At the end of the movie, the emperor orders to bring some prisoners to him. Then he sits, and watches a live feed from a prison.
Who are those humans, why are they imprisoned, and does this have something to do with all the burning buildings of the Centauri Prime?
I have only watched this and The Gathering from Babylon 5 series, so I have no idea about anything.
if I remember correctly it is Sheridan and Delenn ... and the Centari are controlled by the former servants of the Shadows, the Drakk. Since Sheridan and Delenn are primarily responsible for the defeat of the Shadows and the Vorlons are no longer around to protect anything (or control anything), it sets up a lot of tension.
You will need to watch the 1st, 2nd and 3rd season (at least) to get a better idea of what's going on :)
Hmm, maybe I'll watch those seasons someday, but I have read, that it does no good to watch this movie before seeing seasons 1 and 2, because a lot is spoiled. But thanks.
shareJust to nitpick, but it is Centauri, Drakh, and it is Emperor Londo Mollari (not Llando as stated in the review) and indeed it spoils a lot of things for the first four seasons.
shareHelps to know that the storyteller, Lando Mollari isn't the same Londo as in "The Gathering". His thirst for power and alliance with the Shadows caused the death of millions of Narn and Centauri.
Mollari betrayed the Shadows to save Centauri Prime from the Vorlons. Then the Drahk, who are where the servants of the Shadows came back and got their revenge on Londo and his people.
The story to the little girl is set just moments before Londo makes a final attempt to free his people and redeem himself.
The story of the beginning is told from the timeframe of the end of the story.
Darn good stuff!!!
"Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day"
He's not the same Londo in the sense that the events of the past 21 years (from his perspective) have changed him greatly--NOT in the sense that it is another character named Londo. I'm sure CoolClones understands this, but the way it was phrased might have led to some confusion.
Many people recommend not watching this movie until you have watched a lot of the series--like 4 seasons, because much is spoiled, and much is alluded to, and there are even some scenes and shots from various episodes that are reused here, and take on a new significance. Even though the story Londo tells occurs chronologically before The Gathering, the way the story is told makes it better suited to someone who has more B5 under their belt--unless they really like asking questions, and you really like answering them.
There are many things that only have significance if you have the overall context in your head. Take what CoolClones says above about the story ending right before Londo makes an attempt to free his people. You will note that after he has sent the children and their governess away, he calls for several bottles of alcohol to be delivered. He isn't calling for them because he's a drunkard. He has a good and specific reason for the booze, and someone who had the series as a whole in mind would grasp why he was doing that, and what it meant to him overall.
And don't get me started on the point where, commenting on Luc's desire to hear a story, Londo says that Luc did much better with that question ("What do you want?" than he, himself did.
"Re: What is the prison scene at the end?
by - Jiimo on Fri Sep 23 2005 13:03:00 Hmm, maybe I'll watch those seasons someday, but I have read, that it does no good to watch this movie before seeing seasons 1 and 2, because a lot is spoiled. But thanks."
Indeed. Watching this before is a huge plot-spoiler.
Had you watched series before (and so on) you would have had "ONE HUGE AH-AA!! (or WTF?!?!?)" moment when he started talking about the prisoners in the end! ;)
(You'll understand that one once you've watched everything.)
Generally... try to keep time-distance so that you've forgotten most (prefebly everything other than the fact there was a war) of it once you start watching from season 1. In the beginning simply is a huge plot-spoiler. Definitely should not be watched before at least 4 seasons watched.
In the Audio Commentary for the film (I watched parts of it with it on to see what JMS says about some things)... JMS actually mentions that he doesn't think that knowing the things in the movie will ruin the series. He said it would just turn the series (atleast the first two seasons) into a "Greek Tragedy," where the audience knows more then the characters do.
shareMan, you should've really seen the series first! Indeed you've been spoilered big time! Now don't touch the movie again until you've seen at least seasons 1-4 becouse you might still be able to forget some parts of the movie that seemed like minor details but are actually huge plot twists and spoilers!
shareto see this film first is NOT a spoiler... the wonderful thing about the whole b5 universe is that everything is connected and is one consistant story... several times you see consequences of actions and its not till you view the story from a different angle or hear a later reference (or remember an earlier one!) that it all comes together (ie, a perfect example is the whole B4 incident, which ties into the ending for this film, obviously). to watch this film does not give away anything, on the contrary, it will make things even more enjoyable when you see later episodes and little hints of things are more fleshed out... its a really wonderful experience that youll unlikely see again in another show.
Belief in a supernatural source of evil is unnecessary -We alone are capable of every wickedness
Yeah seeing this movie first is definitely not a spoiler. I prefer to watch it that way personally.
Things are never what they seem to be.
Definitely watch this after at least the end of season 2, otherwise events that happen in season 1 & 2 will be spoiled. The plots that create mystery and the telling of Human/Minbari history in season 1 & 2 will not work the same, it will just make them flat and superfluous.
There are only a couple of things that happen in the film that may spoil events for some people in later seasons (2+), but in my opinion they don't really give much away as the seeds of the plot have already been sown by the end of season 2 anyway and only work in favour or wanting watch seasons 3 & 4 to see how they come about.
I agree. You will be better served if you watch at 'least' the first two seasons if not 4 seasons.
Watching this movie will SPOIL it.
I have watched this series since it's first run in the 1990s.
This movie will fill out the story more AFTER you know the story from 'before'.
The G'Kar/Londo dynamic is far better if you see how those two grew together after so many years.
Personally, I like that dynamic more then the Sheridan/Delenn one.
Don't get me wrong they are ALL good but G'Kar/Londo are simply the best of them all. It covers all ranges of emotions.
Well of course. The B5 series really is about Londo and G'Kar, not about Sheridan.
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