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b5_revisitedConfessions and Lamentations is my favorite Babylon Five episode. Season 2 is where Delenn loses, and then finds her way after her transformation at the end of Season 1. And she is my favorite character. And this is one of her best episodes, where her penchant for straight-forward and uncompromising morality shows to her advantage. Her vulnerability is also on display, and I am a sucker for that. There is some quite reasonable science, some tour de force scenes and backstory for Stephen, and a great secondary character in Lazarenn. Oh, and two big J/D scenes!
Ships are piled up outside the station. Ivanova tells Sheridan there is an overdue Markab transport. She wants to send out Zeta Squadron to check it out. They discuss Keffer’s obsession with ‘something out there’ and Sheridan tells her to curb all freelance expeditions.
Lazarenn, a Markab doctor is discussing a dead Markab with Stephen, who is certifying the cause of death. They go back and forth, obviously they know each other. Stephen is concerned that there have been 3 deaths in a short period of time, all ostensibly from natural causes. Stephen insists on an autopsy. Lazarenn blows out the candles in the death room.
Susan instructs the pilots going out to investigate the Markab transport. Keffer is told of the moratorium on his fishing trips. Susan explains the facts of military life to Keffer who finally ‘yes ma’ams’ her.
Chef Lennier is serving dinner to John and Delenn, seated cross-legged on the floor. The meal took two days to prepare.
‘The food must be sanctified before and during all 15 stages of preparation. The spices must be blessed and a prayer said before they are used. Each spice must only be used once, of course, and in the correct order. If an error is made, the entire meal must be abandoned and you must begin again, from scratch.’
Delenn points out the obvious: ‘One does not sleep during the cooking. It can lead to error.’
Zeta Squadron finds the transport. 203 life forms. And no life signs.
Stephen is looking through a scope of some kind. He asks about the Markab bodies, which are on their way to MedLab.
Something is wrong. Keffer reports to Susan, recommending a full medical team. Something is very, very wrong.
The Minbari dinner has so many rituals and prayers that John falls asleep. He wakes up saying, ‘In the memory of the Nine and the One.’
He really does snore. He is called away by Ivanova (who already knows that he snores.)
Lennier says some pointed words in Minbari. Delenn protests, and he finally agrees with her. Reluctantly.
Lazarenn tries to stop Sheridan exploring the transport. Stephen jumps in, with the details of his detailed autopsy. It is a contagious disease.
Lazarenn confesses he knows this.
And that it is 100% terminal and 100% contagious.
The bodies from the transport are laid out in the docking bay. Lazarenn and Stephen discuss the biology and politics of Drafa. The Markab believe that the disease, which has only occurred once before, on an isolated island where it burned out once it killed everyone, is a sign of a lack of morality. The Markab never discuss it. They never tried to stop it, to prepare for its return. There is no cure and there is no hope.
‘We were ordered to remain silent,’ Lazarenn tells Stephen. ‘They were afraid. They were afraid, of everything.’ A small group has been working on understanding the disease, but quietly. They do not know if it is infectious across species.
In the Zocalo, a small Markab child is seeking her father. When she finds him, he is dead. She runs into Delenn who tries to comfort her.
A meeting is held in C&C to discuss the situation. They discuss the extent of the disease, whether it can jump species, whether it can be contained, and how it is spread. Sheridan places Babylon 5 under quarantine. No one can leave, and all ships are warned off. Stephen makes a good point about containment and how it doesn’t matter if the thing is airborne since all the air is recycled. They can’t even come up with a filter until they know more. If it is physically transmitted, herding the Markab together is a genocidal death warrant.
Garibaldi points out that this is going to get real ugly, real fast.
The riots start as people try to leave and aren’t allowed to. The Markabs are taken to MedLab to be examined and tested. Some are found already dead, mourners around them. The Markab leader, Fashar, suggests a conspiracy by Earth to spread the disease—or that the humans’ own immorality is infecting the Markab. They are establishing an isolation zone where they can pray and repent and ensure that they survive.
The disease is airborne. A dead Pak’mara may have the disease—it may be spreading into the general population.
‘If we believe, the Dark Angel of Drafa may pass over us.’ False hope from a false prophet.
The little girl is seen going into the isolation area with her mother. Security guards watch as jeering onlookers encourage the Markab to leave. It is all shown, very effectively, from the little girl’s point of view, as if you are looking up at looming adults.
Stephen finds the limits of courage in his own staff. They are as afraid as the Markab, in their own way.
