"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

[selenak.livejournal.com]

This is a good episode missing out of being a great one by virtue of one of the guest characters, Jason Ironheart. Not until Byron shows up in season 5 does he have a rival in telepaths-I-dislike-when-I'm-not-supposed-to department, and like Byron, he has spectacular non-chemistry with the regular female telepath. I blame a combination of the acting and the writing, though I think the right actor would have been able to sell us the JMS speeches and make Ironheart compelling and tragic.

(I mean, in the subplot, Andreas Kastulas rocks the socks of "nobody here is what they appear" and the ant speech, making these scenes highlights of the season!)

Also, Andrea Thompson I thought was excellent in her "do you know how telepaths make love" scene with Sinclair; she did sell me on this, it's just that when she's in the same room as Ironheart, the lack of chemistry fails to sell me on their connection.

Obviously, Ironheart's gift of telekinesis would have been important later had Andrea Thompson not left the show; I'm assuming Talia would have gone Phoenix the way Lyta did, just not because of the Vorlons but because of Ironheart.

On to the good stuff. Which is to say, my absolutely favourite non-regular character on this show. This is Bester's introduction, and I'm eternally grateful for Walter Koenig's heart attack that prevented him from playing Knight#2, the role JMS had originally written for him, because Bester, even in this early stage when he's just the visiting bad guy, is clearly a much more interesting character. (And gets to do more than poor Chekov did in many an ST episode, too.) One trait that JMS will develop more in later appearances but is already visible here is Bester's fondness for verbal games ("anatomically impossible, Mr. Garibaldi, but you're welcome to try") in addition to mental ones.

Continuity-relevant elements abound: much about Psi Corps, obviously, from the P-12 rated Psi Cops to the attempts to enhance psychic gifts artificially to the connection to other conspiracies. Also, here we see Ivanova for the first time act in a sympathetic fashion towards Talia, when she gives her the glass of water. It's interesting to compare and contrast this episode to Bester's last appearance on the show, The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father, because the basic plot is similar - former Corps telepath who killed and has gone rogue shows up on the station, Bester is in pursuit - but the perspective is completely turned around (while maintaining the absolute ruthlessness and disdain Psi Cops have towards non-telepaths).

The idea of the goverment/Psi Cops being interested in telekinesis not for heavy lifting but for secret assassinations via squeezing arteries is something that clearly fascinated JMS as he uses it again in his comic book Rising Stars.

The idea of the existence of telepaths resulting in something like the Psi Corps, originally because of the fear non-telepaths have of telepaths and the need to regulate then, with the after effect of the Psi Corps turning from a ghetto into a weapon both on its own and on the normals, is something that always struck me as chillingly plausible, more plausible than a society where telepathy is just accepted.

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with you on the high points of this ep -- G'Kar and the introduction of Bester.

I'm curious why you disliked Ironheart. I thought the actor was unfortunate but I didn't particularly hate him.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

It's the flat delivery and lack of believability with Talia, mostly. Also the fact I've seen the "barely holds on to his/her humanity" concept done before several times, and sometimes better (due to better actors) in Star Trek. Or in Stephen King novels, come to think of it. I don't hate Ironheart, but I do dislike him for being the weakest part of the episode.