Divided Loyalties
Reviewed by Veronica Grey, Psi Corps
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Well...what to say about this episode...it was a dramatic ending for one of our main characters, reintroduced another one from the pilot who will BECOME major later on, and told us BIG things about a third. But despite all of that...it wasn't all that good.
First of all, I must say, that because I was on the Internet and READ about Talia and Ivanova's relationship BEFORE I actually saw the early B5 episodes, I was...disappointed. I expected...more. I expected the relationship to actually LAST, over some time. So that when Ivanova loses her at the end, and so that her line to Delenn in Ceremonies of Light and Dark ("I think I loved Talia".) would be more poignant. I had been led to believe, from the Intergossip, (new word) that it had been an actual love affair. But instead, what we got was in intimation that they had maybe had all of ONE night together before...BOOM! A hinted attraction, a sly glance, does NOT a great love affair make, people. It had the feeling of being RUSHED. It was not the long, slow, carefully building up of characters that I have come to expect of Joe Michael Straczynski. The rest of their relationship, BEFORE it got to that point, WAS well-done, very well in fact, and I don't know the inner circle behind-the-scenes stuff, but to me it seems like originally, it was PLANNED to develop their love affair more slowly, to match the rest of the relationship development, but then Andrea Thompson had to leave the show SUDDENLY for some reason, so they squished about an entire year's worth of subplot into one episode. Or maybe it's just me. But it seemed RUSHED, and it did not at ALL live up to the level of drama and tragedy I'd been expecting.
Also, I was very disappointed that that whole thing with Kosh--"surprise, reflection, terror. For the future." was never used. You can now officially put me on the list of B5 fans who are pissed off that this storyline was dropped like a ball of hot lead. Inquiring minds wanna KNOW!
And what about poor Talia herself? God that was sad. I used to wonder--what HAD happened to Talia? Did she die, or leave? The answer is, in a strange way...BOTH. Because Lyta thought that password at her, Talia's entire personality just got ERASED, completely. It wasn't submerged, or subjugated, it's GONE. She is DEAD. And yet, her BODY is still alive..with a new, malevolent, sadistic, cold-hearted, arrogant personality inside. And here we see an example of the subtle foreshadowing and mind-games that Straczynski is so good at. Remember in The Quality of Mercy, where she had to prepare that murderer guy to get his mind wiped, and a new personality put in? Now HER mind has been wiped and a new personality has taken over! The episode where she had to PRETEND to be evil and gun people down? Now she really IS evil and trying to gun people down! That episode, A Race Through Dark Places, is, as I mentioned in my review of it, a wonderful preview. We get to see Talia being evil without REALLY seeing Talia being evil! Clever bugger, that Straczynski...
And now for Lyta...we see her come "back" in this episode, although for ME, this is a "first" sighting as I've never SEEN The Gathering. (HINT, HINT, TNT!!) She looks kinda different here--more scruffy, and that short haircut has GOT to go (it makes her look WAAAAY too '90s--and I HATE '90s styles). People say she's the "better" telepath, but I dunno. I kinda came to LIKE Talia, in fact, I started liking her as early as that "Whatever you do, DON'T think about..." scene from Born to the Purple, which was only the THIRD fragging episode! But Lyta...hmmn...except for those adorably dorky scenes with Zack, and that one funny bit with her demanding to know WHO had been going around saying she's a good liar, she really hasn't DONE anything for me. I don't know how I'd react if she died. Talia, on the other hand--I DID feel sad--and freaked out at the same time!--when her "sleeper" woke up. I don't know, but sometimes, the things from the later part of the series are NOT always, inherently, better than the things from the early, developing seasons...I think I like Talia better. But we'll see...
Okay, dramatic ending for one character--check, reintroduction, check, what have I missed, oh, yes, the big revelation about another major character. Yeah, who woulda thought that all this time, Ms. "I HATE TELEPATHS!" Ivanova actually WAS a telepath herself!! Not much of one...but still...you can see why she was always so afraid of letting anyone into her mind, for any reason whatsoever. They would be able to sense that she was one of them, and then the Psi Corps could come and get HER, just the way it did for her mother. Creepy, and now, Sheridan knows. But he's no telepath, he can't block anybody! Will this pose a danger in the future, that someone (I'm thinking Bester) will be able to get that information out of his, unguarded, thoughts? We'll see...
This episode DID have a few unadulterated good bits to it. First of all, the John/Delenn scenes were absolutely delightful. The "Universe Today" scene told us some interesting stuff about Human culture and technology of the mid 23rd century, and some rather CREEPY stuff about the Minbari culture (that "only being told what what is required and no more" freaks me out), and the "motorbutt!" scene was both funny and touching. Now THERE's a relationship that's done RIGHT!
And, I did think Andrea Thomspon did a great "evil". The NEW Talia was creepy, cold, haughty, and sadistic. I think she'd do a good job with a character that was SUPPOSED to be an outright villain from the start.
All in all, it was an episode that was very important to the arc, but it felt cramped. The events in it should have been stretched out longer, and it leaves WAY too many large threads hanging completely open which, unlike B5 tradition, are NEVER resolved. Not up to the show's normal standard of writing capability. But hey...not everyone's perfect, I guess.
Good-bye, Talia.
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