Londo falls in love with a dancer – but her friends can’t dance, and if they can’t dance, they’re no friends of his.

(Originally aired on February 9, 1994)

Written by Lawrence G. DiTillio
Directed by Bruce Seth Green

Face Dancing Tonight

LONDO: Is she not perfection? Gentlemen, of all things in life, are females not the finest?

LONDO: What do you want, you moon-faced assassin of joy?

LONDO: When I look beneath the mask I am forced to wear, I see only emptiness. And then I look at you, and I say, "to hell with appearances."

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GUEST CAST

Fabiana Udenio – Adira Tyree
Clive Revill – Trakis
Mary Woronov – Ko’Dath

WATCH OUT FOR:

* How often G’Kar glances at the human dancer in the first scene. In Narn terms, he’s a pervert -- attracted to human women -- though this character element is largely dropped after "The Parliament of Dreams".

* Ko’Dath’s blue eyes. Mary Woronov was the first choice to be G’Kar’s regular assistant, but she couldn’t handle the red contacts and heavy makeup that Narn characters must wear, and asked to leave the series after her first episode.

ANALYSIS

The intrigue plot driving "Born to the Purple" never gets out of first gear, but this episode is still a lovely character piece.

Londo may be a "washed-up old Republican, dreaming of better days," but he is also a first-class Romantic. He does everything -- loving, hating, partying – with grand passion and absolutely no regard for the consequences.

If love leads to heartbreak, so be it. A moment of greatness is worth an hour of regrets, which makes him a tremendously appealing character.

It also makes him immensely dangerous. Londo doesn’t just risk his heart – as we see later, he’s willing to "let the galaxy burn" for his passions.

This destructive side is foreshadowed in both "Midnight on the Firing Line" and "Born to the Purple." He loses his temper in both episodes, and he expresses it by grabbing something pretty and smashing it with a mighty throw.

Londo’s world is going to follow those flowers to the wall.

Diplomacy made sneaky

Sinclair takes a step back this week, but he still has a crucial role to play. "Born to the Purple" establishes his diplomatic side of his character.

He has a mission here – get an agreement on the Euphrates Sector – and he’ll achieve it by any means necessary. If that means threatening Vir, sneaking incognito through B5 and tricking G’Kar, then that’s what he’ll do.

Sure, Sinclair and Talia – another character trapped in a very formal demeanor – get a chance to relax and smile over a dinner scene. But Londo’s right when he says the commander "can be a frightening man, that one."

COMING UP NEXT

"Infection", an episode so bad that even David McCallum can’t save it. Fortunately for my sanity, Tom Janulewicz takes up the reviewing gauntlet this week – won’t you join him in his suffering?