EpDis: Soul Mates

[Estelyn]

Great episode! It's chockfull of so many really good lines and details of character development. I've enjoyed Peter David's writing for Star Trek and he does very well here too. Yes, the Londo plot does remind me of ST - remember Mudd and his "Stella" in the original series? But that doesn't mean it's a copy - just that PD writes humour excellently and has a style of his own.

The title has a double application to both Londo and Talia, both of whom did not find their soul mates in their marriages. It also seems to implicate that Garibaldi and Talia could be soul mates, if what Delenn says to him is taken as possible. (In real life, I guess they thought they could be and found out they weren't...) However, I like the original title - Londo and his wives as the apocalyptic horsemen!

Yes, Timov rocks! I love her ascerbic comments and especially enjoy the interaction between her, Londo, and the other two wives. I very much liked being able to encounter her again in the Centauri book trilogy - it would have been fun to see her again in the series, but what with the action getting heavy and serious, she probably wouldn't have fit in later on.

I'm not sure I like the Delenn "bad hair day" plotline - it seems so trivial. Yet we all know how important hair is to our well-being, and it is interesting to experience her problems in adjusting to human nature, so it's not too bad. But what happened to her bone structure when the hair was messed up?! It wasn't there, and it's too prominent to disappear under the hair like that.

Best line of the episode: "If you were married to Londo Mollari, we'd all be concerned!" (Mariel) Maybe Londo and G'Kar are the true soul mates of the story!

Another Star Trek moment that reminded me of the Betazoids was the requirement to come to the ceremony barefoot - at least they didn't have to disrobe completely!

Best facial expression(s) of the episode: Ivanova, when called upon to assume the role of a big sis for Delenn - especially at the end when entering the elevator. :wtf:

 

[Alioth]

The three wives were wonderful and just what a schemer like Londo deserved. I totally understand why he chose Timov, given that he has access to hot Centauri chicks any time he wants them. It was a marriage of convenience, nothing more. And if you're stuck in such a marriage, it must be a relief to know your wife isn't plotting to kill you, isn't it?

And she was also more honest. She made no move to suck up to Londo upon knowing she was in a contest for continued status as his wife, and the continued title and privileges that came with that. He will always know where he stands with someone so unafraid to speak her mind, and since marriage isn't "for love" among folks of his station anyway, there's no real need for any pretense of it, especially if he's not the kind of sap to fall for it and be manipulated by it. I guessed at the beginning that she'd be the one he chooses to keep. They understood each other.

 

[Alioth]

Plus, in an earlier episode he remarked that his wives were what kept him at his post, 50 light years (IIRC) from them! Timov will surely continue that role.

She understands her duties in that kind of marriage, she no doubt will run a tight ship with the House of Mollari at home and look out for their mutual interests, and play her political role to a T. And she'll do him the added favor of not making him miss her when he's away. Works best for both of them.

 

[Bab5nutz]

I rather liked the Delenn subplot. It showed just how different Human and Minbari are. She comes from a race where there is not exactly a big demand for hairdressers - although I note that some Minbari males have beards. A lot of humans have trouble with their hair - imagine someone who had never had it, never needed it, and came from a place where no-one had hair, suddenly got it. And as for periods? Well, I was never comfortable with having periods - I suspect that a lot of women aren't. And here is a person who never knew that there was such a thing about to get them. She probably would have been pretty grossed out. And it gives some answer to the the question of just how "Human" Delenn has genetically become. And this is finally fully answered near the end of season 5.

 

[Lennier's Tears]

- although I note that some Minbari males have beards.

Huh, I never really noticed that. I mean, I noticed that there are Minbari with beards, but I didn't really think about how that makes no/little sense in a race that has no hair ... I guess they have eyebrows and eyelashes so perhaps we can assume that they too evolved from hairy ape-like ancestors and just lost the hair and gained a bone for some reason.

And it's not as if Talia was some helpless damsel in distress- she exhibited a real attitude when she fought off Bester with the underground telepaths.

I agree. I was reading all these comments about how Talia is whiny and vulnerable (here and in the thread for Spider in the Web) and I'm thinking I have never considered her vulnerable or whiny ... (not that I think there is anything wrong with having a vulnerable character. Not everyone has to be a strong person to be an interesting character). She stands up to Bester!

I quite like this episode. Londo's wives are great. I like the Psi Corps background stuff, and it's interesting to see how Talia's feelings towards Psi Corps evolve over time. She seems pretty bitter about her arranged marriage, but apparently at the time that wasn't enough to really turn her against Psi Corps. Now after the Jason Ironheart stuff, and the Abel Horn thing, she's definitely questioning things. I'm not entirely sure if when she originally agreed to leave with Stoner, that was because he messed with her mind, or if she really wanted out of the Corps.

