Hobsonphile

So- I was reading through the "Dukat is Teh Evil and Dukat/Kira is seriously EW!" thread on ds9agogo and it got me thinking about some things. Because, you see, I am not down with the Dukat/Kira love either...

... yet I am one of the principle pimps for Londo/G'Kar. (Just to give you an idea of how twisted my mind is, I had a dream last night that involved Londo and G'Kar riding together on a ferris wheel bickering over who was better at ski ball. *g* I would suggest not asking. *g*) And I know a few of you on my flist (TM poor_choices) are on the same page.

So, I'm wondering: How do you reconcile that? Londo and Dukat both had a hand in prosecuting a brutal occupation of an enemy world. G'Kar and Kira are both victimized by the aforementioned occupations. So what's the dif?



My answer, for what it's worth, has a great deal to do with the discussion of Garak's guilt as compared to Dukat's. Putting aside whatever disappointment I may feel that Dukat was reduced to EEEEEEEVIL!Dukat in the final years, canon is what it is... and it shows Dukat to be a very self-interested being...

... rather like Lord Refa, who scoffed at the very notion of severing his own communications with Mr. Morden and the Shadows in order to bolster Centauri Prime's line of defense and had to be poisoned by Londo to comply. "They are my key to the throne!" Refa said, revealing himself to be concerned with his own aggrandizement and pretty much nothing else.

Not that Londo didn't have his own self-interested motives- he very clearly wanted to elevate his own position in the beginning ("I want to stop running through my life as if I'm late for an appointment, afraid to look back or to look forward.") and he definitely enjoyed many of the benefits of his new-found power (before, of course, the tragic consequences caught him up). But Londo also looked to something greater. Like Garak, Londo did the things that he did for king and country... and nothing makes this more clear than his ultimate willingness to suffer 15+ years of torment to safeguard the future of his people and to answer for suffering his own sin brought upon them.

There is also the matter of sincere repentance. We see this in Londo- in Dukat, we never do. Regarding this, it is important to remember that the events of The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari that led to Londo's apology to G'Kar were constructs of Londo's own mind and were spurred by nothing but Londo's guilty conscience. By that point, (as seen in Rising Star in particular where G'Kar is concerned) G'Kar and everyone else had already forged a livable peace with who Londo was. (Londo's bellowing in the teaser of TVLNoLM was a source of resigned bemusement for Zack, not a source of anger or irritation.) There was no outside reason for Londo to have such an epiphany- yet it occurred nonetheless, without anyone expecting it, leaving G'Kar obviously touched by the gesture and Vir completely gobsmacked. This says a great deal about who Londo is and helps to spur my sympathy for him as a character.

Then, of course, there is the canonical fact of G'Kar's developing affection for Londo and vice versa in the final year- "Where you go, I go," "The Narn in me has decided it is your soul that is most in need of protection," the playful sparring, Londo offering to give sexual pointers, etc. Great Maker, the fact that they never kissed is merely an unfortunate oversight. *eg*

So, yeah, in sum, Londo/G'Kar works where Dukat/Kira does not, because, well, Londo is a better person than Dukat- he works in large part for selfless goals, he says sorry and means it, and he is not completely unacquainted with the concept of personal responsibility (though granted, he has to be poked quite a bit to accept it).