Moments of Transition

Overview

The warrior caste demands Delenn's surrender. Bester makes an offer to an increasingly desperate Lyta. Sheridan is compelled to act after receiving horrible news from Ivanova. Scott Adams as Mr. Adams. Bart McCarthy as Shakiri. Walter Koenig as Bester. John Vickery as Neroon.

P5 Rating: 8.73

Production number: 414
Original air week: May 19, 1997
DVD release date: January 6, 2004

Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Tony Dow

Plot Points

@@@864065604 Delenn has formed a new Grey Council, with the worker caste holding 5 of the 9 positions. The position of leader is reserved for "The One who is to come."
@@@864065604 In the days before Valen, when caste wars erupted, the warring leaders would gather in the temple of Varenni, which is equipped with planetwide broadcast facilities and a device called the Starfire Wheel. The Starfire Wheel would consume the opposing leaders in fire. Whichever one willing was to die for the rightness of their side would remain in the fire until death; that caste would lead.
@@@864065604 Unable to find work, Lyta has rejoined the Psi Corps in name only, striking a deal with Bester to give him custody over her body when she dies so he can try to understand what the Vorlons did to her. In exchange, the Corps will list her as a member when potential clients try to do a background check on her.
@@@864065604 Bester is directly involved in whatever was done to Garibaldi. Among other things, Bester's plan is to pull Garibaldi further and further from his former associates, though the ultimate purpose is still unclear.
@@@864065604 William Edgars, Garibaldi's employer, is extremely secretive; though he's one of the wealthiest men in the Earth Alliance, no pictures of him have ever been published. He also claims to have an intense distrust of telepaths and refuses to let any of his high-level employees work with them.

Unanswered Questions

@@@864065604 Who is The One who is to come? (See Analysis)
@@@864065604 What will happen to Shakiri? Does he still lead the warrior caste?
@@@864067304 What were Delenn's instructions to Lennier?
@@@864065604 What is Bester's plan for Garibaldi?
@@@866938177 What happened between Zack and Bester after Bester provoked Garibaldi?

