"Passing Through Gethsemane" discussion

[ruuger]

This is the discussion post for the episode 3X04, "Passing Through Gethsemane". Spoilers for the whole of the series, including the spin-offs and tie-ins, are allowed here so newbies beware.

Summary:
One of Brother Theo's monks is haunted by violent visions. Lyta returns to Babylon 5 as Kosh's assistant.

Extra reading:
The article for "Passing Through Gethsemane" at Lurker's Guide.

Comments

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I often refer to this as one of my favourite standalones of the show, but rewatching, I realized one can't really call it a standalone, containing as it does important things for Lyta's arc, as well as preparations for the big Valen reveal later this season. Still: the main plot around Brother Edward is one of my favourite standalone plots. A far more successful attempt to tackle the "death of personality" concept first introduced in s1.

At the time of first broadcast, Brad Dourif seemed to keep turning up as a psychopath in tv shows - he played one in the X-Files, he played one on Voyager, and now here he was again, except that Edward isn't a psychopath. Charles was. Due to Dourif's other roles, I wondered during the first time I watched this whether Edward would suddenly go crazy/evil and hoped he wouldn't, as that would have been the easy way out. It's a fascinating concept currently tackled in other shows as well: Edward's personality was artificially created, but he is a real person. Then there is the question he asks Theo, how he can repent meaningfully if he can't even remember; and the implication about human society as a whole at that point, completely independent from the Clarke development. What is more important, life or free will? Murderers get reprogrammed a la Clockwork Orange, and this is something democratic earth came up with, not the fascist one. Yet when Psi Corps does it to Talia, or Bester, in a lesser degree, does it to Garibaldi, we're clearly supposed to think of it as an evil act. (Sidenote: actually I don't think the show positions the death of personality is just dandy, either; nor that it's completely wrong. It is a logical development in a society which has mindwipes available.)

I think what pushes this episode from the "good" into "great" region for me is the final scene with Sheridan. Because we're not allowed to feel, along with Sheridan, safe in our moral superiority. We like Edward; we're sorry for his death. Of course, because Edward was introduced and remains a sympathetic character, and we only see Charles in very brief flashbacks. So when at the end Edward's killer turns up as a community-service-oriented monk as well, it feels like a cold shower to both Sheridan and a first time audience who just has been prepared to sign off on the moral lesson of the day. Really well done.

The first time I watched, I didn't pay all that much attention to Lennier's little exposition about Valen; on all subsequent rewatchs, I thought, oh, sneaky JMS. Because here you have it: "a Minbari not born of Minbari, turned up 1000 years ago out of nowhere, unified the Grey Council, won war".

Lyta and Kosh: it's striking to compare the last scene to the one between Lyta and Kosh II in s4; all the difference between consensual sex and rape. I find it both sad and striking that Lyta basically goes from leaving Psi Corps because she got disillusioned to serving the Vorlons with the same amount of unquestioning blind ideological loyalty a Psi Corps loyalist has. What they do to her - the modifications so she can be a better instrument, the seeds to turn her into a superweapon when needed - is exactly what the Corps did to Ironheart, or Talia, and Lyta ought to know better, but she doesn't. She basically replaced Mother and Father with Better Daddy (because presumably her love for the Vorlons is really love for Kosh), and does not wake up until she gets abused all over again.