Earhart’s: “Interludes and Examinations” Spoiler Space

So, a lot of characters take major steps in this episode. And there are consequences aplenty. A lot happened this episode. Here you can pull it all apart and talk about the aftershocks down the line.

19 thoughts on “Earhart’s: “Interludes and Examinations” Spoiler Space”

  1. In my alternative version of B5, Timov became a recurring character and became closer and closer to Londo up to this episode. And then was killed here instead of Adira. (Timov never comes back, anyway, so it wouldn’t have mattered.)

    I hadn’t seen Born to the Purple when I saw this episode, and I think that improved it, because I was free to imagine a character called “Adira” that would justify Adira’s role in this story. Peter Jurasik’s acting is so much better at selling this than the actual episode that Interludes and Examinations calls back to. One of the rare cases where I think I was better off missing S1.

    Even Jurasik’s performance can’t conceal the problem that Londo – not normally this stupid – does not suspect Morden.

    1. I can totally buy Londo not suspecting Morden, with his past with Reefa and the blind emotion involved. Morden is a master manipulator after all!

      1. I can absolutely agree that Morden is supposed to be a master manipulator, but for me, this episode doesn’t show him as that. He doesn’t create any evidence that Refa is at fault – certainly, Refa has a motive, but so does Morden himself.

        It would be different if this were S2 Londo, but this Londo already knows that he doesn’t trust Morden’s associates and that he has antagonized them. He should at least be aware of the possibility that Morden is not telling the truth.

        I would contrast Londo in And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place. That’s a case where Londo himself is portrayed as a manipulator, and it does work, because most of the loose ends are tied up, and the ones that aren’t are artfully concealed by the writing and direction.

        1. I just assumed that as soon as Londo found out she was poisoned that was all the proof he needed and Morden didn’t convince him because he had already convinced himself

    2. Londo is supposed to be guilty of HUBRIS here.. what is more indicative of that than this line “What can you do to me Mr. Morden? That has not been done to me already? While it may seem wrong in the short term, in terms of where he’s at in his arc it is perfect.

      This ends with him actually having nothing to lose (at least personally) and God help the universe.

  2. It’s incredible how emotional killing a toilet seat and shower curtain can be. Interludes is probably the second most tissue-heavy episode for me after Sleeping in Light.

    1. Can you expand a little?

      As I say in the non-spoiler thread, this is not the way I react to this episode. But it clearly is the way that a lot of – I think most – fans do react, and also, it’s clearly what the episode is intended to provoke, with the “leavetaking” scene and Delenn’s voiceover “….Kosh.”

      So I’m really curious about what I’m missing.

      1. I don’t know if there’s anything to miss, really, people are just different. Even though I consider myself a rational man of science and technology I also think I’m quite a sentimental person. Whenever I’m in a proper mood I often react strongly to deliberately sentimental melodrama, which many people find simply cheesy. In Interludes and Examinations the emotional climax is the very final scene with Delenn’s voiceover, “… in memory of Kosh.” Yes, it’s definitely trying to push certain buttons, and it works for me.

        Emotional impact one way or another is something that I’ve come expect from my very favourite movies and television episodes. Because of it I find some major climaxes of season four somewhat lacking. Episodes like Into the Fire and Moments of Transition are good ones, but they fail to trigger the emotional reaction, unlike for example Interludes and Examinations, War Without End or The Deconstruction of Falling Stars.

        1. 😀 Anyone who has ever lost a toilet seat or shower curtain know exactly what you mean. I felt dumping Kosh’s head on the table was a bit unnecessary.

  3. this episode was really good one, we had so many things happening at the same time that made the story move forward.

    The story and the scenes that touched me the most was Sheridan and Kosh I give Bruce huge credit here bc I really felt Sheridan Frustration about things happening and he can’t do much , the confrontation between Kosh and Sheridan was powerful one the moment when Sheridan says hell even my own government want to kill me and if we lose in the war I have nothing to lose his voice broke and you felt Sheridan frustration and after Kosh told him goodbye Sheridan was sad and maybe had regret bc he didn’t understand that the favor he wanted from the vorlons meant the death of Kosh, but Kosh never left him..

    The only thing I’m sad is that we didn’t had more Kosh Sheridan scenes I wished JMS explored this relationship more I wish I saw more of Kosh fathering Sheridan even if he wasn’t all innocent about teaching Sheridan to fight I think Kosh really cared about Sheridan in a father way..

    Again really loved Bruce work here as well as Peter when he realized that Adira is dead.

  4. I’m not sure there’s been an episode with as much forward momentum since Chrysalis. There’s almost too much happening in here, and it’s very Season 4 in style. Welcome, but it makes the preceding episodes look weaker. There’s a lot of build here where better groundwork could have been laid earlier.

    I think I’ll re-watch this subtitled when I listen to the podcast. Its definitely worth more comment.

