Text 13380, 132 rader
Skriven 2007-04-06 16:30:26 av jphalt@aol.com (16825.babylon5)
     Kommentar till en text av rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated
Ärende: In the Kingdom of the Blind: my review
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As the telepath plot moves toward its final act, Londo and G'Kar find
themselves at the heart of some disturbing developments on Centauri
Prime, in this absorbing transitional episode.


THE PLOT

Londo has returned to Centauri Prime, with G'Kar acting as his
bodyguard. It is a trip both men are looking forward to, for different
reasons. Londo wants to relax on his beloved homeworld; G'Kar wants to
rub the Centauri officials' noses in his presence. However, it doesn't
take long for both men to realize that all is not well at the Centauri
court. The Regent has only been seen by his personal physician... and
by guards, when stumbling drunkenly through the halls, begging for his
own death. An old friend of Londo's brings these concerns to Mollari -
only to be found, the victim of an apparent suicide, the following
morning. At the same time, an ambitious Centauri official plots his
own grab for power - with Londo standing in his way.

Meanwhile, on Babylon 5, Byron and his telepaths react to the
revelation as to their origins. Byron decides that the Alliance is
obligated to give them a planet to call their own, and decides to try
to force such a deal by threatening blackmail. Either they get a world
to call their own, or he and his telepaths will reveal the secrets
they have picked from the minds of the various ambassadors. The course
proves to be ill-advised for everyone, as all-too-predictably, the
situation rapidly escalates toward violence.


THE GOOD

Just about everything connected with the story on Centauri Prime in
this episode works magnificently. A large part of that reason is the
focus on Londo and G'Kar. These two characters continue to be
wonderful together, equally entertaining in the tense, dramatic
moments as they are in the light, comic moments. The sense of unease
at the heavy, secretive atmosphere pervading the palace is allowed to
unfurl gradually. At first, Londo and G'Kar seem to be enjoying
themselves in a fairly light and humorous "B" plot. Bit by bit,
however, events take on a darker cast. By the end of the episode, it
is convincing when Londo tells G'Kar that for the first time ever, his
home has become a place that frightens him.

As good an episode as this is for Londo, it is a particularly fine
showcase for Andreas Katsulas as G'Kar. There are so many great G'Kar
bits here. There's G'Kar the clown, jauntily swaggering as he first
enters the Centauri royal court, reacting to the shock of the various
officials by pausing to ask at exactly what time dinner will be
served. There's G'Kar the showman, drinking in the attentions of the
Centauri who cannot help but be fascinated by him. G'Kar the lady's
man pauses after a confrontation with an arrogant official to briefly
flirt with one of the Centauri ladies - who, in turn, is for a moment
unable to conceal being entirely charmed by him. G'Kar the man of
peace refuses to take a reprisal against the Centauri who whipped him,
turning on its head a minister's planned "proof" of the savagery of
the Narn. Finally, there is G'Kar the warrior, blood in his voice and
fury in his eyes as he demands to know where the Regent is. It's great
material for the character from beginning to end, and Katsulas seems
to revel in it.

The Regent also makes a strong impression in his two scenes. A comic
figure in his earlier appearances, he has now become quite tragic.
Damian London is very good as he reminisces with Jano, wanting to see
him one last time before the Drakh murder him. He's even better
opposite Londo, capturing a kind of tortured, half-crazed wisdom as he
gives the best advice he can to his eventual successor. When Londo
urges the Regent that he wants to know what is going on in the royal
palace of Centauri Prime, and he wants to know now, the Regent tells
him:


"No, you don't. If you have ever believed me before, Londo, believe me
now. You still have time. Enjoy it! Run in the sunlight, eat, laugh -
like a fool. You have so little time..."



The secondary plot follows up on the previous episode. Byron makes the
mistake here of committing himself and his people to a course of
action while still reeling with shock and anger from his discovery at
the end of "Secrets of the Soul."  He would have been far better
advised to have waited for his temper to cool before making any rash
judgments. As it stands, this episode seals my view of Byron as a man
who is idealistic and charismatic without being particularly wise. He
truly believes that his plan - to blackmail the council into giving
his people a Homeworld - could possibly meet with anything other than
increased resistance. As Sheridan notes, Byron's demand is not
entirely unreasonable, but he goes about it in the wrong way. He would
have been far better advised to have sent Lyta to approach Sheridan
and Delenn, to arrange a time to genuinely put the item before the
council, free of threats. As it is, he makes it too easy for the
Alliance races to cast him and his people as enemies, and makes it
impossible for a sympathetic Sheridan to do anything other than
reluctantly withdraw his protection.

Even if Byron's ploy could have worked (and no government could have
allowed themselves to have acceded to blackmail, so it couldn't have),
his plan still depended entirely on every one of his people doing
exactly as he wished them to do. Given the events of the previous
episode, Byron should have already realized that this would not be the
case! Byron does not initiate the violence - his pacifism remains
genuine - but he does set the stage whereby the violence not only can
occur, but pretty much must occur. Ultimately, Byron's way is eerily
similar to Psi Corps' way. He insists that all of his people adhere to
the exact same values that he does, and hatches a plan that demands
that they do. Then he acts hurt and betrayed when it turns out that
some of his people don't share every one of his beliefs.

Other scattered thoughts. I appreciated Sheridan and Delenn privately
acknowledging the validity of the telepaths' anger, and I particularly
enjoyed Delenn twisting Sheridan's complaint about their timing being
"inconvenient" against him. I also liked Zack, bearing the "I-told-you-
so" message from Lochley - though one does wonder why Lochley (who has
been absent for at least as many episodes as she's been present thus
far this season) couldn't have delivered that message directly.


THE BAD

Nothing too strenuously bad, this time out. Some of the acting from
the supporting telepaths is questionable at best, though, and there
once again was a noticeable divide in quality between the "A" and "B"
stories of the episode. In this case, the telepath plot was a fair bit
weaker than the intrigue on Centauri Prime... which, given that its
the telepath plot (at least, in regards to Byron) that's moving toward
its climax, is perhaps a bit unbalanced. Still a good episode, in any
case.


My Final Rating: 7/10.
--- SBBSecho 2.12-Win32
 * Origin: Time Warp of the Future BBS - Home of League 10 (1:14/400)