Text 13123, 133 rader
Skriven 2007-03-25 15:54:17 av jphalt@aol.com (16566.babylon5)
     Kommentar till en text av rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated
Ärende: Secrets of the Soul: my review
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The disclosure of secrets forms the basis of this episode, which is
unfortunately more functional than compelling.


THE PLOT

With more and more telepaths arriving on Babylon 5, Zack is getting
concerned. He recognizes that there is something deeply unhealthy in
Byron's cult, even if he can't put exactly what it is into words for
Lyta, and responds by keeping an eye on Byron. When one of Byron's
people is beaten by a thug in Down Below, Byron tries to stop the
others from taking reprisals... arriving at the scene just in time to
be arrested by Zack.

Meanwhile, Stephen works on gathering genetic information from the Non-
Aligned Worlds for the Alliance. He is currently inputting genetic
material from the Hyach, an ancient civilization whose records have a
bizarre anomaly - their civilization is thousands of years old, and
yet their records only date back eight hundred years. When Stephen
tries to unravel what it is they are hiding, he stumbles across a
secret that puts his own life in danger!


THE GOOD

This episode sees Lyta fully converted to Byron's cause. When Zack
expresses concern for her, both out of jealousy and out of a genuine
recognition that nothing good can come of Byron's cult, Lyta tells him
bluntly that she "would walk into hell for (Byron) with a smile on
(her) face." She goes on to recount some of the very bad treatment she
has received at the hands of the supposed good guys, replying to
Zack's declaration that he cares about her by telling him that "talk
is cheap." It's a good scene for many reasons, and a big one is that
both characters are right. Zack's right that Byron is dangerous, and
his cult is unhealthy. Lyta's right that the others have taken
advantage of her, that normals by and large do fear and mistrust
telepaths, and that the sense of belonging Byron offers (if nothing
else about him) is something that telepaths need. Neither character
can find a middle ground on their position (Zack is far too rude to
the incoming telepaths; Lyta is far too dismissive of Zack), and by
this point it is probably already too late.

This episode is a particularly strong one for Byron, giving us a more
in-depth look at the character and his failings than any previous
episode. Once again, we see that for all his nonviolent platitudes,
Byron holds a deep resentment against all normals. Note his scene with
Dr. Franklin in Medlab. He tells Stephen that the beating of one of
his followers was carried out by "one of YOU." Lyta may be pretty far
gone by this point, but she still recognizes that Stephen is a friend.
Byron, however, simply will not, or cannot, differentiate between the
angry thug and the dedicated doctor. A mundane is a mundane.

For all that, he is unable to see the ways in which he is actively
doing his people harm. His efforts to secure a telepath community are
commendable, as is his belief in nonviolence. He is right when he
notes that a lasting society cannot be built on a shaky foundation.
However, tyranny isn't the only kind of poor foundation. Societies
built entirely around one personality are just as short-lived (if not
moreso) than societies built around fear of violence.

By creating his telepath community as a cult, entirely dependent on
him as leader, Byron is doing as much harm as good - and he just
doesn't see it. When his people take revenge against the thug in Down
Below during his absence, he casts the blame at Zack for leaving him
"locked up all day," and at himself for "not teaching (his people)
well enough." What he doesn't see is that he's created a community so
dependent on him and his personality that, in a stressful situation,
his people lose control of their community values (which are, after
all, Byron's values, and not necessarily his people's) when his
presence is removed for A SINGLE DAY! How could a society such as this
be expected to endure after his death? Even if Byron were to succeed
in establishing a telepath homeworld, the society he built would
crumble within one year of his death - assuming it even lasted through
his lifetime.

Very telling, though, is that Byron is also guilty of jealousy. After
he discovers Lyta's secret, that the Vorlons made normal humans
telepaths, his reaction is pure, white-hot jealousy of the very
mundanes he professes to be superior to. "We would have lives," he
tells his followers. "We would be normal." These are not words spoken
by someone who is truly happy in who he is. For all of his
Shakespearean affectations and professions of superiority, he hates
mundanes because he wishes he was one of them... yet another reason
why any telepath community built by Byron (who is unmasked here as
hating himself) simply could not endure.

The parallels between the episode's two plots are nicely done. Both
plots involve the disclosure of a secret. The secret that Byron learns
poises him for rash action, with the ending scene indicating that he
is prepared to discard all of his previously-professed ideals. The
secret that Stephen learns, by contrast, brings hope to a dying race.
This isn't to do with the secrets themselves; Byron could make
something good out of his new knowledge, while Stephen could certainly
do something negative with his knowledge of the Hyach's shameful past.
It is to do with those who learn them. Byron is so self-deluding, even
self-hating, that he simply isn't mentally equipped to react in a
positive way to a shocking disclosure. Stephen has come out of his own
crisis of two years ago a far stronger and wiser man, and while he
won't grant forgiveness to the Hyach - "That's not my place" - he
still can grant them hope... provided they are willing to acknowledge
their own history.


THE BAD

As with many episodes with clear "A" and "B" plots, there is a
noticeable gulf in quality between the two storylines. The Byron/Lyta
material in this episode is excellent. Despite the strength of Richard
Biggs' performance, however, the Hyach story just isn't as compelling.
The Holocaust metaphor feels labored, and is hammered home with all
the subtlety of a whack on the head with a metal girder. Further,
since the Hyach really haven't been a presence on the show prior to
this episode, their history and their dilemma just doesn't mean much
to us. For a story about genocide, it feels distressingly... small.

Weaknesses in this plot thread are compounded by the performance of
Fiona Dwyer as Kirrin, as well as the writing of the character. Dwyer
barks all her lines, delivering questions with the same emphasis as
death threats. The character itself is presented as very two-
dimensional and not particularly believable. In the first scene, as
Kirrin kept interrupting the conversation between Stephen and
Ambassador Tal to antagonize the doctor, I found myself wondering how
an attaché could keep her job after such blatant insubordination.

In any case, "Secrets of the Soul" is a perfectly fine episode. The
telepath material is very strong, and the secondary story is quite
watchable. Weaknesses in that secondary plotline, however, keep it
from being as memorable as it might have been.


My Final Rating: 6/10.
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