Comes the Inquisitor
Reviewed by Lady Keela Shanri
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This was an...interesting episode. While the underlying premise (Jack the Ripper, of all people, comes to interrogate Delenn) was rather cheesy and clichéd, it was partially saved by the b-plot and great performances all around.
There were, as usual, two plots going on here. The main one is about Delenn and "The Inquisitor" of the title, the b-plot concerns G'Kar and the forming Narn underground resistance to the new Centauri occupation. (Notice that we were able to kick their butts not just once, but TWICE? Sorry, I know that was tasteless, but I just couldn't resist.)
First, let's tackle the main plot. We start learning here exactly HOW...not so nice...the Vorlons really are. We already got a small taste of it in the episode "Deathwalker" when Kosh just calmly had Jha'Dur's ship blown out of the sky, with no emotion, but here we see their underlying sinisterness begin to take real shape. The very fact that they WOULD decide to KEEP someone like Sebastian/Jack instead of killing him, and that they would USE him, for hundreds of years, suggests that they are not exactly the angels they are cracked up to be. Sure, Sebastian SAID that the reason he was kept alive and used by the Vorlons for so long was for good purposes--to find the chosen ones who would be able to fight the coming darkness--
--but angels don't torture people...
Let's talk about Mr. Sebastian himself. Played WONDERFULLY by Wayne Alexander, he has got to be the BEST B5 villain I have seen up to this point in the series. The crown of the VERY best B5 villain must go, of course, to Emperor Cartagia from the early fourth season, but Mr. Sebastian comes CLOSE. Very close. And I find it amazing that the same actor who played Lorien, who was a good guy that I couldn't STAND, could also play a BAD guy that I LOVED to watch! I was very impressed. The only thing similar outwardly between Lorien and Sebastian was their voices--I kept hearing Lorien saying these horrible, evil things as I was watching...a most eerie experience, let me tell you.
Sebastian made a very effective tortur-eerrmmm..."pain technician", but I disagreed with this entire storyline. I would NEVER just stand there and let some guy judge me because he thought he was morally superior. In response to his question, "Who ARE you?" I would have said, "I'm the person who's telling you to get off my station before I blow your butt away." But that's just me...
However, being very religious and believing very strongly in destiny, Delenn goes along with it, like an idiot. And while it does make for some very dramatic scenes, I just didn't agree with it. The acting from both Mira Furlan and especially Mr. Alexander were the only things that made it watchable.
And I was a bit disappointed. There were two things I expected to happen, WANTED to happen, that didn't:
Sebastian was very evil, yes, but always in a calm and collected way. Seeing as how I KNEW, through spoilers, that he was Jack the Ripper BEFORE it was revealed at the end of the episode, I kept expecting him to FLIP OUT. He WAS a homicidal maniac, after all. And consider that Jack always killed women...and Delenn is a woman...and they were all alone...in the dark...That would have made quite a dramatic scene, and I would have enjoyed watching delicate little Delenn fight off a loony-toon with a knife, all by herself. But it was not to be.
And the second disappointment was that when Sheridan showed up, and Sebastian started torturing HIM, I wanted Sheridan to haul off and punch him in the face SO BAD. Or at least swear at him.
On to the second plotline--we see that even though G'Kar is no longer allowed to speak OFFICIALLY for his people (he was stripped of his ambassadorial status in the last episode, remember?) that he is STILL speaking for them, in private. He doesn't need a title to be a leader--it's force of personality. Well, that and the fact that he IS the last of the Kha'Ri, the Narn ruling council, after all. You know, I think I like G'Kar more when he's beaten down and sad than before when he was just as loud, angry, raccous, and hedonistic as Londo. I'm not saying I like to see him SUFFER, but the character becomes more likeable when you have reasons to feel SORRY for him. His scene with Garibaldi was great--and again, the good Chief proves himself to be a decent guy--and his stirring yet also at the same time pathetic speeches in the Zocalo about how the Centauri might decide to attack YOU next, were very touching. Even better was the scene with Vir. Oh, geez. In that scene, you don't know WHO to feel sorry for more. Sure, G'Kar has had his entire planet practically destroyed and a lot of loved ones killed--but on the other hand, Vir has been forced into being an accessory to great evil, completely against his will. G'Kar demands how Vir will apologise to all the dead Narns, and Vir does not have an answer.
Yet it was not HIS fault, it was Londo's, and Vir was just dragged into it. He's not evil, but now he's being seen that way because of the unfortunate position the fates have put him in. And his conscience is just ripping him apart inside.
Sigh...
All in all, while it was definitely full of great acting, the driving idea behind the a-plot was corny and the fact that Delenn actually LET someone treat her like that was rather disturbing. In short, see it once for the Narn parts--they're the ones that advance the arc along--and for the wonderful performance of Mr. Sebastian/Jack, then leave it alone.
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