Babylon 5 - My shoes are too tight
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- čas přidán 15. 02. 2023
- My shoes are too tight... but it doesn't matter because I have forgotten how to dance.
This is a favorite moment of mine from Babylon 5. It is an emotional moment which has stuck with me since I watched it. Londo is an exceptional character. Taken from episode 7, of season 1. Decided to share this higher quality clip, this is from the 2021 remastered version, very much worth a rewatch!
The older you get, the more you understand this scene.
Age brings experience, rarely wisdom.
@@khankrum1 Never wisdom....
Yes, it appears so.
Londo in a nutshell. He had the experience to know that he was trapped, but not the wisdom to escape.
True.
For those that may not fully understand or respect this scene here's a run down of what I get from this scene at the age of 54. For so many years I have worn so many different types of shoes. The shoes of a son, the shoes of a nephew, the shoes of a worker, shoes of a husband, shoes of a father. For ever pair of shoes I wear age, stress, and pain begin to slow the "dance of life". Eventually you will forget the steps and get lost in the movement of time ever forward. Like Londo's father and Londo himself in this scene, "My shoes are too tight, and without my partner I have forgotten how to dance...". Widower of a 22 year long marriage I no longer can dance, I have been long lost to the movements and have forgotten how to dance.
As a young man my own interpretation is “I’m bound by too many duties, obligations and grudges…but it doesn’t matter because I don’t know how to live without them”
@@johnlavery3433 I love this view point as well. Very well thought out good sir.
Sorry for your loss, friend. May you find solace in the lingering afterglow of the dance you had with your partner. Your were brave enough and even maybe even lucky enough to have found the steps to make it a dance worth remembering.
I have lived through the death of all my grandparents, several aunt's and uncles, my sister, her husband and son, and my first wife. I got remarried to quickly and was abused by an undiagnosed bipolar wife because of her Grand Mal seizure disorder. Came out of the military with bone spurs on my ribs and feet, and a torn muscle in my abdomen. I am 55, bachelors in accounting, and have ideas that could change the world, but work as a security guard, and and assist my parents who are about 90. I enjoy watching others dance, and would gladly give my ideas to any that would use them, but I am usually ignored by those that could make them work.
@@entelechy00 The silenced voices that society brandishes as subjective or divisive. I personally would love to hear your ideas. As a fellow graduate in Accounting/Finance I also have tons of ideas and thoughts running through my middle aged mind that I sometimes find it difficult to focus on much of anything. Just yesterday was watching the news while cooking some breakfast and forgot I had eggs on the stove when I was too focused on the news and developing thoughts on what was being discussed. Or maybe that's just the withers of an old mind beginning to fail me. Either way I would love to hear thoughts and ideas. In the words of Sir Ian McKellen, "the first sign of wisdom is the willingness to admit you lack it and then ask questions, or the ability to seek out wisdom from your fellows".
God B5 was full of the philosophical nuggets for life
Also it had a man who thought he was King Arthur, bitch-slapping criminals and then having G'kar join him in beating the crap out of bad guys together.
@@weldonwin one of my favs.
The great thing about a scene like this is it can be meaningful in so many different ways. In one way: Londo's father had worn the shoes (lived the life) expected of him by others. Somewhere along the way he realized the shoes (expectations of others) fit to tight (took the joy out of life), but it did not matter because he had forgotten how to dance (because he never learned how to live. As a result, all he could do was weep for what he never had and for the life deprived him by conforming to fashion/society.
Just like the emperor.
You know the saddest part? Londo hadn’t really forgotten how to dance yet. He still had a chance to remember at this point.
He maybe had the chance, to be loved, to be happy and to remember how to dance again when he had Adira with him. Then she is taken away from him and with it, Londo's last chance at happiness and love. And that, was the greatest crime, ever committed in the B5 universe
The writing was so good on B5. Particularly for the alien races. The human dialog was often cringy. But the writing for Londo and G'Kar was SO good.
