Contents: Overview - Backplot - Questions - Analysis - Notes - JMS

Overview

The evidence of a Centauri connection to the cargo ship attacks is revealed to the Alliance.

P5 Rating: 9.21

Production number: 517
Original air date: June 10, 1998
DVD release date: April 13, 2004

Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Goran Gajic

Plot Points

• The Alliance has formally declared war on the Centauri.
• Londo and G'Kar have returned to Centauri Prime, where they've been imprisoned because Londo refused to allow G'Kar to be arrested as ordered by the Regent.
• Zack has discovered Garibaldi's drinking problem, but has agreed to give Garibaldi time to work it out on his own. Garibaldi's drunkenness has started to cost lives, and contributed to the start of the war since he was unable to warn Sheridan about Centauri ship movements.

Unanswered Questions

Analysis

• Why didn't the White Stars have a secondary contact other than Garibaldi? Garibaldi wouldn't have been in his office on alert 24 hours a day even if he weren't drinking; given the gravity of the situation, it's odd that the White Star captain didn't try to get in contact with someone else (Delenn or Lennier, for example, would presumably have been sufficiently trustworthy) to make sure the report was heard in time.

• In a sense, the minister was probably right; the attacks really are being staged by a third party, namely the aliens in the Royal Court. And it's possible their goal is exactly what he accused the Narn of: to implicate the Centauri. Perhaps they want to see Londo's empire crushed by the Alliance, revenge for Londo's rejection of the Shadows ("Into the Fire.")

• Sheridan's declaration of war on the Centauri gives Londo's comments in "War Without End" a different spin. Londo said, "There's the legacy of your war," referring to the flames engulfing the city below the Centauri royal court. Perhaps Alliance forces were responsible for the destruction, and Londo's comments about Sheridan allowing the Shadows' minions to come to Centauri Prime referred to the fact that they caused the war to start.

• Londo and G'Kar watching the Centauri fleet fly overhead is a visual reference to Londo's dream in "The Coming of Shadows" in which he watches a fleet of Shadow ships fly over the palace. His dream eventually came true in "The Hour of the Wolf."

• Which parts of his book do G'Kar's later chapters correct? Perhaps the parts the Narn in "The Ragged Edge" was referring to when he quoted the book as saying the Centauri shouldn't be trusted.

• Garibaldi's failure to warn Sheridan was foreshadowed in his dream in "Darkness Ascending."

• Sheridan's blockade of Centauri space could make life more difficult for his father, who needs a rare Centauri drug to treat a blood disease ("The Exercise of Vital Powers").

Notes

• Garibaldi had a bowl of oranges on his table, a pretty expensive commodity on the station ("The Geometry of Shadows.") That may mean he's making a lot more money as Director of Covert Operations than he was as the station's security chief. Or, more likely, that Lise isn't above spending some money to keep his diet healthy; she can no doubt afford to ship oranges just about anywhere.
• Director Goran Gajic is Mira Furlan's husband. The character of Aldous Gajic in "Grail" was named after him.

jms speaks

• "I have to say this was one of the best episodes of the entire series. If this is any indication of what the rest of the season is like.......watch out."

  Well, the next episode is even more so...and the one after that, more so still. You get a slight breather for an episode or so -- still very strongly arc, though, just not as in-your-face hardhitting -- and then the last are whammers.

  "I suspect a stream of apologies to you are about to begin."

  Yeah, right, and pandas will fly out of my butt.

• Haven't seen the director's cut yet, but Goran did a great job, based on dailies.

• It was shot for shot what I wrote...but at the same time, a director can realize that well, or poorly. I thought that Goran did a terrific job.

• How much of the tension in the opening scene was thanks to the director?
  It's shot for shot what was in the script, but at the same time, a director must take that shot and make it live. Goran did that admirably. He kept the camera moving, framed his shots very nicely, got into the emotion of the scene, and worked very well with the editor; we only did a light dusting in the editing room.

  Since a number of folks have asked, here is the opening scene as written. (I only have the first draft in my home computer, modifications were done in the office, which involved trimming some of this for time.)

  ****************

  FADE IN:
  
  EXT. BABYLON 5: A new shot, closer, emphasizing the darkness of the station in
  eclipse.
  