Also, urgh, archaeology in the Babylon 5 universe Again! It seems like uninhabited or unclaimed planets/moons/whatever are fair game, and anyone can just go there and dig up stuff, call it archaeology, and legally steal anything they find. They are legally allowed to sell artifacts for profit and everyone seems to think that's normal and perfectly fine. I imagine there's some SERIOUS debate going on at archaeology conferences back on Earth, where old school archaeologists who think that's no way to do science battle it out with the for-profit types

• I see Talia's habit of conveniently walking in at a point in a conversation where her arrival furthers the plot conveniently furthered the plot here
• Can't Delenn call whoever helped her with her hair when she first came out of the cocoon? Who was that, anyway?
• Delenn says Minbari don't perspire like humans. Did that not change for her? A functional uterus and hair on her head, but not sweat glands? Interesting.
• Did Mat Stoner "leaving" Psi Corps not come up in Garibaldi's background check?
• Centauri women get a raw deal... Completely dependent on their husbands for income and status ... At least the upper class ones. Lower class Centauri woman presumably have jobs, but get paid low wages (I'm guessing based on what we know about Centauri society)
• Is there a reason Delenn and Lennier wear the same shirt? Or under-robe, or whatever that is?
• The only way to leave Psi Corps is to lose one's telepathic abillities. It's interesting that there doesn't appear to be a way to do this. I guess the technology they use to mindwipe people convicted to "death of personality" is pretty ... unrefined? It's impossible to target specific areas in the brain and only erase certain aspects of one's personality?
• Does no one wonder why Mariel's Centauri metabolism didn't set off the boobytrapped artifact? Seems like that would make her look pretty suspicious.

 

[Lennier's Tears]

I guess they have eyebrows and eyelashes so perhaps we can assume that they too evolved from hairy ape-like ancestors and just lost the hair and gained a bone for some reason.

WAIT. They don't actually have eyebrows ... Delenn doesn't even have them after her transition ... I'm still quite sure about the eyelashes, though

 

[Looney]

From time to time I see an episode and then come here to discuss. I know I should come here after every episode, and more than likely you will eventually seen me restart one of these Episode threads for every episode (or at least see me comment), but for now I likely won't be posting about them in order.

Anyway, I have to say I really love reading these Episode Threads and reading all of the comments and mixed impressions that have gathered over the years. It is great to see everyone's opinion.

Personally I think this episode is great for all of the reasons everyone has stated. I also don't see the weaknesses others have mentioned. I think the Stoner character is EXCELLENT and he is just the type of villain who needed to show up at this point in time.

I love the Londo story. Jane Carr is friggin fantastic as Timov. And I not only agree that Mariel plotted to kill Londo I think Stoner was in on the plan. I think he brought the artifact and left the artifact with the dealer she was going to go to. They establish that she seems to know G'Kar so why isn't it possible that she had some sort of knowledge of Stoner. He was a secret field operative after all.

And all of the debate about Talia and Lyta. The only thing I don't like about Talia is that her plot lines dead-end, but they dead-end in such a fabulous way. After reading all of the opinions on the two I feel the quote below perfectly sums up why ultimately Lyta ends up being a much more critical character than Talia.

I wouldn't trade Pat Tallman's Lyta for anybody. From the episode "Walkabout" until "Objects in Motion", she makes a monumental ascendance on my favorite characters list. In the pragmatic sense she is the MOST important character in Babylon 5, yet is the one most under-valued and consistently under-appreciated. No wonder she later embraced Byron so quickly and vehemently since he was the only person who'd strike up a conversation without needing something from her.

Yes it is true that this aspect has a lot to do with the timing of when Talia departed and Lyta re-entered, however, I can't see things playing out the exact same way had Talia carried on through to the end. What I mean is that I don't think this part of the above quote, "she is the MOST important character in Babylon 5, yet is the one most under-valued and consistently under-appreciated" would have played out the same way had Talia not left.

Another thing I would like to point out is that I am glad the Garibaldi / Talia thing never happened. I think this episode really gives a sense that he cares too much and she doesn't really have any interest in him other than friendship. Even if the intent of them eventually having a relationship existed I feel like this episode makes B5 great because in the end they never have a relationship. It also gives so much more depth to what ends up happening with Garibaldi and Telepaths. Here we have him falling over backward because of his attraction to a Telepath and then he ends up at great odds with Telepaths by the end of the series.

So Soul Mates is a real winner for me. I guess it is because I love to hate the Stoner character where others just hate him.