You say cringey, but I call it schlocky and I love it.
And the best 2 of the best actors on the show.
you can say this for all the main cast, Sharadin, Ivanava, Franklyn and ocastionally Garaboldy all had lines that would stick with you forever
The casting was perfect, two Shakespearian theatre actors that knocked it out of the park. The Lando/Gkar sub plot is one of my favourite parts of the show.
JMS cut his chops turning the He-Man cartoon into a show with writing that made tween older sisters pay attention as they walked in wanting to change the channel when their cringy younger brother's show ended.
Vir: "I don't understand!"
Londo: "...and I will make sure you never will, my dear DEAR friend."
My shoes are too tight and I have forgotten how to dance as well. Sad how things from a childhood series change for you with time.
I've seen this scene so many times it plays in my head. I'm about to turn 42 and just seeing him place his hand to Vir and say, "Nor should you" killed me, as I realized for the first time fully what he was saying and simultaneously knowing Vir couldn't know
Living in a feudal society where prestige and power equals safety and prosperity while simultaneously making you a target of rivals and the up and coming eager young, places the weight of responsibilities of protecting your family and the dangers of attacks from rivals who want to take it all away from you for themselves.
Basically, they are required to grow too big for their shoes and have no time for the little pleasures they had when they were the up and coming and eager to succeed young.
About to turn 41 and i was thinking the same damn thing just now
The fact that this in unintelligible makes it into abstract art. You have no idea what they are talking about, but you know exactly what they are talking about.
my thought on the comment about the shoes and forgetting how to dance, was the man saying that he had so little control of his life that he couldn't even change the little things to make himself more comfortable, but it didn't matter because he no longer could even remember how to be happy.
34 years old, and my shoes are too tight, and I have forgotten how to dance.
I really didn't fully grasp this when I first saw it years ago. But as I grow older, and responsibilities weigh more heavily on me, I understand it more clearly. Every year goes bye, my shoes get tighter, and I've long since forgotten how to dance.
I understand that feeling but don’t accept it…it is never to late to try to dance again, just once in a while take off the shoes. ;)
I always felt B5 was never given the credit it was due for its many little flashes of wisdom like this one.
There's a part of me that cries for Londo. Maybe being a insignificant politician on a space station with lost cause is not a bad thing compared to being an Emperor
He actually speaks to that later on once i was an ambassador to a backwater post i had no authority no power and all the choices in the world, now im emperor i have all the power and all the authority and no choices at all
@@catsi563 Well that scene was not about gaining power and losing the ability to choose. As a tool to his keeper, he had no choice at all. He had the power to do whatever he wanted, as long as it wasn't going against the plans of his shacklers.
G'kar even says "I think I understand." - since he was taking it the same way, thinking that position of the emperor is very limiting to his choises.
To which Londo replies "I don't think you do. Pray that you never will."
But as Emperor he kept his species alive. Something no other Centauri could have done for lack of vision or ability to slither with the snakes.
@@calvingreene90 He also raised up and trained Vir to be what was needed for centari. The one out of all of them who was idealistic enough to remain uncorrupted and know his way even with everything he has seen.
Londo really did treasure Vir's innocence.
I miss this show soooo much. Incredible writing and acting.
Never miss it. Rewatch it. Remember how it made you feel. Remember the lessons.
@@CidVeldoril Agreed, though I would love to see a semi reboot of the series. Keep all the old live footage, but update the CGI. Keep all the ships relatively the same, just make it better.
One of the great scenes of Babylon 5.
I still think "I went to the rock to hide my face, but the rock cried out no hiding place" is the best scene in the whole show.
I am not a Christian, but at the time this aired I knew the Christian texts better than most Christians did.
I first watched B5 in university, at age 18. It has been less than a decade since then and yet this scene has already taken on more meaning, as so many of them have.
