UnHollywood Babylon

Thanks to my son I'm making significant progress through Babylon 5 - Season Five. I have to admit that things are really picking up now. The first half of the season seems to be setting things up for the last half, and the whole "telepaths" arc was something dramatic to slide in there to keep us interested while the larger arc unfolds.

At any rate, the last episode I watched last night, "And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder" was one of the best episodes I've seen in awhile. The "farewell" scene between G'Kar and Delenn was one of the best moments of the series.

The other poignant aspect was the continued relationship between G'Kar and Londo, and now their inextricable linking of destinies. They are both headed into a long, dark night, but yet they are world apart. On one hand we have Londo, marching headlong into the abyss. All through the series he has allowed circumstances to rule him--very rarely has he shown the independent will to choose a path other than the path of least resistance. His mantra for the series has been "I have no choice."

On the other hand we have G'Kar. Early in the series he was Londo's counterpart in every sense. He was just as reactionary as Londo in the beginning, yet along the way he learned that he has a choice--and he exercises that choice. As a result, his life becomes very, very different.

And now, as the series winds to a close, we see both men on a path that will end with their eventual deaths. Londo lacks the will to avoid this fate. G'Kar has every opportunity to avoid it, but exercises the will to embrace it. There is something majestically tragic about them both.

The morale to Londo's tale is quite clear. But I'm still deliberating on the point to G'Kar's end. He's already played the Christ Figure. He's saved his people through great personal sacrifice. Is Straczinsky elaborating by pointing out that to sacrifice openly for millions is noble, but to sacrifice in obscurity--and in vain--for just one person is every bit as noble?

I don't know, but it's powerful stuff. And such is the appeal of Babylon 5, I believe. Yes, it's sci-fi. Yes, it's aliens and spaceships and wars and petty differences. But it's also about something much, much larger. It is naked morality. It is, as Straczinsky posits, the Universe trying to figure itself out.

And that is why my staying up late taking care of my boy so my wife can sleep is no sacrifice at all. I get to watch B5. It's not mindless entertainment. It's a nightly exploration into the essence of humanity and character. It's not television. It's Literature, by any other name.