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b5_revisited2010-03-08 02:37 am
ruuger) wrote in b5_revisited2010-03-08 02:37 am
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"Ship of Tears" discussion
This is the discussion post for the episode 3X14, "Ship of Tears". Spoilers for the whole of the series, including the spin-offs and tie-ins, are allowed here so newbies beware.
Summary:
Bester returns to Babylon 5, this time asking for help to rescue a group of frozen telepaths.
Extra reading:
The article for "Ship of Tears" at Lurker's Guide.
Summary:
Bester returns to Babylon 5, this time asking for help to rescue a group of frozen telepaths.
Extra reading:
The article for "Ship of Tears" at Lurker's Guide.
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Garibaldi's revelation at the end is him at his gleeful, triumphant best. 'Do not thump the book of G'Quan. It is disrespectful.' Heh. And I love the term 'mindwalkers' for telepaths.
Franklin's optimism, and naivete, about ISN and Earth, and the crumbling of hope reflected in all their faces as they watched the newscast...wonderful. It shows that the common people on the station understand what's going on, too, as they shake their heads and turn away. There's no help there.
Delenn's scene with G'Kar is one of my favorites, although this time I watched it with rather a jaundiced eye. I had forgotten she used the 'we' construct throughout, referencing the Grey Council of which she was a part, and she never mentioned Kosh as a party to that decision. And I found it the 'I couldn't act against the Council' declaration somewhat disingenuous--I mean, the Council had pretty much told her not to do the Chrysalis transformation and she saw her way clear to defy (some of) them in that case.
I think she was following Kosh more than the Council here, and she doesn't tell G'Kar that. Still, she takes responsibility, in a potentially dangerous one-on-one situation, and I give her massive chops for that.
Her telling G'Kar alone is right (cause John sure wasn't in the loop for the decision to leave Narn to the Centauri's tender mercies) but I caught a whiff of protectiveness, a predictive echo of her 'protecting' him from full knowledge of Anna's fate.
So, interesting re-take for me on that speech.
Bester. Well, I just take a totally different view here. Koenig doesn't sell me on the love story, so it all falls flat. Bester comes across to me as a skeevy bastard, rather than a magnificent one. The whole thing about Susan's mother's eyes? Ick. And whether he had the power to free Carolyn or not, he was still in a higher position of authority than she was as a blip, so getting her better food? In return for sex? With the power imbalance that sort of 'favor' would be hard for Carolyn to interpret. And getting her pregnant in her situation? Double ick. Also I can't help wondering about Bester's wife and daughter...a loveless forced marriage is never a good thing, but I feel for them too. I hope they found love somewhere else, like he did. Especially the daughter.
My husband had an excellent take on Bester here. After Bester makes his pronouncement that telepaths are 'superior' to humans, he then goes on to prove that they are not; that they have every failing of every other human. That's good stuff.
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Actually, all Koenig had to sell the beholder was on how Bester felt about Carolyn. (Which, to me, he did, but eye of the beholder, I suppose.) We'll never know how she felt about him. It could have been that she hated his guts (though in that case, surely taking the sleeper drug would have been preferable? Or even joining the Corps? also, just as a point of speculation, if she had hated him she would have called him "Bester", not "Al"), or that she was utterly pragmatic and saw it strictly as a trade. Granted, they are both strong telepaths, which makes it unlikely in that case he wouldn't have known how she felt, but otoh Bester is quite capable of self delusion. Or, you know, it could be that she loved him back, for all kind of reasons going from Stockholm Syndrome to Bester at his best being charismatic, smart and witty. (Yes, Our Heroes can't stand him, but The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father shows that back home he has to fight the fangirl interns off.) We simply have no way of knowing one way or the other. We do know he didn't brainwash or otherwise reprogram her into becoming a member of the Corps, which indicates her free will was important to him.
To return to Bester: given that he is willing to sacrifice an entire squadron and put up with a great deal of humiliation by the B5 staff in Epiphanies in order to help Carolyn, and until and including his last appearance on the show still expresses the hope they'll be together again, however you want to define the emotion he has for her is certainly strong. Love isn't something only positive characters feel. It doesn't make Bester a better person that he does, too, but it contributes to his characterisation.
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I don't think JMS thought his telepaths through very well actually.
So much of believing in attraction portrayed on screen comes down to the actor's ability to portray it, the build-up of the characters, and your own feelings towards those characters. I understand love isn't something only positive characters feel, but JSM/Koenig just didn't sell it to me. I think JMS meant this to be a real head-turner, a try at a flip, or a view into sudden hidden depths in characterization (like he does with many characters) but it just feels off.
It's true Bester's feelings must have been strong ones, but they seem more like obsession/possession to me. I would have liked to see Bester question the treatment of blips after falling in love with her--he doesn't seem to experience any doubts. I suppose he thinks Carolyn will see the light eventually and re-join the Corps. And there's still the pregnancy factor; that's just weird.
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Mmm, I noticed that too - but it seemed to me she did move towards taking personal responsibility as the scene progressed. It does seem to be a bit of a consistent flaw on Delenn's part that she reflexively avoids individual responsibility or, as we've seen elsewhere, phrases things in the passive voice, and has to make a conscious effort to avoid doing that. Possibly a lingering effect of the Vorlon influence on Minbar...
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