A classic two-track episode, with both Sheridan and Delenn pursuing diplomatic strategies on B5 and on Minbar.
A-Plot: Delenn is on her way back to Minbar, as reports start coming through of civil war breaking out on Minbar. Mira Furlan gets to channel her Inner Yugoslavian to mourn the disunion of her home.
DELENN: When I was a child, my father used to carry me through the city on his shoulders. I had never seen such beauty. The city was eternal … as beauty was eternal. We heard of the Grey Council, but the name was always spoken with awe, and reverence. They held our world together. They were the peace, promised by Valen. A thousand years of peace among the three castes. And now …. I think of my beautiful city in flames, Lennier. The streets where I walked. The temples. The great crystal spires that sighed music whenever the wind touched the … I think of it, and I cry Lennier. And I wonder, did I do this when I broke the Council?
(It’s a strong enough speech that one of the lines (“my beautiful city in flames”) gets highlighted in next season’s main titles.)
Delenn’s guilt and fear drive her to take risks — and to expect the best of her people. Which gets her in trouble …
She reaches out to her old nemesis Neroon, as a leader of the Warrior Caste. They meet on a Religious Caste Minbari ship, and the tension between the two castes is palpable.
(One of the weaknesses of the whole Minbari Civil War sequence is that the Worker Caste, part of the three-legged stool of Minbari society, is nearly invisible. That might be meaningful in and of itself.)
Neither of them is happy about how things are developing, but unlike Neroon, she believes there is a way to bring their people together again. And while she and he have been in opposition too many times (“Legacies,” “All Alone in the Night,” “Grey 17 Is Missing“), she believes in his sincere interest in Minbar.
But the Religious Caste leaders on the ship are less sanguine, and are concerned that Delenn is going to sell them down the river. Proof? She’s chatting with Neroon. Sure, everyone knows that Delenn has been a great leader in the past, but the … changes she’s gone through, as well as uncertainty over the changes that have come to Minbar, lead the Religious to the conclusion that they are about to be betrayed, and their caste forced to surrender to the Warriors.
So they decide on a more extreme measure: martyrdom. They will kill everyone aboard, including Delenne and Neroon, by putting some fuel into the air supply, poisoning everyone. Seems rather ghastly, but as a result the ship will never return home, and nobody will ever know why.
Which sounds like a great idea, except that Lennier overhears and foils the plan, nearly dying in the process. Worse for the conspirators, after a Warrior Caste member tries to kill Neroon, Delenn shames the Religious (inadvertently) for their unity, and Lennier shames them by not betraying their plot.
LENNIER: If I had told her the whole truth it would have destroy her belief in the strength and wisdom of our caste. Delenn does not work in the same world that you and I walk, does not see the same world that we see. In her world, we are better that we are, we care more than you care, and we act toward each other with compassion. I much prefer her world to my own, and I will not allow anything to threaten that.
Meanwhile, Delenn and Neroon have seemingly been coming to a rapprochement, tied together by extremity of situation and grudging honesty.
NEROON: In the time we have known each other, Delenn, I have not always spoken well of you. I assumed your behavior was prompted by a sense of your own superiority, your ego, the usual fanaticism we’ve come to expect from the Religious Caste. In the last year, I’ve come to realize that I was wrong. Dukhat chose you above all to follow him. Slowly, dimly, I begin to understand why. I don’t know what lies ahead of us, Delenn. But I do know it is right that we are here together.
But at the end of the episode, Neroon slips away from the Minbari ship, contacting the Warrior Caste and promising them that the opposition is divided, and victory will soon be theirs.
Overall, it’s an exciting plot, letting us see more of Minbari politics and the breakdown of their society after the pressures of the Shadow War (and what Delenn had to do during it). On the other hand, it’s politics writ small: how much control does Delenn (or Neroon) actually exert. And is the cunning manipulator Delenn from the first two seasons really all that clueless as to what’s going on around her? Is she that much of an inspiring but naive leader? If not, there’s no sign of it here, which causes what should be a great character moment for Furlan to fall a bit flat.
