I'm convinced that was one of Morden's Shadow companions taking pity on Franklin in the way of his people. JMS has dropped a number of clues to suggest that might be the case. Starting with the posture of the pseudo-Franklin which has a lot of subtle elements of the mantis-like Shadows Also, note how the other Franklin asked "what do you want?" and when Franklin had an answer, immediately jumped off the fence and began forcing him to fight for his own life. Forces him to grow and evolve so he gets what he wants.
3:01 This Franklin duplicate was a Shadow being as nice as their people could be. Franklin asked for help and he got help -- from a Shadow. Instead of direct help, the Shadow pushed Franklin to evolve and help himself. He asked "what do you want?"
@@peterstewart7332 Oh there's plenty of evidence that this was intentional. Starting with the shadowy ambiance of the hallway. Also with how this Franklin-copy carried himself, the bearing of the copy is reminiscent of the mantis-like Shadows at several points. I kinda like the thought though, that Shadows can be kind. And yes, this Shadow was being kind. If he'd tried to interfere directly to save Franklin he'd have become a target, so instead he helped in the Shadow way, by goading, provoking and forcing Franklin to fight for his own life until he was safe.
@@peterstewart7332 hagmapama is correct it is a shadow, it's meant to demonstrate how they achieve results by not letting people dwell on their failures but try prod them into achieving more. It's where you start to notice the vorlons aren't wholly 'good' and the shadows aren't wholly 'evil'. Notice that franklin doesn't start getting up till he sets a goal 'i wanna do it all again' he accepts the choices he made good and bad but still wants to live, he isn't prepared to die. That crucially introduces the shadow question, with the shadow asking 'what do you want' after that as franklin gets up the shadow franklin doesn't talk about past failures but makes him focus on the goal ('get up!'). The shadow can't interfere, it can't heal him or help him, but it can prod him till he heals himself.
Franklin wasn't hallucinating. The key is at 3:01. He asked for help and he got it -- from a Shadow. We know Shadows were on the station from time to time. This one heard Franklin and took an interest. JMS was subtly demonstrating that the Vorlons don't have a monopoly on kindness.
@@warriorking9262 Back in 2004... Too many actors from that show have passed...Zathras, Sinclair, Garibaldi, DeLenn,, Allen, Vir, and too many others.... So many wonderful artists...
I wish I saw this scene about 5 years ago... I did the same thing, running away from it all, trying to find myself, and walking until I met myself. I'm still living with the consequences of it.
@@MrMBP1980 Thanks. I feel more like Dr. Franklin every day now, though I'm now at the 'pick up where we left off' stage of life, though the demons are still there. I wish B5 addressed that part more. For anyone out there who is struggling: if you think you need help, it doesn't hurt to call a mental health hotline. Sometimes, it's just good to have someone to talk to, and they can usually help you navigate low-cost therapy options.
Almost definitely. It's typical JMS. This is a Shadow that heard Franklin's cries to help and drove him to evolve and better himself. He couldn't help directly because his kind were regarded with suspicion and fear, so instead, the Shadow did what it did best to get Franklin some help -- forced him to evolve, gave him the strength of anger and got him to where he needed to be so he could get what he wants.
@@Splub I think it's brilliant that they didn't. That way there's still something for us to argue over 30 years after the end of the show. Having this many nuggets still waiting to be discovered this long after the show goes live is just more evidence of JMS's genius
It wasn't. I honestly think that this was a Shadow. It's not set in s tone, but there's some evidence that this duplicate might be a shadow. Note the way he crouches, which is reminiscent of the Mantis like shadows. Note the reaction to franklin saying what he wants. The methods of this doppelganger are also moderately Shadow like, forcing Franklin to strive, grow and evolve, and providing encouragement while not directly interfering. Before the great war the Shadows were more or less benevolent, but believed in the freedom of the younger races. they wanted the younger races to develop on their own, to grow with encouragement but not direct intervention. They opposed the Vorlons who sought to force morality on the younger races instead. the Shadows became more corrupted over time, and we do have to remember that a lot of what we think we know about the Shadows came from the Vorlons, but I like to imagine that a few Shadows still stick to the old ways. that they were not completely reduced to cartoon villain status. That there were a handful of benevolent Shadows left. Similar to Kosh not exactly being a model Vorlon.
