"Signs and Portents" discussion [spoilers]

[ruuger]

Sorry for the delay - my internet connection was down last night.

This is the discussion post for the episode 1X13, "Signs and Portents". Spoilers for the whole of the series, including the spin-offs and tie-ins, are allowed here so newbies beware.

Extra reading:

The article for "Signs and Portents" at Lurker's Guide.

Comments

[alexcat.livejournal.com]

I love this episode because it finally begins to get into the meat of the show.

Morden doesn't seem so dark and harmful at first, but as is mentioned in the Lurker's Guide, he surely reminded me of Rod Serling! He began to give me the creeps even before I knew what he was doing though. One of my favorite parts was the bit where the light goes out when Morden is talking to Kosh and he stands completely in shadow for a moment...a not so subtle sign of things to come.

The raiders did seem a plot device to get us to this point. Or were they and Lord Kiro already being mmoved by the shadows? Since the raider ship was blown up, was that all of them? I don't think we see them again, do we? A need for revenge from them might have made a nice subplot too.

For us watching, Delenn certainly seemed to over react to Morden though honestly, we have not seen alot of her yet and do not know her as well as we will. She reminded me of a cat hissing actually.

Bringing Garibaldi in to investigate Sinclair's past is interesting too... it is a chance to let us, the audience, in on what happened after the war and to answer our question as to why such a low ranking officer who is still a bit under suspicion gets what I would think would be a plum of an assignment. Evidently it answers the question for Sinclair too.

On a lighter note, Lord Kiro's hair was wonderful! It stuck up in such an extreme manner, making Londo's look dignified in comparison. I always thought the Centauri looked liked Napoleonic vampires with bad hair anyway. Londo's clothing even looks like Napoleon's.

[kathrid.livejournal.com]

The raiders did seem a plot device to get us to this point. Or were they and Lord Kiro already being mmoved by the shadows? Since the raider ship was blown up, was that all of them? I don't think we see them again, do we?

At this point I think Morden & Co. just take advantage of events with the raiders to impress Londo. The rest of that arc is about increasing Centauri dissatisfaction with the way the Republic is going and the lengths some nobles are prepared to go to (and the risks they'll take) to change it.

As far as the raiders go, Garibaldi mentions that they'll take a while to buy fighters and recruit pilots, and with their carrier gone, and their prize too, they're out of business permanently.