Analysis

@@@864542424 The One who is to come may be Sheridan; in "War Without End," Zathras referred to him as "The One who will be." The main thing arguing against it being Sheridan is the generally xenophobic attitude expressed by many Minbari in the past (e.g. Callenn in "Atonement.") On the other hand, perhaps such xenophobia is only a disease of the warrior and religious castes; the worker caste might have less trouble accepting a human as their leader.
Another candidate is David, Sheridan and Delenn's future child ("War Without End, Part Two.") As a direct descendant of all three of The One, and a partial Minbari genetically, he might be more palatable.
She might even have meant Sinclair: in "Atonement," she mentioned Valen's body was never found, and at least one Minbari ritual, the extra placesetting seen in "Confessions and Lamentations," indicates a belief in Valen's eventual return.
It's also possible Delenn didn't intend her comment in any sort of prophetic way. She may simply have been referring to the next head of the Grey Council. The Minbari went ten years between leaders after Dukhat's death; perhaps there will be a similar period of mourning for Neroon, and the new leader won't be chosen for a while.
@@@864544191 Both Sheridan and Delenn have accepted death (Sheridan with Lorien in "Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?") Will the experience change Delenn as it changed Sheridan? Arguably, this isn't the first time for Delenn -- she accepted at least the possibility of death in "Confessions and Lamentations" and gave herself in exchange for Sheridan in "Comes the Inquisitor."
@@@864067551 Despite Delenn's denial, the religious caste members on her ship in "Rumors, Bargains and Lies" were at least partially right: her plan did involve surrendering to the warrior caste, if only temporarily. If Lennier's reaction was at all typical, that must have come as a horrible blow to her caste when they heard about it.
@@@867903582 Delenn's line to Shakiri, "The warrior caste started this war. Now the religious caste has ended it," echoes the lesson Sheridan learned from his father ("Severed Dreams") -- "Never start a fight, but always finish it."
@@@864067551 Neroon's loyalties at the beginning of the episode were unclear. Shakiri's contempt for life clearly convinced Neroon that Delenn's plan was the right way to go. But would he have carried out her plan if Shakiri hadn't been so fanatical and had been able to provide some valid justification for the war?
@@@864541332 Neroon's sacrifice will probably play much better in the long run than Delenn's death would have. Shakiri's fear and actions brought dishonor to the Warrior caste; had they simply lost to the religious caste the resentment and stain of dishonor would have remained.
By sacrificing himself for Delenn, Neroon gave honor back to the warriors, since one of their own remained and died in the Starwheel. His conversion to religious caste assured that the honor would be shared with them as well.
Neroon's last-minute conversion meant both a religious and a warrior caste member perished on the wheel. Thus, technically, neither caste won, just as Delenn wanted.
@@@865710832 Neroon wasn't the first Minbari to switch castes. His former commander, Branmer, was originally religious caste but switched to warrior caste during the Earth-Minbari War ("Legacies.")
@@@865179896 Neroon's interaction with Delenn revolves around sacrifice. In "Grey 17 Is Missing," he was ready to attack or possibly kill her, but yielded when he saw that Marcus was ready to sacrifice his life for her sake. Here, he himself made that sacrifice. At the end of "Grey 17," Marcus asked Neroon, "Next time you want a revelation, could you possibly find a way that's not quite so uncomfortable?" Apparently not.
@@@864588681 While Delenn was bringing peace to her people, Sheridan was preparing to go to war with his. What will Delenn think of his decision when she returns?
@@@864067304 Ivanova's broadcast mentioned a Starfury squadron defecting to Proxima 3. How many Earth ships have gone over to the resistance? Presumably the Alexander is still at large ("Severed Dreams.") Are there other ships of that caliber, and if so, will they take orders from Sheridan?
@@@864670730 Bester implied he'd seen the Voice of the Resistance broadcasts. Does that mean the broadcasts are in fact reaching Earth and/or Mars, or has he simply seen them because he travels a lot in the course of his job?
@@@864588681 Bester's contract says he gets Lyta's body if she dies of natural causes. Would the telepath disease in "Conflicts of Interest" count as natural causes? If so, Bester and the Corps may have a specific reason to want to gain control of the cure. Perhaps Bester was the one responsible for sending the telepaths to try to procure it.
@@@864067304 Lyta is slowly lifting the veil of secrecy she's maintained about the Vorlons and their changes to her. In "Epiphanies," she was only willing to obliquely acknowledge the possibility that something might have happened. Here, she tacitly admitted it to Bester, and told Garibaldi in no uncertain terms that she wasn't a mere P5 any more.
@@@864067304 Will Lyta be more willing to scan Garibaldi now that he has, from her point of view, turned against her? If she were to discover evidence of Bester's involvement in whatever was done to Garibaldi, she'd presumably want to investigate and find out what Bester was up to. Of course, she might still consider Garibaldi's privacy a more compelling concern, and presumably whatever programming he received would prevent him from agreeing to be scanned.
@@@864845195 Sheridan's insistence that Lyta move to smaller quarters to help the station stay financially afloat is somewhat hypocritical, given his refusal to do the same in "A Race Through Dark Places." Lyta made the same argument Sheridan did against being forcibly moved: her value to the station entitles her to special treatment.
It's worth noting that Zack said the order came from Station Resources, not from Sheridan himself, but presumably if there were a reasonable chance Sheridan would overturn the order, Zack would have asked him before burdening Lyta with the news.
And given Bester's presence on the station, was Zack even relaying a real order? Bester might have planted the belief in such an order in Zack's mind without Zack being any the wiser.
@@@864542058 This is the second time Zack has been asked to relay bad news to someone close: first Garibaldi in "Conflicts of Interest," and now Lyta, who appears to have warmed up considerably to Zack since he brought her pizza in "Epiphanies." Though Zack is clearly loyal to Sheridan, bearing bad news to friends probably won't have any positive effect on his attitude.
@@@864542058 Zack no longer calls Garibaldi "chief." Likely he's given up hope of Garibaldi's return. Any respect Zack had for Garibaldi was probably destroyed by Garibaldi's use of a duplicate identicard to get past customs ("Conflicts of Interest.")

