brennen
/
lurkers-guide


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


								<blockquote><cite>

								Sheridan is kidnapped and taken to an alien ship.  The Grey Council decides

								Delenn's fate.  General Hague makes an unofficial visit to the station.

								</cite>


								<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Foxworth,+Robert">Robert Foxworth</a> as General Hague.

								<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Teague,+Marshall">Marshall Teague</a> as the Narn.

								</blockquote>


								<pre>

								Sub-genre: Action/intrigue

								<a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/033">8.33</a>


								Production number: 211

								Original air date: February 15, 1995

								<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000087EYB/thelurkersguidet">DVD release date</a>: April 29, 2003


								Written by J. Michael Straczynski

								Directed by Mario DiLeo

								</pre>


								<h3><a name="WF">Watch For</a></h3>

								<ul>


								   <li> A momentary change of clothes.


								</ul>


								<p>

								<hr size=3>


								<h2><a name="BP">Backplot</a></h2>

								<ul>


								   <li> The Minbari have installed a new leader.


								   <li> Sheridan's appointment to Babylon 5 was more than a coincidence.  He

									was picked by Santiago, who knew that his record made him look like a

									hard-nosed military man, just the sort Santiago suspected Clark would

									want to replace Sinclair with.  But Santiago also knew that Sheridan

									was a patriot who would stand against the forces seeking to undermine

									the Earth government.  In his first months on the station, Sheridan's

									real assignment was to evaluate the crew, find out who could be

									trusted.


								   <li> General Hague, and others, are working to expose the machinations

									behind Santiago's death and other recent events.  They suspect the

									Psi-Corps is behind the conspiracy, but so far have been unable to

									prove anything.


								   <li> Alit Neroon (head of the Star Riders clan, cf.

									<a href="017.html">"Legacies"</a>)

									has replaced Delenn on the Grey Council.


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li> Sheridan's dream is a big unanswered question, lent weight by Kosh's

									comment after Sheridan's return.  See <a href="#AN:dream">Analysis.</a>


								   <li> Why was Neroon appointed to the Council?


								   <li> What does Delenn think is about to happen?  Why does she believe she

									is about to descend into darkness and fire?


								   <li> Is the foray by the Streibs related to what the Shadows are doing,

									or is it just coincidental timing?


								   <li> How did the Narn know so much about the Streibs and their ship?


								   <li> What was done to Sheridan?  He was left with three scars on his

									face, one of them on his forehead.  Might he be carrying an implant

									of some sort now?


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li> Neroon's appointment to the council is troublesome.  Presumably new

									members are approved by majority vote.  The three warrior-caste

									members probably voted for him; that means one or two of the remaining

									five members must have voted for him as well, probably from the

									worker caste.  Valen's wishes seem to be held in less than the highest

									regard by some Minbari.


								   <li> With four members, the warrior caste now effectively controls the

									Grey Council.  On any issue they need only win over one other member

									to have a majority.  It is unclear how far the Council's power

									extends now that a new leader has been installed, and that leader

									conceivably sides with the religious caste, but it looks like hard

									times have arrived for Delenn's compatriots.


								   <li> That being the case, how does this mesh with Sinclair's gathering of

									rangers?  (cf.

									<a href="031.html">"The Coming of Shadows"</a>)

									Some of them, recall, are Minbari.  Are they primarily religious

									caste?  Is there enough difference of opinion within the warrior

									caste about humans that he's able to attract warriors?


								   <li> We never actually hear Sheridan's answer to Hague, though it is

									probably "yes."  If it isn't, Sheridan's meeting with the

									rest of the command staff may be a ruse to draw Hague's people out

									into the open -- on the assumption that Hague will try to work

									via one of the others -- and expose the counterconspiracy.  Sheridan's

									possible link with Psi-Corps (see below and

									<a href="030.html">"A Race Through Dark Places"</a>)

									makes this at least a plausible scenario, if an unlikely one.


