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JMS wrote a little short story about that: Space, Time and the Incurable Romantic. https://epdf.pub/download/babylon-5-space-time-and-the-incurable-romantic.html. Here’s the TLDR: Ivanova put Marcus in cryosleep, and after three centuries they’ve finally figured out a way to undo the damage done and revive him.
Susan Ivanova (Russian: Сью́зен[1] Ива́нова[2]) is a lead fictional character in the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Claudia Christian. Character overview. Susan Ivanova holds the rank of lieutenant commander during the first season and is promoted to the rank of commander in the second season.
I did it up in calligraphy and framed it for one of my besties to hang in her office at a software support company. She tells me that several of her colleagues called dibs on it if/when she leaves the company.
What episode did Ivanova say to Marcus that after it was all over she wanted to visit her father's grave since she missed his funeral and do some travelling? And what was the episode where Ivanova told Marcus about the deserted beach fantasy that JMS eventually wrote for them?
- Overview
- Personality
- History
- Character Chronology
- Notes
- External links
Susan Ivanova (in Russian: Сьюзен Иванова, in Hebrew: סוזן איבנובה) was the second in command of Babylon 5 from February 2258 to December 2261, serving under both Commander Jeffrey Sinclair and later Captain John Sheridan.
A Russian, Susan Ivanova (pronounced "i-VA-no-va") was brave and intense, often quoting her Russian customs and traditions. She studied abroad during her young life, resulting in her accent changing from the typical Russian to a more neutral English-speaking one, though she does fall back into it when speaking the Russian language. Also, Susan has an eidetic memory, which may account for her brilliance as an administrator and military strategist. Everything in her sphere of influence must be just-so, and she has little patience for those who act off-the-cuff or do not stop to consider the consequences of their actions.
Due to the circumstances of her mother's spiral into depression and suicide, Susan Ivanova harbors a special hatred for the Psi Corps. She sees any member of the organization as an antagonist, particularly those who dare to speak of her mother. Her reasons for hating them extend beyond her mother's tragedy, as she knows that if the Corps ever discovers her secret, her career - and quite possibly her life - will be over. This attitude cools over the years as she grows close to Talia Winters, learning to detach the Orwellian organization of the Corps from the individuals who are members of it.
Susan Ivanova appears locked in a tragic cycle. The particular millstone around Ivanova's neck was love—not only romantic love, but familial. Everyone she ever loved was taken from her in one way or another: her mother, her brother, her father, Malcolm Biggs, Talia Winters, Marcus Cole, and even John Sheridan, whom she saw as a mentor and surrogate family. Deep down, she believes that "all love is unrequited", perhaps believing that she is undeserving of true happiness. However, in later life after the disappearance of Sheridan and her assumption of the office of Ranger One, she comes to the conclusion that there are always opportunities for new beginnings, "even for people like us."
Susan is a consummate soldier, evidenced by her acceptance into Earthforce OTC and graduation by the time she was 19, followed by her fast-track through the ranks to becoming captain of an Earthforce destroyer at the age of 31. She devoted most of her life to service, first in Earthforce and then later to the Rangers. She was particularly close to her two longest-serving commanding officers, John Sheridan and Jeffrey Sinclair, under whom she was executive officer. Her life is one of a soldier, accustomed to constant change, being unable to settle down and form long-lasting connections. This is why her closest friends have generally also been members of the force.
Prior to Babylon 5 The Babylon Project
On February 25 2258, Susan Ivanova, now a Lieutenant Commander, was transferred to Babylon 5 to replace Lt. Cmdr. Laurel Takashima as second-in-command of the station. By this time, she was an accomplished fighter pilot with over 100 hours of combat experience in a Starfury. She had spent the three years previous to it completely in space oriented assignments, without being to Earth or a real planet in all that time. Despite these long assignments, she never fully acclimated to waking up in the mornings "when it was still dark outside."