DAMN BIG HERO
Lazarenn volunteers to go into isolation and analyze a body. If he becomes infected he will stay there and let them study the progression of the disease. He will be able to chronicle it, as the true doctor he is.
YES DR BIG DAMN HERO
John is in his quarters getting an update from Susan on the situation. Some folks have found a quick fix-- ‘Wipe out the Markabs, wipe out the problem.’ 4000 out of 5000 estimated Markabs on the station have gone into isolation. The rest either haven’t been found yet or they’re hiding. Sheridan says Garibaldi should tell some of his people off searches and onto patrols. All violence is to be stopped.
THE FIRST SCENE: Call me John
Delenn comes to Sheridan’s quarters late at night. Sheridan almost puts his foot in it as he thinks Delenn wants the hell out of Dodge. She doesn’t. She wants to go minister to the Markab and Lennier has asked to go with her. John protests that they are not her people.
BIG DAMN HERO(INE)
‘I did not know that similarity was required for the exercise of compassion.’ Burn...
He makes it clear that he personally does not want her to take the risk. That if she goes, he can’t let her back out until it is all over. She persists and he accedes.
‘Don’t look away, Captain. All life is transitory, a dream. We all come together in the same place at the end of time. If I don’t see you again here, I will you see you in a little while, in the place where no shadows fall.’
'Call me John'
*sigh*
A Markab is being beat up when Garibaldi intervenes.
He hesitates but helps the poor guy up and assists him presumably to MedLab.
ANOTHER BIG DAMN HERO
Delenn and Lennier enter the chamber. The door closes behind them. Lennier is bowing to everyone, showing respect. Delenn clearly has no idea where to even start.
Stephen is shooting up again with stims and Lazarenn catches him. They discuss the epidemics of the past, the Black Death, the presumed causes, the scapegoats. Lazarenn rubs his throat. It’s sore. At the end of their talk he stumbles, dizzy with the initial symptoms of Drafa. He suggests he is the ideal subject for tests. They touch hands through the glass.
'The needs of the many...'
Delenn and Lennier have found their path, helping, comforting, doing what they can. Delenn finds the little girl she saw before, who is lost. She asks Lennier to find the girl’s mother; he bows his head in instant assent, then looks around at the crowded chamber and asks ‘How?’
‘Faith manages’, is Delenn’s reply. She asks the little girl her mother’s name. ‘Mama.’ The Minbari exchange a look of comic despair.
‘Faith manages,’ replies Lennier with determination.
BIG DAMN HERO YES
Stephen is adorably scruffy but irritable. Lazarenn is detailing his symptoms and discusses their past. Stephen was hitchhiking on starships, looking for problems to solve. Lazarenn says sometimes the test is not to find the answer, but to discover how you react when you realize there is no answer.
The Pak’mara had the disease; it has jumped species. Stephen tells his people to take the Pak’mara apart; it might provide the clue they need. He kicks ass and takes names.
Delenn talks to the Markab girl, telling her about a time she was lost in the city, separated from her parents. She tells of her vision in a deserted temple. ‘I will not allow harm to come to my little ones here, in my Great House.’
Lennier has found the girl’s mother. He is very pleased with himself and so is Delenn. The girl and her mother embrace as the Minbari watch. Then the child stumbles. Their triumph turns to ash.
Stephen continues his tests as Lazarenn fades behind him in the iso chamber.
‘I’m sorry, old friend. I don’t think I can stay any longer. Will you give my love to…’
Stephen throws a fit and breaks some stuff. The computer gives him the answer he has looked for so long.
He tries to explain it to Sheridan. Neurobiology for Dummies. He is only going to strengthen the cells which are being attacked by the disease. It is not a cure.
THE SECOND SCENE: The Embrace
Susan, Sheridan and Stephen go into the Valley of Death with the treatment. The Markab are all dead, all of them. In the back of the room, Lennier and Delenn slowly rise, Lennier helping her up, and they cling to one another as they approach the others. Stephen asks Lennier if there is anyone, anyone at all.
Lennier replies No, no one. Susan helps Lennier out of the room (and lo, a ship is born).
And John takes Delenn into his arms as she says his name and cries.
Aftermath and Coda:
Delenn congratulates Sheridan, who credits Stephen and wonders what will happen next time.
‘We honor the memory of those who are no longer with us by using what we have learned to save others. To exercise faith, and patience, and charity. To reach out to those who are afraid. If we can do that, their passing will have had meaning, and we will grow from it.’
