"The Turning of the Wheel: The Second Season of Babylon 5"

Essay by Lady Keela Shanri



Here we are, at the beginning of the third season already. But before we just rush on in to "the year of the Shadow War", let's take a moment to pay tribute to Season Two.
Right away, the difference between Season Two and Season One that you notice first is that we have a whole new person at the helm--Captain John J. Sheridan. In the first-season essay, I wrote up a comparison between the two commanders, Sinclair and Sheridan, and then did a tribute to Sinclair because it was HIS season. Well, now it's Sheridan's turn.

Captain John J. Sheridan is the main "new kid on the block" of the second season. A more openly emotional commander than Jeffrey Sinclair, Sheridan was shrugged off at first because of his looser, more casual attitude and called "Captain Smiley" by the fans. This soon changed as the season showed us new depths to his character. He becomes more angry and strict--as seen in his "apology" to the Centauri that he practices in his mirror in "The Fall of Night", he starts to develop a romantic relationship with Delenn--and this is "Starkiller" we're talking about here! He shows a definite dark side before the year is out, evidenced especially by his treatment of Morden in "In the Shadow of Za'ha'dum". But as much as he changes just during this year, that is nothing compared to how much he changes during the course of the SERIES...

Lt. Commander/Commander Susan Ivanova: Ivanova changes in this season, too. The most obvious outward change is the fact that she gets promoted from Lt. Commander to FULL Commander. She has finally STOPPED going on about being Russian, her relationship with Talia gets much closer and kinder, and her attitude in general towards telepaths--but NOT towards Psi Corps--seems to be softening up just a bit. And we discover that Ivanova HERSELF is actually a latent telepath! Talk about your dramatic revelations! Her doomed relationship with Talia brings out a more tender side to her personality, and shows that she is capable of letting down her barriers. While still being her good ol' Ivanova self, of course, as shown in this clip from "Divided Loyalties". (Frustrated by a cabinet door that won't close): "WHAM! THUD! KICK! SLAM!" Talia: "That's one cabinet that will never threaten us again."

Security Chief Michael Garibaldi: Garibaldi is still essentially the same likeable smartmouth and hard-boiled detective we know and love here. His "dark past" is almost completely forgotten EXCEPT for the scene with him and his backstabbing (well, backSHOOTING, anyway) aide in "Revelations" and Londo's offering to buy him a "chemically inoffensive" drink. In general, he didn't change all that much here. There are foreshadowings of what he will become in later seasons however...

Dr. Stephen Franklin The good Doctor does not change all that much--OVERTLY--here. But we do learn something of his upbringing and background, see him lose a dear and trusted friend (Dr. Lazarenn), come up against his first REAL medical battle that he CAN'T win (the Markab plague from "Confessions and Lamentations") and see some definite hinting at his growing stim addiction. Like so many characters on B5, Franklin takes a darker turn this season...but he hasn't hit bottom YET...

Satai/Ambassador Delenn She changes the most--PHYSICALLY--of ANY character in this season, and indeed, for the entire show! I mean, it's hard to beat going into a chrysalis and coming out a half-breed! (Sheridan: "Can you fill me in on what's going on around here?" Ivanova: "Well, Sinclair has been reassinged, Ambassador G'Kar is missing, we STILL don't know what Ambassador Kosh looks like inside his encounter suit after almost two years, and Ambassador Delenn is in a cocoon." Blink. "A cocoon? As in, a moth, or a butterfly?" "Yep." Pause.
"Interesting place you have here!"--"Points of Departure".) From bald with a bone and loose robes to a delicate pixie princess with thick, flowing brown hair and sleek velvet medieval-y gowns, she changed quite a bit. But that was not the ONLY way she changed. Her status changed drastically--from Satai Delenn, honoured member of the Grey Council, to "Ambassador" Delenn--no longer considered a position of honour, to represent her people to the important station Babylon 5, but a JOKE post, a way to simply get her to stay AWAY! "Go back to Babylon 5," snarls Neroon, "and STAY there!" (The same reason both Vir and Londo are there, as it turns out later.) Her attitudes and personality change, too. She has gone from an angry, somewhat cold, devout Minbari religious leader to a much more emotional, casual, and light-hearted character. Oh, sure, she still practices the Minbari rituals. But she is starting to think that perhaps authority is NOT always right, that curiosity is more important than conformity, and she laughs far more easily. And her association with Sheridan is bringing out a very girlish and silly side to the good Ambassador we NEVER would have expected was there. Their relationship is just so wonderfully REAL.

