This episode is something of a guilty pleasure of mine.  In story terms it has very little to do with any ongoing arcs.  Nothing here is going to be referenced again. It does get into a little more of the Centauri culture, as well as the culture in the Psi Corps.  I mostly like this one because the humor, while broad, is fun and I have always been a fan of Peter David.  This one isn’t exactly required viewing, but I certainly don’t skip it during my casual re-watches either. 

The episode gets us started with a nervous Vir repeating himself at customs.  Garibaldi stops to chat, and Vir lets him know he is there to meet up with Londo’s three wives.  This fact about Londo was mentioned back in season 1, so that is a nice tidbit of continuity.  Their conversation is forcefully interrupted by Londo’s first wife Timov(vomit backwards), played by the veteran character actor Jane Carr.  She begins ordering Vir around, and he gets swept up enough that he does not even bother waiting around for the other wives.  Garibaldi watches in amusement, before his attention becomes focused on an argument that ends strangely.  This trips something in him and he begins investigating.  Later when discussing it with Sheridan they identify one of the arguing men as Matthew Stoner, a freelance navigator.  Garibaldi admits that nothing bad has happened but he just has a feeling that the guy is up to no good.  Talia interrupts and then drops the bomb that she had been married to Matthew Stoner previously.  

Jumping back from the credits, we see Londo having a great time at the bar while Vir deals with the increasing hostility of Timov.  Thankfully for poor Vir, Londo’s second wife Daggair,played by Lois Nettleton, arrives to take the brunt of Timov’s attacks.  They fall into fighting immediately.  Londo finally arrives and he begins to get Timov’s attention.  She demands to know why they have been summoned, and he reminds them that it will soon be the 30th anniversary of his ascension, which is a big deal to the Centauri.  He also mentions that the Emperor has granted him one wish in honor of Londo’s lifetime of service, and he has chosen to use that to get a divorce from two of his three wives, which explains his recent jubilant mood. 

Londo watches with joy as this news causes his wives’ fighting to escalate, before his final wife Mariel, played by Blair Valk, arrives to kick things up another notch. She seems to react to the divorce news by aggressively courting other men. Mariel comes over to seduce Londo, but Daggair ups the ante by insisting that they all have sex together. Londo is pretty gross about it and tries to rope Timov into it too, but she gives him a good hard slap instead.  Later on in a bit of plot connection Mariel ends up purchasing the artifact that Stoner had been selling earlier. 

Sheridan reaches out to Talia at a silly museum, and she discusses her past relationship.  Apparently the Psi Corps does the wonderful practice of pairing up telepaths against their will in order to breed better telepaths.  Talia also reveals that something happened to Stoner, and he was able to leave Psi Corps under mysterious circumstances. 

Garibaldi tracks down Stoner, played by Keith Szarabajka, at a market and begins questioning him.  Stoner is a huge asshole to Garibaldi right off the bat. Stoner quickly guesses this treatment is due to Talia, and he is incredibly creepy about it.  Later Stoner confronts Talia, and offers her a chance to get out of Psi Corps, claiming he has the knowledge to get rid of her telepathic talent which would free her from Psi Corps.  The next time Talia and Garibaldi talk she aggressively warns him to back out of the situation.  

While all the chaos is unfolding in the other plots, a very “C” C-plot features Ivanova helping out Delenn with her hair.  Turns out an entire race of bald creatures dont know much about hair care routines which makes a decent amount of sense.  Delenn is enraged by the fact that her new hair is now completely unmanageable.  She also reveals that Minbari do not bathe, but use a chemical to strip away the outer layer of skin.  Delenn begs Ivanova for help, and she gets to work.  Lennier comes in mid-process to let Delenn know about Londo’s party and he is confused by the sight of Delenn’s hair treatment.  