  INT. DELENN'S QUARTERS - BEDROOM
  
  Sheridan is in bed, alone as we will discover in a moment.  He rolls over,
  stirring, and we SHOOT PAST HIM to the doors, where we SEE a single flickering
  light through the translucent glass.  He sits up.
  
  INT. DELENN'S QUARTERS - FRONT ROOM
  
  REVERSING past Delenn to the bedroom doors.  She is seated on the floor, a
  single candle burning before her, the flame halfway down it, praying or
  meditating as the doors open and Sheridan stands in the opening.  His voice is
  quiet.
  
  			SHERIDAN
  	Delenn...?  Are you all right?
  
  She nods, distantly, not taking her eyes off the candle.
  
  			SHERIDAN
  	You should sleep.  It'll be morning 
  	soon.  You'll need all your strength 
  	for what's ahead.
  
  She nods again, but doesn't move.  He gives it a BEAT, knowing 
  she is in a place where he can never reach her, then goes back 
  into the bedroom, leaving the door open.  We PUSH IN SLOWLY on Delenn's face
  
  TIME-CUT - HER QUARTERS - LATER - ON THE CANDLE
  
  The fragile, guttering flame has now burned three-fourths of 
  the way down.  As we slowly PAN UP to Delenn's face, not having  moved in all
  this time, we become aware of the SOUND of the shower running.  She doesn't
  note it, until it stops.  Then there's a BEAT and she looks up toward
  
  ANGLE - THE BEDROOM
  
  Still mainly dark, suggesting pre-dawn, mainly just the light 
  spilling from the bathroom entrance as Sheridan comes out in a 
  robe, toweling his hair.  His manner here is sober, almost 
  somber.  He's trying to keep this normal, but knows that this 
  is going to be a difficult and momentous day.  The more we can 
  set that tone here, the better.
  
  			SHERIDAN
  	It's...all yours.
  
  She nods, distantly.  WIDEN as he goes to the bed and sits.  He 
  pulls on one slipper, puts his foot down, and picks up the other 
  slipper...and just sort of stops.  He doesn't want to put it on.  
  He doesn't want this day to come.  He doesn't want to do what he 
  knows he's going to have to do.  The slipper just dangles from 
  his fingers, the strings cut. Delenn gets up, approaches and sits next to him,
  both with that faraway, haunted look.  She touches his back, and leans against 
  his shoulder for a moment, both taking comfort and strength in the momentary
  contact.  Then she gets up and moves into the bathroom, the robe sliding off
  her shoulders as she steps OS.
    
  A BEAT, and Sheridan finds the wherewithal to put on the other 
  slipper...and sits there momentarily as we HEAR the VO SOUND of a GAVEL
  POUNDING, and the VO SOUND of the council, along with:
  
  			SHERIDAN (VO)
  	There comes a moment, in all of our 
  	lives, when we have to do something 
  	we'd rather not do.  When we know 
  	something we'd rather not know.  This 
  	is one such moment.
  
  He stands and moves OS.
  

• Was the part about Sheridan dropping the slipper added in a later draft?
  Yeah, that was a visual pun written into the script, the other shoe dropping...but also reflecting that kind of low energy thing in the morning, when you put one slipper on, and you just *don't* want to leave...and you just let the energy drain away, and the slipper falls from your hand...which also overlaps the gavel dropping, as scripted.

  I took a great deal of care in blocking out every shot in that one, as opposed to some other cases, as with Mike Vejar, where I wrote, in "The Face of the Enemy," "They pull down Sheridan like a pack of wolves bringing down a lion" knowing that he would then take that and turn it into art. And he did.

• Why did they check the bodies to determine what kind of weapon was used? Why not the debris from the ships?
  That's what was said, in addition to the rest. Reference was made to examining the damaged ships.

• Why doesn't Sheridan warn Londo about the Shadows' allies being on Centauri Prime as he saw in "War Without End?"
  Well, do bear in mind that the events in "War" were 17 years after the fact, so the shadow allies could have come at any time; Sheridan didn't fully understand what a keeper was, and also bear in mind that there is no reason to suspect anything in this situation. People can indeed start wars without having keepers on them, you know. We do it all the time. He would have to have some overwhelming proof...and even then, if he says anything to Londo, he might risk changing the timeline, and that would have potentially disasterous consequences.

Last update: May 27, 2024