This is just wonderful writing, and a wonderful delivery from Londo Molari. My wife and I were addicted to this in our 30s - time to revisit the series in our 60s, I think, before we too forget how to dance
In a certain sad way, it is natural - to an extent - for old joys to lose their shine over time. But Londo means something deeper than just growing tired of old joys. He's talking about losing the spirit of playfulness that makes us what we are, something that can happen but doesn't have to.
It means time and tradition takes it away for everyone.....
Londo is talking about no longer having the option of following his heard; his "too tight shoes" are his responsibilities to the republic, and his forgetting how to dance is that he couldn't ignore them or go against them even if he wanted to.
Cheers
In Season 5 he has something of a similar exchange with G'kar. When they're under attack by unnamed alien species, they take refuge in one of the shelters. G'kar says that this reminds him of his childhood, as he grew up most of his life in bomb shelters and asks how was Londo's childhood comparison, was it spent in a palace?
Londo replies that he was never really a child. He was started training to court life from infancy and he didn't have play: he had duties. G'kar then says that he now understands Londo better, that while he left shelter and grew up, Londo had been molded to carry shelter with him and he never grew up, but grew old.
So many well thought out characters. Made B5 one of the best ❤
Sometimes when I feel down about something, I think 'my shoes are too tight.'
Sadness is bei g trapped in an endless circle. The only way to break a circle is a straight line.
@@khankrum1 If the circle is big enough, you won't notice its curve.
I just finished watching the series again
This show was so far ahead of its time
Filled with philosophy and passion in an incredible story arc
Overlapping the series
Simply incredible
Conversations like these make Babylon5 a great series. 👍
Babylon 5, with the remarkable dialog, acting, story telling, is one of those rare series, where the 1st time u watch it, it´s already good, 2nd time great, 3rd time awesome, 4th time excellent, 5th time let´s start again.
I like Londo's display of genuine warmth towards Vir at the end, despite thst Londo can be a terrible boss.
Beneath many flaws beats at least one heart of a good man.
@@bthsr7113 Which heart is the good one?
@@mjbull5156 The small one ya know the one that had a heart attack that one time.
Vir is basically the son Londo never had
@@mjbull5156 The heart that stopped was the good one - but it came back to give him a second chance
The Centauri: a race that had the potential to do great things for good or bad.
Ha, in the great days of the Old Republic, they were a race that could do great things that were both good *and* bad.
@@silvercat18 The Centauri were afraid of the Minbari and were smart enough to prefer diplomacy with Humans rather than trying to outright conquer Earth like they did with the Narns.
@@robertwilkins3167 In the great days of the Old Republic, the Centauri were never afraid of the Minbari - they simply decided to spare them. I mean, look at them, they dont even have magnificent hair - it was an act of charity, really.
Londo is a bit of a tragic character. At times he seemed evil but it takes watching the whole series.
Ditto for G’kar
He is fully evil at some point. Starts as a comics relief character, evolve into a villain due to circumstances abd him failibg to his own character flaws and has a redemption arc by the end. But the crimes and atrocities are never totally forgotten nor forgiven.
That was such a beautiful scene!
That dude was the favourite character of my father. And mine too. He is hilarious. But relatable too.
❤those people who think good science fictional movies are just void or rediculous, they miss the true stories incripted within the scenes. Babylon 5 was produced with Excellence. The actors were marvelous. The costumes remarkable. The stories built around actual human historical circumstances. The meaningfull monologues excellently performed.
What you can learn from these stories, was the meaning of, the stories. You were to take a lesson, to learn, to decide which social, religious, ethnic, or political standpoints were right, or wrong. A Metamorphose of the characters in their interactions with others. And in the end, what was the "moral" of the story. Why I have always loved these movies.
That's a great metaphor. This is just another example of the superb writing that went into this show.
I love this quote...Babylon 5 has some of the best quotes in all TV and cinema. This is one.
