The Minbari misplace a body. Meanwhile, a young woman comes into her psionic powers and attracts the attention of Psi Corps. We’re just glad she isn’t being snubbed at the prom.
(First aired July 20, 1994)
Written by D. C. Fontana
Directed by Bruce Seth Green
GUEST STARS
John Vickery – Neroon
Grace Una – Alisa Beldon
WATCH OUT FOR
* What’s on sale at the Zocalo’s new kitchen supply store during the teaser. Bring your own holding pens!
* The scenery when Neroon apologizes. The Earth is behind Sinclair’s shoulder, while there’s a triangle behind Neroon.
ANALYSIS
Maybe she’s distracted by her plans for that glass sculpture she’s building, but this is not Delenn’s finest hour. Honoring her old friend Branmer by swiping his body is just plain dumb.
Not only does she provoke a major diplomatic incident, but she also underestimates Mr. Garibaldi. She had a small chance of passing off the disappearance as a religious miracle, but leaving that bit of burial robe in front of the pak’ma’ra’s quarters is proof positive that a more mortal agency is responsible.
Mr. Garibaldi would have gotten his Minbari eventually – Alisa Beldon just simplifies the plot.
Delenn salvages the situation, and Neroon and Sinclair have a bonding experience. But she risks everything and gains very little. Elsewhere in the series, she's smarter than that, even when she is emotionally distressed.
Despite this bit of idiot plotting, "Legacies" gives us a much-needed closer look at the Minbari. We’ve seen them be mysterious and mystical all season, but for once we’re getting more answers than questions.
Neroon’s aggressive gravitas provides a strong contrast to Lennier’s innocence and Delenn’s manipulations. He personalizes the growing rift between the religious caste and warrior caste. Like Mr. Bester of the Psi Corps, he keeps the forces affecting Babylon 5 from becoming abstractions.
He also plays well against Sinclair. Both Michael O’Hare and John Vickery turn in superb performances here, walking a fine line between diplomatic veneer and seething inner anger.
Wild women of Babylon 5
Susan Ivanova and Talia Winters also butt heads this week, but this conflict is a bit more personal. We don’t learn anything new about Psi Corps, but Talia and Susan reach an important point in their relationship.
They oppose each other, but they both take the high road in dealing with Alisa Beldon. They give each other a fair chance to convince her, and ultimately leave the final decision up to her.
It is an honorable disagreement, and that’s not a bad starting point for a friendship.
COMING UP NEXT
"A Voice in the Wilderness, Part I"
Vast, secret, untouched
Epsilon Three guards the past.
The Krell would be proud.
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