"The Parliament of Dreams" discussion [spoilers]

[ruuger]

This is the discussion post for the episode 1X05, "The Parliament of Dreams". Spoilers for the whole of the series, including the spin-offs and tie-ins, are allowed here so newbies beware.

Extra reading:

The article for "The Parliament of Dreams" at Lurker's Guide.

Comments

[4thofeleven.livejournal.com]

What's always struck me as a little odd is that on the one hand, B5 makes a big deal out of the special unique humans who build diverse communities... and on the other hand, the Earth Alliance spends most of the series as a xenophobic isolationist totalitarian state that sits out the entire Shadow war.

[kathrid.livejournal.com]

I've always thought that the reason the humans were so important to winning the war against the Shadows (as the Vorlons had said to Dukhat over a decade earlier) was that they could tip either way. Human culture, compared to the other races, is very mixed and very dynamic and there's plenty for both of the Old races to work with. As a result, the humans end up splitting.

Add to this that one major race (Minbari) is definitely mostly pro-Vorlon, and one of the Narn/Centauri will probably go Shadow with the other being conquered as a result, and the only major race left is the key to the whole war.