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Skriven 2007-04-15 09:53:03 av jphalt@aol.com (17011.babylon5)
     Kommentar till en text av rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated
Ärende: A Tragedy of Telepaths: my review
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All the set-up of earlier Season Five episodes starts to really pay
off here. The telepath situation goes from bad to worse; Sheridan's
Alliance doesn't quite tear, but starts to seriously fray; and Londo
and G'Kar make another horrible discovery on Centauri Prime.


THE PLOT

Byron and his telepaths have sealed themselves behind a series of
bulkheads in Down Below. Zack is trying to break through. His men can
only work for short periods, however; with Byron and his teeps
standing just on the other side of the bulkhead, concentrating their
energy, the men who work on cutting through end up convinced that
there is a bomb that will detonate if they do not abandon their work
immediately. It's a delaying strategy only, but one that Byron can
maintain for days - possibly even weeks.

Captain Lochley knows that she will need help to stop this from ending
tragically. Unfortunately, President Sheridan is busy dealing with the
fallout from the attacks on the Alliance. The unknown enemy has begun
planting debris from the ships of various Alliance member races at the
site of each attack. The result sees some of the member races spoiling
for wars with each other, with Sheridan finding it a full-time job
just to hold the new Alliance together. Needless to say, he has
neither time nor energy to spare on the telepath situation - leaving
Lochley only one place to turn for help: Bester.

Meanwhile, on Centauri Prime, Londo and G'Kar make a shocking
discovery. Before his death at the end of the Shadow War, Emperor
Cartagia had a Narn prisoner installed in the underground cells in the
palace. G'Kar is enraged, and Londo shocked, when they discover that
the prisoner is G'Kar's former attaché, Na'Toth. G'Kar insists she be
released at once. But she is there by order of the last Emperor - and
with no Emperor to countermand the order, there is no legal way for
Londo to set her free...


THE GOOD

"Divide and Conquer." This well-worn phrase forms an umbrella theme
for the no less than three plot lines running through this episode.
Londo and G'Kar find their alliance tested when G'Kar discovers that
the Centauri have been holding Na'Toth prisoner; Bester arrives to
deal with the rogue telepaths, but makes clear that he identifies far
more strongly with them - even those trying to kill him - than with
the station personnel; finally, Sheridan's unknown enemy directly
utilizes "divide and conquer" as a strategy, planting false evidence
to turn the Alliance member races against each other. Though Sheridan
ultimately is able to keep the Alliance races from fracturing, doing
so comes with a price, as he earns the enmity of both the Drazi and
the Brakiri. What consequences this may have down the road, who can
say?


With three running plots, "A Tragedy of Telepaths" relies on that
thematic connection to maintain a cohesive narrative. Thankfully, the
script and Tony Dow's strong direction sustain a consistent tone. The
thematic links, the sense of division that pervades all three plot
lines, keeps the multiple plot threads feeling like part of the same
story. Meanwhile, the fast pace and strong performances make this one
of the best episodes thus far in Season Five.

One of the most obviously notable aspects of this episode is that it
marks the return of Julie Caitlin Brown's Na'Toth to the "Babylon 5"
universe. After the second season's unsuccessful (and, honestly,
spectacularly ill-advised) attempt to keep the character going after
Brown's departure, Na'Toth basically vanished from the series'
narrative. Only in late Season Three did she even receive a mention,
and then it was mostly to the effect that her fate was unknown.

Now, with Brown returning for a one-shot guest appearance in the role,
we finally learn what became of her. Tortured for amusement by the mad
Emperor Cartagia, then locked in a cell and forgotten for more than a
year. The experience has, inevitably, taken its toll on the character.
In Season One, there was a spark of joy, even mischief, to many of
Na'Toth's line readings, particularly opposite G'Kar. That joy is long
gone now; what remains is a brittle, haunted woman. She still speaks
defiantly, such as when she promises to kill Londo at the first
opportunity, but the pride in her posture has gone. She has been
diminished, her spirit a casualty of both war and bureaucracy.

