Babylon 5: Come the Inquisitor Part 1

Babylon 5 scene from "Come the Inquisitor"

[@HasturYellowSign]

The actor who did this played the later character that saved Sheridan’s life. This guy’s accent was so good, Brits watching it thought he was British. He won a lot of praise for this episode.

[@ianmartinezcassmeyer]

I love this episode. I love this actor's performance. He's intense, yet focused, which only adds to the menace. There's nothing more dangerous than a person who is enraged, but controlled concurrently. It's magnificent and memorable, a performance worth studying.

[@charleslennon1]

Still one of the creepiest, well-acted, well written, and well-directed episodes in all of SciFi. I figured it out before the big reveal, but it still sent shivers down my spine. Bravo.

[@greggweber9967]

IMHO the set designer and prop man should be well praised for the well use of the budget money.

[@McRocket]

As awful as Sebastien was - he had a good point. Never believe in yourself to the exclusion of everything else. Arrogance leads to ignorance.

[@seansasser2575]

Arrogance leads to disaster

[@seand.g423]

Ironic... considering his _masters..._

[@KneelB4Bacon]

One of JMS's comments on this episode (from the MidWinter site): _Also, check Sebastian's reaction when he asks Delenn what if she's wrong, "have you ever considered that? HAVE YOU?"_ _She responds, softly, "....yes."_ _Look at his face when she says this. It rattles him. It's not the answer he expected, but more important, it's not the answer he wanted, needed to hear. He needed to hear her say that she had never had the slightest _*_scintilla_*_ of doubt, that as he had been, she was a True Believer, a fanatic, incapable of doubt of mistake...and thus doomed to failure. He can't even meet her gaze; he turns, looks away, and suggests an "intermission" that is more for his benefit than hers._ _There's an awful lot going on in this show, a great deal of it sub rosa, under the surface, implied in gestures or hesitations or looks, some implied, some stated outright. He _*_hates_*_ the memory of Jack; it's not his name, the one thing that is his...remember, he is caught up with "who ARE you?" and his answer to that is lost in the persona created by history...his true name, is what's totally forgotten to history._

[@DutchGuyMike]

+Catzilla Well said.

[@artm1973]

@@qntkka He's not quoting a fan, he's quoting the creator of the show.

[@thesecondromuluan8216]

I feel like this scene, when you've watched the episode enough times and you know Sebastian's story, THIS is the moment where he thinks for the briefest of moments "Is it possible SHE is the one that might release me from my service? That there may yet be hope for her to meet her "destiny" and for me to meet my long-awaited fate?"

[@BlueHooloovoo]

Every scene with the Inquisitor is performed and blocked like a stage play. It's like watching live theatre.

[@thehellyousay]

Beautiful, wasn't it?

[@oenrn]

Which makes sense, because Wayne Alexander was a stage actor before he was cast for this. Which is why he's so perfect for the role.

[@TheSamuraiGoomba]

The stage actors are one of the elements of babylon 5 that work so well and set it apart from other tv shows.

[@RetroRobotRadio]

Nobody expects the Vorlon Inquisition! Our chief weapon is a 3-edged sword... A 3-edged sword and the pebbles... A 3-edged sword, the pebbles and asking Who You Are... Among our weapons are a 3-edged sword, the pebbles, asking Who You Are and an almost fanatical devotion to Kosh! I'll come in again...

[@cameroncunningham204]

Villains rather real or imagine are essential to point flaws in ourselves we choose to ignore

[@anmaree]

This is my favourite too. I started watching B5 a couple of months ago after years of people telling me to, and this was the first episode that made me realise how awesome the show is.

[@hithere8753]

Hes such an amazing actor.

[@tibib]

I couldn't help but think back to this episode of B5 after watching the new GoT last night and hearing Dani claim she was destined to "rid the world of tyrants" .

[@markrosbrook9548]

Best written sci fi ever

[@brav0wing]

bluntman1138 I totally agree with you. When Sheridan asks for Kosh's help (before he looses his marbles), Kosh does say "But there are still few of us. It is not our time, it is YOURS." I think he was referring to the Vorlons who still remembered their purpose as guardians and knew the time of the younger races has come. Kosh knew that the Vorlon intervention in the Shadow war would have meant his death and the escalation of the madness between the two elder races, with too few of the Vorlons remaining to kick some sense into the rest.

[@sandal_thong]

Vorlons (or the makers of the Great Machine) had tried something new a thousand years prior, trying to unite some of the races against the Shadows in Babylon 4. And they were trying it again. But the rules were that once every thousand years or so, the Shadows had a turn to start wars and turn the races against one another. By the Vorlons attacking Shadow vessels, this broke the rules and Kosh had to pay the price. He saw that Sheridan going to Za'ha'dum was important, but did he see Sheridan as a means to break the cycle even his fellow Vorlons didn't want to end?

