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The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5
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[1][ISMAP]-[2][Home]
### GUIDE ### [3][Background] [4][Synopsis] [5][Credits] [6][Episode
List] [7][Previous] [8][Next]
_Contents:_ [9]Overview - [10]Backplot - [11]Questions - [12]Analysis
- [13]Notes - [14]JMS
_________________________________________________________________
Overview
The warrior caste demands Delenn's surrender. Bester makes an offer
to an increasingly desperate Lyta. Sheridan is compelled to act
after receiving horrible news from Ivanova. [15]Scott Adams as Mr.
Adams. [16]Bart McCarthy as Shakiri. [17]Walter Koenig as Bester.
[18]John Vickery as Neroon.
[19]P5 Rating: [20]8.73
Production number: 414
Original air week: May 19, 1997
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Tony Dow
_________________________________________________________________
Plot Points
* Delenn has formed a new Grey Council, with the worker caste
holding 5 of the 9 positions. The position of leader is reserved
for "The One who is to come."
* In the days before Valen, when caste wars erupted, the warring
leaders would gather in the temple of Varenni, which is equipped
with planetwide broadcast facilities and a device called the
Starfire Wheel. The Starfire Wheel would consume the opposing
leaders in fire. Whichever one willing was to die for the
rightness of their side would remain in the fire until death; that
caste would lead.
* Unable to find work, Lyta has rejoined the Psi Corps in name only,
striking a deal with Bester to give him custody over her body when
she dies so he can try to understand what the Vorlons did to her.
In exchange, the Corps will list her as a member when potential
clients try to do a background check on her.
* Bester is directly involved in whatever was done to Garibaldi.
Among other things, Bester's plan is to pull Garibaldi further and
further from his former associates, though the ultimate purpose is
still unclear.
* William Edgars, Garibaldi's employer, is extremely secretive;
though he's one of the wealthiest men in the Earth Alliance, no
pictures of him have ever been published. He also claims to have
an intense distrust of telepaths and refuses to let any of his
high-level employees work with them.
Unanswered Questions
* Who is The One who is to come? (See [21]Analysis)
* What will happen to Shakiri? Does he still lead the warrior caste?
* What were Delenn's instructions to Lennier?
* What is Bester's plan for Garibaldi?
* What happened between Zack and Bester after Bester provoked
Garibaldi?
Analysis
* The One who is to come may be Sheridan; in [22]"War Without End,"
Zathras referred to him as "The One who will be." The main thing
arguing against it being Sheridan is the generally xenophobic
attitude expressed by many Minbari in the past (e.g. Callenn in
[23]"Atonement.") On the other hand, perhaps such xenophobia is
only a disease of the warrior and religious castes; the worker
caste might have less trouble accepting a human as their leader.
Another candidate is David, Sheridan and Delenn's future child
([24]"War Without End, Part Two.") As a direct descendant of all
three of The One, and a partial Minbari genetically, he might be
more palatable.
She might even have meant Sinclair: in [25]"Atonement," she
mentioned Valen's body was never found, and at least one Minbari
ritual, the extra placesetting seen in [26]"Confessions and
Lamentations," indicates a belief in Valen's eventual return.
It's also possible Delenn didn't intend her comment in any sort of
prophetic way. She may simply have been referring to the next head
of the Grey Council. The Minbari went ten years between leaders
after Dukhat's death; perhaps there will be a similar period of
mourning for Neroon, and the new leader won't be chosen for a
while.
* Both Sheridan and Delenn have accepted death (Sheridan with Lorien
in [27]"Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?") Will the experience
change Delenn as it changed Sheridan? Arguably, this isn't the
first time for Delenn -- she accepted at least the possibility of
death in [28]"Confessions and Lamentations" and gave herself in
exchange for Sheridan in [29]"Comes the Inquisitor."
* Despite Delenn's denial, the religious caste members on her ship
in [30]"Rumors, Bargains and Lies" were at least partially right:
her plan _did_ involve surrendering to the warrior caste, if only
temporarily. If Lennier's reaction was at all typical, that must
have come as a horrible blow to her caste when they heard about
it.