New Commander
Three days after the death of President Santiago, Jeffrey Sinclair is recalled to Earth, leaving Ivanova temporarily in charge of the station. She manages to keep things calm, checking on Garibaldi (who remains stable but comatose) every single day. Five days later, General William Hague contacts her, letting her know that Sinclair had been reassigned permanently, and that his replacement will be Captain John Sheridan. Captain Sheridan arrives sooner than she expects. After quickly going over everything she can about the current situation, she helps him get straight to work resolving an issue with a rogue Minbari war cruiser, the Trigati. The Trigati arrives at Babylon 5 and tries to force a confrontation, but Sheridan correctly "calls their bluff," resulting in its destruction by another Minbari war cruiser. Sheridan is proud of his new assignment, but admits to Ivanova it will not be easy, especially with the Minbari outraged over his assignment. Ivanova is with Sheridan when Lennier explains the truth about the Battle of the Line: how Sinclair was captured and brought aboard a Minbari ship and it was learned he had a Minbari soul. Garibaldi eventually recovered, and with the help of Talia Winters, he was able to learn that his aide had been the one who shot him. The aide was arrested and President Morgan Clark personally ordered him sent back to Earth. Garibaldi confides in Ivanova and Franklin his suspicions Psi Corps may be involved with the assassination of Santiago. Ivanova informs Sheridan that the Aide mysteriously disappeared on his way back to Earth. After a few weeks on board, Cpt. Sheridan revealed the news to Ivanova that he had put her in for a promotion just after his arrival, and it had just gone through. Susan was now a full commander, and with her rise in rank Cpt. Sheridan asked her to settle a problem among the Drazi, who were in the midst of a kind of "civil war" (they split up into two camps, Green and Purple, randomly chosen). Ivanova threw herself into the task—and was literally knocked off her feet, breaking her ankle in the process. After a few more attempts to resolve the conflict failed, she was kidnapped by the Green faction. They attempt to use her name to murder the entire Purple faction, but Garibaldi rescues her and they prevent the murder. Confronting the Green faction, Ivanova seizes the "green sash," inadvertently becoming leader of the Green Faction, which allows her to end the conflict peacefully. Afterwards, she gathers with Garibaldi and the others to welcome him back to work. As part of her recovery, Dr. Franklin insists Ivanova stick to a "food plan" that does not satisfy her in the slightest. An Explorer class ship, the EAS Cortez, under the command of Captain Jack Maynard, arrives at Babylon 5 to resupply after being out exploring the Rim for nearly five years. Maynard is an old friend of Sheridan's, but not long after his arrival Susan notices a marked difference in Sheridan's attitude. After the Cortez leaves, while explaining to him a problem between two of the alien diplomatic teams, she asks Sheridan about it. He tells her he feels he has been "beached," that he was made to captain ships not space stations loaded with bureaucracy. Ivanova offers some comfort, but then is forced to ask if he is up to the task or not. C'n'C then gets a distress signal from the Cortez: having suffered a major malfunction, the ship is adrift in hyperspace. Sheridan organizes a rescue party, though Ivanova reminds him no ship lost in hyperspace has ever been found. A fighter wing goes out and Sheridan and Ivanova anxiously await word of it in C'n'C, Ivanova again trying to offer some comfort for Sheridan, who is worried he will never see his old friend again. He shares with her and the squadron team an old Egyptian blessing Jack taught him. Fortunately, the ship is found and rescued, though the squadron leader died in the effort. Ivanova informs Warren Keffer (a member of the team and the last to get back) that he will be the new squadron leader. She then finds Sheridan in his office and is pleased to discover he is back to his old self, feeling much better about his assignment.
Secrets Revealed
In early December, Lyta Alexander returns to Babylon 5, arriving unconscious and being taken straight to MedLab. By this time, Susan and Talia have become very close: closer than either would have guessed possible given how rocky their relationship had started out. Talia confesses to being put out of her quarters for some repairs and Susan insists she stay with her. When Lyta awakens, she demands to speak with the full command staff. She explains that she's been on the run for nearly a year, the last six months of which she has spent on Mars with the resistance. She has come back with a warning that someone on the station is a sleeper agent for the Psi Corps: the Corp implanted a hidden personality and the victim is unaware of it. She explains that the personality is activated by a telepathic command, and when it happens it destroys the personality of the "host," but retains all their memories. The personality is otherwise slightly aware, as it is programmed to take control of the host in order to defend itself. She offers to send the command into the crew to find them. Ivanova, once again, emphatically rejects the idea of a telepath getting in her head, even if only for a moment. Sheridan says only that he will consider the possibility, but that is enough to shake Ivanova. After duty, she returns to her quarters and while she does not tell Talia everything, she does express her doubt and uncertainty. She also asks Talia if she knew Lyta. Talia says she knew her a long time ago. That night, their friendship changes to something else as they sleep together. Susan, however, awakens in the night troubled by nightmares. She goes for a walk to clear her head and does not come back until the morning. During the night, however, someone tries to murder Lyta. The attack is enough to convince Sheridan to allow Lyta to send the command. Susan goes to see him privately, ready to unburden herself at last. She admits the truth of her latent telepathy, of how she has been hiding it her whole life and is terrified of the Psi Corps finding out. Sheridan promises he will not let that happen. Later, when they are all gathered in his office, he orders Lyta to begin sending the telepathic command, but instructs her not to probe Ivanova. When Sheridan, Garibaldi, Franklin, and one hundred more or so of the crew all check out, Lyta becomes frustrated at Ivanova's non-compliance. When tensions run high, Ivanova agrees to let her send the command. Susan does not have the sleeper, but Lyta does become aware of her latent telepathy. Just at that moment, Talia walks in the room and Lyta randomly sends the command to her. Talia had the sleeper all along, and the "Control" personality takes over. "Control" has to be dragged off before she can attack Lyta. The Psi Corps orders her sent back immediately and the crew, knowing they have no choice, agree. Before she leaves, she is approached by Susan, hopeful that some threads of Talia still remain. There is nothing left, however, and Control mocks her before leaving. Once again, Susan is left feeling like love has brought her only pain.
