AMAZING episode. I think my brain’s going to explode.
Telling scenes between Londo and Refa. Londo is still feeling the pang of having to end the life of one of his best friends; you can just SEE the hesitation in his face as Refa shares his plan to launch a full assault on the Narn homeworld with outlawed “mass drivers” (?).
LONDO: “Mass drivers? They have been outlawed by every civilized planet!”
REFA: “These are uncivilized times.”
LONDO: “We have treaties!”
REFA: “Ink on a page.”
Whoa.
Londo tells Refa that his allies have begun to worry him, and that he’s afraid of things spinning out of control.
Despite the horrible things that Londo has done so far, I agonize for him at this point. It’s pretty much past the point of turning back, but there is still good in Londo, I KNOW IT!
He also tells Refa that this is the LAST TIME he will use “his associates,” that he wants the Centauris to start relying on themselves.
And another brief glimpse into day-to-day life on B5, at least for the commanding officers: Sheridan taking a shower! That must have thrilled the Sheridan fans at the time. I like Sheridan, but he’s a bit too girly-cleancut for me. 
Bit I digress…
Draal is back! In what looks like a different body. I assume that the original actor wasn’t available.
I really liked G’Sten, G’Kar’s uncle. “Your father would have been very proud,” he tells G’Kar. What a moving statement, considering what we now know about G’Kar’s tragic past.
An aside: the acting has SO improved since the beginning of first season!
I was so totally with Garibaldi when he was telling Sheridan and Delenn they were crazy to go down to the planet alone. Yes, it turns out the risk was worth it but still!
Remember when I said I hadn’t really warmed to the doctor? I’ve changed my mind. I’m liking him more all the time. It surprised me when he purposely sought out G’Kar to warn him about his suspicions about an imminent attack on the Narn homeworld.
And “the time is now,” Draal says, for his planet getting involved with the war! Holy cow, things just get more and more exciting. I’m very curious about his unseen helpers; I hope we get to see them soon (don’t tell me).
Great sequence alternating between G’Kar praying and the battle.
I SO FELT FOR G’KAR in this episode! Helpless and defeated, unable to do anything as his people are being systematically killed and imprisoned…just as he had been long ago.
He’s even unable to fight, being ordered by his government to take the coward’s route. The scene where he forces himself to ask Sheridan for sanctuary is heartbreaking.
And then Londo…
SUCH a great scene, with his reflection in the window of the warship as he watches the destruction of Narn. Such a conflict of emotions crossing his face.
And then a newly unyielding (and scary) Londo at the Council meeting, where he gives the Centauri’s demands re: Narn and flatly refuses Sheridan’s request to have a human representative to observe Centauri treatment of the Narn.
For the first time, I found myself actively disliking Londo, especially when he purposely walks up to G’Kar and demands that he is removed from the Council (”NOW!”) and be taken back to Centauri.
Yet I remain convinced that there’s some of the old Londo still buried inside, judging from his reaction in a scene near the end of the episode where his smile fades as he watches a newscast about the Centauri expansion.
But instead of cringing, G’Kar gives that incredible speech:
G’Kar: No dictator, no invader, can hold an imprisoned population by force of arms forever. There is no greater power in the universe than the need for freedom. Against that power, governments, tyrants and armies can not stand. The Centauri learned this lesson once. We will teach it to them again. Though it take a thousand years, we will be free.
Yes, I cried.
And then the rangers join the cause, and Delenn says she is giving shared control to Sheridan.
Holy cow. I can’t help but picture two sides gradually throwing on more and more dynamite in anticipation of the coming conflict.
Question is: who’s going to light the match?
Next episode: Comes The Inquisitor.
[For those who comment below: As the title of my blog indicates, I'm watching B5 for the very first time so PLEASE refrain from posting plot/character spoilers/hints about upcoming episodes, or including links to pages with spoilers (unless you warn readers that they contain spoilers). More info about spoilers here. Thanks so much! - Debbie]
23 comments ↓
“I’m very curious about his unseen helpers; I hope we get to see them soon.”
I’m not spoiling by telling you you’ve already seen them,. You just overlooked the reference, which is not surprising as so much is happening in this episode:
Draal: “So much to do, so little time! We must get to work! Zathras! ZATHRAS! Never around when he’s needed!”
That’s the comment that made me curious about wanting to actually SEE them.
Ah, so you haven’t overlooked it! My bad. Well, as I’ve said before, you’re very perceptive. No worries, we’ll see our dear Zathras again
If there’s one word that describes what links all the main characters of B5, I’d say it’s “patriotism” (okay, two, if you want to go with “honor”). Londo is a patriot, wanting to restore the greatness of the Centauri Republic; G’Kar is certainly a patriot, in every sense of the word; the command staff of the station are all patriots, working to depose President Clark; Delenn is a patriot, fighting to retain the balance on the Grey Council and among the Minbari.