* Delenn's line to Shakiri, "The warrior caste started this war. Now
the religious caste has ended it," echoes the lesson Sheridan
learned from his father ([31]"Severed Dreams") -- "Never start a
fight, but always finish it."
* Neroon's loyalties at the beginning of the episode were unclear.
Shakiri's contempt for life clearly convinced Neroon that Delenn's
plan was the right way to go. But would he have carried out her
plan if Shakiri hadn't been so fanatical and had been able to
provide some valid justification for the war?
* Neroon's sacrifice will probably play much better in the long run
than Delenn's death would have. Shakiri's fear and actions brought
dishonor to the Warrior caste; had they simply lost to the
religious caste the resentment and stain of dishonor would have
remained.
By sacrificing himself for Delenn, Neroon gave honor back to the
warriors, since one of their own remained and died in the
Starwheel. His conversion to religious caste assured that the
honor would be shared with them as well.
Neroon's last-minute conversion meant both a religious and a
warrior caste member perished on the wheel. Thus, technically,
neither caste won, just as Delenn wanted.
* Neroon wasn't the first Minbari to switch castes. His former
commander, Branmer, was originally religious caste but switched to
warrior caste during the Earth-Minbari War ([32]"Legacies.")
* Neroon's interaction with Delenn revolves around sacrifice. In
[33]"Grey 17 Is Missing," he was ready to attack or possibly kill
her, but yielded when he saw that Marcus was ready to sacrifice
his life for her sake. Here, he himself made that sacrifice. At
the end of "Grey 17," Marcus asked Neroon, "Next time you want a
revelation, could you possibly find a way that's not quite so
uncomfortable?" Apparently not.
* While Delenn was bringing peace to her people, Sheridan was
preparing to go to war with his. What will Delenn think of his
decision when she returns?
* Ivanova's broadcast mentioned a Starfury squadron defecting to
Proxima 3. How many Earth ships have gone over to the resistance?
Presumably the Alexander is still at large ([34]"Severed Dreams.")
Are there other ships of that caliber, and if so, will they take
orders from Sheridan?
* Bester implied he'd seen the Voice of the Resistance broadcasts.
Does that mean the broadcasts are in fact reaching Earth and/or
Mars, or has he simply seen them because he travels a lot in the
course of his job?
* Bester's contract says he gets Lyta's body if she dies of natural
causes. Would the telepath disease in [35]"Conflicts of Interest"
count as natural causes? If so, Bester and the Corps may have a
specific reason to want to gain control of the cure. Perhaps
Bester was the one responsible for sending the telepaths to try to
procure it.
* Lyta is slowly lifting the veil of secrecy she's maintained about
the Vorlons and their changes to her. In [36]"Epiphanies," she was
only willing to obliquely acknowledge the possibility that
something might have happened. Here, she tacitly admitted it to
Bester, and told Garibaldi in no uncertain terms that she wasn't a
mere P5 any more.
* Will Lyta be more willing to scan Garibaldi now that he has, from
her point of view, turned against her? If she were to discover
evidence of Bester's involvement in whatever was done to
Garibaldi, she'd presumably want to investigate and find out what
Bester was up to. Of course, she might still consider Garibaldi's
privacy a more compelling concern, and presumably whatever
programming he received would prevent him from agreeing to be
scanned.
* Sheridan's insistence that Lyta move to smaller quarters to help
the station stay financially afloat is somewhat hypocritical,
given his refusal to do the same in [37]"A Race Through Dark
Places." Lyta made the same argument Sheridan did against being
forcibly moved: her value to the station entitles her to special
treatment.
It's worth noting that Zack said the order came from Station
Resources, not from Sheridan himself, but presumably if there were
a reasonable chance Sheridan would overturn the order, Zack would
have asked him before burdening Lyta with the news.
And given Bester's presence on the station, was Zack even relaying
a real order? Bester might have planted the belief in such an
order in Zack's mind without Zack being any the wiser.