Notes

@@@862819784 Cartoonist Scott Adams, creator of the "Dilbert" comic strip, has a cameo appearance in this episode. A press release about his appearance is available.
Mr. Adams' lost dog and cat are no doubt a reference to the characters of Dogbert and Catbert from the comic strip. Dogbert is constantly scheming to take over the world.
@@@885536282 The new Grey Council (spellings approximate): Dalidi and Burli of the religious caste, Mazik and Shaka of the warrior caste, and Dulann, Katz, Zaca, Nur, and Barenn of the worker caste.
@@@864542729 The title of this episode echoes G'Kar's closing monologue in "Z'ha'dum": "The future is all around us, waiting, in moments of transition, to be born in moments of revelation. No one knows the shape of that future or where it will take us. We know only that it is always born in pain."
@@@870242784 The security guard may have been stumped by Bester's Dickens quote because it wasn't quite right. In "A Christmas Carol," Marley's Ghost said, "Mankind was my business," not "Humanity is my business."
@@@870027128 Edgars claimed to be available 24 hours a day. The Martian day is closer to 25 Earth hours long. But even now, scientists divide the Martian day into 24 Martian hours, each slightly longer than a terrestrial hour. It's reasonable to assume that that practice continues into the 23rd century. (More on Mars)
@@@866394205 This episode takes place around August 3, 2261. August 3 is a recurring date in the series: August 3, 2258 was the date of the initial mayday from the raiders in "Signs and Portents;" August 3, 2260 was the date the Shadows began attacking openly ("Interludes and Examinations;") and August 3, 2261 was the date in Bester's log entry in this episode.
@@@869851585 In the original US broadcast, the cruiser firing on the commercial transports was shown as the Agamemnon, Sheridan's old ship. That was a production slipup (see JMS Speaks) and in later airings, the cruiser was labeled the Pollux.

