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								   _Contents:_ [9]Overview - [10]Backplot - [11]Questions - [12]Analysis

								   - [13]Notes - [14]JMS


								     _________________________________________________________________


								Overview


								     Sheridan tricks the League of Non-Aligned Worlds into accepting his

								     proposed defense pact. Delenn tries to work with an old rival to

								     defuse a brewing Minbari civil war. [15]John Vickery as Neroon.


								[16]P5 Rating: [17]8.33


								Production number: 413

								Original air week: May 12, 1997


								Written by J. Michael Straczynski

								Directed by Mike Vejar


								     _________________________________________________________________


								Plot Points


								     * The League of Non-Aligned Worlds has agreed to give the White Star

								       fleet authority to operate as a police force along its borders.

								     * Civil war has broken out in the Minbari capital city.

								     * Three quarters of Clark's cabinet resigned in protest of his

								       martial law decree.


								Unanswered Questions


								     * Is Neroon really betraying Delenn?

								     * The episode focused on the religious and warrior castes. What

								       happened to the worker caste? Are they participating in the

								       fighting, and if so, which side have they taken?


								Analysis


								     * Will the Non-Aligned Worlds' pledge to help Sheridan with any

								       larger missions extend to his conflict with President Clark? Even

								       in its diminished state, the combined forces of the Non-Aligned

								       Worlds' navies would likely be a great asset if the conflict came

								       down to a direct, prolonged series of battles. On the other hand,

								       intervening in internal Earth matters isn't what the ambassadors

								       had in mind; they might balk at sending their ships to die for the

								       cause of overthrowing Earth's government.

								     * By allowing the White Star fleet to patrol Centauri space in

								       search of the Drakh (among others,) Londo has given Sheridan

								       direct influence over the ability of the Shadows' allies to exact

								       their revenge on Centauri Prime. Perhaps that's the source of

								       Londo's comment in [18]"War Without End" about Sheridan allowing

								       the Shadows' dark servants to slip through to Centauri Prime; if

								       Sheridan uses the White Star fleet for some larger mission as he

								       hints he might, it'll presumably be at the cost of Centauri

								       Prime's defense against the Drakh.

								     * During the conversation between Londo and the Drazi ambassador,

								       Londo's duplicity is underscored by the staging of the scene. In

								       most of the scene, two images of Londo can be seen: his reflection

								       in the mirror or his portrait. The rest of the time his face is

								       obscured by a curtain.

								     * In the past, Delenn has attempted to preserve Lennier's innocence

								       (e.g. by trying to leave him behind in [19]"Atonement.") But from

								       Lennier's point of view, she has an innocence of her own, and he

								       sees himself as its guardian.

								     * Neroon may not be betraying Delenn at all; he told Shakiri the he

								       knew the religious caste's counterattack plans, but Delenn made no

								       mention of a counterattack. It's possible his departure was, in

								       fact, all part of Delenn's plan; Lennier wasn't privy to the

								       conversation between Delenn and Neroon, so he wouldn't know the

								       details and would be fooled by Neroon's departure.

								     * By revealing how much she relies on Lennier, Delenn may have given

								       valuable information to an opponent. Neroon was honorable enough

								       and helped Lennier, and seems uninterested in directly battling or

								       hurting Delenn (if he'd been interested in that, he wasted several

								       opportunities while on her ship.) But if Neroon passes the

								       information along to Shakiri, Lennier may find himself in danger.

								     * Neroon said of the situation on Minbar, "We are a world gone mad."

								       That's the same thing one of the council members told Delenn in

								       [20]"Atonement," before declaring, as Neroon did, that the fire

								       would have to burn itself out and couldn't be stopped. Yet the

								       Earth-Minbari War did stop abruptly; perhaps the same will happen

								       in this case.

								     * Neroon's comment about loving a good mystery also echoed

								       [21]"Atonement," in which Delenn said to the Grey Council that

								       mysteries are a gift from the universe and shouldn't be ignored.

								     * The religious caste member said he heard Delenn say, "The

								       religious caste could not be allowed to win this war." But she

								       actually said, "The warrior caste cannot be allowed to win this

								       war. The religious caste cannot be allowed to win either." Was he

								       simply embellishing a half-overheard comment (e.g. if he only

								       heard the second sentence up to "win") or did he choose to ignore

								       or lie about the context?

