"Grail" discussion [spoilers]

[ruuger]

This is the discussion post for the episode 1X15, "Grail". Spoilers for the whole of the series, including the spin-offs and tie-ins, are allowed here so newbies beware.

Summary:

Aldous Gajic arrives to B5 in search of the Holy Grail. Meanwhile in Downbelow lurkers are being mindwiped by a mysterious alien in an encountersuit.

Extra reading:

The article for "Grail" at Lurker's Guide.

Comments

[selenak.livejournal.com]

An average standalone, with some good character moments and a great David Warner as a guest star. I think A late delivery from Avalon is a better standalone example of how to use Arthurian myths while also telling a character story in connection to the station regulars, but this isn't bad. It's mainly Thomas' and Gajic's story, and they're likeable; the conversations between Delenn and Sinclair work very well (no matter whether intentional or unintentional) as Valen foreshadowing - I'm thinking specifically of Sinclair's words in "War Without End" about having searched all his life - and Deuce is a nasty illustration of the B5 underworld.

Something that amuses me: actually, Vorlons do look a lot like that. With more lightning effects. If you take KoshI and KoshII in the season 4 episode where Kosh II is killed off as examples, because that's the only time we see the Vorlons without anyone responding to the conditioning of seeing them as benevolent religious figures.

Something that annoys me: Christy Cox can't write Centauri. It's not that I mind Londo and Vir being used for comic relief - they quite often are - but just compare these scenes with their two scenes in Parliament of Dreams. In both cases, Londo (and to a lesser degree Vir) only appear briefly and as comic relief in an episode which is about someone else. But in PoD, they're not caricatures of themselves; we laugh with them as much as about them.