Babylon 5: “A Day In The Strife”/“Passing Through Gethsemane”

“A Day In The Strife” (season three, episode three; originally aired 11/20/1995)
The third season of Babylon 5 is the show’s best season. This is not a controversial statement; I suspect most fans see the middle season as the all-around best. At this point the show is still young enough to be dynamic and surprising, but it’s been on long enough to have found its voice as well as possessing a baseline competence. That competence is perhaps the most relevant consideration for “A Day In The Strife.” The third episode of any season is unlikely to be any good, and this one has very little in the way of long-term ramifications. But it’s still quite entertaining.
There are four different storylines working their way through “Strife.” First, a representative of the interim Narn government arrives to remove G’Kar from power. An alien probe appears, threatening to blow up the station unless it receives the correct answer to a science test. Londo is concerned about Vir cramping his (evil) style. And Franklin’s use of stims has become enough of a problem that Garibaldi’s taken notice.
G’Kar’s conflict with his fellow Narn is the thematic core of the episode. We’ve seen a few episodes recently where he has to maintain the loyalty of the apparently fickle Narn on Babylon 5, first defeating a competitor with power and violence, then maintaining that prestige via his alliances with other races. Here, we see the fruits of those conflicts: When he’s called away, the other Narn, including Sheridan’s friend Ta’Lon, stand in his way to prevent him from leaving the station. It’s a small bit of serialization, and not necessary for understanding this early-season episode that establishes who G’Kar is, who the Narn are, and their goals are.
Beyond the usefulness in world-building, it’s also a fascinating, ethical-discussion-triggering story. G’Kar’s would-be replacement, Na’Far, is not portrayed as a villain. The arguments he makes about the Narn just needing food, about how they need to regain their strength, and how “The time for action will come later” are compelling. How ethical can it possibly be to run a resistance when your people have just been whipped so thoroughly by a superior power? There is no good answer here. Na’Far should discover this early, when he has to submit to Londo’s despicable queries about the current state of the Narn home world: “The executions… continue.” “Progress! Is a beautiful thing to behold.”
But G’Kar doesn’t get away from it either. Na’Far’s arguments about how the family members of the free Narn on the station are going to be harassed affect him, and then seeing his people attempt to murder Na’Far changes his mind. He’s about to leave the station, likely to be tried and executed, before his people stop him. The debate thus becomes personal—what will and should G’Kar do, especially to lead his people on the station?—which ends up punted to a later time. There are no good answers to how a resistance should be conducted, which comes through very well in “A Day In The Strife.”
Londo’s story combines with G’Kar’s to allow this episode to serve as a sort of sequel to “Acts Of Sacrifice.” Just as G’Kar’s struggle to maintain power over his fellows is paid off here, so too is Londo’s struggle to maintain his soul a critical part of the episode. In “Acts Of Sacrifice” he maintained it, and so kept at least a tenuous connection to Garibaldi. But the continued villainy required to support the imperial designs of the Centauri Republic makes that impossible. He tries to reconnect with Delenn, who rejects him quite thoroughly. Vir calls him out on his cruelty to Na’Far, so he has Vir sent away. It seems like every other episode Londo goes through a change—in “Matters Of Honor” he tried to break away from Mr. Morden’s influence, but here, he seems to buy into the cruelty required of his role.
The probe storyline is a little bit silly, but the important thing is that it owns that silliness. Sheridan and Ivanova manage to consistently build humor out of a case of the week that doesn’t have many other stakes. As soon as Corwin announces that the probe will either give cures to all known diseases or nuke the station, it becomes clear that neither of those things will happen. So it’s more a matter of how the crew deals with it. Exasperated banter seems the best possible response, as that’s what we get, and it’s a lot of fun. “Always finding the good in everything, eh captain?” says Ivanova. “Absolutely. If I didn’t I’d end up like you” responds Sheridan, moving away as that grenade detonates. It’s nothing special, but because it’s nothing special, it works. Much like the episode as a whole, it’s effective at a point in the season when being effective is a pleasant surprise.
Grade: B+