Jane from ISN tells us the Markab are gone as Stephen drinks at a bar. Stephen listens as the bartender tells a dead Markab joke (too soon?) and says he heard it was the Vorlons who poisoned that place. ‘You know how they are.’
Nothing changes.
Questions? I have no questions. I have always admired that the science behind infection, the uselessness of hiding from an airborne infection on a station with recycled air was used as a plot point. However they should have thrown out a statement that they couldn't filter or decontaminate the air since they didn't know enough about the pathogen to set the parameters. Because they must do that or everyone would have colds and common infectious disases, assuming they still have those in 2259.
The yellow and green cell stuff was a little whack though.
Anyway...we have a progression in John and Delenn's relationship, more evidence of Lennier's hero worship of Delenn, confirmation of Stephen's single-minded dedication to his work and his addiction to stims, all very good stuff. JMS describes this as not a 'wham' episode, but I think it packed a lot of emotional punch.
Discussion Points:
1. The Markab are one of the few races that have ancestral memories of the Shadows (see 'The Long Dark'). Do you think the Shadows are taking out the races that remember them--the Markab and the Narns? The Minbari might be let alone because they are protected by the Vorlons, or they might be too big to take on this early.
2. Apparently JMS put in the little story of Delenn's getting lost as a child and having a vision (of Valen??) before being found by her parents as more evidence that she sees herself as having a destiny. This will come up again very soon, in Comes the Inquisitor. Is she being vainglorious or is she 'special'? Was it Valen she saw?
3. I'm not sure Stephen Franklin is a good manager. Inspirational certainly, but his drive and uncompromising nature seem to intimidate his staff. Not to mention his burgeoning drug problem becoming an issue. Is brilliance enough to maintain a working team of professionals in an area where you might not have a ready pool of qualified and trained replacements? Or are these are all military folk who can't quit?
What did you like/dislike about Confessions and Lamentations? Let me know!
Ships are piled up outside the station. Ivanova tells Sheridan there is an overdue Markab transport. She wants to send out Zeta Squadron to check it out. They discuss Keffer’s obsession with ‘something out there’ and Sheridan tells her to curb all freelance expeditions.
Lazarenn, a Markab doctor is discussing a dead Markab with Stephen, who is certifying the cause of death. They go back and forth, obviously they know each other. Stephen is concerned that there have been 3 deaths in a short period of time, all ostensibly from natural causes. Stephen insists on an autopsy. Lazarenn blows out the candles in the death room.
Susan instructs the pilots going out to investigate the Markab transport. Keffer is told of the moratorium on his fishing trips. Susan explains the facts of military life to Keffer who finally ‘yes ma’ams’ her.
Chef Lennier is serving dinner to John and Delenn, seated cross-legged on the floor. The meal took two days to prepare.
‘The food must be sanctified before and during all 15 stages of preparation. The spices must be blessed and a prayer said before they are used. Each spice must only be used once, of course, and in the correct order. If an error is made, the entire meal must be abandoned and you must begin again, from scratch.’
Delenn points out the obvious: ‘One does not sleep during the cooking. It can lead to error.’
Zeta Squadron finds the transport. 203 life forms. And no life signs.
Stephen is looking through a scope of some kind. He asks about the Markab bodies, which are on their way to MedLab.
Something is wrong. Keffer reports to Susan, recommending a full medical team. Something is very, very wrong.
The Minbari dinner has so many rituals and prayers that John falls asleep. He wakes up saying, ‘In the memory of the Nine and the One.’
He really does snore. He is called away by Ivanova (who already knows that he snores.)
Lennier says some pointed words in Minbari. Delenn protests, and he finally agrees with her. Reluctantly.
Lazarenn tries to stop Sheridan exploring the transport. Stephen jumps in, with the details of his detailed autopsy. It is a contagious disease.
Lazarenn confesses he knows this.
And that it is 100% terminal and 100% contagious.
The bodies from the transport are laid out in the docking bay. Lazarenn and Stephen discuss the biology and politics of Drafa. The Markab believe that the disease, which has only occurred once before, on an isolated island where it burned out once it killed everyone, is a sign of a lack of morality. The Markab never discuss it. They never tried to stop it, to prepare for its return. There is no cure and there is no hope.
‘We were ordered to remain silent,’ Lazarenn tells Stephen. ‘They were afraid. They were afraid, of everything.’ A small group has been working on understanding the disease, but quietly. They do not know if it is infectious across species.