Everything comes together for Londo’s party.  Londo is still in high spirits, while Garibaldi and Delenn have a conversation about reincarnation.  Londo eventually starts opening gifts, including a marked deck of cards from Lennier, a nice call back to their adventure together in Season 1.  Eventually he gets to Mariel’s gift, which after a moment shoots two darts out into his forehead causing him to collapse.  The darts are poisonous and Franklin is concerned that Londo needs a transfusion of blood otherwise the poison will burn through his body.  Daggair and Timov discuss the fact that if he dies the divorces wont happen.  I like this exchange for the self awareness that Daggair has.  She understands the limitations of her own culture all too well, commenting that she is as her society has made her.  

Garibaldi hones back on Stoner, now that his artifact has hurt someone.  Stoner seems pretty ok  to be in a cell facing charges of murder, and brushes off questioning from both Sheridan and Garibaldi.  Garibaldi has Lou Welch perform a background check on Stoner, which turns up nothing.  Before Lou can leave they realize that Stoner managed to get a meal early, and Lou points out there is something about Stoner that makes people like him.  Later Stoner seems to exercise some kind of ability to convince Talia to leave with him, and to convince Lou to arrange for his escape and a transport.  This little plan is interrupted by Garibaldi knocking Stoner out.  

Eventually Timov comes to Franklin with the confession that she has the same blood type as Londo.  She delayed coming forward but eventually decided that she should help save Londo.  However she demands that Franklin never tell Londo that she was the one that saved him.  Franklin basically shrugs and goes along with it, eager to save his patient’s life.  The procedure works, and Londo recovers.  Daggair and Mariel both express relief, whereas Timov simply claims exhaustion and leaves.  Londo complains about his wives to Franklin, who is entirely unsympathetic.  

G’Kar ends up figuring out that Mariel knew what she was gifting to Londo and tried to kill him.  He of course lets Mariel know all this as she is leaving his quarters after sleeping with him, which is very on brand for both characters.  G’kar warns her that Londo will figure it out, but she seems unconcerned.  

Sheridan is also doing a little figuring out of things.  He confronts Stoner with his theory that Stoner is something new, an empath.  He also figures out that the Psi Corps still has control over Stoner, letting him be independent only to avoid a scandal. 

Londo eventually reveals that he is keeping Timov as his wife.  Timov confronts him about this, and he simply replies that he likes that he knows where he stands with her.  This choice may have been obvious a mile away, but I like how it is consistent with his character.  When push comes to shove, though Londo is a “good” Centauri in a way that Vir is not, he values people that are genuine and honest, even when he can use his status and power to force people to pretend to be those things.  

We end with Delenn thanking Ivanova once again, even using her first name.  Delenn also starts asking Ivanova about cramping, much to her discomfort.

Next week we will be doing a deep dive into the Psi Corps again, with our old friend Bester and an underground railroad in space in “A Race Through Dark Places”. 

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

• We get some more insight into Centauri culture which is welcome.  Obviously as an imperial power they have some pretty shitty gender ideas, and each of Londo’s wives buck against that system in their own way. 
• Another great week for guest actors, as everyone does a decent job with the material.  
• Our aliens are all back after some conspicuous absences in the past few episodes.  
• I like that they decide to address the fact that Delenn’s transition would not be seamless and dignified in all aspects. 

The Bad

• The humor can be a bit hacky in some areas, though it does feel very true to life for the Centauri.
• They decided to add a quirk to G’Kar about headaches he gets from mysteries, but this is never brought up before or after. 

Arc Points (Spoilers Ahead)

• Londo calls his wives pestilence, famine and death in an earlier episode and Peter David ran with that. Daggair is supposed to be Pestilence, Timov is famine, and Mariel is death.  This of course makes Londo himself War which is most appropriate for his future.   
• Delenn’s final line of the episode is played as a joke but indicates that she may now be able to reproduce with humans due to her change. 
• This will be among the last of the overtly comedic Londo episodes, as starting with Episode 9 he moves from being one of the more comical characters to one of the darker ones.  G’Kar will also start shifting in response to that episode as well.