"Voices of Authority" discussion

[ruuger]

This is the discussion post for the episode 3X05, "Voices of Authority". Spoilers for the whole of the series, including the spin-offs and tie-ins, are allowed here so newbies beware.

Summary:
Ivanova tries to find new allies among the First Ones with the help of Draal, while Sheridan tries to keep this a secret from the station's new political officer.

Extra reading:
The article for "Voices of Authority" at Lurker's Guide.

Comments

[widsidh.livejournal.com]

Re: Orwellian character/recent past

The two are not mutually exclusive, as somneone (or probably more than someone) once said, those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it. Orwell and JMS are commenting on the same things, and since Orwell came first, JMS references. I don't think Mustante was meant as a satire, but certainly, she is an Orwellian character used to comment on the present (or the dangerous potential within it, which was to be come our recent past). There are quite a lot of explicit Orwellr eferences in B5., the Ministry of Peace itself being one of them.

Redefining language was also an Orwellian theme.
I am, however, impressed how candid she is about it ("since we rewrote the dictionary")- it shows how confident Clark's Regime already is. Dramatically, I like this line - it gives me the appropriate chills.

General: Back in the day, this was the second episode I watched properly ever, and between WFG and this, I think I pretty much saw the scope of the show...