Vir is sorely betrayed by Londo, while Sheridan and Delenn continue to prove that they are made for each other.
The first thing I wondered was, what the heck is “Z”? But then I realized…Z’ha’dum!! AM I RIGHT? Don’t tell me.
Cool to see all those telepaths being shipped off to various ships to help fight the Shadows. Plus Narns as bodyguards, of course.
G’Kar: If the symmetry were any more perfect I should think one of us would break into tears.
Intriguing spread! The Centaurians certainly like colourful food, don’t they? I was especially intrigued by the blue things that Londo said were undercooked.
Amusing to see the interplay between Brother Theo (who had some good lines) and his religious associates.
Rev. Will Dexter: Every day, here and at home, we are warned about the enemy. But who is the enemy? Is it the alien? Well, we are all alien to one another. Is it the one who believes differently than we do? No, oh no, my friends. The enemy is fear. The enemy is ignorance. The enemy is the one who tells you that you must hate that which is different. Because, in the end, that hate will turn on you. And that same hate will destroy you.
Good to hear that the Resistance is still thriving back on Earth.
I also enjoyed the growing intimacy between Sheridan and Delenn. They are both so protective of each other.
Delenn has crossed over from affectionate to cute/flirtatious. 
And she gets funnier lines now!
Delenn: Ivanova sent me to find you. She said you haven’t been sleeping, you have hardly been eating, she said that you have been carrying on cranky. I looked up the word ‘cranky’. It said ‘grouchy’. I looked up ‘grouchy’, it said ‘crotchety’. No wonder you have such an eccentric culture, none of your words have their own meaning. You have to look up one word to understand another. It never ends.
Sheridan: Something here doesn’t make sense.
Delenn: That is what I thought when I came across ‘crotchety’. This cannot be a real word, I said.
I can’t help but think that the actress must have welcomed the change, not always having to be the one who is always serious and wise.
Sheridan and Delenn work so well together, too! They are SO made for each other, aren’t they?
Now I just wish Marcus and Ivanova would smarten up and realize they’re meant for each other as well.
Holy cow, Londo has gotten nasty, getting Vir to do what he wants by threatening to humiliate and torture and then kill Vir’s family back home! And then lying to him about the true nature of the mission, using him as a tool to further his own ambition. Not caring that Vir might have been hurt or killed in the process.
Poor Vir. 
My heart ached for him when he realized how deeply he had been betrayed.
I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if Morden hadn’t killed Londo’s love, if Londo and his dancing girl were living happily together right now. But now Londo believes that Rifa was responsible…as he said in an earlier episode, he just wants revenge and he doesn’t care if all the other worlds burn.
Londo: Nonsense, you’re not important enough to kill.
Vir: But I’m important enough for you to lie to. I used to think I knew you, Londo. But I never knew you at all, did I?
What a surprise when it turns out that G’Kar and Londo were working together! Though very briefly.
Chilling to hear Londo’s “explanation” to Lord Rifa, claiming that Rifa was responsible for the attack on Rifa’s homeworld, and that Londo would release 2000 Narns as proof of his sincerity. And then Londo turns around to the head Centauri guy, hands him the blood-stained crystal of “evidence” and claims that Rifa was the traitor.
Brilliant sequence, alternating between the pursuit/killing of Rifa underground to the upbeat religious service on B5, with “No Hiding Place” (great song, by the way).
And then, WHOA, we find
[at this point I posted the report, forgetting that I hadn't quite finished writing it]
that the White Star isn’t the only ship of its kind!
There’s definitely a storm brewing…
Delenn: We are as ready for them as we will ever be.
Next episode: Shadow Dancing.
[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]
11 comments ↓
This was the first episode I ever saw. I’d heard about B5, but never made the time or effort to watch until I was at a friend’s place when this ran, and I was hooked. I was very glad for people who’d taped the prior episodes, and it seemed like almost every one brought “oh, *THAT*’s what led up to ___” for a while.