jms speaks

@@@865613058 In response to an earlier JMS message saying the cruiser wasn't the Agamemnon
I have to recant my correction.
The image as shown in the monitor was supposed to be shown *only* on the monitor, not blown up. The animators figured, it'll be too small to read the name on it, so we may as well grab a ship out of the library rather than building a new one (a sensible choice)...but when John and I got into editing, we grabbed the original video and did that close-up...and neither of us, NObody, ever even noticed the Aggy name until after it was mentioned here...and I then checked, and to my chagrin, it was there.
But in true Soviet Revisionist fashion, you can be assured that down the road, this will mysteriously be replaced by another shot....
@@@865288720 If you had been 100% sure there'd be a season 5, would this have been the season 4 finale?
No, this could never have been the finale for 4.
@@@864666022 Will John Vickery return, perhaps as Mr. Welles from "The Fall of Night?"
No, not as that role, but we're definitely open to using him in other roles, as with Wayne Alexander.
@@@867911142 We'll keep our eyes out for a way to bring him around again, same as with Wayne.
@@@864542729 How does this story relate to G'Kar's speech?
In a way, it was the second half of G'Kar's sentence...that life can be broken down into moments of transition and moments of revelation...and there with Neroon at the end we had both.
@@@864580628 Did he really realize he belonged in the religious caste, or did he just do it for Delenn's sake?
Whether it was true or not, he knew his actions would bring the castes back together...so out of respect for the dead, best to leave the issue unresolved, and accept his gesture for what it was.
@@@864500122 What was wrong with Walter Koenig's hand?
As for Walter...he made the decision to play Bester with a deformed or useless hand, which he's compensating for as a teep.
@@@864580628 Then how does he put his gloves on?
Ask Walter.
@@@865362300 What's been great about B5 has been the chance to give many talented actors like Walter and others a chance to show the many other hues and colors they are capable of delivering, but which were rarely seen because the material didn't allow them the opportunity. I know Walter's loved it, and it's been great for us as well.
@@@864580988 Were Delenn and Neroon secretly in contact, or was the whole plan worked out in advance?
They were worked out in advance, and the instructions were for posthumous use.
@@@864500323 Did Delenn's instructions include a message for Sheridan?
Almost certainly.
@@@864236121 Are any members of the old Grey Council on the new one?
Yeah, some of the new council would've been on the old one.
And Bester was named for a well-known SF writer, now gone.
@@@864666022 The Grey Council stucture, visually, is designed to bring the Starfire wheel to mind. Valen, being something of a smart cookie, figured it would be wise to tie in whatever he was doing to the traditions that preceded him. So they're arranged in a circle, with a series of lights above them, and the one central light (for Dukhat, for instance) reserved for the one who had endured and grown to leadership, but through a somewhat less violent means.
"Finally, the diversity of cultures on Babylon 5 must be a satisfaction for you as a writer to have so many different voices to express. "MoT" for me was almost like seguing between playwrights -- Damon Runyan (Garibaldi) to Oscar Wilde (Bester) to Aeschylus (Minbar). One of the things I have found most appealing about Babylon 5 as a whole is that the language is similar to the language of the stage. That seems rare in a television milieu defined for the most part by diseases-of-the-week, talk-show spew and courtroom maneuverings."
Yeah, I like that part a lot, being able to write in lots of different voices, lots of different styles. You have to remember that I cut my teeth writing dialogue back when I was writing plays and getting them produced. I love theater, love plays, and love really well done or rich dialogue. So it echoes that now...which as you say isn't necessarily the style of dialogue seen on most television (which is why a few react weirdly to it), but I like it, and it's my show....
@@@874513609 Lyta refused to scan Garibaldi, but was willing to scan the Centauri in "Passing Through Gethsemane."
Yes, it's an inconsistency; because humans are inconsistent. But it's only an inconsistency subject to Lyta's rationalizations...which are quite reasonable.
She didn't know the Centauri; she knew Garibaldi...they knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Brother Edward's *life* was in jeapordy, and that this person may hold the key to saving his life and every instant they waited meant he could be dying, whereas there is no such crisis in the Garibaldi situation...they were able to hide her identity from the Centauri whereas they would not be able to do so with her and Garibaldi....
The decision to scan or not to scan is essentially a moral or ethical decision. When someone's life is on the line, that raises one ethical concern, as opposed to Zack just having a vague suspicion about Garibaldi's character and asking her to engage in a fishing expedition. There is a quantum difference between the two of them.
Would a physician give someone the tools necessary to end his life? No. Would he do so if the person were chronically ill and in constant, terrible pain? Very possibly. It's the *context*. You can't expect people to act the same in every situation regardless of context, context is everything.
People are not robots, they rationalize, they are inconsistent, but they generally have *reasons* for it that they can justify. As somebody once said, rationalizations are more important than sex, because you can *go* a day without sex.... [Ed. note: this is a quote from "The Big Chill."]
@@@864666022 Why didn't Lyta go to Sheridan for help?
I think Lyta had just emotionally gotten to the place where she had to do something on her own rather than continuing to rely on the kindness of strangers.
@@@864500122 Did Bester tell Edgars that Garibaldi had hired Lyta?
Nope.
@@@864542729 Is Edgars really Bester?
Not a chance.
Edgars is played by Efrem Zimbalist Jr., which by itself precludes that.
@@@864636708 Bear in mind that Edgars also has Wade working for him right there on the station, and he is more or less Garibaldi's liaison with Edgars, so logically that would be his source of information.