How Babylon 5 Turned Brief Side Story Into Emotional Masterpiece

By Jonathan Klotz
| Published 18 seconds ago

Babylon 5 is one of the best sci-fi shows of all time, thanks to creator J. Michael Straczynski’s intricate plotting of the entire story from day one. That means every major plot beat and story twist was planned years in advance, and the smaller character moments were, too. Season 1 Episode 3’s “Born to the Purple” gives fans an early look at the development of future favorite, Lieutenant Commander Ivanova, in a short, simple B-plot, well removed from the main story of Londo’s lover, that tells everything about the character in only two short scenes. It’s a masterclass in writing and one of the many, many reasons why the series is among the best. 

Breaking The Rules Of Babylon 5

“Born to the Purple” centers on Londo dealing with his lover, the dancer Adira Tyree, working as a spy to get the Centauri Purple Files so that her owner, Trakis, can blackmail the most powerful members of the government. The other follows the station’s Chief of Security, Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle), as he attempts to figure out who’s illegally using the highly classified gold communication channel to communicate with someone off station. There could be a spy, and with the delicate Centauri-Narn peace talks taking place on the station, finding the culprit is a matter of intergalactic importance. 

Garibaldi goes to Lieutenant Commander Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian) for assistance. She offers to help track the communication, but when he goes to track it again, he’s blocked, and the countermeasure came from the Russian Consortium. Ivanova keeps telling him it’s a figment of his imagination, or gremlins, but he cracks it the next time around and uncovers the message. 

Ivanova has been keeping an eye on her dying father back on Earth. He came out of his coma, and communicated a final message to his daughter saying how proud he is of her, apologizing for all the pain and hurt he caused her, and regretting how he wasn’t a better father.

Ivanova watches as he dies, and so too, does Garibaldi. It’s a heartbreaking moment that would, in a lesser series, come after a season of build-up and teasing, with constant emphasis placed on Ivanova being distracted at work, or acting differently, but Babylon 5 is built different, and this early season moment tells the audience everything they need to know about Ivanova. 

Loneliness In A Crowd

In the previous two episodes, Ivanova did mention some family problems, but kept them close to her chest, not wanting to burden anyone. She showed up and did her job because that’s what she does. At the same time, her illegal use of the gold channel shows that she’ll bend the rules slightly for a moral good. Well, that, and anytime Garibaldi and Ivanova go against one another, no one wins, as the two are too similar in how they think, they each have connections on and off station, and each seems to know what the other is thinking, even as they do their best to hide it. 

“Born to the Purple” also speaks to the extreme loneliness that those on Babylon 5 can experience; despite it being a central hub for trade and politics, they can feel isolated. Londo takes comfort in the arms of a dancer, Ivanova violates station protocol to reach out to her father; two very different characters, different species entirely in fact, but the same need for connection.

It adds to each of them, Londo is gregarious and outgoing so you wouldn’t think he’s lonely, while Ivanova is so pragmatic and says herself she’s a realist, that emotional connection wouldn’t be something she’s overly concerned about compared to getting the job done. It’s a testament to JMS’s writing and world-building that a simple early-season episode can say so much about who these characters are, what’s important, and tease fans with where they end up.