Na'Toth's fate also stokes a side of G'Kar that has often been
neglected in the post-Shadow War episodes of the series: his intensity
and his deep-rooted anger. The instant G'Kar realizes that there must
be another Narn being held captive in the palace, "G'Kar the Clown"
vanishes utterly. A sterner, deeper note enters his voice, an angrier
bearing such as we haven't seen from him in quite some time. When he
discovers that his suspicions are not only true, but that the Narn in
question is Na'Toth, his anger temporarily takes him over. When he
threatens to see the palace burn, and Londo with it, Katsulas brings
such intensity that I found myself honestly believing that G'Kar might
actually have half a chance to making his threat a reality.

The episode is also a tremendously strong one for Londo. G'Kar may
provide the passion both to discover Na'Toth and to resolve to get her
out of the palace immediately... but G'Kar on his own could never
actually have secured her freedom. Londo provides the brain in this
caper, playing on his knowledge of the workings of the Centauri court
to supply a suitable solution to the dilemma. He gets a number of
strong character scenes along the way. Chief among these is his
reaction to discovering Na'Toth. Once upon a time, a Narn locked in a
cell would have provoked no reaction at all in Londo. Now, he is
struck speechless by the discovery. As Na'Toth relates what she
witnessed during the bombing of Narn, Londo flashes back to his
defining moment - the single worst thing that Londo ever did, as he
stood on the Centauri cruiser, passively watching the destruction of
the Narn Homeworld. The echoes of Londo's actions before that point
and his inaction at that point still reverberate through the series,
as they will for some time to come. As G'Kar/the voice of Londo's
guilt noted in "The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari," Londo stands
condemned not so much for the things he did as for the fact that, when
the darkest moment came, Londo offered only the most token of protests
and then "did nothing."


The telepath strand is also quite strong, in this episode. The image
of the telepaths battling the Babylon 5 crew with their thoughts is
well-rendered. The image of the telepaths mutely standing at the
bulkhead, their hands touching the metal to project their defiance
against the security personnel, is a striking visual, and it's easy to
see why that particular still was selected for the DVD cover art.
Byron gets one of his best (and, probably not coincidentally, most low-
key) scenes, as he says farewell to Lochley, taking a moment to thank
her for her fairness before delivering yet another of his portentous,
self-fulfilling prophecies - in this case, that they would never speak
again.

The episode also brings Bester back to the station, after a much
shorter interval than usual. Bester isn't actually in very much of
this episode; his presence here mainly serves to set up the next
installment. Still, the multiple facets of the character continue to
make him a fascinating figure. Bester's interactions with Lochley, as
he notes that he holds no rancor against her for not listening to him
- "I'm used to it," he tells her - shows a tinge of sadness that we
haven't usually seen, probably because Bester is on friendlier terms
with Lochley than he is with any of the other regulars. He also shows
a rare moment of compassion for a mundane. He is just doing his job as
he helps the security worker to realize that there is no bomb. Still,
his manner as he does so is gentle, soothing, with none of the
harshness we've come to associate with the character.

His best scene, of course, comes near the episode's end. As he finds
himself the target of the rogue telepaths who chose to reject Byron's
non-violence, he responds to the attempt on his life not with anger,
but with shock. He seems genuinely bewildered that the people he
considers to be his people are trying to kill him. When he starts
making cracks about hemlines, it is clear from Bester's manner that
this is not flippancy, but a defense mechanism to deal with the shock.
But when Zack responds with moral outrage, Bester does take the
opportunity to deliver a devastatingly honest speech to Zack that
makes clear exactly where Bester's sympathies lie in this situation.
Astoundingly, given Bester's introduction as a cardboard villain in
Season One, I found my sympathies lying very much with Bester, who is
as much a victim in this situation as the rogues he is hunting.


My Final Rating: 9/10.  A thoroughly satisfying installment.
--- SBBSecho 2.12-Win32
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