Here we see all of them, coming out in their ways. And yet, Londo (*such* a tragic figure; I recommend Harold Feld’s song about him, when you’ve seen another season or so), while a patriot, is not immune to the lure of power, even as he’s concerned about its source. I wish I could ask him, before he acts so rashly, whether the ends really justify the means. (I know how I answer, 99-point-many-nines percent of the time.)
I do love G’Kar.
This episode actually left me shaking in reaction; the devastation of Narn was so…overwhelming. And Londo’s reaction always speaks to me of unwilling acknowledgement of a devil’s bargain.
G’Kar’s speech (and Chris Franke’s music during that specific moment) left my whole watching-crew quiet and/or sniffly.
One of the best hours of TV (so far
Mass drivers: weapons that accelerate mass to high (sometimes: relativistic) speeds. An ultra-high-speed cannon for big massive projectiles (measured in meters of diameter and metric tons of weight). Another vocabulary also used in SF for this kind of attack: kinetic strike.
Each shot is a directed impact of a massive (artificial) meteor. Its effects are similar to a nuclear warhead but without the radiation.
Londo and G’Kar are both tragic, and it would be hard to watch this episode without feeling for both of them. Excellent characeter and storytelling with no easy answers here.
I have to say, in my book Refa is even worse than Morden. It seems like Morden’s luring Londo in, but actually apart from the first time, it’s always Refa who makes the suggestion that Londo call his “associates” in.
I love, love, love, love, love this episode. By now in the series, Babylon 5 is at the peak of its powers. I don’t think it ever gets much better than this, but only because it isn’t *possible* to get much better than this. But it does hit this kind of peak again and again.
You’re in the thick of it now!
This is indeed one of my favorite B5 episodes. I love the way JMS has used Earth history in making the B5 story. I would guess there were two historical periods which heavily influenced JMS, the Roman empire and —
don’t think I should say more about the 2nd period until a later season! But it does involve G’Kar & Sheridan.
Question: what do people think–if the scifi elements were removed, and the story/characters were placed
in say, ancient Rome–would you still watch it?
I think I would. For the I, Claudius series (Masterpiece
Theater) is a favorite of mine. Good writing/good acting is just plain good. No matter what the setting.
Debbie, the acting may have improved since the beginning, but I think that’s to be expected. Although I have no doubt they were good actors when they were
hired to play these characters. Now they have had the
time to grow into these characters. To experience and
learn about their characters. It takes more than three
one-hour episodes to accomplish this. Especially for a cast of this size. Perhaps that is one reason so many new network shows are consistently failing in the years
of 2005 and beyond. Actors/writers are not given the time to create characters/plots before the show is yanked off the air by the network. The networks seem
to want three week hit wonders–shows that START at the peak of viewership numbers, etc. And the problem of starting at the peak of course, is that there is no where to go from a peak but down… The networks are
causing the problem. Not the writers, the actors, etc.
Okay, off my soapbox. Let’s enjoy JMS’s rollercoaster.
This is one of the strongest episodes of the series and one I like to watch again, every now and then.
It may be the best in the series, but I’m not sure… So many good episodes yet to come…
I wish I could enjoy B5 for the first time again
I’ve read JMS state in the Lurker’s guide summaries within this season that he does/did enjoy takeing our pre-consieved notion of Bruce B as a light-weight role actor and turn our notions around. JMS even gave him that ‘happy jack’ attitude and light dialogue at the beginning of this season to highlight how much of a change Sheridan is going through, how much he already had in him, and how much the actor had in him.
Now, I’m conflicted. I haven’t rewatched the next episode yet. I’ve been trying to be ahead of you, but did not want to be more than 4 episodes ahead, as I was re-forgetting this to talk about. So, I think I will watch first, then come back for your next episode summary.
Drall: yes, they schucked the earlier actor. Louis Turenne may not have been available. And when you think you have not seen John Schuck much more than as a Klingon, his imdb.org credit listing goes up one arm and down another (from M*A*S*H movie to Law & Order: SUV)
W. Morgan Sheppard (Warleader G’Sten) also played the Soul Hunter in season 1; if you think the voice sounds familiar.
I remember John Schuck from MacMillan & Wife and Holmes & YoYo. (Showing my age here.)
Ow! “schucked the earlier actor”. I thought the next episode was the one about punishment.
Turenne was too ill to resume his role as Draal. From what I gathered, especially the hours long make-up process was too much for him. We’ll see him in another, physically less demanding role in season 3.
