Born to the Purple
Reviewed by Lady Keela Shanri
Click HERE or HERE to see pictures from the episode.
Well, you KNOW I'm gonna like this one--come on, it's a Londo episode and a Centauri episode!
The plot was put together very well. It had several layers of devious trickery. Adira was tricking Londo on the one hand, Londo was tricking G'Kar, Sinclair tricked that sleazy bar-owner dude, Talia and Adira both tricked Trakis at different times. I love this kind of stuff...
I also loved the fact that of all the guys on the show, out of all the much better-looking guys--LONDO is the first one that we see "get lucky". (Well, we don't actually SEE it, thank the gods, the picture above is the closest B5 ever gets to any pornography). Not what you'd expect! And he makes a very romantic figure in his own homely way. Great Maker, the things he was SAYING to Adira! Phrases that would normally sound incredibly corny coming out of most guys' mouths, but Londo, devious though he usually is--when he says something that he really MEANS, from deep in his hearts, you can always tell. And I'll bet MOST women would LOVE to have their men say that kind of stuff to them. (Real comment: While watching this, my mother said, "'A fountain of passion'--I've always wanted a guy to call me that.")
(On a side note--I LOVE Adira's CLOTHES! That's the Centauri fashion sense for ya!)
This was DEFINITELY Londo's episode. It was obviously written to showcase the character. And I must compliment Peter Jurasik on a wonderful job. He shows us just how deep a character Londo really is. This episode gave us our first glimpse at the true emotions hidden beneath his blustery surface. He is really a very tragic figure on the inside, and not at all the drunken buffoon that he seems on the surface. That line about how "when I look beneath the mask that I am forced to wear, I see only emptiness" really got to me. Sniff.
And speaking of "sniff", it's REALLY sad to see this episode out of order, the way I did, and KNOW what's gonna happen later...gee...
As for the rest of the episode, it was pretty good, too. Although I am still more attached to Sheridan, I am starting to warm up to Sinclair. He is building up a "cool factor". I liked him in the scene where he and Londo were both undercover, and Sinclair tricks the sleazy bar-owner dude. The way he could just suddenly go from "The Imposing Military Commander" to "Hey, I'm just this guy, ya know?" just by changing his body language and facial expressions, was pretty darned impressive.
This episode also marked the first good moment for Talia. "Whatever you do, make sure you DON'T think about anything like...how you got this information, what you're planning to do with it, where Adira Tyree is right now..." That was GREAT. Wonderfully devious. And it was HER idea. There may be hope for her yet.
It also had great moments for G'Kar and Vir. I LOVED the bit with Vir playing his little video game, and then later on, G'KAR is playing it! That was lovely. As was the moment when G'Kar said he could agree with Londo that women were the finest things in the universe, then started drinking STRAIGHT out of his bottle, and the moment where Londo said, "Thank you, G'Kar! You just saved my career! And the entire Centauri Republic!" and G'Kar is like, HUH?! Great stuff.
And...I wanna know how Vir and Ko'Dath (or as my father called her, "Snarl-woman", a great--and very accurate--nickname) did at the negotiations! The two underlings running the meeting! Love it! I find it VERY amusing that BOTH Londo and G'Kar told their attachés "Don't give up the homeworld". They both took their "new status" very seriously; it was kinda sad that both Ambassadors didn't really mean it.
And...I really like it that when Garibaldi found out that IVANOVA was the one using the Gold Channel...he let Ivanova know that he knew without actually saying so in words. Very subtle, very touching.
All in all, a great episode. A good, complex plot, a bunch of funny bits, lots of intriguing character and cultural information, several touching moments, and a lot of great acting. THIS is why I got hooked on Babylon 5.
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