Lord Refa getting his, even if not entirely for the reason Londo thought it was for, is half schadenfreude, half joy at the sheer genius of the scene.
Sometimes, especially in prior seasons, it was hard to watch Stephen Furst and not see Flounder from Animal House. By this episode, though, he was completely and wonderfully Vir.
Spoo, the other blue meat!
I think the last five-ten minutes of this episode are just some of the most searing scenes in the series. Totally scary and dark and impressive and weirdly comic in its juxtaposition with the gospel hymn on B5. G’Kar walking away as Refa is beaten to death, the realization that Londo and G’Kar found common cause in this dark plot. It really is dramatic and memorable.
But Londo and Vir
… it’s so sad. And what’s more troubling is wondering just how else Londo could have handled Vir in this situation, knowing his open trusting nature, knowing that Refa had a telepath. But it’s that open trusting nature that must have been devestated by Londo’s betrayal 
. Ah, maybe Londo should have just wisked Vir off to Minbar again until the scheme was over. As long as Vir was on B5 something had to be done to distance him from the truth. It’s awfully brutal, though 
.
Just an excellent, thought-provoking episode.
Debbie,
Re: Londo’s “explanation” about Refa. Refa was indeed part of the bombing and destruction of the Narn homeworld. Yes, earlier, in his bargain with Morden, Londo initiated a major assault on Narn (seen again in the episode where G’Kar telepathically attacked Londo and learned the truth). When Londo realized how much of pawn he really was for Morden & his associates, he tried to break his connection to Morden. It was Refa who first spoke about using mass drivers to bomb Narn. Refa who planned that and called Londo back to Centauri Prime to witness his accomplishment. Londo was totally appalled by Refa’s plan and protested in a very memorable scene. Unfortunately, by that time, it was too late for Londo to take any steps to stop Refa.
And Refa probably did have in mind more murders in the Centauri court if he was not favored above Londo.
Londo simply exposed Refa before he could follow thru on his other plans.
Earlier, Londo had attempted to influence Refa towards acting for the benefit of Centari Prime; suggesting that Refa not support attacks upon other alien species. Refa did not listen and Londo gave him the poison to get his attention.
And it does say much about Londo that it was not the devestation of Narn which triggered Londo’s revenge but rather the death of Adira.
At least that’s how my mind remembers the plot. If anyone knows something else… that wouldn’t be a spoiler. The plot/political moves in B5 are so dense that if one’s mind wanders during an episode it’s easy to miss something significant.
^You’re quite right – even though I’d hesitate to agree that it was too late for Londo to stop Refa. Refa told him it was too late, and Londo, once again, fell prey to his dogma that “he has no choice”. It was also Refa who murdered Prime Minister Malacay.
Small note: Wayne Alexander, who played Sebastian in “Comes the Inquisitor” plays the Narn who guides G’Kar into the tunnels in this episode.
I think it says a lot about G’Kar’s growth as a character that he just sort of walks away from Refa’s murder. I think the G’Kar from earlier in the show would have watched or even participated.
To Mandragora:
Perhaps. But I imagine that anytime Londo was back on Centauri Prime, Refa and Refa’s agents would have been watching Londo very closely. Perhaps too closely for him to have put something in place to stop Refa before the attack on Narn. No doubt Refa’s been watching Londo ever since he started gaining power (Londo’s bargain with Morden). Londo had been assigned to Bab 5 precisely because he was a powerless nobody. And once he began exerting influence that must have been a gigantic red flag for Refa. Londo only accomplished what he did because he was away from Centauri Prime.
Sheridan: “Gee… Delenn, you got me a whole fleet of white star ships and I didn’t get you anything.”
I’m so glad you’ve seen this one. It’s one of my favourites. I Love the end sequence. Hey, there’s nothing on tonight! I should watch some B5
Something I forgot to mention back when this was first posted: Recall that Refa had already been given the first half of a binary poison, back near the start of the season. You suppose that makes him “the man already dead” that Londo must not kill…?