Some get into trouble themselves. Others have trouble thrust upon them. So things are for everyone’s favorite (or second favorite, if you like Lennier better) diplomatic attache, Vir Kotto.
A-Plot: In the beginning of the episode, we see Vir return to his quarters on Centauri Prime, only to find the room full of Narn. Which is funny, given a racist Narn joke that Minister Virini just told him. But, oddly (to the viewer at the time), we get no more reference to that until he returns to Babylon 5, where, amidst the B-Plot, Ivanova (with Zack’s help) uncovers that Vir is forging documents shipping thousands of Narn back to Centauri Prime work camps. He makes protestations that such camps are actually much nicer than life back on Narn, but folk are beginning to look askance at him …
… not helped when, walking along with his B-Plot, he gets attacked by a Narn following a blood oath. Hmmm, what has Vir done to deserve that? Further digging leads Ivanova to discover that all those Narn that Vir absconded with are now reported dead. She and Sheridan are appalled to find Vir complicit in such war crimes, while Londo is appallingly pleased. Both sides are set back on their heels when Vir confesses the Narn aren’t dead — he forged other papers to get them (mostly sick and injured from devastated towns on Narn) off to B5 and other locations where they’d be safe. Perhaps goaded by G’Kar’s “dead, dead, dead” speech in “Comes the Inquisitor“), Vir’s fighting the good fight, behind the scenes, bureaucratically — that, coupled with his hesitant fondlling of the throne in Scene 1, are both reminders of his ultimate fate.
Londo — who’s been blithely chuckling about the only good Narn are dead Narn in a gobsmackingly bald-faced way — is outraged. He manages to cover up the conspiracy, but Vir’s role as liaison to the Minbari is over. Like others who have been sent there, he “went native.” Now he’ll remain on B5, where Londo can watch after him. (Coincident, of course, to Stephen Furst’s short-lived sit-com being canceled, and Vir being fully available for work on “Babylon 5” again.)
Furst does a decent job as the terrified but determined Vir, doing something he knows is wrong to his people but that he feels compelled to do by his own conscience. It’s a big step forward for the young Centauri, who, sadly, gets little credit for it from anyone. Jurasik’s Londo, on the other hand, does one of those “Yeah, you viewers think I’m just a conflicted good guy who’s gotten in too deep, but I’m actually a racist asshole who smiles broadly at genocide (and not just for public consumption)” bits. In some ways, it’s a terrifying performance.
B-Plot: Oh, in the meantime, Vir’s wife, Lyndisty, arrives. Or, rather, his arranged to-be-wife, awaiting the final formalities. Vir, ever-flustered and in mid-conspiracy, wants nothing to do with her, being instead dedicated to the idea of marriage out of love, true love. She sets out to convince him that she’s lovable, and it’s working pretty well, given that she’s intelligent and poetic and pretty damned cute. Oh, and she kisses well, too, enough to get Vir to turn to Ivanova for sex advice (hilarity ensues). And she’s even more impressed with him when he fends off that attacking Narn.
Except, it turns out, that attacking Narn was actually going after Lyndisty, not him. Seems her father was one of the early military/medical officials on Narn after the war was over, and supervised (with Lyndy’s help) “culling the herd” to eliminate individuals or even whole villages that showed too much resistance. Where Londo’s virulent prejudice is to be expected based on the character’s earlier behavior (though, honestly, it’s over the top here), Lyndisty’s come as a serious “fair is foul and foul is fair” moment.
LYNDISTY: Everyone knows that whenever there’s trouble, there’s always a Narn at the center of it somewhere. That’s all they are , you know, trouble. It’s not their fault, they’re simply inferior. It’s genetics. They’re lazy, they foul their own nests, everything they touch falls apart … [They’re not really intelligent, you know. Spiritually, physically, they’re little more than beasts of the field. They’re slow, and once they get out into the general population they become parasites.] The sooner they’re dealt with, the better for everyone.
([Bracketed] text in the original script.)
And then, as a sign of her love, she offers up another Narn assassin she captured, offers the privilege of killing him to her fiance.
Eek.
We don’t see how that scene plays out (frustratingly — though an Ivanova line was inadvertently cut later confirming that the injured Narn that was “found” is in Medlab, recovering). In the end the marriage is on hold, given the (suppressed) scandal of the A-Plot. Both characters are determined to sway the other, but, heck, she may be a brainwashed, genocidal maniac, but she’s a good kisser, and Vir figures beggars can’t be choosers.
