Franklin searches for himself, but all he finds is a beautiful, doomed lounge singer. Meanwhile, Sheridan tests a new weapon against the Shadows. As if this weren't enough, there's even a new, un-kinder, un-gentler Vorlon thrown into the mix.
(Originally aired on May 27, 1996)
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Kevin G. Cremin
| Please Sir, May I Have Some More? |
| G'KAR: It's a strange thing, but every sentient race has its own version of these Swedish Meatballs. I suspect it's one of those great universal mysteries which will either never be explained or which would drive you mad if you ever learned the truth. |
GARIBALDI: Why is everything around here a long story? Why isn't anything ever a short story, a paragraph? |
GUEST STARS
Erica Gimpel - Cailyn
Patricia Tallman - Lyta Alexander
Jennifer Balgobin - Doctor Lillian Hobbs
Robin Sachs - Na'Kal
ANALYSIS
"Walkabout" is a tale about the messy question of identity - about who people are, about who they believe themselves to be, and about how they are perceived by others.
Franklin's quest is the most explicit and the most straightforward. He's on the road in the hopes of literally meeting himself, of resolving the dichotomy between his professional persona and the person he was before he allowed his career to define him. He has undertaken a physical journey in the hope of completing a spiritual one.
On the other hand, the new Vorlon has no problem with people taking him at face value. He is content to hide behind the late Kosh's name and identity. After all, what better way to continue Kosh's work than to let people believe Kosh never went away? For the Vorlon, having his identity subsumed by the role he plays isn't a burden, it is an absolute necessity.
Cailyn walks the path of necessity as well. Although she is dying, she has chosen to devote the time she has remaining to her to make the lives of those around her a little bit brighter. She and Franklin are both in pain, but where Franklin sees his gifts as the source of his pain -- turning to stims to dull that existential ague -- Cailyn self-medicates so that she can ease the pain of others.
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Meanwhile, Lyta is beginning to realize the consequences of her own addictive personality. Her encounter with Kosh in "The Gathering" left her with a Vorlon monkey on her back. Her assignment as Kosh's aide allowed her to get her fix by carrying a piece of Kosh around in her head. Her first meeting with the new Vorlon in "Walkabout" suggests -- and subsequent episodes will bear this out -- that she's about to take the ultimate bad trip.
Lyta discovers that she's not the only one hosting a piece of Vorlon. Although Sheridan himself is currently unaware of it, Kosh set up a branch office in his brain. As a result, the specifics of his identity are as suspect as anyone else's.
COMING UP NEXT
"Grey 17 is Missing"
Garibaldi hunts
Delenn becomes Ranger One
Marcus fights for her.
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