Yes, Refa is worse than Morden. Morden is doing his job, in a sense; by his lights, and whatever his reasons, he’s doing the right thing. Refa is simply indifferent to anything but his own advancement. If there was greater profit for him in selling out Centauri to the Narn or anyone else, he’d do it like a shot. There’s no-one that matters in his universe but him. And he consoles himself with the delusion that everyone is the same as he is.
I love these posts. They bring back the memory of the episodes with such clarity that I hardly need to watch them again. Thank you.
They loved the actor who played the original Draal, but he was too sick at the time of the filming of this episode to be in it. He does appear again next season in a different role. I like the new Draal though, it makes sense that The Great Machine could extend his life and restore some of his youth and the new Draal is a little louder and more dramatic, but very much like what the old Draal would probably have been like as a younger man.
As for Zathrus. All I’ll say is that you have heard this name before. If/when you remember it, it will probably be a big “oh!” moment.
Another little Delenn/Sheridan moment I love from this episode is when Draal says to Delenn “You’ve changed. I like it!” You can see Sheridan give her a glance that sort of says “Me too.” Aw.
Everything with Londo and G’Kar in this episode is simply gut wrenching. I think in the council scene Londo isn’t really angry so much as scared out of his mind. He’s obviously feeling guilty about what he did (and saw) and knows that the situation is getting out of his control. I think he’s just terrified and is reacting to that by being angry and uncompromising.
This whole run of episodes to the end of the season is completely phenomenal.
The Shadow ships left no Narn survivors. There were no Centari ships around. So, we the audience have seen the shadow ships to tell about them. Those on Narn or Centari or B5 have not. I’m sure Londo has not seen them in action (he seen them in his dream, but did he know to equate them?). Only Keefer has seen one, but does not know what it is and is still curious about them.
Source of the Title:
“Now the trumpet summons us again: not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though in battle we are; but as a call to bear the burdens of a long, twilight struggle–year in and year out, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation–a struggle against the common enemies of man–tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.” –John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
JMS on candles:
Candles are, I think, wonderfully emblematic of life, and of being a single ray of light, or hope, in a dark place. The Grey Council stands between the candle and the star; watch G’Kar’s action re: a candle in his quarters…and in that scene (for those who’ve seen TLTS) note how many candles are in the room in the beginning, and at the end.
We are the candle that burns brightly, stubbornly, effectively…but briefly.
JMS on the candles in G’Kar’s quarters
Sherry…thank you. The level of attention to detail is the *only* way that this story will be told properly. It means you sit down with the director, and others, and you make totally clear — there, and in the script — what you saw in your head when you wrote it. As well as repeatd verbal themes, cues, phraseologies, it’s important (since this is a visual medium) to incorporate visual cues that add to the thematic thrust of the piece, that create a mood, or convey an emotion or a thought on an almost cellular level. The hardest part is being careful not to OVER use them, because then they lose all meaning and impact.
JMS on Peter/Londo
Q: An actor’s job is to physicalize the script. Can you give an example?
Yes, I think that’s accurate. The most obvious place where it worked was where Londo looks through the window to Narn being bombed below. There’s no dialogue, and he has to convey a range of emotions just through his face….which is a terribly difficult thing to do, and he did a superb job of it.
(and separately):
As for Londo’s shot…the director called “cut” I think a bit too soon, we used every frame we had to extend that shot (and, in fact, we even went so far as to freeze the final frame and extend the shot by a smidge, if you look at it carefully). Nonetheless, I think it works pretty spiffily.
This is probably one of the best episodes of all - drama, tragedy, SFX, music, acting and dialogue. And of those the scene with Londo at the window stands out - absolutely exquisite special effects whilst the music from that scene just haunted me afterwards.
And we’re still not at the season climax…
The scenes of Londo at the warship window, with the cuts to G’Kar praying, are -so- powerful, such searing moments for both characters. It took my breath away.
Who’s worse, Refa/Morden?
I can make a case for either. Morden is at least following a “bigger then self” motive, while Refa is purely corrupt and greedy. On the other hand, Refa is unaware of the full magnitude of the forces he is invoking — he thinks he’s playing on a smaller scale than he is — while Morden is much more aware.
Pick your poison.
Tirtza — when Debbie reaches a point where you can let her in on the Zathras “oh” moment, would you please comment? I have no recollection at all. (What a lousy time for me to be moving and not able to watch for myself!)
John Schuck — I loved him in this role. Ever since “McMillan and Wife” I’ve seen him as a lovable and noble buffoon. This part took that characteristic, embellished it, and then twisted it inside out.
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