It’s … weird. The plot makes some sense (holes aside — how did the Narn track her there, for example, and how did Vir get out of carving up the second one), but Vir’s reaction come across as too mixed. He’s appalled at her bloodthirstiness and dismissal of the humanity (so to speak) of the Narn, but he’s also not kicking her to the curb. It’s supposed to be amusingly pragmatic, or even loyally optimistic on his part that she’ll be reformed by his influence; instead, it makes the viewer question just why Vir is so much into protecting Narn refugees, and how dedicated he is to that cause.
C-Plot: John asks Delenn to dinner. John fixes Delenn dinner. John doesn’t cook good flarn, but Delenn will never tell. Frustratingly, they keep getting interrupted whenever things are getting hot.
Poor John and Delenn.
Sigh. This is more awkward and eye-rolling than I remember it being the first time around watching the series.
D-Plot: Ivanova is having problems figuring out her role in the Grand New B5 Status Quo, leading to nightly dreams (one of which — the old “showing up at work naked” — we actually see acted out. It’s amusing, in a pedestrian way).
It’s … okay. But it’s a position that feels more like Garibaldi’s line of action, and the Sheridan / Ivanova interaction around all of this feels forced and awkward.
Meanwhile: B5 is already beginning to fall apart, as station inspectors aren’t numerous enough to screen incoming shipments for vermin. Which sounds grim, but it only plays itself out here for humor, as a bug (or bugs) invades Londo’s quarters — for at least a couple of amusing scenes.
Overall: This is meant to be a breath of humor after the grimness and drama of the recent episodes, but too much of it doesn’t work, focused as it on Ivanova being embarrassed about her nakedness dream (for some reason) and Vir being flustered about being courted. Both are okay, but can’t sustain the episode.
Meanwhile, the rampant anti-Narn prejudice shown by the Prime Minister, Londo, and Lyndisty are over the top — not unbelievably (because that kind of bigotry is hardly unbelievable), but because it goes beyond anything we’ve seen before. Sure, Centauri hate Narn (and vice-versa), but that’s generally come across previously more like English vs. French, or Israeli vs. Palestinian: as hateful and demonizing animosity from long and bloody conflict. Here, abruptly, we get Centauri jokes and attitudes that paint the Narn as sub-sentients, as redskins and wogs and abos and niggers,* stupid and dangerous and inscrutable and deserving whatever gets done to them. That abrupt escalation is jarring, especially coming from Londo, who is suddenly chortlig about the report of thousands of Narn being dead with his protege being in some fashion responsible. That’s certainly out of keeping with his previous caviling at thousands of Narn deaths at his own (or Morden’s) hands, or the orbital bombardment of Narn.
It’s enough of a disconnect that normally I’d just chalk it up to a new or different writer. But this is all JMS, and it was intentional, to show the “banality of evil” in Lyndisty (hampered by the particularly bloody role she personally took part in, and Vir’s willingness to give her another chance). It comes across as sloppy writing to make a point, which is a sad waste of an opportunity.
In sum, the episode does provide a bit of a pause, but it does so poorly enough that it makes me all the more eager to step back into the action. The problem is (largely) not the actors (unlike early days on the series), just the material.
*Interestingly, the Centauri don’t have a deprecatory nickname for the Narn. Calling them “Narn” seems to be bad enough for them.
Most Dramatic Moment: Vir gets backed into a corner as his conspiracy comes to light in front of Sheridan, Ivanova, and Londo. “They’re not dead!”
Most Amusing Moment: Vir seeks sex advice from Ivanova, which spirals out of control as she learns more about Centauri anatomy than she wanted.
IVANOVA: Well, there must have been other women before this.
VIR: There were other women, but I never got past one.
IVANOVA: You mean first base.
VIR: No, no, I mean one. You see, we have six a– we have six, you see, and each one is a different level of intimacy and pleasure. So, you know, first you have one, and that’s ehh. Then there’s two — and by the time you get to five it’s — [starts gesturing vigorously]
IVANOVA: Vir, I got it, I got it. I got it. I got it. I don’t know what to tell you, Vir. I’ve never really gotten this whole relationship thing down myself so I’m the last person in the world who should be giving advice on — this sort of thing. All I can say is that enthusiasm, sincerity, genuine compassion, and humor** can carry you through any — lack of — prior experience with — high numerical value.
VIR: Wow, I’m gonna remember that. Thank you, thank you.
IVANOVA: [mutters as he leaves] Six!
**Ironically, describing Marcus to a tee.
Most Arc-ish Moment: Not much, except for the growing Sheridan/Delenn romance, as they almost — but are interrupted by the intercom — smooch for the first time.
Overall Rating: 3.1 / 5 — Lightweight and uneven. The good stuff is good, and there are some moderately interesting character bits, but it’s not a great effort. (Rating History)
Other Resources for this episode:
Next episode: “A Late Deliver from Avalon,” as King Arthur comes a-calling.
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