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Signs behind characters (nice quick question)

BYEVJZTS

Member
OK in the episode Dust to dust we all see a sign there behind a character to illustrate a bit of things to come.

I'm assuming you all know what i mean :D

However, on the lurkers guide JMS also said look out for a sign behind another character near the end of severed dreams. Now i have watched that episode many times and i still cannot find what sign, and or its meaning.

JMS said
The sign behind [removed] says, [removed]
Yes, the sign does indeed say [removed]. Look for another sign right behind somebody at the end of "Severed Dreams."

Could anyone help in clearing that up please.
 
That would be the 'Traitors Cannot Hide' poster in the scene where Sheridan and Delenn are applauded. It's not directly behind anybody in particular, off to the side a bit, but it was designated in the script.

Jan
 
Thanks for that, but i'm being thick now, since its monday morning, but i am still unsure of its meaning then.

Obviously meaning "traitors cannot hide", but which traitors? Sheridan for leaving the EA?

[******SPOILER******]
Garibaidi in season 4?, Vorlons? (albeit thats extremely doubtful)
[/******SPOILER******]
 
The poster had been put up on the wall by someone from Nightwatch, but at the conclusion of "Severed Dreams," that posted had been partially ripped off the wall with enough left remaining that we could see what it was.
 
I always figured it was just a nice piece of foreshadowing that the battle with Earth was far from over - since they would now be viewed as traitors by Clark's administration.
 
Thanks for that, but i'm being thick now, since its monday morning, but i am still unsure of its meaning then.

Obviously meaning "traitors cannot hide", but which traitors? Sheridan for leaving the EA?

Knowing how nothing is ever black and white in B5, the only answer is yes, but...

Sheridan and co. had broken from the EA so they were techincally traitors or mutineers. Except that they were rebelling against Clarke and his policies which were against the true policies of the EA so the warning could have been to those following Clarke and Nightwatch.

Mainly I just took it for JMS's way of ending the episode on a high note with some foreshadowing of the struggle still to come.

Jan
 
How many other times does this happen in the series? And what's the deal with the sign being held up when Sheridan and Delenn come aboard B5 in "Deconstruction of Falling Stars," where somebody's trying to rain on their parade by saying "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi"?
 
The sign was definitely put up by Nightwatch, just like in front of the store owner who was openly criticising Clark.

Sheridan would never put up propoganda like that. In fact, I think one of his most charming qualities as a character is his completely ignorance and naivety of how propoganda works.
 
Actually, I thought the foreshadowing was that those who put up the sign (The Nightwatch, et al) were being challenged finally.
 
The sign was definitely put up by Nightwatch, just like in front of the store owner who was openly criticising Clark.

Sheridan would never put up propoganda like that. In fact, I think one of his most charming qualities as a character is his completely ignorance and naivety of how propoganda works.
Did you feel his blowing up the asteroid stunt was unrealistic? Out of character? Because in the plotline itself, it worked pretty well.

By the way, just to say it: there is no reason to bother with spoilers vor the B5 series. I'm pretty sure Antony said that a year or so ago. It's been around an awfully long time to bother with spoilers, hasn't it?
 
Did you feel his blowing up the asteroid stunt was unrealistic? Out of character? Because in the plotline itself, it worked pretty well.

Not at all, and I don't see the connection the signs and propoganda. Blunt, direct, action is what Sheridan does. Propoganda is nuanced and it's about fucking with people's minds- something he's too "good" and simple do. Sheridan paints with broad strokes. This is great for military strategy, not for political propoganda.
 
"But first, one brief announcement for those who've asked: Absolutely nothing whatsoever happened today in sector 83x9x12. I repeat: Nothing happened. Please remain calm."
 
Oh that- I thought you were referring to Corianus 6, sorry.

Did that happen after ISN came to the station and twisted everything to create that propoganda piece? If so, then I would say he's adaptable and a good learner. He's a smart guy. But this stuff happened way after Nightwatch.
 
No, I didn't catch the time-factor of your comment, old Mighty. I just meant that he definitely seems to have learned, eventually, how to handle the propaganda angle.

In a way, the ending is a kind of propaganda-fest, isn't it? I mean, whole ships willing to fling themselves in the way...
 
I would also say that there is a difference between a feint meant to manipulate a particular active response in the (relative) short term, and the long term brainwashing of a full-on propaganda campaign.

The way that Sheridan used that particular non-event struck me as being more a case of the former than the latter, and a fair extension of his military tactical training.
 
I agree completely, PR. I wouldn't call it propaganda either, even if it is "messing with minds." It's really more of a military subterfuge tactic. A small version of all those plywood tanks in England, prior to D-Day. A simple, physical, deceit, not a web of carefully crafted lies.
 

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