The last half of season 5 breaks my heart into little pieces too, but despite that (or maybe because of it, as it's the good kind of heartbreak to me) the final episodes in Londo's arc are actually some of my absolute favorites, and the ones I've rewatched most often. Fall of Centauri Prime is probably my most-rewatched-episode ever, odd as that may seem. But, thanks to the glimpses of hope we were given in War Without End (i.e. Vir killing Londo's Keeper) and Sleeping in Light (Vir seeming quite happy as the new Emperor, which I've always taken to mean Centauri Prime has recovered as well) I've never really seen late season 5 as depressing or pessimistic. Painful to watch, yes, but - well, Selena says it all much better than I could, really, but I feel the same as she does. True, Londo's fate is horrible and something I wouldn't wish on my greatest enemy, and the events leading up to it, including this episode, are very hard to watch as well - but what makes it bearable to me is that Londo, in the end, does get to make the kind of choice that he's always been craving to make but never had the courage or opportunity to, i.e. to serve his people, in the most literal and profound way there is. And that when he does make that choice, he knows (or suspects), thanks to Lady Morella's prophecy, that if he does, things may turn out all right in the end - because, yes, it will take two decades, but Vir will be emperor after him. Also (though this is perhaps wishful thinking) in my personal fanon I like to believe that Londo knows, by this time, what his death dream means - that it's not an act of violence, but an act of friendship that sets him free - and that is something that keeps him going. That Vir and G'Kar basically become Londo's reasons to live is something I find too beautiful for words, and a big part of the reason why I'm so very fond of season 5 as a whole. Does that make any sense?
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Date: 2011-02-19 10:23 am (UTC)