Babylon 5 S01E04: "Born To The Purple" - Episode Discussion

Born To The Purple episode for non-Americans:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8h1hgb

I love the B5 theme/intros. The only thing missing is the turning heads/clips of each character (which comes later).

• I feel I should probably not know as much about Centauri sex as I do for a show I was watching long before I had ever been to AO3.
• G'kar is a delightful antagonist for both Sinclair and Londo. They did a good job of making the different races distinct from previous media (especially ST)
• B5 is once again grittier - slavery, exotic dancers, sex work, hook ups where they're still in bed! And staff and teeps alike will bend the rules when it is the right thing to do, not just for plot convenience. And Sinclair will absolutely help, and use it as leverage to get the deal he needs.
• MOON FACED ASSASSIN OF JOY - I love Vir. I like that we're slowly adding and expanding the diplomatic attachés for each ambassador. They become much bigger presences later.
• Ivanova may be my favorite character. Dushenka moya. She did an excellent job of gaslighting Garibaldi about his gremlins.
• Londo is so tragic - a washed up old republican in a washed up empire posturing on a station and trying to find love with someone using him, against her will. I remembered the flowers he gave Adira specifically.
• Not sure this kind of device shows back up again.

A fun little spy drama!

Do Centauri women not have the pointy teeth and eyebrows? I wonder how much thought they put into decisions like that. Like, back in their pre-civilization days, did the men need the pointy teeth because they did all the hunting? That's my head-canon for now.

Always fun to see what the careers of the guest stars turned into lately.
Looks like Fabiana went from a relationship with Londo to the Terminator. Not sure how much of an upgrade that is! :D

Let's talk about the title real quick. There's an interesting origin to the expression, dating back to when purple dye was so rare and expensive that only the Byzantine emperor could use it. We know ambassador Londo Mollari was born into a powerful noble house, born to the purple, with the eyes of his world(s) upon him from birth and very high expectations of him. And he's named the files containing secrets about other noble houses the "purple files". I think that's probably just an inside joke or something from the writers, but maybe the same quirk of biology happens on most planets, where very few organisms contain purple pigments, so the colour is synonymous with wealth and nobility on other planets as well.

Don't give away the homeworld!

Sort of a slow almost mellow episode, but the underlying diplomatic tension is high. I find that an interesting way to deal with high stakes diplomacy. Mollari is the main event here and we get to see his soft side, while also learning how and why he is powerful.

I was again however a little annoyed and how easy they can yet again get Talia to bend psi cop rules. A bit too convenient to pull out.