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B5 color theorizing
I FOUND IT AGAIN. I read a post on Tumblr a while back on a particularly nicely done instance of color symbolism with Londo on B5, and I finally found it. (More beneath the cut.)
I've seen some nice commentary on Londo's colors getting darker and less vibrant as his character arc darkens, which is also very well done IMHO, but this is something else entirely.
Text of the original post, since these things tend to disappear:
So ever since I read this, I've been looking for this on rewatches, and it is so THERE, across the entire series. As well as the big things - Londo taking off the scarf forever as his last act before he accepts the Keeper and severs himself from G'Kar and the rest of his friends; Londo's most dramatic moments with G'Kar often being colored red - I've also been noticing that the amount of red visible at his neck/throat/heart often suggests where he's at, emotionally, especially re: G'Kar but also just in general.
Obviously this is not true across the board, especially early in the show; it also depends on what else he's wearing and the other needs of the episode. But there's also a general, broadly speaking, pattern that the more red you see on his neck/throat/chest, the more emotionally open he is and the less close to the "dark." In a lot of season two, for example, he's very buttoned up and the red is hidden, e.g. in "The Long Twilight Struggle" when he's at his worst in the council sequence and he's trying to get G'Kar sent back to Narn to be tried and executed, you can't really see it at all. (And then later, in his quarters, when he's watching the news and you see more of his true feelings, the coat is off and the flash of red at his throat is once again visible ...)
The later in the series we are, the more it tends to show - rather than his waistcoat being buttoned right up to his neck jewelry, there's a large and visible stripe of red going down between his hearts. And of course you see quite a lot more of it when his coat is off and he's out of official/ambassadorial mode, as when he's relaxed and lounging around in his quarters, or hanging out with G'Kar in late season four/season five.
(One thing that I have also thought about quite a bit is that Andreas Katsulas's eyes are naturally brown. So the choice to give G'Kar a blue eye in season four/early season five was a choice; he's wearing a contact on that side as well. Which puts G'Kar a bit more over into Londo's color space than he normally is, as well ...)
I've seen some nice commentary on Londo's colors getting darker and less vibrant as his character arc darkens, which is also very well done IMHO, but this is something else entirely.
Text of the original post, since these things tend to disappear:
I like that G’Kar is associated with red and none of the other characters really have red in their outfits except Londo, who has red on his neck and nowhere else, and that’s the only part of his outfit that never changes
He has to take the scarf and brooch off to let the Keeper in and he has to finally get rid of the red altogether when he becomes emperor, those things happen at the same time as him sending G’Kar away for good
Also like… scenes where G’Kar has power over Londo are usually colored red. The elevator is red once it breaks down, G’Kar’s cell in season four is black until he loses his eye and “sees” Londo properly and then it’s red, Londo is only ever in G’Kar’s (red) quarters once and it’s when he asks G’Kar to sign the joint statement in 415
Also also, the whipping scene in 403 is completely washed blue, which strips any red out
So ever since I read this, I've been looking for this on rewatches, and it is so THERE, across the entire series. As well as the big things - Londo taking off the scarf forever as his last act before he accepts the Keeper and severs himself from G'Kar and the rest of his friends; Londo's most dramatic moments with G'Kar often being colored red - I've also been noticing that the amount of red visible at his neck/throat/heart often suggests where he's at, emotionally, especially re: G'Kar but also just in general.
Obviously this is not true across the board, especially early in the show; it also depends on what else he's wearing and the other needs of the episode. But there's also a general, broadly speaking, pattern that the more red you see on his neck/throat/chest, the more emotionally open he is and the less close to the "dark." In a lot of season two, for example, he's very buttoned up and the red is hidden, e.g. in "The Long Twilight Struggle" when he's at his worst in the council sequence and he's trying to get G'Kar sent back to Narn to be tried and executed, you can't really see it at all. (And then later, in his quarters, when he's watching the news and you see more of his true feelings, the coat is off and the flash of red at his throat is once again visible ...)
The later in the series we are, the more it tends to show - rather than his waistcoat being buttoned right up to his neck jewelry, there's a large and visible stripe of red going down between his hearts. And of course you see quite a lot more of it when his coat is off and he's out of official/ambassadorial mode, as when he's relaxed and lounging around in his quarters, or hanging out with G'Kar in late season four/season five.
(One thing that I have also thought about quite a bit is that Andreas Katsulas's eyes are naturally brown. So the choice to give G'Kar a blue eye in season four/early season five was a choice; he's wearing a contact on that side as well. Which puts G'Kar a bit more over into Londo's color space than he normally is, as well ...)