								   <li> <a name="AN:dream">There's more to the dream sequence</a>

									than is apparent at first glance,

									and it's chock full of ambiguities.  A shot-by-shot rundown with

									analysis (another, simpler, possible interpretation follows the

									rundown):


									<ol>


									   <li><b>Sheridan is in his quarters, in uniform.  The lights are out.

										</b>


									   <li><b>Ivanova is in the quarters with him, in uniform, hair draped

										over her left shoulder.  The door is open.  She raises her

										fingers to her lips and says, "Shh."

										</b><br>

										<em>Analysis:</em> Someone or something has entered Sheridan's

										mind to give him a message, and is warning him to watch and

										listen, not try to participate.  The "something" might also

										simply be part of Sheridan's own subconscious.  This probably

										relates to Kosh's answer to Sheridan's first question.


									   <li><b>Sheridan looks confused.</b>


									   <li><b>Ivanova, now with a raven perched on her right shoulder,

										says, "Do you know who I am?"

										</b><br>

										<em>Analysis:</em> The raven is typically symbolic of death;

										Ivanova may represent destruction, perhaps eventually siding

										with the forces of darkness.  In older literature, the raven

										was often a thief, rather than a harbinger of death.


									   <li><b>Sheridan looks to his right, and finds himself in a Babylon 5

										corridor.  He looks up.

										</b>


									   <li><b>On a catwalk, in harsh lighting, gripping the railing, is

										another Sheridan.  He looks to his right.

										</b><br>

										<em>Analysis:</em> It's unclear what kind

										of uniform the Sheridan on the catwalk is wearing; possibly

										a Psi-Cop uniform.  The angle of the shot is similar to

										Sinclair's first view of Knight Two in

										<a href="008.html">"And the Sky Full of Stars."</a>  This

										Sheridan perhaps represents another side of Sheridan's

										personality (more on that below.)


									   <li><img align=left width=128 height=96 hspace=4

										src="/lurk/gif/033/dove.gif">

										<b>Garibaldi, also apparently on the catwalk, is in uniform and

										has a dove(?) on his left shoulder.  "The man in between is

										searching for you," he says.

										</b><br>

										<em>Analysis:</em> "The man in between" may refer to the

										Sheridan on the catwalk, a part of Sheridan that isn't sure

										which side it should be on.

										Of course, it could be a reference to someone else

										entirely: someone between light and darkness, for instance.

										(Sinclair?)

										As for Garibaldi's dove, the dove is traditionally a symbol

										of peace, perhaps implying that Garibaldi will work to stop

										the Great War.

										<a href="020.html">"Babylon Squared"</a>

										strongly suggests that Garibaldi will ally himself with the

										side of light.


									   <li><b>Ivanova, in a veil and black dress, is standing behind

										Sheridan, who is now wearing a turtleneck and a jacket.

										</b><br>

										<em>Analysis:</em> This funereal garb lends some weight to

										the idea that Ivanova represents death.  (It really is

										Ivanova, though some readers have disagreed; see

										<a href="#JS:veil">jms speaks</a>.)


									   <li><img align=left width=128 height=96 hspace=4

										src="/lurk/gif/033/psicop.gif">

										<b>As he turns, we get a brief glimpse of a metal pin on the

										left breast of his jacket: a Psi-Corps badge.  And in fact,

										his jacket appears to be the uniform of a Psi-Cop, with the

										leather strap down the right side in front.

										</b><br>

										<em>Analysis:</em> Sheridan's change of clothes is perhaps the

										most ominous part of the entire sequence.  Combined with

										Bester's comment in

										<a href="030.html">"A Race Through Dark Places"</a>

										that he was told to expect Sheridan to be sympathetic to

										the Psi-Corps, it suggests some yet-to-be-revealed connection

										between Sheridan and the Corps, something that may cause

										a conflict of interest as he works with Hague's people.


									   <li><b>Ivanova, still veiled, says, "You are the hand."

