Respect my authority! Sheridan has his hands full with a new political officer. Ivanova makes a startling discovery when she searches for allies in the coming war with the Shadows.
(Originally aired on January 29, 1996)
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Menachem Binitsky
| Won't That Hurt? |
| ZACK: Any minute now, a little teeny car with 16 clowns in it is gonnacome flyin' out of my butt. |
DRAAL: You will see things no human has ever seen before. It will be fun, assuming you're not vaporized, dissected or otherwise killed in an assortment of supremely horrible and painful ways. Exciting, isn't it? |
IVANOVA: Good luck, Captain. I think you're about to go where everyonehas gone before. |
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GUEST STARS
John Schuck - Draal
Shari Shattuck - Julie Musante
We last saw Draal in "
The Long Twilight Struggle".
WATCH OUT FOR
* President Clark's unseen accomplice in the assassination of President Santiago. We never see his face, but the voice makes it clear that Morden was involved in the plot.
* The First Ones' ship. Catherine Sakai encountered this ship way back in "
Mind War".
ANALYSIS
As Ivanova observed in "
The Fall of Night", sooner or later, secrets have a way of getting out. The secrets surrounding the conspiracy of Sheridan, Delenn and the others against the Shadows are beginning to leak out.
This puts the members of the conspiracy -- most notably Delenn and Garibaldi -- in the position of telling small lies in the service of a greater good. Even as the truth begins to seep out around through the seams in their wall of silence, they have no choice but to maintain their secrets -- even in the face of G'Kar and Zack's suspicion that borders on proof.
Although Delenn observes that "wars are won or lost before they are fought through preparation, attitude, strategy, the selection of proper allies," she and Garibaldi refuse to forge alliances with Zack - who is in a position to hurt them -- and G'Kar -- who is in a position to help.
Although both are eventually brought into the fold, Delenn and Garibaldi are correct to exclude them at this juncture. Neither Zack nor G'Kar is yet clear enough about their loyalties or motivations to be ready to keep the bigger secrets.
Secrets and lies
Most people learn early on that it isn't polite to discuss religion or politics. Clearly, J. Michael Straczynski doesn't hold with this particular tenet of polite society. "
Passing Through Gethsemane" -- the episode immediately prior to this one -- orbits around a critical moment of Catholic dogma.
This time, it's all about politics. "Voices of Authority" is concerned with the lexographic intricacies of Orwellian politics.
Earth doesn't saddle Sheridan with Julie Musante because he is politically naïve, but because he isn't sufficiently fluent in doublespeak. Sheridan doesn't accept the idea that calling the homeless "misplaced" or criminals "mentally unstable" takes the onus for solving these problems off the government. He isn't willing bind himself with the chain of logic that states: "Earth would never ally itself with a hostile force. Earth signed a treaty with the Centauri. Therefore, the Centauri are not a hostile force."
To be honest, Musante doesn't appear to believe a word of this either. She's simply pragmatic enough to toe a line that Sheridan isn't "astute" enough to acknowledge.
[uplink]
The problem, one that has been on the fringes of Babylon 5 since "
Midnight on the Firing Line", is that people like Musante expect everyone else to believe -- or at least go along with -- precepts they know to be flat out lies. While the logic of their position may be tenuous, the government has the power -- through suspension of due process and the "temporary" abridgement of basic civil rights -- to enforce their cynical view of the world.
When the simple act of telling the truth or voicing an opinion becomes a crime, is it any wonder that Sheridan and Friends are so careful about sharing their secrets?
COMING UP NEXT
"Dust to Dust"
Telepathic drugs --
Why did G'Kar have to take
Telepathic drugs?
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