Passing Through Gethsemane
Encyclopedia
"Passing Through Gethsemane" is an episode from the third season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5
.
transport docks at Babylon 5 with Ambassador Kosh and the human telepath Lyta Alexander
aboard. The senior staff of Babylon 5 is, to say the least, curious about what Lyta's seen on the Vorlon homeworld, where no human has ever been. But she is silent on that point. When she's examined by Dr. Franklin in MedLab, however, she is given an even cleaner bill of health that she had before; even remnants of childhood injuries and congenital defects are gone.
One of the brothers of the Cistercian Order on the station, Brother Edward, receives a small package with a black rose
while he's conducting a business transaction for his Order. It remains a mystery to him, along with some writing apparently in blood
. Brother Edward starts to hear voices and have flashbacks of a woman's murder. He raises his concern that he may be going insane to Babylon 5's security chief Michael Garibaldi
and the head of his order Brother Theo.
Brother Theo petitions Captain Sheridan
to use Babylon 5's resources to find out what Brother Edward's tormented by before he does. But Brother Edward finds out first that he was the Black Rose Killer, a Jack the Ripper
-like murderer on an Earth
colony. Several women died before he was caught nine years ago and sentenced to "death of personality", the 23rd century response to the death penalty that obliterates a criminal's mind and restructures it (previously referred to in The Quality of Mercy
) so, minus his criminal tendencies and his memory of his previous life, he performs constructive rather than destructive acts for the rest of his life.
However, several families of the Black Rose Killer's victims have come to Babylon 5 seeking revenge, and they've hired a Centauri telepath to reawaken memories of Brother Edward's past life. Sheridan, Ivanova, Garibaldi, and Brother Theo arrive just in time to find Brother Edward beaten and hanging from construction beams shaped like a cross. Edward is grateful to die for his crimes now that he remembers them and also because he wanted to know if he would have the courage to face his persecutors the way Jesus did in Gethsemane
.
In the final act, one of the revenge killers is apprehended, gleefully taking credit for the murder of Brother Edward. The killer is sentenced to the same "death of personality" punishment as his victim. The sentence is carried out and, in a twist of reconciliation, is welcomed into the Order by Brother Theo as Brother Malcolm. Theo is willing to forgive him for what he's done and challenges Sheridan that forgiveness, while a hard thing, is always something worth striving for. After first being enraged at seeing the "new" Brother Malcolm, Sheridan sees the wisdom in Theo's words and wishes Brother Malcolm well.
The episode ends with Lyta and Kosh (with his environmental suit open) having an energy stream flow between them; Kosh is using Lyta to carry part of his essence. She also displays gills around her neck, freely breathing the Vorlon atmosphere without her usual oxygen mask. These are apparently the result of modifications the Vorlons have made to Lyta's physiology which better adapt her to carrying pieces of a Vorlon's consciousness inside her.
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
.
Synopsis
A VorlonVorlon
A Vorlon is a member of a fictional alien species in the Babylon 5 television series and fictional universe. The Vorlon species is a member of the First Ones, a group made up of the earliest species to gain sentience in the galaxy...
transport docks at Babylon 5 with Ambassador Kosh and the human telepath Lyta Alexander
Lyta Alexander
Lyta Alexander is a character from the fictional universe of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Patricia Tallman.Lyta was introduced in the pilot episode "The Gathering" as a telepath assigned to the Babylon 5 space station by the Psi Corps, a fictional organization...
aboard. The senior staff of Babylon 5 is, to say the least, curious about what Lyta's seen on the Vorlon homeworld, where no human has ever been. But she is silent on that point. When she's examined by Dr. Franklin in MedLab, however, she is given an even cleaner bill of health that she had before; even remnants of childhood injuries and congenital defects are gone.
One of the brothers of the Cistercian Order on the station, Brother Edward, receives a small package with a black rose
Black Rose (symbolism)
Black roses do not exist in nature as such, but nevertheless have been created in laboratories. Botanists have manipulated roses' genes through preliminary cross breeding, creating a hybrid black rose...
while he's conducting a business transaction for his Order. It remains a mystery to him, along with some writing apparently in blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
. Brother Edward starts to hear voices and have flashbacks of a woman's murder. He raises his concern that he may be going insane to Babylon 5's security chief Michael Garibaldi
Michael Garibaldi
Michael Garibaldi is a lead fictional character in the universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Jerry Doyle.-Overview:...
and the head of his order Brother Theo.