My B5 box set is one of my most precious DVD sets. Unsurpased in story, script, character growth and cast. Londo was my favorite character. Probably the most tragic character in the show.
Also, when he called you his "good and dear friend", you knew your wallet was going to end up lighter one way or another! Brilliant character played by a brilliant actor.
I have all five seasons of Babylon 5 on DVD plus the movies. I've watched them in their entirety several times.
I never noticed Vir has fangs!
I have used this quote SO many times. This show was just wisdom in writing.
Peter Jurasik is a brilliant actor. And Babylon 5 was brilliantly written.
Londo at points in this scene sounds like he’s on the verge of tears when he’s talking about his father, and realizing that he finally understands what his father was talking about.
What I love about this writing is that when you try to go over and analyse the analogy being made, it doesn't really make that much sense. But there's just enough of a mental image painted and the acting joins it, to allow you to *feel* and understand completely on an emotional level what is meant.
"My shoes are too tight" indicate how the person has become suffocated by the expectations of their position: being proper, traditional, high mannered etc. and that has come at a cost. "Forgetting how to dance," means that now one cannot enjoy the good things in life. The taste of good food, to stop and smell the roses, or to be happy for a young couple in love.
It was hard for me to articulate, but I totally dig the analogy. The fella was reaching the same realization his father had, that being The Man made him totally lame. This happens when you become a father, become the boss, start taking more responsibility. I'm afraid of it myself but I'm sure it will have to happen one day.
"No, it is the children who are wrong." - Seymore Skinner
Based on the context of the scene, I'd suggest it's a comment on how many people start out like Vir, wanting to be liberated from outdated traditions and ideas when young, only to be the one opposing those dreams in the next generations.
i get it Londo. we all get it eventually sir.
A fantastic scene that, as many have stated, the older I get the more I understand it. As a father one of my greatest prayers that, like Vir, this is something my daughter never understands.
Thank you for sharing this clip. This is one of the best scenes ever written for television. I remember watching it in real-time as it aired and just being heartbroken. And all these decades later, I understand it even more. I came looking for this today because it’s kind of day of I’m having and the scene passed through my mind. I’m so grateful to find this high quality clip. Thank you again.
No Londo, Vir won't know. Because rather than feeling sorry for himself or despairing at his fate, he'll ask someone to join in a dance no matter how ridiculous he may look. From what few glances we saw as Emperor, it looks like Vir has found several people to join him in the dance. 😅
It is so good that you don’t understand. You have the shoes that fit you well and have not forgotten how to dance.
The metaphor is that the shoes is the ability to do as he wishes. The dance is a love of life.
Lando is not feeling sorry for himself. He has come to a realization. His shoes are his station in life and it’s expectations have ham strung him. He. Has forgotten himself. He is an inauthentic version of himself. He made a million small compromises to make his life better and to gain power and lost himself along the way. And at that moment he realized it.
There are reasons for this. His trying to improve the power of his house. Marriages for power and not love. So many unrealized dreams.
Lando is a tragic character. The technomancer was not being kind when he told him his fate and told him that he would not kill him. What the black clad mage didn’t tell him was how tight his shoes would be at the end.
I hope you never forget how to dance and your shoes stay comfortable so you can dance.
@@leodouskyron5671the tragic thing was all of those shares of himself that he sold so cheaply, all of those compromises weren't for his benefit for the most part. They were in service to his people, or to advance the interests of his house. I don't even think he was the head of his house. In short he made all of those sacrifices for the sake of others, many of whom treated him either as a joke, or a wishing well with legs.
I'm not sure whose story is more tragic: Londo or G'kar... but I really like Londo.
I don't think you can view their stories separately. They are so entwined and complement each other. Without Londo we wouldn't have g'kar.
@@moranjackson7662 that's why I'm saying they both have tragic stories
Since my wife died I understand it completely!
Incredible words of wisdom.
