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EpDis: Born To The Purple

The Gathering


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I really love "Born To The Purple." It's a full-on character story; we get hit twice by Londo and by Ivanova.

I love seeing Londo's depth in this ep. With his hair for some reason easily able to get viewers to dismiss him, and his drunken bafoonery potentially limiting his character, this episode helps being so early in the viewing order to boldy announce that Londo is a character of depth.

Seeing his love for Adira is wistful and tragic in a way. "Appearances be damned!" he tells her. If only over the course of the show he could have adhered to that personal philosophy more. We see more of Londo's opinion of himself: that he's washed-up, that he is worrisome of the state his society is in, and that he wishes for things to be different. It is all this that makes him the prey of others later in the series.

And then we have Ivanova secretly getting in contact with her father back on Earth, and eventually watching him die in their final conversation. Her last remaining immediate family member is gone. Claudia does great and brings tremendous vulnerability to the character in this episode. And Garibaldi's reaction once he cracks the blocks during Ivanova's final conversation as he watches the conversation as well as his reaction of telling Ivanova he knows without actually saying it strengthen his character as well.

Adira's character was great, I thought, for being a guest character. A character that's a slave can easily turn into nothing but a huge stereotype, but Adira is kept from being such. I get the feeling when I watch this episode that while Adira is a slave and an erotic dancer, she has a considerable amount of dignity for herself yet simultaneously feels the scorn and contempt toward her from so much of the rest of her society. That she is able to gain her freedom in the end is heartwarming and doesn't feel cliche for a slave character.

Oh, and we get to meet the short-lived Miss Ko'Dath. :LOL:
 
I rated it "good". I enjoyed the ep mostly for the backstory on Centauri politics. It was also nice to see Londo actually happy.
 
I gave this one an excellant grade it was nice seeing Londo really fall in love and be happy and I loved Adira the fact she got her freedom at the end was touching.But knowing her final fate is sad.Ivanova's father dying in a hospitol after a long illness it seems was very touching for me as well as the character of susan ivanova.
 
My favorite part of this episode is the title, given that it foreshadows Londo's rise to being emperor.
 
This is an entertaining episode. It's not one of the best, but it's still good watching! :)
 
I gave this one a B. It was nice seeing what a true romantic Londo is (and heartbreaking in retrospect). It was alos nice seeing how much Sinclair knows about his station, even the seedy parts.

Favorite line: 'And you can kiss my plump Centauri...ahhhh.'
 
Question on episode:

During Londo's final kiss with Adira, why does he leave his eyes open when he kisses her. Did Peter Jurasik not like the Actress or something?
 
You've never kissed someone with your eyes open just to be able to watch them kissing you with their eyes closed?

I have. :eek:
 
I like the Londo and Adira scenes, but my question is this....

What would this Trakis fellow want from the Centauri? Why was he willing to damage the career of the Centauri Ambassador to Babylon 5? Did he have some personal grudge against the Centauri? Was his homeworld one of the worlds that the Centauri controlled? I never did figure that out.
 
Question on episode:

During Londo's final kiss with Adira, why does he leave his eyes open when he kisses her. Did Peter Jurasik not like the Actress or something?

That's simply how the Centauri kiss! :)

/IamS
 
I like this episode.

As far as I can remember, it's the only one to feature a grey-eyed Narn, which suggests this is a very rare genetic mutation (unless, perhaps, the Shadows exterminated their kind in the days of G'Quon).

One thing that has long puzzled me:
When Londo and Sinclair go to the nightclub in disguise in search of Adira, how does Londo manage to get his hair to fit under that hood?
 
When Londo and Sinclair go to the nightclub in disguise in search of Adira, how does Londo manage to get his hair to fit under that hood?

:LOL:

I guess he just flattened his hair down some.
 
I remember this as the first episode of B5 (once I saw it in order from season 1 on) which really entertained me completely. I liked it a lot. :cool:
 
I like the Londo and Adira scenes, but my question is this....

What would this Trakis fellow want from the Centauri? Why was he willing to damage the career of the Centauri Ambassador to Babylon 5? Did he have some personal grudge against the Centauri? Was his homeworld one of the worlds that the Centauri controlled? I never did figure that out.

He wanted to sell it the information, probably the Narn. He says it in the show, I think to Adira. That's also why Londo' concern was for more than just his own ass, and why Sinclair helped him (as well as getting Londo to agree on that treaty)- the info could damage the entire Centauri Republic.

Adira was also Alotta Vagina in Austin Powers. She is a babe, even if bald.
 
Really good ep for Susan, by far my fave character. As she showed in MotFL, this is a woman who has gone thru a whole lot of pain, with a lot more coming. She has her heart stomped on 'till it's covored in cracks, but just holds it in and carries on, until we see in TKO that all those unwept tears could turn her to ice. It's not 'till S4 that she takes the blow that breaks her. All in al, Susan is the most astounding character, and I would also strongly recommend avoiding pissing her off at all costs! ;)
 

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