Attaché Lennier of the Third Fane of Chu'Domo: As always, Lennier is a kind, sweet, usually gentle soul who will stand by his woman no matter WHAT and fight to the death to protect her, or the honour of anyone he cares about. He is still friends with Londo but beginning to feel bad about it, but other than that, he does not change much this season.

Ambassador Londo Mollari is, as always, the MOST continually changing, deep, and layered character of the entire series, so this is going to take a while. You may want to go get yourself a drink, go to the bathroom, whatever, before you read this part. I'll wait.
Comfy? Good. Then let's begin.
If Delenn is the character that changes the most PHYSICALLY during this season, then Londo is the character who changes the most MENTALLY. That is to say, in terms of personality and morals. This is the season where Londo first TRULY gives into the darkness of his soul. He first gets a couple more bouts of silliness--"The Geometry of Shadows" and his romping with his three wives in "Soul Mates", but shortly afterwards starts down the dark path in earnest. In "The Coming of Shadows", his use of Morden's "associates" to attack the Narn outpost shows him teetering on the edge of the cliff between good and evil; "The Long, Twilight Struggle" and his being the key factor to the bombing of the Narn homeworld shows him falling off. He strips G'Kar of his title and power almost gleefully, and when the opportunity to grab power comes, he takes it.
But through all of this, he is still not COMPLETELY a villain! It's the subtle things that make the difference between a complex character like Londo and an OUTRIGHT villain like Refa (who is, don't get me wrong, a great character in his own right.) Even in his darkest moments, Londo still has a sad, haunted look in his eyes, an obviously painful attack of conscience, or an understandable rationale for the terrible things he's doing. He never wanted PERSONAL power, he wanted to help his RACE. When Refa is trying to get Londo to help with the plan to bomb the Narn homeworld, he only goes along with it once Refa points out how many Centauri lives this move will SAVE. Londo never wanted to be Emperor, (as he sees in a vision-dream); he just wanted to "take his people back to the stars".
By the end of this season, he's got his wish...and no longer wants it at all...
From decadent, drunken, washed-up noble to a triumphant yet tragic figure, Londo changed the most out of any of the characters this year.

Attaché Vir Cotto: Vir becomes a more truly poignant and sympathetic character in this season. We see him getting drunk to try to forget his troubles because he is being kicked out of his post in "There All the Honor Lies", and we find out that he only got his position because his family wanted him AWAY. But the REALLY poignant part of his character is in his relationship with Londo. For all of the Ambassador's bad treatment of the chubby little Centauri, Vir CARES about Londo and it really hurts him to see Londo fall steadily farther and farther into the pit. We see Vir's wise, philosophical side as he warns about dwelling on the past too much and his theory on whether Fate controls our actions or not. And we almost weep as we see him DESPERATELY trying to pull Londo back from the brink, and failing, time and time again, only able to watch the tragedy in silence but not able to do anything to STOP it. Londo first starts treating Vir like a PERSON instead of just a fetch-and-carry in this season, and Vir in turn shows much more of his hidden strong side and stands up to Londo more often. Another wonderfully-developed relationship...

Ambassador/Citizen G'Kar G'Kar changes almost as much as Londo. He starts off as a decadent, conniving, drunken Ambassador who regards his title as little more than a way to get girls--ANY girls!-- and along, the way he becomes a would-be assassin; an angry activist; and eventually emerges from 2259 as a pathetic, figure. Stripped of his title and all responsibilities but STILL holding his head high and fighting, G'Kar will not go down easily. As he becomes even more antagonistic towards Londo, the two characters' fates ironically become more closely intertwined than ever. In "Midnight on the Firing Line", G'Kar was the arrogant conqueror, gloating over the Narns' victory on Ragesh III. By "The Long Twilight Struggle", he had become a nobody whose very HOMEWORLD had been destroyed. He goes from strutting and sneering to screaming dire speeches of warning that fall on deaf, uncaring ears. From Ambassador G'Kar of the Kha'Ri to CITIZEN G'Kar, the last of a ruling body that no longer exists--the wheel has indeed turned for this character. And it will turn farther still.

