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lurkers-guide


								<!-- TITLE Movements of Fire and Shadow -->


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


								<blockquote><cite>

								The Centauri situation escalates.  Lyta and Franklin visit the Drazi homeworld

								on a mission of mercy at Vir's request.

								</cite>


								<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Alexander,+Wayne">Wayne Alexander</a> as Drakh.

								</blockquote>


								<pre><a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/105">9.43</a>


								Production number: 518

								Original air date: June 17, 1998

								<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00019071C/thelurkersguidet">DVD release date</a>: April 13, 2004


								Written by J. Michael Straczynski

								Directed by John Flinn III

								</pre>


								<p>

								<hr size=3>


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

								<ul>


								   <li>@@@898143770 Sheridan has authorized the White Star fleet to engage

									the Centauri if they're involved in hostilities with other Alliance

									forces.


								   <li>@@@898143770 The White Star fleet has been taking steady losses since

									its construction: many ships were lost during the Shadow War, more

									during the conflict with Earth, and now more in battle with the

									Centauri.


								   <li>@@@898143770 Sheridan has asked Delenn to relay a request to the Grey

									Council: release the technologies needed to build White Star-class

									ships to Earth, which will begin construction of White Star destroyers

									and cruisers to supplement the existing White Star fleet.


								   <li>@@@898143770 On their way to deliver the message, Delenn and Lennier

									have been attacked by Centauri warships.  Their White Star was left

									crippled and drifting in hyperspace.


								   <li>@@@898143770 Centauri ships have been destroying jumpgates.


								   <li>@@@898535531 The Centauri ships carrying out the attacks on Alliance

									ships have been piloted not by Centauri crews, but by Shadow-derived

									autopilot organisms.  As a result, no Centauri bodies have been

									recovered from the wreckage of cruisers destroyed by Alliance forces.


								   <li>@@@898538062 Not all the Alliance races are participating in the war.

									The Vree, and possibly others, have declared their neutrality.


								   <li>@@@898143770 Londo has been released from prison, though G'Kar is

									still there.


								   <li>@@@898533327 The Drazi and Narn have launched an offensive against the

									Centauri homeworld, fully aware that they'll cause large civilian

									casualties.  Sheridan is trying intercept them with a large fleet

									of White Stars in time to stop the attack; it's not clear if he has

									succeeded.  (See

									<a href="#AN.intercept">Analysis</a>)


								   <li>@@@898143770 The Regent, acting under the control of the Shadows'

									allies on Centauri Prime, has rendered the planet defenseless against

									the attack by ordering the ships stationed in orbit to go elsewhere in

									response to a fake emergency, and by deactivating the automated

									defense systems.


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li>@@@898143770 What was done to Londo?  Was his experience with the

									aliens real or a dream?  Does he now have a Keeper

									(<a href="060.html">"War Without End?"</a>)

									If his experience was real, what was done to G'Kar, if anything?


								   <li>@@@898533328 Did Sheridan make it to Centauri Prime in time?


								   <li>@@@898537754 What was G'Kar writing in his cell?  More chapters of the

									Book of G'Kar?


								   <li>@@@898537754 What was the gift from Sheridan that Delenn refused to

									wear?


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li>@@@898143770 Why wasn't Delenn's ship accompanied by any escorts?

									Granted, the specifics of her mission were supposed to be kept secret.

									But the Minbari ambassador returning home to consult with her

									government just after the start of a war would hardly appear

									suspicious, and given Sheridan's obvious concern for her safety, an

									escort could easily be justified even if she were simply returning

									home to deliver a status report or receive new instructions.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898535531 Delenn's White Star was badly damaged by a small group of

									Centauri cruisers.  Since they were built to fight Shadow ships with

									immensely more powerful weaponry, its relatively easy near-destruction

									might seem a bit inconsistent, but that's not necessarily true.

									First, Delenn was caught by surprise here.  Second, in previous

									combat situations, White Stars have relied heavily on maneuverability

									to avoid being hit by the same weapon in rapid succession, giving their

									defenses time to adapt to particular weapons (as Lennier mentioned in

									<a href="060.html">"War Without End part 1."</a>)

									In this case Delenn's ship took several direct hits in a row.  Third,

									it might not be a correct assumption that her ship was hit by ordinary

									Centauri weapons; with the Alliance and its White Stars stepping into

									the fray, the Drakh and their cohorts may well have applied some

									leftover Shadow technology to the weapons systems of the cruisers.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898143770 Garibaldi's drinking problem seems to have lessened in

									severity a bit, perhaps as a result of Zack discovering it.  It didn't

									appear to interfere with his job duties as it has in the past.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898144732 Lyta said the Vorlons gave her knowledge of Shadow

									technology in case she encountered any of it while working for them.

									What other knowledge did they give her, and how detailed is it?


