"Ship of Tears" discussion

[ruuger]

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.

Comments

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Koenig doesn't sell me on the love story, so it all falls flat.

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.

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking more about this overnight, and wondered whether Carolyn knew how Alfred felt because they had linked mentally, perhaps during sex. Telepaths must be able to get to true feelings and motivations easier if they open up to each other, so maybe Carolyn sees the 'true' Bester (more than I do, for example!)

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.