysis
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- [13]Notes - [14]JMS
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_________________________________________________________________
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Overview
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A fugitive with sensitive information about the Earth government
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flees to Babylon 5. [15]Tony Steedman as Dr. Everett Jacobs.
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[16]Bernie Casey as Derek Cranston. [17]Richard Moll as Max.
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[18]Wanda De Jesus as Sarah.
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Sub-genre: Intrigue
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[19]P5 Rating: [20]8.20
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Production number: 213
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Original air date: March 1, 1995
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Written by J. Michael Straczynski
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Directed by Menachem Binetski
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Watch For
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* [21]A man in a familiar outfit.
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_________________________________________________________________
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Backplot
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* After the victory over the Dilgar, the Earth Alliance experienced
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a period of rapid expansion bolstered by a general sense of
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optimism, a sense that the future was bright. Somewhere along the
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way, that was lost -- Dr. Franklin says the future was like
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waiting for that special toy for Christmas, and when you get it
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you find that the reality doesn't measure up to your expectations.
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* Dr. Franklin studied medicine at Harvard. One of his teachers, Dr.
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Everett Jacobs, went on to become then-Vice President Clark's
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personal physician. Dr Franklin says, "A lot of us looked up to
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him as a role model. He's the best there is."
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* Dr. Jacobs examined Clark before and after the "accident" on Earth
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Force One that killed President Santiago -- and found no evidence
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of the viral infection Clark used as an excuse to leave the ship
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shortly before it was destroyed.
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Unanswered Questions
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* How and when will Dr. Jacobs' data be used?
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* What did Kosh and his ship say to each other after Sheridan and
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the others left the docking bay?
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* What did Kosh teach Sheridan?
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* How did Sheridan convince Kosh to allow his ship to be used to
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save Dr. Jacobs?
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* What did the ship "sing" to Dr. Jacobs?
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Analysis
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* Why was the fact that Kosh's ship is alive such a surprising thing
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to have confirmed, when a simple "scan for life forms" was able to
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detect it? In all their surface probes while the ship sat in the
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docking bay, it seems odd that nobody thought to scan for life,
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especially since it was already known or at least suspected that
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Vorlons use organic technology (cf. [22]"Infection.")
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* Sheridan mentions to Kosh that there's a council meeting to
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discuss the Narn refugee problem. That might be related to the
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smuggling operation started in [23]"Acts of Sacrifice" -- has it
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been revealed already? (Not necessarily, of course; there are
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probably thousands, if not millions, of refugees who have nothing
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to do with that operation.)
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[24][LINK]
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* Kosh speaks to his ship, and it displays some text in an unknown
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script, presumably the Vorlon written language. That implies that
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Kosh and his ship are not in telepathic contact, or at least not
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when he's not on board -- somewhat remarkable, considering that
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Kosh and the ship have both demonstrated telepathy or something
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like it (Kosh in [25]"All Alone in the Night" and the ship in this
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episode, both with Dr. Jacobs and, more importantly, the
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maintenance workers referred to by Ivanova.)
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* There may be a Ranger (cf. [26]"The Coming of Shadows") in this
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episode, though it's very subtle. As Sheridan and Garibaldi reach
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the bottom of the stairs, just before Sheridan sees the red
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ribbon, a man walks by the two of them, wearing the same outfit as
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the Ranger from the aforementioned episode. Which might be
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coincidence, except that Garibaldi notices the man, even turns and
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watches him climb the stairs, before looking back at Sheridan, who
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is meanwhile occupied with the ribbon.
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* A couple viewers have commented that Sheridan looks a bit _too_
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smug as he gives the data crystal to his co-conspirator at the
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end, almost as if that isn't the real crystal. Is it? Does he
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trust her? Is he up to something other than what the General
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thinks he is? (Recall that we never heard his answer in [27]"All
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Alone in the Night.") Also, he doesn't give her Dr. Jacobs' code
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to unlock the data, though of course he could simply be giving her
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an unencrypted copy.
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* On a related note, did Sheridan keep a copy of the crystal for
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himself?
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* Sheridan confronts Kosh twice. The first time a bit tentatively,
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the second time directly. Amazingly, he engages Kosh's interest
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and actually begins what may develop into a dialog (or at least a
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monologue) with Kosh.