* This is the second time Zack has been asked to relay bad news to
someone close: first Garibaldi in [38]"Conflicts of Interest," and
now Lyta, who appears to have warmed up considerably to Zack since
he brought her pizza in [39]"Epiphanies." Though Zack is clearly
loyal to Sheridan, bearing bad news to friends probably won't have
any positive effect on his attitude.
* Zack no longer calls Garibaldi "chief." Likely he's given up hope
of Garibaldi's return. Any respect Zack had for Garibaldi was
probably destroyed by Garibaldi's use of a duplicate identicard to
get past customs ([40]"Conflicts of Interest.")
Notes
* Cartoonist Scott Adams, creator of the [41]"Dilbert" comic strip,
has a cameo appearance in this episode. A [42]press release about
his appearance is available.
Mr. Adams' lost dog and cat are no doubt a reference to the
characters of Dogbert and Catbert from the comic strip. Dogbert is
constantly scheming to take over the world.
* The new Grey Council (spellings approximate): Dalidi and Burli of
the religious caste, Mazik and Shaka of the warrior caste, and
Dulann, Katz, Zaca, Nur, and Barenn of the worker caste.
* The title of this episode echoes G'Kar's closing monologue in
[43]"Z'ha'dum": "The future is all around us, waiting, in moments
of transition, to be born in moments of revelation. No one knows
the shape of that future or where it will take us. We know only
that it is always born in pain."
* The security guard may have been stumped by Bester's Dickens quote
because it wasn't quite right. In "A Christmas Carol," Marley's
Ghost said, "Mankind was my business," not "Humanity is my
business."
* Edgars claimed to be available 24 hours a day. The Martian day is
closer to 25 Earth hours long. But even now, scientists divide the
Martian day into 24 Martian hours, each slightly longer than a
terrestrial hour. It's reasonable to assume that that practice
continues into the 23rd century. ([44]More on Mars)
* This episode takes place around August 3, 2261. August 3 is a
recurring date in the series: August 3, 2258 was the date of the
initial mayday from the raiders in [45]"Signs and Portents;"
August 3, 2260 was the date the Shadows began attacking openly
([46]"Interludes and Examinations;") and August 3, 2261 was the
date in Bester's log entry in this episode.
* In the original US broadcast, the cruiser firing on the commercial
transports was shown as the Agamemnon, Sheridan's old ship. That
was a production slipup (see [47]JMS Speaks) and in later airings,
the cruiser was labeled the Pollux.
jms speaks
* _In response to an earlier JMS message saying the cruiser wasn't
the Agamemnon_
I have to recant my correction.
The image as shown in the monitor was supposed to be shown *only*
on the monitor, not blown up. The animators figured, it'll be too
small to read the name on it, so we may as well grab a ship out of
the library rather than building a new one (a sensible
choice)...but when John and I got into editing, we grabbed the
original video and did that close-up...and neither of us, NObody,
ever even noticed the Aggy name until after it was mentioned
here...and I then checked, and to my chagrin, it was there.
But in true Soviet Revisionist fashion, you can be assured that
down the road, this will mysteriously be replaced by another
shot....
* _If you had been 100% sure there'd be a season 5, would this have
been the season 4 finale?_
No, this could never have been the finale for 4.
* _Will John Vickery return, perhaps as Mr. Welles from [48]"The
Fall of Night?"_
No, not as that role, but we're definitely open to using him in
other roles, as with Wayne Alexander.
* We'll keep our eyes out for a way to bring him around again, same
as with Wayne.
* _How does this story relate to G'Kar's speech?_
In a way, it was the second half of G'Kar's sentence...that life
can be broken down into moments of transition and moments of
revelation...and there with Neroon at the end we had both.
* _Did he really realize he belonged in the religious caste, or did
he just do it for Delenn's sake?_
Whether it was true or not, he knew his actions would bring the
castes back together...so out of respect for the dead, best to
leave the issue unresolved, and accept his gesture for what it
was.
* _What was wrong with Walter Koenig's hand?_
As for Walter...he made the decision to play Bester with a
deformed or useless hand, which he's compensating for as a teep.
