Londo passes out, Sinclair puts out and G'Kar wigs out as religion, romance and retribution come to roost on Babylon 5.
(Originally aired on February 23, 1994)
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Jim Johnston
| Of Talking Pants and Gods |
| TU'PARI: Are you Ambassador G'Kar?G'KAR: This is Ambassador G'Kar's quarters. This is Ambassador G'Kar's table. This is Ambassador G'Kar's dinner. Which part of this progression escapes you? |
LONDO: In a world where every day is a struggle for survival, you needall the gods you can get. |
SAKAI: I don't mean to alarm you, but your pants are talking to you. |
GUEST STARS
Julia Nickson - Catherine Sakai
Thomas Kopache - Tu'Pari
WATCH OUT FOR
* When Sinclair say goodbye to Catherine Sakai, he tells her, "See you next Wednesday." This is a reference to film director John Landis, who sneaks that phrase into all his films.
ANALYSIS
Journey back to the days when G'Kar was not a Christ figure or even a terribly nice guy. The pattern of duplicity established in "
" turns up again in this episode.
D'Rog's unspecified humiliation at G'Kar's hands suggests that this pattern stretches pretty far back into the cantankerous Narn's history. The suggestion that the reasons behind D'Rog's anger would bias the other races against the Narn during their ongoing negotiations against the Centauri, is the first indication that people in the B5 universe, you reap what you sow.
While this personal vendetta is out of proportion with the crucible in which G'Kar will subsequently be refined, it serves as a reminder of the length of the uphill road he must walk.
Sinclair's Angels
On a lighter note, the introduction of Catherine Sakai is a welcome development. It further humanizes Jeff Sinclair. Her arrival proves that despite the reserve and cold competence Sinclair brings to his position, he is just like anyone else.
His first meeting with Sakai proves that there is a man -- with all the goofy, vulnerable, stumbling baggage that most guys carry in the presence of a pretty face -- inside the uniform.
Happily, the chemistry between Michael O'Hare and Julia Nickson is more organic and believable than it was with Blaire Baron, the actress who played Carolyn Sykes, Sinclair's love interest in "The Gathering".
As this relationship takes off on the surface, the mysterious subtextual relationship between Sinclair and Delenn deepens. We can only speculate how the supposed "marriage" between the two would have unfolded had Michael O'Hare remained on the series beyond the first season. At minimum, the Minbari ceremony reflects the eventual symbolic link between through their subsequent and sequential roles as The One, leader of the Rangers.
COMING UP NEXT
The Corps is Mother. The Corps is Father. The Psi Corps -- the first family of telepathic dysfunction -- makes their first visit to Babylon 5 in "Mind War".
Cheer up, "
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