Born to the Purple
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| “Born to the Purple” | |
|---|---|
| Babylon 5 episode | |
 G'Kar, Londo and Sinclair |
|
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 3 |
| Guest stars | Fabiana Udenio (Adira Tyree) Clive Revill (Trakis) |
| Written by | Larry DiTillio |
| Directed by | Bruce Seth Green |
| Production no. | 104 |
| Original airdate | 9 February 1994 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Soul Hunter" | "Infection" |
| List of Babylon 5 episodes | |
"Born to the Purple" is an episode from the first season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5.
Contents |
[edit] Plot synopsis
Londo Mollari is being forced into negotiating with the Narn. He would rather be pursuing a new love interest though. The love interest, Adira Tyree, is actually the slave of an alien named Trakis. He is using her to get his Purple Files, a stash of dirt and information on Centauri's elite that he hopes to sell to the highest bidder. Londo promotes Vir Cotto to diplomatic status to negotiate with the Narn while he pursues Adira.
Meanwhile Michael Garibaldi has discover unauthorized use of the Gold Channel communications network, which he attempts to track down. Eventually he locates this to Susan Ivanova using it to talk to her dying father back in Russia on Earth.
Adira, having drugged Londo and got hold of his purple files, is about to meet her master. She starts to have second thoughts about the deception and makes a run for it.
Sinclair is able to trick Trakis into divulging Adira's whereabouts. Trakis is then triumphantly floored by a punch from Londo and Sinclair is able to locate Adira and return the crystal to Londo.
Adira, despite Londo's pleading, decides to leave the station.
[edit] Arc significance
Adira Tyree's return to Babylon 5 plays a major part in the third-season episode "Interludes and Examinations."
This episode marks the first real development of Londo's character, as he shows a great deal of tenderness and genuine emotion to counterbalance his usual Machiavellian cynicism.
[edit] Production details
"Born to the Purple" was originally titled "Amaranth."
[edit] Trivia
- The color purple was very popular in Roman times as a color of state. The dye used to make it was expensive and so use of it gave a certain status. Purple porphyry rock was extracted only from the Egyptian desert. Being porphyrogenitus ("Born to the Purple"), in the porphyry chamber of the Constantinople palace is an indication that the person was part of the imperial family of the Eastern Roman Empire.
He was born in the purple. Edward Gibbon.
