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The Little Things

KoshFan

KoshFan

Regular
The minor touches, the easily-overlooked things that make Babylon 5 great...

I watched bits of Soul Hunter last week, and I realized that the main Soul Hunter's eyes are different colors, giving him a slightly and appropriately mad look.

Watching The Long Twilight Struggle today, I remembered to look for two things -- the candles in G'Kar's quarters going out, and Londo's solitary cough in the council chambers -- the first time, aside from his dream, that we hear him do so.

Any other small details that underscore themes and strengthen the show?
 
In the episode "And the Sky Full of Stars" when Sinclair is standing in the middle of the gray council, he asks them, "What do you want?!". It echoes more then everything else he says. ;) (this is before "Signs and Portents".)
 
I recently noticed something when watching "All Alone In The Night".

When Kosh appears in Sheridens dream, his voice is more 'normal' that it usually is. What I mean by this is that the background 'song' we usually hear is barely noticable. I'm assuming it's deliberate and has some meaning (perhaps Sheriden can 'hear' better in a dream state or soemthing?).
 
My guess:

The "song" is the actual sounds that Kosh makes when he "speaks" and the English is the output of the translator box that hangs on the front of his encounter suit.

In that "dream" sequence the communication is directly telepathic. The thoughts are understood much more directly, with only a hint of the Vorlon "alieness" behind them. Therefore, Sheridan doesn't "hear" the Vorlon song language to nearly the same degree as when one *is* actually physically hearing it.
 
Probably the smallest detail: Ivanova's missing earring.

That was not even explained during the course of the series, rather we got the story from "In the Beginning".

The show is laced with so many small details and foreshadowings that I'd scarcely know where to begin.
 
In "A Distant Star", Delen mentions that since her change, she is more "one of us" (Minbari) now than she's ever been. ;)
 
what's this about Ivanova's earring? I watched it all and don't recall that.

Also, what did Delenn mean about "one of us?"

thanks
 
what's this about Ivanova's earring? I watched it all and don't recall that.
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Ivanova gave it to her brother when he was going off to the Earth-Minbari War. She told him she wouldn't wear it again until he came back safe and gave it back to her.

Personally I was glad to get that explained as I had always wondered why she wore only one earring.
 
My guess:

The "song" is the actual sounds that Kosh makes when he "speaks" and the English is the output of the translator box that hangs on the front of his encounter suit.

In that "dream" sequence the communication is directly telepathic. The thoughts are understood much more directly, with only a hint of the Vorlon "alieness" behind them. Therefore, Sheridan doesn't "hear" the Vorlon song language to nearly the same degree as when one *is* actually physically hearing it.
Click to expand...

Yeah - I was thinking along those lines. When Kosh speaks, there is always a short delay between the song, and the translation. And sometimes of course, there is no translation ;)

Some other interesting points in this thread too :D
 
Spoilers if you post on a B5 Message board and Don't know everything about B5: :rolleyes:





Delen knew that Minbari and Humans shared souls, so now that she is part human, she is more Minbari then she was before.
 
Apparently she was over it by SiL.
:)
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I don't think it was just SiL. As I recall, rarely she would wear a different PAIR of earrings. But if she wore the one we are talking about, it was always just the one, and that was what she wore most of the time.
 
In "All My Dreams Torn Asunder" Zack tosses Garibaldi an orange, which Garibaldi drops due to his hangover.
Ever since "The Geometry of Shadows" oranges have been connected to Sheridan, because of his fascination of orange blossoms.
Symbolically, when Garibaldi dropped the orange, he dropped Sheridan's trust in him.
 
Was it Freud who said, "Sometimes an orange is just an orange"? (just kidding)

Actually Zack was reaching for a banana and grabbed the orange by accident. Freud would've freaked over the implications of by Zack throwing a large, phallis-like fuit at Garibaldi's head.

Mein Gott! :LOL:

On the other hand, you could be right.
 
The oranges were actually a signiture of a certain director, Janet Greek I believe. Whenever you noticed oranges in an episode it was one of hers.
 
The oranges were actually a signiture of a certain director, Janet Greek I believe. Whenever you noticed oranges in an episode it was one of hers.
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Yes, it was Janet Greek. :)
 
Yes, I'd heard the orange symbolism. What's interesting is that William Edgars -- who's in some respects similar to Sheridan -- also has a fascination with oranges.

One thing that just came to my mind is Vir's wave. We see him do it three times, twice to Morden -- and the last time, to Babylon 5 as a whole as he leaves it shortly before the station's destroyed. I wonder what the symbolism of that is...
 
I wondered about that wave to...

I liked the scene in 'There the Honor Lies' in which Kosh shows Sheridan 'one moment of perfect beauty'. At first, Sheridan says he doesn't have anything of value to give to the hooded figure, but then he gives him his stat bar, a foreshadowing the letting go of things that are important to him, such as his position with Earthforce.
We see it again in the first episode of the forth season when his stat bar drops off - for us it's the first sign that maybe he hasn't died (well, or at least not permanently :) ).

Another special moment for me is in 'Sleeping in Light'. After saying goodbye to Delenn, Sheridan starts walking away from her, hesitating shortly, but not looking back. Delenn holds out her hand as if to touch him. She does this again at the end of the episode (and series) when she watches the sun go up. She reaches out for the light in the same way she reached out for Sheridan, and in a way, Sheridan is the light.
Makes me cry ever time :eek:
 
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