  5. Kosh’s “If you go to Za’ha’dum, you will die” is similar Sinclair’s “Watch you back Michael, watch your back” at the end of War without End. Both are futile cry’s to try and prevent a future they know is coming.

  6. Listening to the podcast, you guys brought few points that I want to talk about, Kosh and Sheridan I didn’t actually think about Kosh holding on to life by trying to prevent Sheridan to go to Z’ha’dum , I always thought Kosh didn’t want Sheridan to meet Lorien so he won’t find out the truth about the war. now after watching the show again and listening to you I think you have a point there, Kosh did tell Sheridan to jump jump now , he knew Lorien was there and can help Sheridan.,

    Still not sure what did Kosh knew about what will be, did Kosh knew the future?

    I still think the death scenes would have been better if we would have got more Sheridan Kosh scenes before.

  7. Having listened to the podcast:-

    I’m not so sure that the problem with Walkabout is the airing order.

    On the Kosh/Ulkesh thing: arguably, it’s another sleight-of-hand in the writing. (If so, whether clever or clumsy is hard to say, although I lean towards clumsy, mostly because Ulkesh is a little too cartoonishly nasty, right down to the design of his encounter suit.)

    OK, for this argument to work, one has to accept that the ambassador characters represent their species not only literally, but symbolically. (I think this is pretty obvious from the beginning of the show.)

    Kosh is killed well in time to spare him from being implicated in the reveal of the Vorlons as utter bastards in S4. In his place we have the unpleasant Ulkesh, just when the Vorlons are redefined as unpleasant. This disrupts the continuity that is (in-story) supposedly present. Since the characters stand in for their species, in a sense we remove one idea of the Vorlons and substitute a new idea of the Vorlons – they’re not the same Vorlons.

    In-story, I think the difference between Kosh and Ulkesh is probably better explained as a shift in internal Vorlon politics than that Kosh was an eccentric: unusually for the ambassadors, Kosh was actually put in a position that his species realized was important.

    The Vorlons left a positive memory among the Minbari from the previous Shadow War. JMS somewhere commented that Kosh was old even for a Vorlon, and had personally known Valen/Sinclair. One possibility is that Kosh represents an older, more kindly, group of Vorlons, and that Ulkesh is representative of a new wave of thinkers who want to end the Shadows and impose the Vorlon vision once and for all.

  8. Also, he’ll probably be too modest to mention it here, but frequent Audioguide commenter Andy Luke sent in an email to the Downbelow introcast episode on A View from the Gallery (read out loud at the end of the cast) that is my pick for Best Podcast Comment of 2016. Has to be heard to be believed.

  9. I think the airing order of “War Without End 1 & 2” followed by “Walkabout” should stand as is. In WWE1&2, we see Ulkesh (or another Vorlon who looks identical) on Minbar. Then in Walkabout, Ulkesh arrives on B5.

    If you bump “Walkabout” first, Ulkesh arrives on B5, then goes to Minbar to deliver 1 cryptic line, then back to B5. Seems like a lot of effort for a Vorlon!

    According to the B5 wiki, Ulkesh was the Vorlon ambassador to Minbar before taking over Kosh’s post, so the more logical sequence would be for Ulkesh to start on Minbar, then go to B5 and stay there. (Guessing that info must be from a novel?)

    I also think it’s cooler to tease Ulkesh with his appearances in WWE1&2, then bring him out for the big reveal in Walkabout.

  10. Late to the party, but my podcast listening schedule got disrupted (when Dan Carlin drops a new episode of Hardcore History, everything else gets put on the back burner).

    I have no problem with the way that they handled the visuals of Kosh smacking Sheridan around, since the ripple-energy-field-thing effect connects back to Sebastian’s cane in Comes the Inquisitor. When Sebastian was bashing Sheridan around (“What about SIN?! What about HELL?!” etc), there was plenty of energy effect but no blood, and we are clearly supposed to believe that Sebastian is beating Sheridan half to death.

    I thought Franklin’s “13 13 13” breakdown was handled perfectly. I don’t know how many of you have been pushed to the point of emotional collapse, but sometimes it’s a relatively minor thing that puts you over the edge into scream space. Speaking of Franklin, anyone else notice that, in a story about loss of control while battling against inner darkness, his right-hand doc is named Hobbes? Perhaps when we have a story about inner goodness, there can be a supporting character named Doctor Rousseau. Or someone searching for meaning, and they buy a hot dog from a vendor named Mr. Frankl.

  11. Those of us in the DCB5 Fan Club (Washington DC area B5 fan club) also had an advance viewing of the end of the season thanks to fans in England. That was really an exciting time.

  12. I just listened to one of the later podcast episodes in which Erika mentioned that her husband didn’t realize at first that in Sheridan’s dream, his “father” was actually a representation of Kosh.

    If you listen to the DVD commentary track from this episode, you will learn that *Bruce Boxleitner* did not know this either, and in fact didn’t realize it until he re-watched the episode years later for the purposes of recording that commentary track.

    So it’s easy to miss, is all I’m saying.

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