"Mind War" discussion [spoilers]

[ruuger]

This is the discussion post for the episode 1X06, "Mind War". 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 "Mind War" at Lurker's Guide.

Comments

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

I always thought the attitudes were inconsistent myself, or rather more consistently anti-PsiCorps, than anti-Psi.

Sinclair is quite personable with Talia, even taking her to dinner after she arrives. And Sheridan is reasonable with Lyta, even protective of her before the Vorlons go rogue (and after that he has reason to worry). The human businessmen who utilize either of the telepaths have no obvious problems being surface-scanned (except when they are trying to pull something.) Franklin has no problems with Lyta, or the original doctor (whose name seems to be escaping me. Kyle, was it?)

Garibaldi and Susan are the two (and Zack later as you point out) that show their dislike more openly and generally. I think they are meant to be representative of the common attitude of uneasiness however.

The telepaths are the eternal 'other', and I find that fascinating. We can deal with all sorts of other races with various abilities and differences, but not the aliens among us. There's an element of guilt, too, I imagine. PsiCorps exists to make us feel better about the telepaths; so we can more safely use them. They make their own family out of the Corps because we have rejected them.