* _Then how does he put his gloves on?_
Ask Walter.
* What's been great about B5 has been the chance to give many
talented actors like Walter and others a chance to show the many
other hues and colors they are capable of delivering, but which
were rarely seen because the material didn't allow them the
opportunity. I know Walter's loved it, and it's been great for us
as well.
* _Were Delenn and Neroon secretly in contact, or was the whole plan
worked out in advance?_
They were worked out in advance, and the instructions were for
posthumous use.
* _Did Delenn's instructions include a message for Sheridan?_
Almost certainly.
* _Are any members of the old Grey Council on the new one?_
Yeah, some of the new council would've been on the old one.
And Bester was named for a well-known SF writer, now gone.
* The Grey Council stucture, visually, is designed to bring the
Starfire wheel to mind. Valen, being something of a smart cookie,
figured it would be wise to tie in whatever he was doing to the
traditions that preceded him. So they're arranged in a circle,
with a series of lights above them, and the one central light (for
Dukhat, for instance) reserved for the one who had endured and
grown to leadership, but through a somewhat less violent means.
"Finally, the diversity of cultures on Babylon 5 must be a
satisfaction for you as a writer to have so many different voices
to express. "MoT" for me was almost like seguing between
playwrights -- Damon Runyan (Garibaldi) to Oscar Wilde (Bester) to
Aeschylus (Minbar). One of the things I have found most appealing
about Babylon 5 as a whole is that the language is similar to the
language of the stage. That seems rare in a television milieu
defined for the most part by diseases-of-the-week, talk-show spew
and courtroom maneuverings."
Yeah, I like that part a lot, being able to write in lots of
different voices, lots of different styles. You have to remember
that I cut my teeth writing dialogue back when I was writing plays
and getting them produced. I love theater, love plays, and love
really well done or rich dialogue. So it echoes that now...which
as you say isn't necessarily the style of dialogue seen on most
television (which is why a few react weirdly to it), but I like
it, and it's my show....
* _Lyta refused to scan Garibaldi, but was willing to scan the
Centauri in [49]"Passing Through Gethsemane."_
Yes, it's an inconsistency; because humans are inconsistent. But
it's only an inconsistency subject to Lyta's
rationalizations...which are quite reasonable.
She didn't know the Centauri; she knew Garibaldi...they knew
beyond a shadow of a doubt that Brother Edward's *life* was in
jeapordy, and that this person may hold the key to saving his life
and every instant they waited meant he could be dying, whereas
there is no such crisis in the Garibaldi situation...they were
able to hide her identity from the Centauri whereas they would not
be able to do so with her and Garibaldi....
The decision to scan or not to scan is essentially a moral or
ethical decision. When someone's life is on the line, that raises
one ethical concern, as opposed to Zack just having a vague
suspicion about Garibaldi's character and asking her to engage in
a fishing expedition. There is a quantum difference between the
two of them.
Would a physician give someone the tools necessary to end his
life? No. Would he do so if the person were chronically ill and in
constant, terrible pain? Very possibly. It's the *context*. You
can't expect people to act the same in every situation regardless
of context, context is everything.
People are not robots, they rationalize, they are inconsistent,
but they generally have *reasons* for it that they can justify. As
somebody once said, rationalizations are more important than sex,
because you can *go* a day without sex.... _[Ed. note: this is a
quote from "The Big Chill."]_
* _Why didn't Lyta go to Sheridan for help?_
I think Lyta had just emotionally gotten to the place where she
had to do something on her own rather than continuing to rely on
the kindness of strangers.
* _Did Bester tell Edgars that Garibaldi had hired Lyta?_
Nope.
* _Is Edgars really Bester?_
Not a chance.
Edgars is played by Efrem Zimbalist Jr., which by itself precludes
that.
* Bear in mind that Edgars also has Wade working for him right there
on the station, and he is more or less Garibaldi's liaison with
Edgars, so logically that would be his source of information.
[55][Next]
[56]Last update: January 23, 1998
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