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Also of note, the first time Sheridan confronts Kosh he says that
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Kosh "called to him." This is a reference to the dream sequence in
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[28]"All Alone in the Night". Kosh replies, "I sought
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understanding. I listened to the song. Your thoughts became the
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song." Sheridan asks, "Has this ever happened before?" and Kosh
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says, "Once." _When was that?_ One possibility is Talia Winters
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(cf. [29]"Deathwalker") -- Kosh told her to "listen to the music,
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not the song."
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* Kosh's second conversation with Sheridan, of course, bears close
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analysis, especially given its relation to Sheridan's dream in
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[30]"All Alone in the Night."
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1. _Sheridan: "You wanted to see me?"_
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2. _Kosh: "You wanted to see me."_
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3. _"Well, I guess everybody does. See what you really are,
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inside that encounter suit."_
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4. _"They are not ready. They would not understand."_
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_Analysis:_ It's not obvious exactly who he means by "they."
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At least _one_ person was ready to see Kosh, namely Delenn
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(cf. [31]"Chrysalis.") Of course, it begs the question once
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again: what _is_ Kosh, that one might not "understand" when
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one saw him? (And why does he care whether people
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understand?)
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5. _"Am I ready?"_
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6. _"No. You do not even understand yourself."_
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_Analysis:_ Is Kosh speaking in a general sense here -- "You
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aren't self-actualized" -- or is there something specific
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about Sheridan that Kosh knows and Sheridan doesn't?
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7. _"Could you help me to understand you?"_
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8. _"Can you help me to understand you?"_
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9. _"Well, I can try. Is that what you want? An exchange of
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information? I tell you something about me, you tell me
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something about you?"_
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10. _"No. You do not understand. Go." Kosh turns away._
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11. _"Dammit, what do you want? What do you want from me? You
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know, ever since I got here I've had the feeling that... that
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you've been watching me. The records show you hardly ever
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went to council meetings until I showed up. When I was
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captured... it was you who reached out and touched my mind.
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Now you call me here... why? Just to throw me out? Are we
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just toys to you? Huh? What do you want?"_
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12. _Kosh spins around to face Sheridan again. "Never ask that
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question."_
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_Analysis:_ Almost undoubtedly a reference to Morden's
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question in [32]"Signs and Portents" -- but it raises another
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question of its own, namely, why does that question mean
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anything special to Kosh? How does Kosh know what Morden
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asked of the various ambassadors? Perhaps it's what the
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Shadows always ask, since Kosh seems to know about them.
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Perhaps the Vorlons were, themselves, asked that question a
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thousand years ago.
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13. _"At least I got a response out of you. So what'll it be,
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Ambassador?"_
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14. _"I will teach you."_
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15. _"About yourself?"_
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16. _"About you. Until you are ready."_
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17. _"For what?"_
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18. _"To fight legends."_
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_Analysis:_ Two interpretations are immediately apparent: "to
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fight the Shadows" (who are legendary to the Narn and
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probably others) or "to dispel myths." The first seems _too_
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obvious, given Kosh's tendency to be cryptic. The second
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interpretation suggests that the Vorlons aren't revealing
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themselves because they feel they'll be associated with
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something from mythology. Once Sheridan learns to combat
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those preconceptions, he will be ready. (See [33]Notes.)
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Alternately, it could refer to Sheridan himself; he's a
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legend of sorts to the Minbari, possibly an obstacle to the
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joining of humans and Minbari as envisioned by Delenn (cf.
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[34]"All Alone in the Night.")
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* Do we now have a clue to the telepathic abilities of the Vorlons?
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This reference to "the song" and Sheridan's thoughts "becoming"
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the song during his dream sequence hint rather strongly that
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telepathy is the Vorlon's primary means of communication. If so,
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then this confirms that Sheridan's dream wasn't altogether a
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dream, and that he may have some latent/budding psi skills
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himself.
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Further note: The constant jabber that occurs when Kosh speaks. It
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sounds like there are...many "voices" in it. If telepathy is
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common to Vorlons, then they may have some equivalent to a "hive
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mind", or at least constant and unbounded access to each other. If
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so, then why does Kosh periodically return to the Vorlon
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homeworld? Further, does the same physical "Kosh" return? Still
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further, if each Vorlon is to a greater or lesser extent _all_
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Vorlons, does it matter which physical Vorlon is present? Taken to
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the extreme, the tag "Kosh" is simply a convenient referent
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supplied by the Vorlon hive-mind to the folks at B5. (Of course,
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it may well be the _ship_ that needs to return home, not Kosh at
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all.)
