s3e13: Sic Transit Vir
Makes you feel naked in front of the universe
We’re watching the pioneering 90s TV show Babylon 5. If you want to join us, hit subscribe then go to your account and turn on the Let’s Watch notifications.
“What if Schindler’s List was a comedy?” seems to be the idea here.
About twenty-five years ago I was making my way across London on the tube. Not being a Londoner, and having only ever visited with my parents at that point, I didn’t really understand how the London Underground worked. The signs and maps entirely baffled me, and I couldn’t figure out which platform went in which direction.
It was all quite stressful, made slightly less so by another guy about my age who was also evidently rather lost and confused. Really nice chap, and we laughed about how useless we both were. We banded together in an attempt to navigate our way to our destinations, which made the whole debacle less scary. Getting off the train we’d been on, we stared at the signs for a bit, then approached a nearby cleaning lady. I asked her for directions, and she pointed us to a set of steps.
I don’t remember her exact ethnicity, but she was not white. I mention this only because it will unfortunately become relevant.
Me and this other fellow head off in the direction she showed us, cross platforms and hop on another train, and shortly afterwards realise that we’ve once again gone the wrong way.
It might have been because we messed up and left instead of right. Or it could have been that the cleaning lady gave us the wrong instructions. I’ve no idea.
“Fucking P*k*,” the other guy said to me, quite unashamed. “We should have asked someone else.”
I quickly wished him good luck and went to find my own way. It didn’t take me long to figure out where to go, and all was well. I probably should have challenged him, questioned his language and assumptions, but I didn’t. I was young, and too startled to really respond.
Two things have bothered me and stayed with me since. First, that this guy could seem so reasonable and friendly, right up until the moment he was a massive racist. And second, that he assumed I would agree with his language and judgement simply because I was another white man. It didn’t occur to him that I might take offence.
Anyway, the best scene in ‘Sic Transit Vir’ is when Lyndisty is abruptly shown to be a massive racist, having otherwise been sweetness and light. It reminded me of that man on the tube. You think you have a handle on someone, until you realise that you do not.
The double-twist of the Narns a) being killed and then b) not being killed, but now it’s all been revealed in front of Londo, is also pretty good.
Stephen Furst is, of course, brilliant throughout. He can shift between overt comedy and slapstick and serious drama in a heartbeat. The script is determined to deliver a surreal farce, with odd jokes, room of Narns, Ivanova’s dream, Sheridan serving tofu with a sliced carrot on top like it’s an alien delicacy. The whole thing is bizarre, from top to bottom, and yet at its core is a deeply disturbing story about ethnic cleansing and genocide.
The switcheroo almost works, but I don’t think the episode quite pulls it off, with the comedy and the genocide undermining each other rather than enhancing (not a sentence I thought I’d be writing). It maybe needed to go harder on both ends, and to really commit to the horror in the second half.
Instead, it all sort of works out, and Lyndisty and Vir have another snog (despite her more-or-less admitting to being a serial killer), and Ivanova does a comedy version of Sheridan with Centauri hair.
It’s a weird one.
Next up is ‘Ship of Tears’.
‼️ SPOILER STUFF ‼️
Vir strokes the throne at the start. Foreshadowing! He’s also no longer working on Minbar, which brings him back into Londo’s orbit.
We also meet Damian London’s Centauri bureaucrat, who will of course play a bigger role in season 4.
Beyond that, I’m not sure there’s much else going on. Though it’s entirely possible that my brain switched off during the tofu scene.
Oops: I accidentally watched this one before A Late Delivery from Avalon, when I should've watched that and then this. Oh well.
Yeah, the comic bits didn't work as much for me, except for the numerical scene. I'd forgotten what "one" meant and initially made the same assumption Ivanova did: i.e., first base, or maybe just one Centauri girl.
Now I know I was wrong.
Oof.
Non Spoilers:
It's the end of the episode where it falls apart.
The strange bug thing serves to give a little more exposition on how B5 is adjusting to independence (fewer cargo inspectors and maintenance workers), and even hints at Londo's inner turmoil as he works to do what he feels is right for Centauri Prime with getting the Centauri disentangled from the Shadows. I'm sure Londo has figured out the Shadow vessel broadcast on ISN is, and matched it up with the creepy spider-ships from his prophetic dream - no WONDER Londo doesn't like things with eight legs. That said, that's a psychodrama subplot hidden in a go-nowhere farce wrapping.
Sheridan and Delenn's growing relationship with is very sweet and awkward. The "tofu/flarn" scene actually highlights this more than Delenn fussing over Sheridan putting on his jacket and the aborted kiss-tease... Minbari "only lie to protect someone's honor," so the sitcom trope of someone pretending to enjoy crap food hits quite hard.
It's actually pretty damn cool of Ivanova to continue using the Abrahamo Linconi identity to continue smuggling Narn, but we'll come back to that when I hit the negatives of the episode.
Claudia Christian is quite good at comedy. I think this is the last time she'll have to have awkward and inappropriate conversations with non-Terrans about body functions. Which was more embarrassing for Ivanova, discussing menstruation with Delenn, or sex with Vir?
