When Delenn was metamorphosed we were allowed to see one small moment of her new vulnerability. She needed help with her hair.
That's not exactly true, though! The audience sees her whole "what am I?!" panic, and even Franklin gets to see a little bit of that. And of course Lennier sees almost all of it. She does a great job of hiding her vulnerability from Sheridan, Ivanova & Co, and even later covers up for herself with Franklin, but Lennier? Almost always there to see her at her most vulnerable. No wonder he tries to protect her as much as he can - he's the only one she allows to see her moments of weakness for what they are, the only one she doesn't cover up for.
Interestingly, I don't even necessarily mean that as a flaily-shippy statement (although I love Lennier and Delenn together like burning) - from moment to moment it's never totally clear whether she shows her weakness to him because he's her friend who she trusts completely (which he is, IMHO) or because the power dynamic between them means that there is no shame in her showing her weakness to him. In that sense, he "doesn't count," in a way that everyone else on the station does.
...I'm going to stop before I go on a mad rant guessing how Minbari culture and power dynamics and shame and honor all fit together, sorry. Just my two cents that I couldn't resist sharing, since the details and all the layers of the relationship between Delenn and Lennier is one of my very favorite things about this show. ♥
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2010-08-08 11:38 pm (UTC)That's not exactly true, though! The audience sees her whole "what am I?!" panic, and even Franklin gets to see a little bit of that. And of course Lennier sees almost all of it. She does a great job of hiding her vulnerability from Sheridan, Ivanova & Co, and even later covers up for herself with Franklin, but Lennier? Almost always there to see her at her most vulnerable. No wonder he tries to protect her as much as he can - he's the only one she allows to see her moments of weakness for what they are, the only one she doesn't cover up for.
Interestingly, I don't even necessarily mean that as a flaily-shippy statement (although I love Lennier and Delenn together like burning) - from moment to moment it's never totally clear whether she shows her weakness to him because he's her friend who she trusts completely (which he is, IMHO) or because the power dynamic between them means that there is no shame in her showing her weakness to him. In that sense, he "doesn't count," in a way that everyone else on the station does.
...I'm going to stop before I go on a mad rant guessing how Minbari culture and power dynamics and shame and honor all fit together, sorry. Just my two cents that I couldn't resist sharing, since the details and all the layers of the relationship between Delenn and Lennier is one of my very favorite things about this show. ♥