In which I drop some more thoughts and screencaps.


• The more I think about the final Londo-G'Kar scene in the season 3 flashforward, the more I'm amazed at how much heavy lifting that scene has to do. Basically, that is the series finale for two of the series' main characters and one of its core relationships. And it has to function in a way that makes sense for their season three characterization *and* provide the payoff for the two seasons of character development in which everything about their relationship changes, and Londo gets his entire redemption arc! It's honestly amazing that it works as well as it does - and I think it does, mostly, work just as well post-season 5 as it does mid-season 3. I mentioned earlier how much more "season 5" Londo is towards G'Kar in that scene, with his warmer, more open body language (and towards Delenn and Sheridan, now that I think about it - this is "You will always be my friends" Londo, 15 years later).

G'Kar is comparatively cold in that scene, but I do notice through early season 5 (if not later) that G'Kar's reaction in an emotionally charged situation is often to shut down, so you could see this being one of those kinds of things - he knows what Londo is about to ask him for, what he's going to have to do and what it's going to cost him. (I do think they had even more of a tightrope to walk with G'Kar than with Londo there, since he changed even more than Londo did by late season 5.) Also, you can tell just by looking at him that he's Been Through It.

(Londo just quietly *going down* when G'Kar's hands close around his throat did things to me the first time I saw it, and it still does.)

Anyway, still impressed by how well that holds up as the endpoint in a storyline that still has two seasons to go, still amazed that they made the choice to do that and gamble on being able to have two more seasons and get it to link up with all the points along the way. What a show.

• For random reasons, I rewatched the scene from "The Parlaiment of Dreams" where Londo collapses on the table, and aside from that scene being really adorable and kind of tragic in retrospect ("Everyone is cute!"), I was struck by how much more uptight early season one Delenn is. She's so uncomfortable and baffled by that whole party. But I bet season 5 Delenn would be laughing along with everyone else.


Delenn: please just let me eat my lettuce leaf in peace


Meanwhile, Ivanova in the background: *totally losing it*

Actually, since I'm posting caps again, how about a few from the last few episodes where I was apparently too emotionally overwhelmed to post any.


Londo's ?????!!! after Vir walks in, grabs his sword off the wall, and marches out again in 5x15.

(I also think it's interesting how much more - on task? I guess? Londo is in season 4-5 when we see him in his quarters/office. It's not drinking and partying; he takes the Alliance work very seriously. I continue to weep for what could have been.)


Delenn hugging him is just such a "my babies! my heart!" moment. T__T


He's so totally nonplussed by it, too. Armful of Delenn? wat.


This scene of her letting go of his hand in the hallway is so pretty and sad.


Her goodbye with G'Kar in 5x16 is also so lovely and sad, his Narn salute and her heart-touch. (Also reminiscent of his very similar salute to Londo a couple of episodes later. The Centauri arm clasp was what Londo needed in the moment, but this is how Narns say goodbye to people they love.)


In the middle of all the extremely serious emotional stuff going on in this part of the show, still deeply charmed by the bodyguard AU they have going on here.




Including Londo unceremoniously grabbing his terrifying Narn bodyguard by the arm and hustling him down a hallway while irritably telling him to shut up.

("We do not treat all our guests this way!"
"Yes you do.")


Londo's season 5 outfit looks really good on him, I'm just saying.


"Big damn hero" is also a particularly good look on him.


This remains one of my favorite things in the show EVER.


And then there's this. The way they just hold each other's gaze for as long as they can, nnnnggghhhhh.


I also just love this hallway scene, especially knowing (as we do, retrospectively) that this is Londo, unsupervised, just being able to relax with his friends one last time. It's the last time they'll ever get to be like this, and it's heartbreaking, but he did get to say a genuine, heartfelt goodbye to two of the three people he's closest to in season five (G'Kar and Delenn ... and he spends enough time interacting with Vir that I'd like to think they got something like that, too).


I have to wonder what Vir is doing with these two lovely Centuari ladies, but it's probably best not to ask too many questions.


It's so sad that not everyone made it to be there, and the occasion is also bittersweet - a pre-wake, as it were - but I adore the final dinner party with the series survivors having dinner together. And the ones who are gone are remembered and there in spirit.


The shots of them on the decommissioned B5 are lovely, too.


Love Vir giving B5 the same "goodbye and good riddance" wave he gave Morden's head. ♥ VIR ♥ (Honestly, as much as he came into his own here, a lot of bad things happened to him too.)


Zack on Centauri Prime. <3 I love the suggestion of the Centauri moving past their isolation under Vir's leadership, into a new and better future. Still can't believe Zack survived the entire series!


Susan is also really lovely in her Ranger One outfit, as much as it isn't quite the future she would have chosen for herself.

♥ THEM ♥

(Screencaps from cap-that, as usual.)