										</b><br>

										<em>Analysis:</em> Hands abound in <cite>Babylon 5</cite>,

										from Kosh's hand in

										<a href="000.html">"The Gathering"</a>

										to Londo's dream hand in

										<a href="031.html">"The Coming of Shadows."</a>

										Presumably Ivanova isn't referring to Kosh's hand.  If she

										is referring to the hand from Londo's dream, it suggests that

										Sheridan will become a pawn in Londo's machinations; recall

										Elric's comment in

										<a href="025.html">"The Geometry of Shadows"</a> --

										the hand reaching out across the stars is Londo's.

										Alternately, if Sheridan's Psi-Cop uniform is taken to mean

										that he's symbolic of Psi-Corps as a whole, perhaps she means

										that Psi-Corps, not Sheridan, is the hand.  Or, more sinister,

										that Sheridan is unknowingly acting on behalf of the Psi-Corps,

										perhaps as the result of some mental conditioning (which

										would explain Bester's comment at the end of

										<a href="030.html">"A Race Through Dark Places."</a>)


									   <li><b>Kosh is standing behind Sheridan in the corridor; Sheridan is

										back in his normal uniform.  Sheridan starts to turn toward

										him.

										</b>


									   <li><b>In what seems like a simple switch of camera angles, Sheridan

										now appears to be sitting down in front of a backlit wall

										with an organic look not unlike that of the Streib ship's

										interior.  "Why are you here?" he asks.

										</b><br>

										<em>Analysis:</em> The change of scenery suggests that "here"

										refers to a different place or time or context than the rest

										of the sequence.  Perhaps the question means, "Why are the

										Vorlons involving themselves with the other races?"  Of

										course, it could mean what it looks like: "Why are you in

										my dream?"


									   <li><b><a name="AN:weme">"We were never away,"</a>

										Kosh answers from the corridor.  "For

										the first time your mind is quiet enough to hear me."

										</b><br>

										<em>Analysis:</em> Depending on the meaning of Sheridan's

										question, the answer says different things.  If the former

										refers to the Vorlons in general, the answer can be taken to

										mean, "We've only just allowed you to notice us."  The second

										part of the answer suggests that Sheridan's question refers

										to the dream, though.  See below for a possible explanation

										of this question and the rest of the dream.  Also note that

										Kosh uses both "we" and "me" -- see

										<a href="#JS:kosh">jms speaks.</a>


									   <li><b>Sheridan is back in the corridor, standing.  "Why am I here?"

										he asks, in a tone that makes the question sound unconnected

										to the previous one.

										</b><br>

										<em>Analysis:</em> Again, it's unclear what "here" means.

										Babylon 5?  The dream?  His circumstances?


									   <li><b>"You have always been here," answers Kosh.

										</b><br>

										<em>Analysis:</em> Kosh's repetition of this statement after

										Sheridan's return may mean it is very important; or perhaps

										Kosh was indirectly telling Sheridan that the dream wasn't

										a simple construct of his subconscious.  (Of course, Kosh

										might have read Sheridan's mind outside medlab and pulled the

										line from Sheridan's memory of the dream.)  As for the meaning

										of the line itself, only time will tell.  "You" might refer

										to Sheridan himself, or to some group (e.g. the human race)

										of which Sheridan is a part.

									</ol>


								   <li> Another way of looking at the dream sequence, more metaphysical,

									is that Sheridan entered a psychic continuum, an astral plane, for

									lack of a better term.  That makes many of the comments less ambiguous:


									<ul>

									   <li> "We were never away.  For the first time your mind is quiet

										enough to hear me."  This is the first time Sheridan has

										been in a mental state to consciously recognize the plane;

										Kosh and everyone else have always been there to some degree.

									   <li> "You have always been here."  Sheridan has always had some

										presence in this psychic world; he just hasn't been able to

										consciously recognize it.

									   <li> "The man in between" refers to someone between the physical

										and spiritual worlds.  Perhaps the Sheridan in the sequence

										is Sheridan's spiritual side, and "the man in between" is

										Sheridan, searching for his higher soul.