								     * The religious caste has been the butt of jokes about surrendering

								       "ever since the war," according to the same religious caste

								       member. Clearly that can't be referring to the Shadow War, since

								       they didn't surrender. Does the comment indicate that most Minbari

								       still consider the Earth-Minbari War to be the major war of recent

								       memory? Since the warrior caste is the group making the jokes, the

								       implication is that they didn't particularly participate in the

								       Shadow War.

								     * The two storylines in the episode can be seen as point and

								       counterpoint on the subject of deception and secrecy (the title is

								       evidence that this isn't an accident.) Delenn kept her plans

								       secret from her compatriots and nearly died with them as a result.

								       Neroon was attacked for the same reason. Sheridan kept secrets as

								       well, and asked Franklin and Londo to lie for him, and it helped

								       his plans come to fruition.

								       Lennier's deception played into the theme; he kept the true nature

								       of the sabotage from Delenn, with no immediate ill effect.

								       However, it's possible that by maintaining Delenn's excessive

								       faith in her caste, Lennier in fact deprived her of vital

								       information she'd do well to take into account in the future.

								       Ivanova held fast to the ideal of truth, but every other major

								       player in the story participated in some form of deception: the

								       rebellious religious caste members hid their plot, the League

								       ambassadors kept their "knowledge" of the new enemy from Sheridan,

								       and Neroon lied to either Delenn or Shakiri about his intentions.


								Notes


								     * Delenn mentioned this as the second time she'd seen Lennier near

								       death. The first was in [22]"Convictions," in which he risked his

								       life to save Londo Mollari.

								     * Ivanova tells Sheridan that Marcus is waiting for him on channel

								       4. That's a reference to the network that shows B5 in the UK.

								     * Editing glitch: during the opening scene, a piece of food appears

								       on Marcus' fork while the camera shifts to Sheridan; the scene

								       shifts again and he hasn't picked the food up yet.


								jms speaks


								     * The Sheridan stuff was fun, in that I got to play Sheridan as the

								       one being manipulative for a change, smart for a change...not just

								       Londo or the usual suspects. It made for a nifty change of pace.

								       And yeah, Mira brought a lot of truth to this episode...and will

								       bring even more in next week.

								     * _Ivanova looked like she was reading from a teleprompter._

								       Yeah, we had Claudia use a teleprompter there to add to the sense

								       of having to read something...and enjoy the happy-go-lucky

								       Sheridan...it's the last you'll see of him for a long time....

								     * _Lennier seems to be doing more peacemaking than Delenn. Is he the

								       real bridge between races? Why does the religious caste follow

								       Delenn?_

								       No, I wouldn't say Lennier is a bridge in any sense along those

								       lines.

								       Delenn, you must understand, is a True Seeker, and among the

								       religious caste there isn't much more admirable than

								       that...combined with the fact that she *did* fulfill prophecy, she

								       *was* the chosen of Dukhat, she *did* help end the Shadow

								       War...yeah, she's had some problems here and there, but what

								       important leader doesn't? Any one of those items would be a

								       sufficient crown on a lifetime of achievement...the cumulative

								       effect is quite daunting and impressive.

								     * _Are Lennier's patience, humor, and devotion unique?_

								       No, many Minbari share in those traits.

								     * "Are tears a normal Minbari physical reaction, or is weeping (for

								       Delenn) one of the changes mandated by her chrysalitic"

								       We've seen Delenn cry before, when she and G'Kar were in her

								       quarters and she was explining why she did not get involved in the

								       Narn/Centauri war.

								     * _How did Londo see an Earth sitcom if all broadcasts to B5 are

								       being jammed?_

								       Easy. The incident Londo is mentioning happened prior to the

								       blackout. He never said it *just* happened, he said the *last*

								       time Rebo and Zooty did their routine, everybody was doing it.

								     * _Were Rebo and Zooty references to real people?_

								       No, not intended as tributes to anyone, just a cool sounding pair

								       of names (but also annoying sounding).


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								      [29]Last update: June 10, 1997


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