It's a nice enough character piece in the A-plot, with Sinclair and G'kar flanking Londo in his tale in supporting roles. Londo's head-over-heels in love with a bar dancer, who seems to like him but is in reality part of a scheme to get to his family's secret information about the other Centauri houses. Fabiana Udenio as Adira, the femme not-so-fatale, plays her role well (and looks cute bald); Clive Revill as her master, Trakis, has problems chewing the scenery properly. Jurasik does a great job here with Londo, who, below the cynical ambassadorial veneer, is a really a huge romantic at heart. That sentimentality, both light and dark, will come back to haunt him and the galaxy down the line.
The B-plot, about Garibaldi tracking down illegal use of the Gold Channel back to Earth, gives us some decent insights into both him and Ivanova, but still feels a bit contrived.
A C-plot, dealing with Centauri/Narn negotiations, is amusing but noteworthy mostly mostly for Vir jokes and as the sole appearance of G'kar's attache, Ko D'Ath (who does a fine job, but apparently couldn't handle the makeup).
Most dramatic moment: Londo saying goodbye to Adira. We're never going to see him as happy as he was with her ever again.
Most amusing moment: Vir and Ko D'Ath sit down to negotiate. Why do I suspect they'll end up with a better deal than Londo and G'kar would?
Most arc-ish moment: Not a whole lot, except as an intro to the Centauri politics that will eventually consume Londo.
Overall rating: 2/5. Not a bad episode, but really nothing to distinguish it.
Babylon Project: http://babylon5.wikia.com/wiki/Born_to_the_Purple
Lurker's Guide: http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/guide/003.html
Born to the Purple
Born to the Purple is an episode from the first season of Babylon 5, which is collectively…
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