The music really brings it home 💔😢😭😭😭🙄
Just say this and am silently happy to know that despite the trials of life in the past I'm learning how to dance again.
As parables go, that is a serious gut punch.
This is what I loved about Babylon 5, the characters were DIMENSIONAL.
Londo wasn't a villain.
He did BAD things, but he wasn't a villain, He was doing what HE THOUGHT was right, He was ruthless, but moments like this, showing his empathy, his compassion, Others showing his guilt or embarrassment, all went to make him what he was.
Not a Hero, Not a villain, JUST a man who made BAD choices along with his good ones.
G'kar was the same way, Ruthless at times, compassionate, Fragile, or spiritual at others.
These weren't "Characters", They weren't "Heroes" and "Villains".
They were multifaceted PERSONS.
And THAT is what made them, and the WHOLE SHOW so fascinating.
I heard they are going to make another movie soon, I'm CRINGING at the thought because the current generation of screen writers DO NOT HAVE THE TALENT to do Babylon 5 True Justice.
I think they should leave it alone before they "Improve it" the way they have improved OTHER franchises right into the dumpster.
You needn't worry. JMS is still in charge. And if anything he's gotten better over the passing years.
@@HanSolomani I'll reserve judgment until I get more details, but going by recent trends, you'll pardon my well earned skepticism.
Wealth, power and romantic love have something in common actually. They all go away in time.
When I was an 11 uear old kid watching this when it aired I didn't get it but damn I get it now.
With how the Centauri are, I like to imagine Londo’s dad was being literal just to shut him up, and Londo added the subtext on his own
Had to go to an office after working from home. I feel this
I am too constrained by this life I have put on myself, its stopping me from enjoying, loving, understanding. But that is okay, i have forgotten how to anyways.
Another sad thing is Lando knows that Vir will understand it in time.
A wonderful scene. Very insightful.
When I saw this scene for the first time, it really did change my life. I told myself I would not be grumpy when I’m old. Keeping from being grumpy is a struggle at times, but this scene keeps me going lol. 😂😂😂
The best SciFi makes you really think about the human condition by using "aliens". You go along and say "wow....those aliens are terrible for doing.....ohhhhhh"
Being at the age of 69, this scene has reminded me to keep dancing, despite the condition of my shoes.
Londo's father and Emperor Turhan had the same pain, that they had lived their life entirely for their family - to the point of no longer having any joy. It was what made Turhan desperate enough for change to risk his life in order to stand by G'Kar and apologize for his people.
The dreams of innocence are the regrets of maturity.
The true sadness is; B5 is off the air. Too much time has passed for a continuation; too many of these amazing actors have passed beyond the Rim, and no remake worth watching could be done without drawing comparisons.
And yet, there's nothing new that speaks in a meaningful voice to take it's mantle. Good shows, yeah. Some.
But nothing like this.
Animated version will show up very soon,whit voices of B5 actors.
When I watched this show, I was in my early 20s. And I admit, I didnt get it.
I am in my 40s now. And this scene makes me very sad. Because my shoes are getting tight. And my dance is getting clumsier.
This show and these character were a gem.
"Ein guter Mensch in seinem dunklen Drange ist sich des rechten Weges wohl bewusst"
Faust - Prologue
Londo was always a good person, but his ambitions corrupted him.
Jeeez... his metaphor is obvious for any human.
Londo did get to dance one last time ... he had not completely forgotten, and his shoes felt a little bit looser ...
I'm so sad they got rid of the Centuari fangs in later seasons.
I imagine they were uncomfortable for the actors and made them slur their dialog. It s a subtly nonhuman look.
I feel like there's something that we should really appreciate about the closing lines of this scene - "I don't understand" "Nor should you", there's a heartbreaking poignancy in that exchange. Londo desperately doesn't want Vir to ever become as tired and dissatisfied with life as he has.
THAT was very good writing..