In the Zocalo, a small Markab child is seeking her father. When she finds him, he is dead. She runs into Delenn who tries to comfort her.
A meeting is held in C&C to discuss the situation. They discuss the extent of the disease, whether it can jump species, whether it can be contained, and how it is spread. Sheridan places Babylon 5 under quarantine. No one can leave, and all ships are warned off. Stephen makes a good point about containment and how it doesn’t matter if the thing is airborne since all the air is recycled. They can’t even come up with a filter until they know more. If it is physically transmitted, herding the Markab together is a genocidal death warrant.
Garibaldi points out that this is going to get real ugly, real fast.
The riots start as people try to leave and aren’t allowed to. The Markabs are taken to MedLab to be examined and tested. Some are found already dead, mourners around them. The Markab leader, Fashar, suggests a conspiracy by Earth to spread the disease—or that the humans’ own immorality is infecting the Markab. They are establishing an isolation zone where they can pray and repent and ensure that they survive.
The disease is airborne. A dead Pak’mara may have the disease—it may be spreading into the general population.
‘If we believe, the Dark Angel of Drafa may pass over us.’ False hope from a false prophet.
The little girl is seen going into the isolation area with her mother. Security guards watch as jeering onlookers encourage the Markab to leave. It is all shown, very effectively, from the little girl’s point of view, as if you are looking up at looming adults.
Stephen finds the limits of courage in his own staff. They are as afraid as the Markab, in their own way.
DAMN BIG HERO
Lazarenn volunteers to go into isolation and analyze a body. If he becomes infected he will stay there and let them study the progression of the disease. He will be able to chronicle it, as the true doctor he is.
YES DR BIG DAMN HERO
John is in his quarters getting an update from Susan on the situation. Some folks have found a quick fix-- ‘Wipe out the Markabs, wipe out the problem.’ 4000 out of 5000 estimated Markabs on the station have gone into isolation. The rest either haven’t been found yet or they’re hiding. Sheridan says Garibaldi should tell some of his people off searches and onto patrols. All violence is to be stopped.
THE FIRST SCENE: Call me John
Delenn comes to Sheridan’s quarters late at night. Sheridan almost puts his foot in it as he thinks Delenn wants the hell out of Dodge. She doesn’t. She wants to go minister to the Markab and Lennier has asked to go with her. John protests that they are not her people.
BIG DAMN HERO(INE)
‘I did not know that similarity was required for the exercise of compassion.’ Burn...
He makes it clear that he personally does not want her to take the risk. That if she goes, he can’t let her back out until it is all over. She persists and he accedes.
‘Don’t look away, Captain. All life is transitory, a dream. We all come together in the same place at the end of time. If I don’t see you again here, I will you see you in a little while, in the place where no shadows fall.’
'Call me John'
*sigh*
A Markab is being beat up when Garibaldi intervenes.
He hesitates but helps the poor guy up and assists him presumably to MedLab.
ANOTHER BIG DAMN HERO
Delenn and Lennier enter the chamber. The door closes behind them. Lennier is bowing to everyone, showing respect. Delenn clearly has no idea where to even start.
Stephen is shooting up again with stims and Lazarenn catches him. They discuss the epidemics of the past, the Black Death, the presumed causes, the scapegoats. Lazarenn rubs his throat. It’s sore. At the end of their talk he stumbles, dizzy with the initial symptoms of Drafa. He suggests he is the ideal subject for tests. They touch hands through the glass.
'The needs of the many...'
Delenn and Lennier have found their path, helping, comforting, doing what they can. Delenn finds the little girl she saw before, who is lost. She asks Lennier to find the girl’s mother; he bows his head in instant assent, then looks around at the crowded chamber and asks ‘How?’
‘Faith manages’, is Delenn’s reply. She asks the little girl her mother’s name. ‘Mama.’ The Minbari exchange a look of comic despair.
‘Faith manages,’ replies Lennier with determination.
BIG DAMN HERO YES
Stephen is adorably scruffy but irritable. Lazarenn is detailing his symptoms and discusses their past. Stephen was hitchhiking on starships, looking for problems to solve. Lazarenn says sometimes the test is not to find the answer, but to discover how you react when you realize there is no answer.
The Pak’mara had the disease; it has jumped species. Stephen tells his people to take the Pak’mara apart; it might provide the clue they need. He kicks ass and takes names.