[@bugwar5545]

Great stuff! One of the many great episodes in the series.

[@SecondQuantisation]

God this show was good (save for Season 5 due to studio bullshit. An entire episode devoted to this huge moral and existential question. The 90s had some great sci-fi. Mot huge explosions (it had some though), not huge explosions, not story twists - it was the exploration of moral questions; what do we do when faced with a hard choice? When is force necessary over diplomacy? What makes us human? Star Trek TNG, and to a lesser degree DS9, coupled with Babylon 5 weren't just entertainment, they were lessons in life. "Truth is a 3 edged sword" - B5 "If the cause is just they are willing to lay down their lives" - TNG "Who are you?" - B5 "What do you want?" - B5 "I will not extinguish a man for carrying the blood of a current enemy" - TNG "The first duty to a Star Fleet officer is to the truth, be it personal truth or moral truth" - TNG "There are times when men of conscious cannot stand idolly by" - TNG "When anyone's rights are trampled we are all damaged" - TNG Feed your kid a diet of Babylon 5 and Jean-Luke Picard and they'll know what morality means

[@demarcusfaulkner7411]

agreed they had meaning.

[@demarcusfaulkner7411]

The shows indeed had meaning.

[@sandal_thong]

Another show that didn't have much action, but had something to say was "Intersections in Real Time." And of course, the one with this same actor Wayne Alexander (who was also a Drazi in "Intersections...") as Lorien when Sheridan is between life and death and needs to find a reason for living.

[@thedragon133]

As he says "silence." you can hear the sound of the station rotating or machines working or whatever that base humming is. whereever we are, there is never complete silence (most times because we are there).

[@thehellyousay]

You can always hear yourself no matter where you are. Silence is for the dead.

[@westgoten]

If they ever make a HalfLife the movie, thats our G-Man...

[@SuperLuminalElf]

BRILLIANT.

[@FFX2KH2Master]

Ahh yes Jack the Ripper, my old enemy. Thanks for uploading. Loved watching this show, wish it still came on.

[@landfair123]

I love that episode. There is no politician serving in Washington that would last 5 minutes with Sebastian. I wish they all had to go through this.

[@Siegberg91]

this in power should be put to higher standards

[@freewilliam93]

Youd be surprised how people do treat them, no wonder the rich lobbyist who treats them well convinces them to go their way......

[@smcneal057]

This is the best episode of B5...

[@SpYrituSx]

Inquisitor is the Vorlon equivalent of Morden for the shadows looks like. Too bad we didnt had more inquisitor.

[@roguishpaladin]

Ah, but if we had, then we would have had less Kosh. It's a hard choice, to be sure, and it's softened a bit by the fact that we got Wayne Alexander back as Lorien, but I would pick more Kosh over more Sebastian.

[@sunnchilde]

I never thought about that, but you're right. He IS Morden's opposite number.

[@newtoeugene]

I wish it was still on, too.

[@jaystrickland4151]

Great news they are doing a remake.

[@macbuff81]

Really great acting

[@porpus99]

I read the comments on various youtube videos that involve Babylon 5 or Star Trek, and there is always that group of people who say one is better then the other. I think they both have there strong point, and there weak points. They are both two different stories that appeared on different networks. All comes down to what the writers were told to go for, so comparing the two series is rather pointless.

[@tonyennis1787]

Star Trek is kinda terrible, sorry.

[@patricktoussaint6510]

to think he was doing Lorien too

[@sandal_thong]

And the Drazi in "Intersection in Real Time."

[@michaelmalott9925]

T He gave the greatest performance ever

[@stewartritchey7602]

The lust for power is the root of all evil.

[@rjhjr3113]

Known As Jack.

[@bluntman1138]

Yes, but it was really Kosh who wanted Jack. THroughout the series kosh was teaching them "how" to end the wars. Kosh was going against the vorlons themselves. And it is only because of kosh that sheridan jump instead of getting nuked, and only because of kosh they could kill ulkesh.

[@sandal_thong]

Maybe if he'd jumped immediately when Kosh said "Jump, now" like when he saw the Centauri bomb and immediately jumped out of the nearly zero-G transport, then he might have had more time.

[@hyrdrogenalpha]

Degree absolute!

[@stewartritchey7602]

Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

[@toxichammertoe8696]

"Magnanimous" That's was his performance was

[@kiltedjohn1000]

i couldnt believe this guy was an american

[@chadtopia]

He did a fantastic job as an actor. Really brought a sense of menace to the role

[@logandarklighter]

Wayne Alexander is the actor's name. And just to bring home how great he was in Babylon 5 - he played multiple roles, and UTTERLY disappeared into each one compared to the others. Did you know he ALSO played the First One - Lorien - that saved Sheridan's life later in the series? Here as Sebastian he's over-the-top dramatic, bombastic and arguably psychotic. As Lorien he was completely the opposite - Kind. Soft-spoken and gentle, but still utterly alien. Yes, he was in heavy make-up/prosthetics for Lorien. But even so, it's his utterly different performance more than changes to his face that make Lorien and Sebastian so different that it's hard to believe it's the SAME GUY playing both!!