									   <li> Ivanova and Garibaldi, as shown in the sequence, are either

										the projections into this other world of the real people,

										or are abstractions for something else (darkness and

										light?)

									   <li> Sheridan's Psi-Cop uniform may mean that the Corps plays

										a part in bridging the physical and astral worlds.

									</ul>

								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li> The Streibs are probably a reference to Whitley Strieber, whose popular

									book "Communion" dealt with alien abduction.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@864692014 Effects glitch: When Ramirez' damaged Starfury jumps back

									to normal space, the vortex is orange, not blue as it normally is when

									a ship is arriving.


								<p>

								   <li> Marshall Teague, the Narn, also played Nelson Drake, the assistant

									turned living weapon, in

									<a href="004.html">"Infection."</a>


								<p>

								   <li> Ravens and doves, from the King James Bible:

									<ul>

									<p>

									   <li> And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened

										the window of the ark which he had made; and he sent forth a

										raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried

										up from off the earth. Also he sent forth a dove from him, to

										see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;

										but the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she

										returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face

										of the whole earth; and then he put forth his hand, and took her,

										and pulled her in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet

										another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the

										ark; and the dove came in to him in the evening; and lo, in her

										mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off; so Noah knew that the waters

										were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet another seven

										days, and sent forth the dove, which returned not again unto him

										any more. --Genesis 8:6-12

									<p>

									   <li> And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead,

										said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom

										I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but

										according to my word. And the word of the Lord came unto him,

										saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide

										thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it

										shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have

										commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

										<p>

										So he went and did according to the word of the Lord; for

										he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

										And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and

										bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

										--1 Kings 17:1-6

									</ul>


								<p>

								   <li> Some raven references in various other mythologies:


									<ul>

									   <li> Hugin and Munin: Odin's two ravens (thought and memory)


									   <li> Kurkil: Mongol creator god who flew to create the Earth and

										mankind


									   <li> Mictla or Mictlantecuhtli: Aztec god who rules the underworld


									   <li> Moragga: Celtic.  The incarnation of the Goddess as war.


									   <li> Raven: Amerindian creator and trickster god. Created all living

										creatures out of wood and clay. Similar to Coyote.


									   <li> Yangwu: Chinese. The sun-crow.


									   <li> Yetl: Amerindian. The thunder-raven who dragged the flooded

										earth above the water.


									   <li> In Japanese culture, the dove symbolizes war because doves

										were used as messengers during battles.


									</ul>


								</ul>


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


								<ul>


								   <li> One episode will look very much unconnected to the arc until the

									last five minutes, at which point there's a revelation that will likely

									astonish some and confirm suspcions for some other viewers.


								   <li> Streibs, actually.  Similar to, but not quite the same as the

									<a href="015.html">Grail</a>

									bunch.


								   <li> Delenn's flyer is called Zhalen.


								   <li> <a href="#AN:weme" name="JS:kosh">Re: we/I...</a>

									yes, it's interesting, isn't it?  You'd almost think it

									was contradictory or something.


								   <li> And of course there's the story of the man who dreamed he was a

									butterfly, and when he awoke, wondered if he was actually a human

									who dreamed he had been a butterfly, or a butterfly who was dreaming he

									was a human....


								   <li> <a name="JS:veil"><em>Who was the woman in the veil?</em></a><br>

									It's Ivanova.


								   <li> In a way, there are several Sheridans in that dream, signifying

									changes currently in the works, changes yet to come, messages

									forthcoming or unrecognized.  It's a very reflective dream, which will

									grow clearer the deeper one gets into the show.


								   <li> Certainly there are some archetypes that always creep into a work

									of this sort; for all we all not Jung at heart...?


								   <li> You'll see at least one piece of Sheridan's vision decoded before

									season's end.


								   <li> Remember, Kosh was the one who sent those images into Sheridan's

									brain, not anybody else; he was communicating useful information that

									may come up down the road, but in rather symbological form.