We become so,, rigid in our thinking and jaded from constant whatever, stupidity, other peoples laziness. We push and push for something,, say a criteria of the way something should run.. We forget what it was like to actually be the one doing all the running/work etc.
Bosses forget what it's like to actually be a new employee, a old employee forget what's it like to be a rookie. A Christian forgets what it means to bring others to Christ... We've, forgotten and it does us no credit.. We have to pray, remember and try harder, not rest. Plenty of time to do that when we're dead..
good scene
A more philosophical way of explaining what Emperor Turhan said: It has occurred to me recently that I have never chosen anything. I was born into a role that was prepared for me. I did everything I was asked to do because it never occurred to me to choose otherwise. And now, at the end of my life, I wonder what might have been.
my takeaway. It's kinda like when you focus so much on doing something, that you forget the point in the first place. Another way to say it might be, to miss the forest for the trees. Or perhaps in the context of war, focus so much on the fighting of the war and what it takes to win, that you forget the culture and values you began fighting that war to preserve to begin with.
The older I get, The more I feel This somedays.
Wow Flounder has really done good for himself
Like the molly grue scene from last unicorn, this is one that for me did not make sense until far later.
My shoes are too tight, but that nolonger matters. For i have forgotten how to dance.
B5 was plagued with lots of terrible dialogue especially in the 1season. But it also had some of the best dialogue and writing I have ever seen.
JMS said (paraphrasing) -- there are people that write faster than me. there are people that write better than me. but I don't think that there are (many?) people who can do both. :)
The two best SciFi shows of all time: Babylon 5 and Deep Space 9.
There are two statements here and I don’t see them as the same; 1. My shoes are too tight but it doesn’t matter because I’ve forgotten how to dance. And 2. My shoes are too tight and I’ve forgotten how to dance. I read the second one as it does matter but I can’t do anything about it.
I love you too dad
I know everyone gives these heart-wrenching interpretations of Londo's words, all beautiful. But the truth is, Londo just made some crap up off the top of his head so Vir would just shut the hell up.
LONDO: ...My shoes are too tight.
VIR: ...Excuse me?
LONDO: Something my father said. He was... Old, very old at the time. I went into his room, and he was sitting, alone in the dark, crying. So I asked him what was wrong, and he said, "My shoes are too tight. But it doesn't matter, because I have forgotten how to dance." I never understood what that meant until now. My shoes are too tight, and I have forgotten how to dance.
Pause
VIR: ...I don't understand.
LONDO: *Smiling wistfully* Nor should you.
---
This has to many meanings. Many so valid but in the end I say to you all…
I hope that your shoes always fit you well and that you never forget how to dance
You just don't see writing like this anymore
The show could be amazingly deep at times.
B5, the best.
I remember this seen. I would of been 8 to 10. I didn't understand it than. I do now
I wonder how Londo’s shoes felt at the end.
Yeah but my spoon is too big.
Veer; always looks like he is a vampire when he talks (: Great actor tho 👍
Yeah… once you hit a certain age - you’ll understand. The “shoes” will start getting tighter and tighter, and the thought that you used to dance in it will become mire ridiculous with each day.
👌👌
Lady Adira could still make him dance
My shoes are too loose, and I never learned how to dance. What does that say about me?
This is not my beautiful house , this is not my beautiful wife !
They just don't make em like they used to
Good sci-fi
Its funny actor played Molari choose the eastern europeon accent for character and producers hated it at first. But eventually grew on them. God i miss this show, while others were watching star trek at the time me and bro were invested in this show. We didn't like the spin off series that came afterwards much but still bablyon 5 is a solid franchise.
Oh, but he will.
Wait, season 7?! Weren't there only 5 seasons??
episode 7 of season 1. Yes, there were only 5 seasons.
@@kossakken reading comprehension is, apparently, not my strong suit....thx for the correction 😀🤣
i don't like how the tips of shoes are so narrow, hurts my fat toes
Did... did Veer always have fangs???