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898535723 Lyta's enhanced powers were in evidence again; she forced

									the Drazi assassin to shoot himself.  In a similar situation, it took

									several telepaths joining forces with Byron to force their will on

									an enemy soldier

									(<a href="092.html">"A View from the Gallery,"</a>)

									and they weren't trying to make the alien kill itself.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898537754 Between her deals with Vir and G'Kar, Lyta is accumulating

									a large sum of money for her cause.  What exactly does she intend to

									spend it on, given that G'Kar has already promised her ships?  Maybe

									she's saving it to fund construction once a suitable colony planet

									has been located.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898541560 Lyta told G'Kar that the deal between the two of them had

									to be kept secret, but she told Vir what she wanted the money for

									and didn't exact a similar promise from him.  What part of her deal

									with G'Kar was Lyta afraid would become public knowledge?  The fact

									that she was supplying human genes to the Narn?


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898541290 Lyta mentioned that she'd heard the Psi Corps had

									acquired a couple of the Shadow control modules.  What has the Corps

									done with them?  Is there any relation to the secret mothership the

									Corps keeps in hyperspace

									(<a href="101.html">"The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father?"</a>)


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898536972 Why wasn't the fact that the Centauri ships are operating

									without normal crews detected before?  Obviously the fact that they

									didn't leave behind any survivors would have made it difficult for

									that information to find its way back to the Alliance even if it was

									detected.  And Lennier's one-man fighter might not have been equipped

									to perform that kind of scan when he was attached to the cruiser

									(<a href="103.html">"Darkness Ascending."</a>)

									But the Centauri warships have been under observation by White Stars

									for a little while

									(<a href="104.html">"And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder"</a>)

									and it seems odd that one of Babylon 5's probes could sense that

									there was no crew while a White Star couldn't.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898537754 Sheridan claimed that nobody started a war "just to honk

									off your neighbors."  But that's exactly the goal of this war from

									the Drakh point of view.  Not coincidentally, it was also the strategy

									of the Shadows: turn everyone else against one another.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898538344 The Narn and Drazi disobeyed the orders of the President

									of the Alliance on a military matter.  What will the political

									consequences be?  Does the Alliance charter allow member races to

									carry out their own attacks against an enemy of the Alliance, or

									are they supposed to defer to the Alliance?  They appear to be

									allowed to determine their own defense policies and refuse Alliance

									intervention, but that isn't necessarily the same as carrying out

									an attack.  And even if military coordination isn't required under

									the terms of the Alliance, given that G'Kar wrote the Declaration

									of Principles, attacks on civilians are almost certainly forbidden.

									Will the Drazi and Narn be removed from the Alliance?


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898537754 The Centauri Minister of Defense may or may not be in

									on the conspiracy.  If he is, his refusal to consider Londo's proposal

									was a foregone conclusion.  But given that Londo discovered that

									military production was being stepped up, and that that fact was

									classified such that only the Regent was supposed to know about it

									(<a href="097.html">"In the Kingdom of the Blind"</a>)

									it's entirely possible that the Minister, and his fleet commander,

									truly believe that the attacks are being staged by the Narn or

									someone else using surplus ship hulls.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898143770 Londo's mad dash from the Regent when he was told the

									planet was defenseless may be evidence that he doesn't yet have a

									Keeper (though arguably a Keeper wouldn't bother stopping him

									from doing what he did since there was no chance of undoing the

									Regent's sabotage.)  The Regent's comment that Londo should enjoy his

									remaining "free" time further implies that Londo isn't under alien

									control yet.


									<p>@@@898537969

									But it's possible that a Keeper isn't implanted all at once.  In

									<a href="076.html">"Racing Mars,"</a>

									Captain Jack's Keeper grew back after most of it had been removed;

									maybe a Keeper is implanted by placing a spore of some kind in the

									victim and letting it grow.  In that case, Londo may indeed have

									been implanted and the Regent may have been referring to the amount

									of time it takes a Keeper to become active.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898144732 The alien's comment that Londo was "sufficient" implied

									that he might <em>not</em> have been -- how was Londo being measured?

									Given that he's in line to be the next Emperor, how much latitude do

									the Shadow allies have in their selection of subjects?


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898535531 Once again, Londo has stood in the sand garden looking

									skyward, just as in his dream

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

									its eventual fruition

									(<a href="067.html">"The Hour of the Wolf"</a>)

									and his observation of the Centauri fleet

									(<a href="104.html">"And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder."</a>)


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898533328 <a name="AN.intercept">It's not clear</a>

									whether Sheridan arrived too late to stop the attack on Centauri Prime.

