Sic Transit Vir

[Nightbeat74]

This is hands down my favorite episode of B5. Why because it really shows the right person,at the right place,at the right time,and how even the "harmless bound to be a footnote in history if that, sniveling gutless cowered'' can rise to be a true hero.the emperor that the centauri desperately needs to have to redeem themselves indeed.

[TGLS]

I can't but read this title as, "Sick Transit, Vir!"

[Marveryn]

vir has always been one of my most favorite character in this show. I think it started with the facing down the technomage and it build up from there. He is the everyday man that want to do the right thing but is surrounded by impossible task. The fact that they bring him back to the station this way also highlight just the sort of character he is. At first glance you think he may be a coward, but as you watch you see he may be the bravest men on the station. He doesn't fight with a weapon but with a mind weaving through the complex layer of his people dogma and somehow surviving.

[Makeitstop]

No matter how much talk I heard about tentacle penises, I was much more disturbed by Chuck casually slipping in the fact that he sleeps naked.

Vir is a great example of why Babylon 5 is so well done. In other shows, his character would be one dimensional comic relief, or a nerdy audience proxy with no real depth. But Vir has a well thought out character which is absolutely vital to the story without being the predictable hero type or the predictable subversion either. A lot of characters like him feel like they might as well have a neon over their head saying "regular guy, the everyman, an ordinary person" but Vir seems so much more natural and genuine.

He is flawed and weak much of the time. He lacks courage and confidence at first, and with good reason. He is not there because he is overly qualified, he's there because he's an embarrassment. But his compassion and likability has an effect on Londo, drawing out the old bastard's better nature and earning considerable loyalty. And when he finds himself put in the terrible position of being the only one with a conscience in the midst of unspeakable evil, he finds the courage that was lacking. Because he is not fighting for honor, pride, glory, or any of the other things that others would have him pursue, but for the good of others.

But he's still not exactly heroic. He does what he can do, what he has to do, but he's not a soldier or a charismatic leader. He's just some guy in the middle of a bureaucracy making a difference with what influence he has. When things get dangerous and snap decisions need to be made, in the heat of the moment, his instinct is to do the right thing, but he's still shaken by it afterwards. He gets tougher as the series goes on, but is never hardened by it.

Honestly, I think part of the reason Vir could be such a good person when he was surrounded by so much evil is because he was always weak willed. He is caring and empathetic, and no amount of prodding him will give him the determination to suppress those feelings.

[AndrewGPaul]

On a rather shallow note, one of the great pleasures of science fiction on the telly is hearing Peter Jurasik saying “Viiiir!” In that accent.

[clearspira]

I've often wondered what it must be like to be part of an arranged marriage. On the one hand (and why arranged marriages more than likely actually came into being) is that it takes all the effort out of finding a husband or wife. Not going to lie, I would have lost my virginity a lot sooner if my parents actually set me up with a woman. On the other hand however, the laws of averages state that the person you end up with won't be a beautiful stunner. You could end up having sex with someone who looks like Margaret Thatcher for the rest of your life.

Plus there's the whole ''they might be an evil, abusive prick'' angle to deal with too.

[Beelzquill]

Well, you gotta remember, generally parents care about their kids and don't want to set them up with people they'd hate. Then again my shaky recollection of arranged marriages of historical europe seems to disprove that. . .

[CrypticMirror]

I've often wondered what it must be like to be part of an arranged marriage.

Not great. HTH.

[Makeitstop]

I've heard the argument made that arranged marriages have the advantage of perspective. The idea being that the parents picking for you know you better than you do, and have a much better understanding of what you should be looking for in a long term relationship than you do. And they've probably got a point when you consider how many people get into relationships that are terrible for them because they are young, stupid and thinking with the wrong organs.

But then again, my parents couldn't remember what foods I hated or figure out what I wanted for Christmas when I flat out told them every year. Why would I trust them to pick a human being they've barely met for me to spend my life with? Would I really be happier with a wife picked by someone who won't stop pushing conspiracy theories from facebook or who told me not to bother get a car insurance because I was too poor to sue if I got in an accident?

And obviously this logic breaks down when we remember that blind dates exist. There's no reason why it has to be straight to marriage.

[Beelzquill]

Do centauri still have the "human" reproductive organs as well as the tentacles or is just the tentacles and the female holes they go into? Centauri are born right? That means their females have normal vaginas and ovaries, right?