Re: Ship of Tears: my review

On Mon, 24 Apr 2006 07:54:34 +0200, jphalt@xxxxxxx <jphalt@xxxxxxx> wrote:

[Bester]
also humanized him by telling us that he had a wife and
child, and by adding a more playfully humorous tone to his interactions
with Garibaldi. [...]

has never been so vulnerable as he
is in this episode.

I think that this human side of Bester is something he *needs* to cultivate, more than a naturally occurring feeling: we have been told that he has engaged in too many deathbed scans that have robbed him of his soul piece by piece, and he must feel the emptiness, the distance that separates him even from his own kind - it looks to me as if his love for Caroline is literally his last chance to cling to the remaining shreds of humanity he *might* have left in him; from this point of view, the momentary vulnerability we see is even more poignant - although I don't reach your level of empathy for him, because of the small voice that keeps reminding me that he is, as you so correctly defined him, a scorpion.

Or maybe a very cruel cat ... his playfulness with Garibaldi - seen in retrospect - makes me think of the proverbial cat playing with a mouse before the killing ...

This character is a breathtaking creation, one of the
most fascinating and complex characters ever created for television.

I agree: the famous definition "the villain that we all love to hate" perfectly summarized the feelings that this character wakes in the audience - and let's not forget the excellent portrayal by Mr. Koenig, whom I've come to greatly appreciate with B5, where I was able to hear his real voice and the many nuances of expression he can put into play with it.


--
Nymeria
I will not say the Day is done, nor bid the Stars farewell.


.