[@OpenMawProductions]

He also plays a Drazi at one point.

[@decam5329]

His accent is spot on. Magnificent.

[@sandal_thong]

Some Brits did excellent American accents in shows like _The Walking Dead,_ it makes me wonder why Patrick Stewart couldn't do an American one for Charles Xavier?

[@brav0wing]

I think Kosh and probably others were still bound by their primal teachings (as things moved on, the vorlons and the shadows forgot their original purpose and started fighting over their ideologies: mine is better than yours. Anyhow, i just started watching B5 and i just arrived at this episode. The show is fantastic. Do the vorlons and the shadows really get that mental? :) The Q is also my favorite race!

[@sparrowlt]

As they say Kosh was diferent from other Vorlons.. just notice the other vorlon send to replace Kosh.. is nothing like him and so much evil and twisted... even Kosh fights in the end against him

[@sunnchilde]

Kosh probably spent the most time among the Younger races. They were more real to him, not just primitive vermin.

[@sandal_thong]

I don't remember seeing much about Ulkesh before he replaced Kosh, so don't know if they had disagreements or if the Vorlons were just really upset that Kosh was killed. "He is the closed circle" was what he said about Sinclair. We only have Lyta saying, "I felt Kosh cared about us."

[@Tounushi]

I wonder... If a candidate ever failed, would the Vorlons have allowed "Sebastian" to indulge in his extracurricular activities?

[@chrisboek2346]

U get to know where Jack the ripper went

[@westgoten]

This guy was Born to play G-Man in HalfLife the movie!! (if it ever happens...)

[@dennishohua3821]

Who is the actor Sebastian?

[@AllMuscle1]

Wayne Alexander - a truly profound actor that played many roles in the show including Lorien (one of the most brilliant philosopher characters of the show).

[@F40PH-2CAT]

@@AllMuscle1 he also played Narns; Drazis and Drakhs.

[@TheAshreal]

D o you think she had any idea who Jonah and the whale was?

[@KB3PHL]

this video's title is labeled wrong. It's part 3 not part 1.

[@michaelodonoghue7464]

The world is right and I am wrong, but I have always been wrong; an entire life of wrong. Every Life Decision I have ever made has been wrong and now I live where I am but not where I could have been. Had I been right I would have joined the Military and not lived a Civilian. Not that any of that matters now, or ever did, but could have, once somewhere.

[@DanaTheInsane]

You are not the only one to burn with missed opportunities.

[@FFX2KH2Master]

Do you happen to have any whole epsoides or know where I can get some?

[@sizzla123]

Perhaps

[@mikecimerian6913]

Odd choice of agent from the Vorlons.

[@roguishpaladin]

No, it's perfect. He is the example of individual ideals run amok to them, an individual who believed that he knew better than others and then did horrible things in the pursuit of his ideal. He is the mirror image to Morden, harsh where the other is soothing, uncompromising when the other is accommodating. He's also someone who the Vorlons think deserves to used in this way, someone who has to compensate the universe for his failings.

Witcher's dad.

[@brav0wing]

I rather enjoy B5 and ST on equal measure.

[@-JA-]

❤

[@maggoli67]

Fish...

[@Hiraghm]

Sebastian is stealing from "The Count of Monte Cristo"

[@vdate]

Well was it said: one should not steal - but if one must, it behooves them to steal from the best.

[@nickmitsialis]

@@vdate or did 'Monte Cristo' steal from 'Sebastian'...? he was after all, a man 'out of time'

[@vdate]

@@nickmitsialis That he was a man 'out of time', I grant, but unfortunately the chronology's wrong for 'Monte Cristo' to be stealing from Sebastian. The Count of Monte Cristo was released (at least, in the original French) in 1844-1846. The 'most common' (per Wikipedia) English translations were published in 1846, while the updated translation by American publishers was released in 1889, while Sebastian was Ripping in London in 1888. Given as Sebastian seems to be of mid-to-late middle age, he might have read either the translation or the original (depending on how you feel about his erudition), but barring time-travel it's impossible for him to have inspired it. (And given that B5 pretty firmly establishes time-travel as a *Big* Fucking Deal, that doesn't seem remotely likely in this instance.)

[@nickmitsialis]

@@vdate Yes; I figured Victor Hugo was well before The Ripper but with the Vorlons...you never really know.

The 'silence' of the universe after Delenn cries out, proves nothing. Both religious and historical figures through the ages have faced adversity at different stages of their lives. Did the universe cry out for them? No, it didn't. That doesn't change the fact that these same figures helped shape human history. The inquisitor is applying false equivalency under the guise of dramatic flare to try to prove an invalid point.