Bill Mumy, on the other hand, is outstanding as a bitterly loyal Lennier, and John Vickery is his usual good job as Neroon.
B-Plot: Sheridan is locked in his own little world, pondering how to get the Non-Aligned Worlds on board with the idea of the Rangers and the White Stars patrolling their borders. He finally lights on a plan that has both his own staff, Londo, and the League diplomats confused, even though it’s obvious pretty quickly to the audience.
In short, he gets the Non-Aligned Worlds to invite — in fact, demand — the White Star presence, by making sure they know about the patrols between Centauri and Narn spaces, that there are rumors of bad critters out there, that B5 is stocking up blood supplies for all the various races, that information is being covered up (“Absolutely nothing happened in Sector 83 by 9 by 12 today. I repeat, nothing happened in Sector 83 by 9 by 12”), that the White Star have been on some mysterious mission blasting something that nobody could see … which maybe means there are really dangerous bad guys afoot … and they’re invisible!
And, thus, the League insists that the White Stars patrol their borders, not just those sneaky Centauri and Narn superpowers. Sheridan, oh-so-reluctantly and oh-so-clearly backed into a corner, accedes to their demand.
And smiles.
It’s a fun story, garnering increasing smiles from the viewer as Sheridan’s plan becomes clearer. It’s hampered largely by Boxleitner’s over-the-top manic grinning, which undercuts the seriousness of the manipulation Sheridan is doing. Indeed, the whole matter ends up being played a bit broadly, with the League ambassadors looking more silly than outplayed.
Meanwhile: B5 introduces, as side conversation, the zaniness that is Rebo and Zooty. “Zooty-zoot-zoot!” Sheridan loves them. Londo thinks them inane. It was JMS’ way of introducing a bit of day-to-day humor and conversation to the series, things for people to talk about other than work all the time — but in a way that was cleverly lacking context (people say the catch line and know immediately what it means, but we, the viewers, have no idea). JMS notes he felt the same way as Londo about Steve Martin and his “Excuuuuse me!” catch phrase, and this was his way of working out some of those frustrations, too.
Rebo and Zooty do, eventually, visit the station (in Season 5’s “Day of the Dead”).
Overall: Two strong plots this episode, neither with any fat, both interesting and flawed. Sheridan’s bright-eyed craziness and disingenuity just don’t play very well as the beginnings of a political mastermind. On the other hand, they give us a happy Sheridan, which we won’t be seeing again for a while.
Most Amusing Moment: Londo chatting with the Drazi ambassador, discussing ocular biology and very vociferously (and with deceptive honestly) denying that the Centauri invited the White Star fleet to protect them from some mysterious threat, no, really, truly, cross my heart …
It’s particularly amusing because Londo himself doesn’t know what’s going on (having unsuccessfully grilled Sheridan as to why the captain wanted him to deny inviting the White Stars), but he’s willing to back Sheridan’s play (and have some fun while doing so).
Most Dramatic Moment: Lennier reading the Religious Caste the Riot Act, highlighting Delenn’s naivete (unfortunately), her great aspirations, his disgust with their actions, and, inadvertently, his own deep, abiding love for her.
Second to this is Delenn’s “city in flames” monologue.
Most Arc-ish Moment: Sheridan closing the deal with the League ambassadors. This is his first step in something much bigger …
Overall Rating: 3.8 / 5 — Stronger stories than the past few filler episodes, but with a few overt weaknesses. (Rating History).
Other Resources for this episode:
The Voice of the Resistance … will be back on the air shortly. - Babylon Project Wiki
- IMDb
- AV Club (covers eps 10-14 of the season)
- TV Tropes
- Sci-Fi Musings (home of the little videos in so many of these reviews I’ve done)
- Sundry Thoughts
Next episode: “Moments in Transition” … as everything starts going down the crapper again, and (not coincidentally) Mr Bester returns to B5 …
(Google+ links to this post here and here.)