									The sequence as shown was: the Narn/Drazi fleet jumped out of

									hyperspace.  Londo saw some jump points open in the sky.  The Narn and

									Drazi started firing.  What's unanswered is, were the jump points

									Londo saw the same ones the Narn and Drazi opened?  If not, it's

									possible Sheridan's fleet arrived just in time, and the Narn and

									Drazi opened fire on the White Stars, not on Centauri Prime itself.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898535531 If Sheridan <em>didn't</em> arrive in time, then it's

									possible the attack caused some of the devastation of Centauri Prime

									seen in

									<a href="060.html">"War Without End."</a>

									(See

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


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li>@@@898537754 Two of the principles in the Declaration of Principles

									are rules of engagement: no destruction of jumpgates, and the return

									of enemy bodies.


								   <li>@@@898143770 The alien surgeons, and their drill, previously

									appeared in

									<a href="058.html">"Ship of Tears,"</a>

									and

									<a href="082.html">"The Exercise of Vital Powers,"</a>

									in which telepaths recalled receiving Shadow cybernetic implants.


								   <li>@@@898537827 Visual inconsistency: When Delenn and Sheridan kiss,

									she embraces him and puts her hand on his shoulder.  The point of

									view shifts and they're still kissing, but her hand has jumped to

									his neck.


								   <li>@@@898541424 Franklin's initial refusal to ask anyone for directions

									to the hotel was a subtle counterpoint to his demand for directions

									from the Drazi doctor later in the episode.


								   <li>@@@898144732 The Minbari-human collaboration on new ships based on

									White Star technology may eventually form the basis for the Excalibur,

									the ship in the spinoff series

									<a href="113.html">"Crusade."</a>


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898328976 <em>How many other shoes have you got to drop on

									us?</em><br>

									A couple more shoes.


									<p>

									And a boot or two.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898328167 "Actually, it's possible that this is all just a

									coincidence of timing. After all, JMS didn't write these episodes

									knowing when the breaks in the season would take place. On the other

									hand, I hate coincidence and this is one hell of a big one..."


									<p>

									Funny thing about that.  When I wrote this, this was the first

									part of a very tight two parter (well, actually, it's part 4 of a five

									parter; if you watch them straight through, one dovetails right smack

									into the next, it's one really huge episode).  Anyway, for the fifth

									one, the next one to air, I decided to do a recap in the teaser, a

									"Previously on Babylon 5..." compilation.  Hadn't done it with the

									others, but just decided to do it with this one, since it picks up

									seconds after the other.


									<p>

									Later, after putting it together, in a phone call with TNT, they

									told me about the decision to put in a break after this episode.  "So

									you may want to consider putting a recap into the teaser, since this is

									a two-parter and it's been a long time and that's something you didnt'

									anticipate."


									<p>

									"Well, actually...I already did that."


									<p>

									A long pause.  "How did you know?"


									<p>

									"I didn't."


									<p>

									Scared 'em real good with that one.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898328167 "and i guess we now know why the attacking centauri

									vessels wouldn't have noticed lennier exchanging a little

									breathing--since they weren't really using it thmselves."


									<p>

									Ding!


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898328976 <em>If the Shadows have devices for piloting combat

									ships, why did they need bodies for their own ships?</em><br>

									The control pods mainly work via remote control, their functionality

									(as Lyta noted) is limited.  For the shadow vessels, you need a fast

									reaction, independent-thinking cpu of a higher order...also because a

									shadow vessel is a hell of a lot more advanced and complex than a

									Centauri cruiser.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898535531 <em>Is this attack what caused the damage in

									<a href="060.html">"War Without End?"</a></em><br>

									Of course, everyone's assuming here that the awful state we find

									Centauri Prime in, in WWE, is caused entirely by war....


								<p>

								   <li>@@@898329151 <em>Why wasn't the beginning of the season more like

									this?</em><br>

									Well, it's kinda what I've been saying all along...the bigger

									the planned wham, the longer the quiet ramp-up.  And, again, the arc

									was there when it didn't seem to be: this whole thing started when the

									raids started to take place, which goes back quite a ways.  And Lyta

									would not be in this position, not this assertive with her abilities,

									had she not gone through the fire (literally and figuratively) with

									Byron, whose fate more or less kicked her out of her shell.  The old

									Lyta would never have just up and gone to the Drazi homeworld on her

									own; but the money, needed to follow her and Byron's dream, propelled

									her.


									<p>

									It was ALL there, more or less in plain view.


									<p>

									And without it, without all that careful and deliberate setup,

									this episode (and especially those that follow) would never have played

									as well, if at all.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@902865149 "I agree the coldness was disturbing, but I feel this

									reveals the deep emotion she feels at Byron's death and her consequent

									ruthless determination to achieve his goals."


									<p>

									This was the point I was going for with people who were saying

									that the Byron thing was totally extraneous.  To get Lyta to this point

									as a character -- remembering her "I'll sue" tirade as the last time

									she even sorta kinda got mad -- she would *have* to go through the

									fire, and lose something that meant enough to push her to this point.

									So you had to let the relationship with Byron go full term, follow it

									over time, and see what it meant to her to justify and motivate what

									happens to and with her in the last part of the season.


								</ul>