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* In this episode we see that the ship is an independent entity, in
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essence a living creature. It shows up as a non-human life form,
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even though we are shown that Kosh himself was not on board.
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Further, Doctor Jacobs says that the ship "sang to him" while he
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was unconcious and aboard. This hints strongly that the ship
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shares "the song," which means that it's part of the Vorlon
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community mind.
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If the ship is part of the Vorlon super-entity, and if the ship is
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itself organic technology, then this implies that the Vorlons can
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create any kind of physical creature they want, with that creature
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sharing the community mind. That means that the ship is nearly as
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much or as much a Vorlon as Kosh.
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* A number of readers have speculated that the ship is actually
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Kosh, and the encounter suit just a remote probe or a servant.
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That seems unlikely, though, given the events of [35]"The
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Gathering," in which the Vorlons were ready to start shooting over
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an attack on what was in the encounter suit. But it's worthy of
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mention.
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* A Biblical reference that might be relevant, or might just be a
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coincidence: During Sheridan's secret meeting, Sarah tells him
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"Whatever you do, I suggest that you do it quickly." This is the
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same thing Jesus Christ said to Judas Iscariot immediately before
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Judas went out to betray Jesus to the Sanhedrin. If this isn't a
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simple coincidence, the implication is that Sheridan will
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eventually betray someone. The victim isn't clear, though. His
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cadre on B5 are obvious candidates, as is the cabal he and Hague
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are members of. But for that matter, it might be the Psi-Corps
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(though his betrayal could be _for_ the Psi-Corps, cf. [36]"All
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Alone in the Night" and Bester's comment at the end of [37]"A Race
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Through Dark Places.")
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A more whimsical connection is that the actress speaking the line
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is named Wanda de Jesus.
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Notes
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* A relevant reference might be "Childhood's End" by Arthur C.
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Clarke (though the shape of the Vorlon encounter suit suggests the
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opposite association from the one in the book.)
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* When Franklin and Garibaldi stop to eat, it appears they're
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actually munching on Kellogg's NutriGrain Breakfast Bars (though
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the scene doesn't provide a close enough look at the bars to tell
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for sure, so it probably doesn't count as product placement.)
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* During Sheridan's meeting with Sarah, they are in what looks like
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an equipment room. She sets up two devices, presumably to defeat
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any bugs or scans. The problem is that she leaves them there when
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she leaves. During their next meeting they are not in evidence at
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all, and again she isn't shown retrieving them before she leaves.
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Of course, Sheridan could have taken them. (See [38]jms speaks.)
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* In addition to its ants (cf. [39]"Mind War") B5 has roaches.
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* Sheridan has what he considers very good shielding on his office.
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He talks to Ivanova quite openly there immediately after Agent
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Cranston leaves.
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* Kosh's comments to Sheridan bear some resemblance to the Dalai
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Lama's observation (cf. [40]"Points of Departure,") namely, "It
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will be even better when you begin to understand what you do not
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understand."
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* Minor continuity glitch: when the station's scanners are
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configured to look for Dr. Jacobs, the display reads "Dr Evert
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Jacoby," not "Dr. Everett Jacobs."
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jms speaks
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* There was no intended reference to Anne McCaffrey's story; Kosh
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tends to speak naturally through a series of musical/tonal/atonal
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chords, and I figured his ship would communicate in the same way,
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which to another would sound a little like singing.
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* _Will Richard Moll return?_
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At this point, Richard's part was a one-shot, but if we come up
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with the right role, I'd love to see him again.
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* _What did Sarah leave behind at the meeting?_
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It's a flashlight, and he's also holding one. You caught a very
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small glitch. Originally, he came out, flashed twice with his
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flashlight, giving the code; then she did the same, and THEN
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stepped out of the shadows, putting her flashlight down on the
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ledge beside her. It took too long, though, interminably, so when
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we edited it, we cut out that sequence...and hoped nobody'd notice
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the flashlight sitting there.
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* From "Infection," the visiting Doctor points out that, regarding
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organic technology, "some even say the Vorlons have got it." All
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this stuff gets set up somewhere.
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_________________________________________________________________
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Compiled by Dave Zimmerman and Steven Grimm.
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_________________________________________________________________
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[46][Next]
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[47]Last update: February 23, 1998
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References
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1. file://localhost/cgi-bin/imagemap/titlebar
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2. LYNXIMGMAP:file://localhost/lurk/maps/maps.html#titlebar
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5. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/credits/035.html
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6. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/episodes.php
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