When did you start empathizing with G'Kar?

[AmyG]

Unbelievably brilliant from both a writing and an acting view.

Definitely brilliant from an acting perspective - go, Andreas! :-)

Anyway, I was reading your reply, Jan, and trying to imagine how such scenes would have played out in the Trek universe (thinking of this scene, the scene in "Ship of Tears" between G'Kar and Delenn, and so many others). I mean, it's all well and good to have incredible actors, but if the lines they're speaking are just crummy, propping up crummy plots, how much can they do with them?

We're lucky to have had JMS doing the writing and such a fine ensemble doing the acting.

Aisling

[NotKosh]

Ship of Tears is one of my favorite episodes in a season of great eps. I love that scene with G'Kar and Delenn.

As much as I enjoy the Space Opera episodes, I find myself watching the strong character episodes more and more.

This of course means that TKO will in all likelihood never be seen by me again

[WorkerCaste]

"Beep, Beep"

You've got to feel for a guy who's going to spnd that much time with doctors to get no results!

Seriously, "The Coming of Shadows" when he buys Londo the drink.

[Lope de Aguirre]

I nearly cried for G'Kar and the Narn in "The Coming of Shadows".

[Towelmaster]

Basically from "Dust to dust" onward. And mostly when he starts to 'keep a log'... (Only a couple hundred...thousand copies...). Prophet against his will, I like that stuff. Reminds me of books like 'Dune'.

[DeMonk]

When he's praying for his world, knowing his warships left his homeworld unprotected.

[Laiden]

I think I did right at "Revelations" when his efforts to prove the Shadows had awakened were stopped at any point. After that point it was a matter of the more he discovered about the truth of it all the more I would empathize.

[Spoo Junky]

I couldn't remember when I started feeling sorry for G'Kar exactly. But, since I'm off work this week, I've been watching B5 again from the beginning. I just saw The Coming of Shadows. It was when G'Kar reached out to Londo and bought him a drink (but we knew what was really going on), that's when I started empathizing with him. It's one of those great JMS story-telling moments.

[Citizen Vantu]

Well, from the first time I saw him on television; he was delightfully evil; but evil in a good way. Every since I would love to count his spots; all the way
down... And when I saw him half naked wearing a nightrobe; well I was doing
what men are doing reading the playboy magazine; just to bought for the articels only; yeah right...

[Citizen Vantu]

Count Vladislaus Dracula: Igor... Do unto others...
Igor: Before they do it unto me!
-- Van Helsing

Oh I have sympatised G'Kar and the Narn from the very beginning when I have learned what the Centairi have being doing to them for oh so many centuries. G'Kar was only planning to return their favour; I know revenge is never a good motive; but could you really blame him?

Sadly his sceams backfired because he was feeling sympathy for the poor fool Londo Mollari; if he would have continued his path, killed everyone who stood in his path; his homeworld would not have been ruined; all over agian!

Oh but don't tell G'Kar that knowelage; it will completely ruin him...

Vantu

[RangerSam]

I started to empathizing with G'Kar in the second season episode Acts of Sacrifice. When G'Kar and Delenn and there talking about the war and G'Kar looking for allies.

The episode The Long, Twilight Struggle when empathizing with the Narn. Them getting bomb back into the stone age.

[Harrdy]

Sadly his sceams backfired because he was feeling sympathy for the poor fool Londo Mollari; if he would have continued his path, killed everyone who stood in his path; his homeworld would not have been ruined; all over agian!

Oh, but the shadows would have found another fool with the Centauri. They did as Londo withdraw from then in no time... no, I think the second war between Centauri and Narn was mandatory, it was only because of G'Kars transformation that there will be no *other* war.

When you answer force with force there comes the time when one of the two parties must let go and forgive, or there comes the time when only one force is left. Babylon 5 showed - with the wounderful Declaration of Principles - what message came out of the struggle for peace:

"we agree to recognise this singular truth, and this singular rule: That we must be kind to one another, because each voice enriches us and ennobles us, and each voice lost diminishes us."

PeAcE

[AmyG]

I'd forgotten what a good topic this was - I'm glad somebody resurrected it! I'm about ready to start my eighth or ninth (I think ninth) pass through the series after giving it a year+ break, so I'll try to remember as I'm going through it where I flipped in my opinion on G'Kar. I mean, I loved the character right from the beginning in that way we love to hate flamboyant bad guys on television (and of course because of Andreas turning in incredible performance after incredible performance), but I'm really interested to see just where my sentiments shifted gears. Stay tuned...

[NotKosh]

Personly I only empathized for G'KAr and Tal'on (sp?), the rest pissed me off, that did they do after the occupation? did thay thank G'Kar? no. Did thay try to come come to terms with the horros of war? no, they go back to the old song and dance of revenge and bomb centaury prime behind the back of Sharedin, after that I lost all respect for the Narn.

As for G'Kar taking Mordens off even if he knew what was really being offer. G'Kar would never have taken the offer, Why you ask, because he is a devout follower of G'Quan, and G'Quan was an enamy of the Shadows. If G"kar had found out he would have killed Morden right there in S1.

Irrelevant discussion. There was no possibility of Morden fulfulling G'Kar's wishes. They were too limited for the purposes of the Shadows.

[Harrdy]

I thought a bit and came to the question: can it be that the Shadows - while eager to throw chaos on the galaxy - didn't want complete and utter destruction? Because G'Kar tells Morden he wants the Centauri dead, destroyed. On the other Hand Londo says he wants a strong, glorious Republic. So while G'Kar would have "just" (yes, "just" is sick, I know) destructed a race, Londo would provide so much more of potential growth, when the other races would strife to compete with the Centauri. I think with regards to their goals Competition without "total" destruction would be more the way of the shadows... but of course, if a race gets deleted on the way they wouldn't shed a tear ("they where to weak").

PeAcE