In Memorandum: Talia Winters, Na'Toth, and Warren Keffer--Remembering the Dead

Talia Winters: Poor, dear Talia. I actually rather LIKED her. She didn't PHYSICALLY die; rather, she suffered the "death of personality", which is far nastier. Her relationship with Ivanova brought out new sides to both characters and I would have liked to see it continue. She started off very loyal to Psi Corps but began having serious doubts along the way. Before those doubts could get strong enough to force her to take any decisive action, however, WHOMPH her "sleeper" woke up and the Talia we knew was gone, replaced by a cold, vicious Psi Corps patsy. If she had turned out to REALLY be a villian from the start, that would have been a huge twist in the plotline but still relatively okay, as it would mean that the Talia we know is still alive and out there somewhere--even if she ISN'T quite what we thought she was. But as it is, her personality was completely ERASED. She didn't even get a dramatic death scene! I was rather miffed, and so were other people I know upon seeing "Divided Loyalties" for the first time.
People say they like Lyta Alexander better, but we'll see. Lyta's gonna have her work cut out for her to take the place the tall, elegant, high-cheekboned blonde telepath has in my hearts. A misguided and conflicted soul, B5's film-noir-ish "classy dame" and the best thing that never happened to Garibaldi.
Good-bye, Talia.

Attaché Na'Toth: The only Narn I ever truly liked, poor Na'Toth didn't get much of a chance to DO anything during the second season. She got to kick booty and defend G'Kar a couple times, but then again she did that in the first season. And then, without a word, all of a sudden her name and face are no longer in the opening credits. What exactly happened to her? She is "missing, presumed dead" during the Centauri attack of the Narn homeworld, but I'm not sure if anybody actually comes out and SAYS this at any point during the series. I'd still like to KNOW. In my opinion, she's another good character that at least deserved a dignified death scene if nothing else.

Lt. Warren Keffer: Keffer didn't GROW during the second season, it was his ENTIRE story! And a good thing, because he was the biggest waste of film I ever did see in this otherwise high-quality show. The only reason I can think of for Straczynski to use him is to get higher ratings by putting a young "pretty boy" into the mix. As for why he even WROTE the character in the first place, let alone what he made him look like, is completely beyond me. He had practically NO value whatsover, and even DEAD, the only thing he did was cause trouble! His story is simple: He's a young figher-pilot who misses home, then becomes the first Human character to see a Shadow ship up-close, gets promoted to Zeta Squadron leader, then gets his FACE MELTED by a Shadow Ship! That's it! He's gone! And good riddance. Pass the Cheesy Spoo.



And now for a sum-up of the plot during Season Two. We have gain some important new characters--most notably Lord Refa and Zack Allen--and lose some old ones. New alliances--both large and small--are made as old ones are broken off. The Rangers are introduced, Sinclair gets a small comeback in his new role as Ambassador and Entil'Zha, and we learn far more about the Shadows and the First ones. The "Ancient Enemy" has awakened, we are now aware of them, and they know that WE know about them. And by the end of the year, we EVEN get to see Kosh out of his encounter suit!
We see shakeups in all of the major governments--some more drastic than others. The Narn government is GONE, reduced to rebels making small gestures of defiance with whatever they can scrounge from the rubble. The Minbari government is starting on a dark path, as they kick Delenn off the Grey Council and make the unwise choice of a member of the WARRIOR Caste to replace her--thus unbalancing the Council in the Warriors' favour. The Centauri government loses its old and basically NICE Emperor in exchange for a new, vigorous, aggressive young man who will eventually reveal himself to be NOT an "infantile puppet" but an uncontrollably insane MONSTER. And EarthGov is faring no better, having lost the conservative but sane Luis Santiago in exchange for the ruthless and paranoid W. Morgan Clark. The fates of the two "empires"--Human and Centauri--start their eerie parallell to each other here. While EarthGov goes further and further down the spiral with its illicit dealings with Psi Corps, Bureau 13, the Ministry of Peace, Nightwatch, and even--the SHADOWS, Centauri Prime starts going after more and more worlds, slaughtering entire populations in a ravening hunger for power. BOTH governments deal with the Shadows, resulting in their immediate advancements and their ultimate downfalls. Both obtain insane new rulers at about the same time. Both have trouble with rebellions on colony worlds (Free Mars for EarthDome, the "underground railroad" for the Royal Court), and both become essentially police states, where a mere ACCUSATION is enough to get you killed without a trial. And, for both worlds, it will eventually almost "end...in fire..."
From the arrival of Captain Sheridan to the revelation of Kosh, Season Two had its good points--"The Coming of Shadows", "The Long, Twilight Struggle", "Soul Mates", "Acts of Sacrifice", "There All the Honor Lies", "The Geometry of Shadows", "Knives", etc., and its bad points--"GROPOS", "Divided Loyalties", "Confessions and Lamentations", "Points of Departure", "All Alone in the Night". But overall, it was, as the old song says, "a very good year."

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