After the high stakes of a brand new captain, and a mysterious ancient enemy, episode three is a bit more light hearted(aside from one character seemingly idly contemplating suicide).  None of the plot points here are going to reverberate throughout the rest of the season, even if there are some nods towards future problems, and most of the storylines are basically comedic.  Babylon 5 had 22 episode seasons so they could afford to sprinkle in some episodes like this, and I appreciate it, as 22 straight hours of escalating stakes would wear me out.

The episode starts by checking in on Garibaldi.  He is getting an exam done by Dr. Franklin.  Franklin is pleased with Garibaldi’s progress and recommends him to go back to duty in a few days.  Garibaldi is hesitant both about Sheridan and about going back to work.  Getting shot by his own second in command is making him feel like maybe he is not cut out to be chief of security. 

Meanwhile in Londo’s quarters we get introduced to Lord Refa, played by William Forward.  Refa is visiting to sing Londo’s praises for the destruction of the Narn base.  Because they are two Centauri nobles, they also begin some light plotting.  Refa is down right disparaging of the current emperor and his policies. He is hoping to enlist Londo’s aid in taking over the government once the current frail emperor dies.  Londo happily agrees. 

As the Centauri are scheming, the third plot kicks off when a bunch of Drazi, some wearing purple scarves and others wearing green, begin a massive brawl in the middle of the Zocalo.  Amidst that chaos we jump to credits.

Coming back, Londo is seeing off Refa, who casually mentions that people are looking for a sign that it is time for the Centauri to reassert their place in the galaxy.  With that last bit of conniving he leaves, and we are introduced to techno-mages, something that back in the mid-90’s may have seemed cooler but here it comes off as very cringy.  Londo is impressed with them, and mentions that seeing more than one can be a bad omen, as three of them casually stroll by.  

Sheridan and Ivanova are discussing the Drazi situation, and it is a dumb one, which will eventually be a recurring kind of thing with the Drazi.  The gang fight is actually their version of a political process.  Once every five years they split into two camps and beat on each other until one side wins.  That side gets to run the Drazi government until the next cycle begins.  Most of my life this seemed incredibly dumb, but recently I am more willing to hear them out on this one.  Either way, Sheridan decides to give Ivanova the job of figuring out how to mitigate the conflict here on the station, lets her know that he has had her promoted to full commander.

Ivanova is not the only one that is being stuck with a tough new gig.  Vir and Londo have a heartfelt discussion about fate, and Londo decides that Refa’s visit and the arrival of the techno-mages are a sign, and that he should attempt to use an endorsement by the mages as another piece in his conspiracy against the emperor.  He assigns Vir the happy task of arranging a meeting with the reclusive bunch.   This goes about as well as Vir thought it would and he ends up being confronted by a badly CG’d monster.  He stands his ground and gets to speak with Elric, played by TV veteran Michael Ansara (Klingon Commander Kang himself!).  Elric denies the request for an audience and dismisses Vir by quoting Gandalf, which is pretty cool. 

Sheridan goes to Garibaldi’s quarters to visit, and finds him sitting on the floor idly playing with his gun.  Garibaldi says much the same thing he told Dr. Franklin.  Sheridan approaches him openly and simply tells him that he would like him to stay on, and that he values the attributes that Garibaldi brings to the job.  This is a good example of Sheridan’s general style, and it shows how these two characters are not going to relate to each other in anything like the way that Garibaldi and Sinclair related to one another.  

Ivanova has her first big meeting with the Drazi, where she explains that despite B5 being open to alien races and their cultures, they cannot allow the Drazi on the station to fight each other in the hallways.  Neil Bradley and Kim Strauss play the purple and green leaders respectively, and they are both regulars throughout all the seasons, being bit players that can handle the challenges of prosthetics.  They explain that there is no philosophical difference between the two factions.  All Drazi are randomly assigned to either green or purple based on blindly pulling the scarves out of a large barrel. Ivanova does not handle things very well, and basically starts mocking their system until the tension explodes and another fight starts, and Ivanova gets trampled by the Drazi.

Ivanova recovers from the scuffle, but not without a broken foot(due to Claudia Christain having a real injury). Sheridan comes to visit, and to his credit he lets Ivanova stay with the task, merely offering to let her rest before going again, and reassuring her that she has his absolute trust.  The show at this point feels like they are trying to fast forward to getting Sheridan on good terms with the other characters, since he did not benefit from the year of stories from season 1.  Ivanova sets up a new meeting with the Drazi that goes sideways when the Greens decide to just murder all the Purples before Ivanova gets there.

Vir relays what Elric said, even amusingly trying to imitate his voice.  Londo finds the idea that the techno-mages don’t want money or power ridiculous but acknowledges that he cant force them to meet with him before leaving while scheming to find a way to get what he wants.  Londo settles on using Sheridan to do his dirty work, implying that the techno-mages could make trouble, and offering his expertise in dealing with them.  In a way this is another smart scene to build up Sheridan.  He is naturally a more trusting character then Sinclair, and he does not know Londo very well so he accepts the help, though with some reservations.  This scene 100% would not have worked with Sinclair in the same way.  

Garibaldi runs into Lou Welch, who also asks when the chief is coming back.  It is a nice scene, and it at least lets him know that he does have a community that cares about him and wants him back, even if that is not quite enough to seal the deal on his return. 