This is, of course, a mostly fantastic episode for Vir - moving Stephen Furst back to Babylon 5 after his Fox sitcom failed. In private conversation Simon and I discussed how it felt Vir had been around a lot this season, despite having been written out for Furst to do his sitcom. Nope, this is Vir's third appearance in 13 episodes, with only "Point of No Return" being as "Special Guest Star." Furst was often an underrated actor as he was most of known for broad comedy, but, as Simon noted, he effortlessly transitions from farce ("We have six... Well, six") into quiet strength during the revelation of his underground railroad. Vir is quite a layered and complex character, and he'll only continue to grow.
Hello, Damian London as Minister Virini! Good to see you enter the show! Looking forward to seeing you again! (Another one of my, "Yeah, don't care," spoilers, because who wouldn't be thrilled to know we'll see more of this interesting Centauri later!)
So, yeah, most of the setup works, even if we are burying psychodrama in jokes (Londo and the bugs, Ivanova's dream and the breakfast scene, and the best setup of the episodes - Minister Virini's terrible joke leading to Vir and a room full of Narns). The switch/double-switch of the underground railroad works (because of Stephen Furst and Peter Jurasik - Claudia Christian isn't very good in that scene for some reason).
Some, on to the negatives.
While Simon described Lyndisty as "sweetness and light," I'm fairly certain even on first viewing I had her pegged as a stone psycho from her second scene. Carmen Thomas is pulling a classic (and quite mechanical) acting technique for crazy: her eyes are focusing about six inches beyond what she's supposed to be looking at and never blinking*. She may be trying for sweetness and light, but she's just creepy. In-universe, I'm sure her family is secretly relieved Vir is genuinely sweet and awkward and didn't get to six with her, as Vir was demoted.
It's the tag after the whole big double whammy of "Lyndisty is an unrepentant mass-murdering racist" and "Vir has been smuggling Narns to freedom" that kills the episode. Ivanova taking over Abrahamo Lincolni=good. Using John Sheridan in Londo's clothes as the file photo=bad. John Sheridan is commander of Babylon 5, and is absolutely known to the Centauri - especially after he blew a Centauri Warship to hell only seven months prior in the show timeline. Do not use a recognizable face, Ivanova! You'd be better off using an image of your own father from a few decades ago... But then we don't get the joke of Sheridan-as-Centauri. *sigh.*
It also doesn't help in the edit that the follow up dialog about the Narn Lyndisty capture was recovering in Medlab was cut. Really we could have lost one of the REALLY indulgent lines JMS gave Lyndisty, instead. Yeah, Lyndisty language is another indicator of her psychosis... "The bounds of my Universe shall be circumscribed by your arms..." is just a 🤮 line - which I'm sure I misquoted, but I'm not checking it. Also, my autocorrect kept trying to drop "circumcised" in there...
So, there's the final scene of Vir and Lyndisty, and it's quite disappointing. Ok, fine, Vir is nicer and braver than I am. I'll admit that. I couldn't put up with or do what he does... But, man, I'd be utterly disgusted by a raving psycho-serial killer, not quite as, "Well, we can work on your homicidal tendencies, but you're a really good kisser, and, 'What relationship doesn't have it's ups and downs?'"
So, yeah, once the episode turned from farce to horror it shouldn't have bounced back to farce at the end. It needed to stay in that serious tone. The ending scenes with Ivanova continuing to use Lincolni and Vir talking with Lyndisty are correct extensions of the plots, but needed to stay more somber and reflective.
A quick kudo to director Jesus Trevino. Most of the episode is competent, if not particularly stylish, but the scene in C&C where Ivanova is pacing back and forth around the upper level while the screens of Sheridan having his arm bandaged float by in the BG is nicely dynamic, unlike how C&C is usually shot, and keeps the energy level of the show up following the action sequence of the Narn attacking Lyndisty.
On the flip side, we'll have to assume Trevino was a bit pressed for time, because there's a walk and talk in the Zocalo with Sheridan and Ivanova where an extra drops her jaw and bugs her eyes out in surprise SO HARD when the camera passes her I just watch her leave frame. That is such an obvious mug for the camera... Good job, extra, yes, all your friends and family spotted you. You're lucky Trevino must not have had time for a re-take, because no one told you to do that.
On the gripping hand, the script gives Sheridan some protagonist plot armor in this episode: yeah, he's cut once, but we've seen Narn flip multiple security guards, lift stone table tops, and straight-arm deadlift Vir with one arm. We'll just assume this Narn was badly malnourished to have not just KO'd Sheridan in one blow.
Speaking of Narn strength - that Lyndisty is SCARY PSYCHO! That slip of a little thing blithely took out an armed Narn...
*Right - the old psycho-acting mechanical trick which works quite well: As noted above, walk up to someone - a close friend or partner is a great choice to prove how effective this is - take your "imaginary center" or "point of focus" and place it in the middle of their head, behind their eyes. Keep you attention locked there. Focus all your energy there. Now have a pleasant conversation with them. Try not to blink. You can creep out the people who love and trust you most in less than a minute if you do it right. Practice this move. Now dress as something scary come Halloween and pull this on your Trick-Or-Treaters... When they say "Trick or Treat" just stare at one of them in this psycho way. Hold it until the kids get nervous... Takes about 10 seconds. Their parents will be amused watching their children get a little scare on Halloween. Now you can break the stare, smile, and hand out candy. You will be a Halloween legend. Kids and parents will remember you.