Brother Theo petitions Captain Sheridan
John Sheridan (Babylon 5)
John J. Sheridan is a lead character in the fictional universe of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Bruce Boxleitner. For most of the series, he is the commander of the Babylon 5 station; during the series' final season he is the President of the Interstellar...
to use Babylon 5's resources to find out what Brother Edward's tormented by before he does. But Brother Edward finds out first that he was the Black Rose Killer, a Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper
"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
-like murderer on an Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
colony. Several women died before he was caught nine years ago and sentenced to "death of personality", the 23rd century response to the death penalty that obliterates a criminal's mind and restructures it (previously referred to in The Quality of Mercy
The Quality of Mercy (Babylon 5)
"The Quality of Mercy" is an episode from the first season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5. The title is from a quote from the beginning of Portia's oration in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, Act IV, scene one.-Synopsis:...
) so, minus his criminal tendencies and his memory of his previous life, he performs constructive rather than destructive acts for the rest of his life.
However, several families of the Black Rose Killer's victims have come to Babylon 5 seeking revenge, and they've hired a Centauri telepath to reawaken memories of Brother Edward's past life. Sheridan, Ivanova, Garibaldi, and Brother Theo arrive just in time to find Brother Edward beaten and hanging from construction beams shaped like a cross. Edward is grateful to die for his crimes now that he remembers them and also because he wanted to know if he would have the courage to face his persecutors the way Jesus did in Gethsemane
Gethsemane
Gethsemane is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem most famous as the place where, according to Biblical texts, Jesus and his disciples are said to have prayed the night before Jesus' crucifixion.- Etymology :...
.
In the final act, one of the revenge killers is apprehended, gleefully taking credit for the murder of Brother Edward. The killer is sentenced to the same "death of personality" punishment as his victim. The sentence is carried out and, in a twist of reconciliation, is welcomed into the Order by Brother Theo as Brother Malcolm. Theo is willing to forgive him for what he's done and challenges Sheridan that forgiveness, while a hard thing, is always something worth striving for. After first being enraged at seeing the "new" Brother Malcolm, Sheridan sees the wisdom in Theo's words and wishes Brother Malcolm well.
The episode ends with Lyta and Kosh (with his environmental suit open) having an energy stream flow between them; Kosh is using Lyta to carry part of his essence. She also displays gills around her neck, freely breathing the Vorlon atmosphere without her usual oxygen mask. These are apparently the result of modifications the Vorlons have made to Lyta's physiology which better adapt her to carrying pieces of a Vorlon's consciousness inside her.
Arc significance
- Lyta AlexanderLyta AlexanderLyta Alexander is a character from the fictional universe of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Patricia Tallman.Lyta was introduced in the pilot episode "The Gathering" as a telepath assigned to the Babylon 5 space station by the Psi Corps, a fictional organization...
returns to the station, now working for Ambassador Kosh. - The popular form of penalty known as Death Of Personality apparently doesn't completely remove the memories of the criminals.
- Lennier explains to Brother Edward that the spiritual leader Valen is "a Minbari not born of Minbari". This is similar to the reference in MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
to how the character of Macduff is not "of woman born".
Production details
- The title is derived from the garden of GethsemaneGethsemaneGethsemane is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem most famous as the place where, according to Biblical texts, Jesus and his disciples are said to have prayed the night before Jesus' crucifixion.- Etymology :...
in which Jesus waited and prayed before he was arrested and crucifiedCrucifixionCrucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
, as Brother Edward recounts in the episode. - This episode was originally developed for the show's second season but had to be "scuttled" because a fan posted a story idea on GEnieGEnieGEnie was an online service created by a General Electric business - GEIS that ran from 1985 through the end of 1999. In 1994, GEnie claimed around 350,000 users. Peak simultaneous usage was around 10,000 users...
that was very similar to the plot of the episode. Legal steps had to be taken to clear the situation up before the story could be put back into the production pipeline.