Delenn talks to the Markab girl, telling her about a time she was lost in the city, separated from her parents. She tells of her vision in a deserted temple. ‘I will not allow harm to come to my little ones here, in my Great House.’
Lennier has found the girl’s mother. He is very pleased with himself and so is Delenn. The girl and her mother embrace as the Minbari watch. Then the child stumbles. Their triumph turns to ash.
Stephen continues his tests as Lazarenn fades behind him in the iso chamber.
‘I’m sorry, old friend. I don’t think I can stay any longer. Will you give my love to…’
Stephen throws a fit and breaks some stuff. The computer gives him the answer he has looked for so long.
He tries to explain it to Sheridan. Neurobiology for Dummies. He is only going to strengthen the cells which are being attacked by the disease. It is not a cure.
THE SECOND SCENE: The Embrace
Susan, Sheridan and Stephen go into the Valley of Death with the treatment. The Markab are all dead, all of them. In the back of the room, Lennier and Delenn slowly rise, Lennier helping her up, and they cling to one another as they approach the others. Stephen asks Lennier if there is anyone, anyone at all.
Lennier replies No, no one. Susan helps Lennier out of the room (and lo, a ship is born).
And John takes Delenn into his arms as she says his name and cries.
Aftermath and Coda:
Delenn congratulates Sheridan, who credits Stephen and wonders what will happen next time.
‘We honor the memory of those who are no longer with us by using what we have learned to save others. To exercise faith, and patience, and charity. To reach out to those who are afraid. If we can do that, their passing will have had meaning, and we will grow from it.’
Jane from ISN tells us the Markab are gone as Stephen drinks at a bar. Stephen listens as the bartender tells a dead Markab joke (too soon?) and says he heard it was the Vorlons who poisoned that place. ‘You know how they are.’
Nothing changes.
Questions? I have no questions. I have always admired that the science behind infection, the uselessness of hiding from an airborne infection on a station with recycled air was used as a plot point. However they should have thrown out a statement that they couldn't filter or decontaminate the air since they didn't know enough about the pathogen to set the parameters. Because they must do that or everyone would have colds and common infectious disases, assuming they still have those in 2259.
The yellow and green cell stuff was a little whack though.
Anyway...we have a progression in John and Delenn's relationship, more evidence of Lennier's hero worship of Delenn, confirmation of Stephen's single-minded dedication to his work and his addiction to stims, all very good stuff. JMS describes this as not a 'wham' episode, but I think it packed a lot of emotional punch.
Discussion Points:
1. The Markab are one of the few races that have ancestral memories of the Shadows (see 'The Long Dark'). Do you think the Shadows are taking out the races that remember them--the Markab and the Narns? The Minbari might be let alone because they are protected by the Vorlons, or they might be too big to take on this early.
2. Apparently JMS put in the little story of Delenn's getting lost as a child and having a vision (of Valen??) before being found by her parents as more evidence that she sees herself as having a destiny. This will come up again very soon, in Comes the Inquisitor. Is she being vainglorious or is she 'special'? Was it Valen she saw?
3. I'm not sure Stephen Franklin is a good manager. Inspirational certainly, but his drive and uncompromising nature seem to intimidate his staff. Not to mention his burgeoning drug problem becoming an issue. Is brilliance enough to maintain a working team of professionals in an area where you might not have a ready pool of qualified and trained replacements? Or are these are all military folk who can't quit?
What did you like/dislike about Confessions and Lamentations? Let me know!
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no subject
Date: 2016-08-30 01:09 am (UTC)I'm not sure Stephen Franklin is a good manager.
I think he is. He's a rather brilliant doctor. Franklin might not be a perfect individual. Then again, none of the characters are.
no subject
Date: 2016-08-31 12:35 pm (UTC)Which makes me want to think hard about some parallels there--two driven people, almost monomaniacal in their devotion to a cause...
Stephen is brilliant but I get that 'works better alone' vibe from him. Certainly his people don't rally round to him in the face of this epidemic. They don't even seem impressed by his willingness to take on the risk, or Lazarenn's, just relieved they don't have to. I really liked Stephen and Michael's opposing views on gathering the Markab, safer or more prone to spreading the infection? Of course then Stephen gathers them all in MedLab for sampling....
no subject
Date: 2016-08-30 06:12 am (UTC)I wasn't yet a shipper when I saw it, but I bet it clearly sent me down the path!
no subject
Date: 2016-08-31 12:37 pm (UTC)Man, I love this episode. :)
no subject
Date: 2016-09-19 04:26 pm (UTC)