If you missed the news last night, actress Mira Furlan died at 65. She was one of my favorites because of her incredible job on the show, Babylon 5. She had an accent which came from Yugoslavia, and it really added to the character to make it work really well.
Moreover Delenn showed what a character is when she’s actually a woman.
In the 2000s, after Buffy the Vampire slayer, actual feminine women characters became a lost art. All women were replaced by these fake robots “strong female leads” who run around beating up men by acting like men. It’s absurd someone with tiny and non-muscular physical features could goe toe-to-toe with the strongest of male fighters. And it’s sad to watch.
But Delenn was not written that way. Delenn was not a fighter. She was religious. She was convicted for a cause. She stood by her man and complemented him. She was the essence of perfection in a female character, and Furlan played the part perfectly.
Furlan had a demure style which really was great to watch, a softness and a tenderness which is very rare. She played a very modestly dressed character as well which is another rare thing on TV.
I never met Mira Furlan as a person, never really knew much about her other than she escaped communist Yugoslavia, but I still felt connected with her beyond most actresses because of her incredible work. And the work and the art is what counts.
RIP
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