Elric and Sheridan butt heads right away.  Sheridan wants information on the techno-mages’ movements and plans, while Elric quite rightly tells him that it is none of his business.  Londo arrives and slyly plants a hidden camera and tries to make nice with Elric.  Elric is having none of it, and plays recordings of Vir begging for an audience.  Londo tries again to get his endorsement moment, but Elric exposes and destroys the hidden camera and threatens Londo.  Sheridan is unsympathetic and dismisses the rattled Centauri.  Elric and Sheridan do a walk and talk through the Zocalo and discuss the possibility of magic, and they dance around the Arthur C. Clarke definition.  Whatever you think of that, the conversation reassures Sheridan that the techno-mages are not dangerous, and Elric lets Sheridan know that there is a great conflict coming, and that they are trying to escape it so that their knowledge is not misused or lost. 

Ivanova limps her way to Green HQ and demands that they stop the violence. The Greens counter with a request that Ivanova help them murder all the Purples at once to solve everyone’s problems.  Ivanova decides not to go for it, and the Greens make the great choice to kidnap her and use her credentials to lure the Purples into a trap.  Plots collide when the aimless Garibaldi heres from Lou that he got a text message from Ivanova to clear out an area for the Drazi.  This raises his suspicions based on what he knows of Ivanova, and he goes off to find and rescue her.  

Garibaldi and Ivanova try one more time to come up with a non-violent solution to the Drazi conflict, by holding all the Purples until it is over, until the Green Drazi Leader mockingly informs them that the contest will last for an entire year.  Ivanova starts ranting at the Green leader, until mid rant she rips his scarf off.  This accidentally makes her the new Green leader.  She seizes the opportunity to take them all to have their scarves turned purple.  

Londo gets hit with a 90’s screensaver virus, that he gamely calls a spell, courtesy of Elric.  Eventually he relents to the pressure and apologizes.  He has to walk down the same scary hallway that Vir did and gets exposed to the same cheesy effects.  The mages relent on the scare tactics, but leave Londo with a bunch of bat creatures clinging to his back as he leaves.  He eventually tries one more time to talk with Elric, complaining about the virus and other damage they have done to his quarters.  Elric lets him know that he wont have any more trouble, but then the silly plot veers into something a bit darker with this exchange:

Elric: You are touched by darkness, Ambassador. I see it as a blemish that will grow with time. I could warn you of course, but you would not listen. I could kill you, but someone would take your place. So I do the only thing I can: I go. [starts to turn away, then turns back to Londo] Oh, I believe it was an endorsement you wanted? A word or two, a picture, to send to the folks back home, confirming that you have a destiny before you?

Londo: Yes, it was just a thought, nothing more.

Elric: Well, take this for what little it will profit you. As I look at you, Ambassador Mollari, I see a great hand reaching out of the stars. The hand is your hand. And I hear sounds – the sounds of billions of people calling your name.

Londo: My followers?

Elric: Your victims.

Ansara really sells the lines, and Jurasik does a great job of going from eager to troubled by this prophecy.  It wont be the final time that the character gets such troubling warnings of the path he is on.  

Overall I don’t mind this episode.  The techno-mages aren’t my favorite concept but it is more than made up for by that final exchange with Elric and Londo.  Ivanova’s plot I am mixed on.  Aside from the rather blunt political metaphor, it also makes her come across as pretty insensitive to other cultures.  One of the Drazi even correctly calls her out for her lack of respect.  I can excuse it as her first foray into diplomacy but it is not a great look for the character.  

Next week is another big scifi story that also does some work on getting Sheridan up to speed with the other characters.  It also gets us another look at the mysterious enemy, so make sure to check out the DC Fontana penned episode “A Distant Star”. 

As always, a reminder that you can watch the episodes on Tubi with ads.  It is apparently back on Amazon Prime, but Tubi is free and their ad breaks are smaller.  

The Good

• Sheridan(and Boxleitner) continue to get comfortable with the station.
• This is a great showcase of Vir as well.  As much as he was a joke in Season 1, the beginnings of becoming Londo’s conscience are here, as we see that he has real ideas about destiny.  He also quickly vibes with the mages’ lack of desire for money and power, something that the far more traditional Londo has a hard time with.
• Ansara takes a goofy concept and imbues it with some real gravity. 

The Bad

• I just find the techno-mages silly.  I cant really get past it, even now. 
• Ivanova will become better with time, but something about the dismissive way she treats the Drazi kind of rubs me the wrong way in this day and age. 

Arc Points (Spoilers Ahead)

• Garibaldi gets over his crisis of faith and remains pretty steady until season 4 when he has another one.
• More warnings about the coming Shadow War.  Season 2 has now had them in episode 2 and 3, and will have some more in episode 4.  After using them so sparingly in Season 1, they are dropping more and more hints about them, though they still have not come out and called them the Shadows.
• Techno-mages wont show up again until the various spin offs.  Maybe enough people in the production shared my opinion that they were too cringe to be effective.
• Ivanova apparently was meant to be a lot more proactive in this episode, and was originally written as rescuing herself but Claudia Christian’s real life injury changed their plans.  To make the chronology of the episode work, in the scene where she gets piled onto by the Drazi she was walking around on her broken foot, so that is some dedication.