•2230, August 10: Born to Sofie and Andrei Ivanov in St. Petersburg, Russian Consortium, Earth.
•2236: Mother Sofie is finally detected by the Psi Corps and, not wanting to leave her family to join the Corps or go to prison, is forced to go on the Sleepers.
•2243: Susan meets her idol, radical Neo-Communist author Kasherev and is bitterly disappointed. Later sent abroad to study at the Lycée Voltaire in Paris. Gets her first taste of Xenocuisine at a small Centauri restaurant near the Avenue de la République.
•2246: Mother Sofie succumbs to the depression and living death brought on by the Sleepers and ends her own life.
•2247: Brother Ganya is killed during the Earth-Minbari War. Enlists in Earthforce on her 17th birthday.
•2249: Graduates from Officer Training School (OTC) at Earthforce Academy.Takes an interest in and follows the work of Dr Stephen Franklin
•Susan's Grandfather had a saying:; "Good news can wait. Bad news will refuse to leave."
•There is a significant inconsistency regarding how old Susan was when her mother took her own life. In "TKO," Rabbi Koslov explicitly states that Sofie's death was a year prior to Ganya's (circa 2246). During this time Susan would have been in her mid-teens, a fact supported by her birth year of 2230 as established in "Eyes" confirmed by her appearance in "In the Beginning," where she is still in school and a few months from being old enough to enlist. This is further supported in "And Now For a Word," where Susan say she graduated from Earthforce OTC 10 years prior (2249). However, Susan's own account of the incident itself in "The Long Night" has her state she was 10 years old. If Susan was indeed a child at the time, then Rabbi Koslov was simply mistaken and Sofie died much earlier than Ganya (circa 2233 - 2237.) If on the other hand Yossel was correct, then Ivanova just let slip to Sheridan that she still played with dolls as a teenager. Of course the real world reason is probably that when writing "The Long Night," J. Michael Straczynski simply forgot the line from "TKO" (written several years earlier by Lawrence G. DiTillio) or simply ignored it for dramatic reasons.
•According to J. Michael Straczynski, Ivanova did have a traditional Russian patronymic name, derived from "Andrei", her father's given name. In a posting dated 01/01/1996, J. Michael Straczynski confirms her patronymic name as 'Andreovna'.
•Although her name is pronounced as "ih-VAH-noh-vah" in the show, the proper pronunciation in Russian is "ih-vah-NOH-vah". The tendency to change stress in Russian surnames is quite common in English (ex. Smirnov, Demidov).
•The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5: The definitive B5 reference and episode guide
•Babylon 5 Encyclopedia (fansite)
- 3 min
-- Lorien and Ivanova in Babylon 5:"Into the Fire" "To live on as we have is to leave behind joy, and love, and companionship, because we know it to be transitory, of the moment. We know it will turn to ash.
People also ask
Who was Susan Ivanova?
What does Franklin say to Ivanova?
Why did Ivanova leave Babylon 5?
What does Ivanova say to Sheridan?
Ivanova shows Sheridan a recording of some...thing that resembles a black cloud engulfing a planet, which reduced a population of millions to nothing. She wonders just how they're going to get through this.