								   <li> Yes, Sheridan was speaking in the Drazi's native language, trying

									(without success) to get through; they're a cranky species to start

									with, and this didn't help.


								   <li> Sheridan learned a smattering of various languages while on patrol on

									the Agamemnon.


								   <li>@@@850607230 During the Minbari war, the Narns were selling us

									weapons, so Sheridan and other Earthforce captains had to learn at

									least a smattering of Narnish for purposes of negotiations.


								   <li> The aliens from Grail are similar to, and distant relatives of, the

									streibs, but not the same, no.  A closer shot would've revealed red

									slitted eyes instead of the black eyes of the one in Grail.


								   <li> Pledging oneself to someone's side is not common, and carries great

									significance.  From that point onward, you are bound to that person

									until your death, and you must defend that person at the cost of your

									own life.


								   <li> Some tie-ins...remember Sheridan in "A Distant Star" saying that he

									was feeling beached, abandoned?  His unsureness in taking on this post,

									what if it was a mistake?  A number of his actions come into a clearer

									light once you know he was in essence checking them all out, and putting

									on a hard "I'm a nice guy" attitude.


								   <li> <em>Wasn't attacking the Streibs an act of war?</em><br>

									The Streib saw an alliance between Earth and Minbar at that moment,

									which is the LAST thing they wanted to go up against.  Also, you don't

									go to war at the drop of a hat just because somebody sinks or shoots

									down one of your ships.  This is one of the cliches in storytelling.

									And what the Streibs were doing was totally unjustifiable in any event.

									Do you gear up for the massive hassle of total war -- supply lines,

									fleets, all the rest -- because of this incident?  Remember, the purpose

									of the ship was to find races weak enough for them to attack with

									impunity; they don't want to go up against a force that can strike

									back.


								   <li> I doubt we'll be seeing these guys again for a long time, if ever.

									So I don't consider them on the level of certain shadows or stuff.

									They came, they grabbed, we whomped.


								   <li> By the way, in addition to the re-appearance of Neroon, you may have

									noticed that the first Grey Council member Delenn addresses is the

									same one we saw in "Points of Departure."


								   <li> Membership in the Grey Council is usually for life; a person

									can choose to leave but only under truly extraordinary circumstances

									(kind of like being appointed to the Supreme Court).  In Delenn's case,

									though, remember that she didn't quit, she was booted out.


								   <li> Sheridan and the other fighters flew at a slight angle right past

									the window in C&C.  I don't see where the problem is in this.  The

									window wasn't used as a monitor, it was used as a window.  The

									starfuries came out of the cobra bays as the station rotated them

									planet-side, they banked, and headed toward the gate, passing C&C.


								   <li> Ejecting would not have purchased Ramirez's life because when the

									system came back on line with its analysis, it announced that the

									radiation was "already at terminal levels."  From the instant he

									heard that, he was a dead man waiting to stop moving.  He could've

									sent the ship back, risking a faulty autopilot...and might've died

									for nothing if it encountered the *slightest* glitch en route.


								   <li> One of the themes in this show is how you face life...and how you

									face death.  Ramirez faced his honorably.  In the end, honor and

									dignity are all we have left.


								   <li> If you trust Sheridan, there's no need for a lengthy report; plus,

									a written report, no matter how well encrypted, can be broken or fall

									into the wrong hands.  The best record of a secret meeting that could

									get you fired or killed is no record at ALL.


								   <li> Re: Kosh's voice carrying some emotion...starting at about "All Alone

									in the Night," or maybe one before (memory fades), I took on the job

									of directing the voice sessions for Kosh.  He was moving from a neutral

									delivery to things that had to carry specific emotions and implications

									for the future, and nobody else knows what all this stuff means, so it

									fell to me.


								   <li> Also, I noted somewhere in a preview for upcoming episodes, among the

									things coming, "conspiracies of light as well as dark."  Perhaps that

									is now clearer.


								</ul>