s3e15: Interludes and Examinations

IMPUDENT

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Jesus Trevino directs this episode with such energy and style that I thought it had to be a Mike Vejar episode, right up until the director credit. That’s how good it is.

There’s a desperation here, with even the victories coming at a high price. It addresses the central conundrum of the Shadow war, which is: how can they be beaten? Sure, the White Star has taken down a couple of isolated battlecrabs, but Sheridan’s nascent alliance has no hope against a fleet. Every ship that isn’t the White Star would be immediately outgunned (with the possible exception of Minbari cruisers?).

It’s an episode of constantly rising stakes, which begins with the ominous opening. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Morden, and his return to Babylon 5 is not welcome.¹ The tension starts building from the opening montage sequence and doesn’t let up. Cranking it up further is Franklin reaching breaking point, after a season of slowly building upon and hinting at his addiction problem.

So on the one hand there’s the galactic stakes, and on the other there’s the personal stakes of one man. The combination of the two in a single episode is clever, delivering on both ends of that emotional spectrum.

Sitting oddly in the background and presented initially as time filler, or perhaps the comic relief that Centauri plots have provided in the past, is Londo preparing for Adira’s return. I’d forgotten that was this episode. For a brief moment we think that it’s perhaps an unconnected C plot, that this might be a moment of respite for Londo, or a chance for him to turn away from his dark path. Then we remember Morden is aboard, and that this is Babylon 5, and the tension rises yet higher.

All of it is shot beautifully and edited to within an inch of its life: there’s no wasted space here. There’s a lot of story to cram in, but it doesn’t feel rushed. It’s intense, but not overstuffed.

Sheridan’s encounter with Kosh is a satisfying fist-pump moment, while also being disturbing: Kosh is supposed to be an ally, yet abuses Sheridan physically. The bullying Vorlon attitude that we’ve seen before resurfaces and we’re reminded that they’re not necessarily the benevolent angels they’d like us to believe.

And yet, as the Shadows tear into Kosh later in the episode, our assumptions are turned on their head again. The vision of Sheridan’s father — much like G’Kar was given a vision of his father — transforms our understanding of Kosh. There is regret, and fear, and independent thought. The Vorlons have always been presented as a singular mind, but here we have Kosh breaking away and doing his own thing. There’s an intriguing line of dialogue about there not being enough Vorlons: exactly how decimated were they after the last Shadow war? Are they on the verge of extinction, even?

There’s a difference between Sheridan and G’Kar’s visions. Kosh was very clearly manipulating G’Kar back in ‘Dust to Dust’. It was a cynical move, even if it has had positive consequences in terms of G’Kar’s behaviour. Imagine G’Kar discovering the truth, though, and how that could undermine his new purpose. With Sheridan, there’s far less manipulation (other than the emotive link of using his father’s likeness): Kosh doesn’t try to hide and is more honest and speaks with more clarity than we’ve ever known. It’s an unexpectedly moving scene, especially Rance Howard’s final line: “As long as you’re here, I’ll always be here.”

As has been the case throughout season 3, Sheridan’s musings on how the political chaos at home and abroad seems deliberately staged couldn’t help but trigger parallels in my head for where we are in 2025. An international order undermined by agents of chaos, in advance of a larger conflict? Former allies tearing each other apart? Hmm.

Can we also take a moment to acknowledge the puppetry on the Kosh suit and the way it is filmed in this episode? Particularly in the confrontation with Sheridan, the suit has never looked so alien or threatening, and the use of camera angles and the very simple adjustment of the eye piece works wonders.

Meanwhile, Franklin’s story comes to a head. Biggs plays Franklin with such a relaxed charm² that it’s alarming to see him fly off the handle. The meltdown in Medlab feels natural, as does the scene in Franklin’s quarters when Garibaldi confronts him about his addiction. The writing and performances escalate through that scene masterfully. As usual with B5, that the storyline is not ‘solved’ in this episode makes it all the more impactful, and underlines the sense of everything spinning out of control: the last thing Sheridan needed was for one of his trusted inner circle to burnout and quit.

And finally we have Londo, Adira, Refa and Morden. It’s heartbreaking and tragic, and Londo gets it all wrong. He’s always got it wrong, misreading those around him at all times. He pushes Vir away, pushes away his old friends like Urza, while embracing Morden and Refa and power. He’s a terrible judge of character. In this he even returns to Morden, not thinking for a second that he might be responsible for Adira’s murder. For all his machinations, Londo is not a very good politician.

The lowest moment for me as after Adira’s body is taken away, and Vir reaches out to Londo to give him a hug, or at least some sort of physical comfort, and Londo instead chooses to be alone, and turns to the crates and rejects Vir’s counsel. As always, Vir never gives up on him and, as always, Londo rejects his staunchest ally and friend.

Next up is ‘Walkabout’, which is a change from the original order. ‘War Without End: Part 1’.

‼️ SPOILER STUFF ‼️

It’s a huge episode for the big arc stories. We have Kosh’s death, which embeds him within Sheridan’s mind and sets the stage for the season finale on Z’ha’dum. It also heralds the arrival of a very different Vorlon ambassador, and the outbreak of open war with the Shadows will also drag the Vorlons into battle in a most unwelcome manner. It’s also the beginning of the Interstellar Alliance, with the non-aligned worlds seeing the value of Sheridan’s vision for the first time.

Franklin’s addiction storyline will be mostly resolved next episode, which perhaps feels a little fast. But hitting rock bottom does enable him to be ready to play a larger part in season 4. Again we have the reminder of Garibaldi’s own addiction issues, which will unfortunately be returning later in the show.

The big one is Londo’s storyline. It accelerates his path towards being Emperor, and will result in him being on Centauri Prime for the climax of the Shadow war. Refa’s demise is now imminent. Longer term, Morden is also sealing his own fate. I adore the lines:

Morden: “We may have to turn our eye to your homeworld.”

Londo: “Then we will pluck it out.”

1. Ed Wasser’s return is of course most welcome, because he plays the role brilliantly.

2. ‘The Long Dark‘ aside…