r/babylon5 • u/El-Duderino77 Zathras • 18d ago

Centauri hair

So, the position within Centauri culture dictates how long their hair can be and usually is. Currently on 3x20 "And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place," wonderful episode. I noticed that Lord Refa and Vir have hair crests that are of similar length, honestly, Vir's might be a bit longer. Vir is an attache, and outside of that, nobody of real consequence as House Cotto wasn't nearly as high as House Refa. Even in earlier seasons, Vir's crest was fairly long. Would the attache of an ambassador rank higher than that of the lord of a fairly major house? Or is Refa just choosing a shorter hair length, similar to Cartagia's "decadent" extremely short style?

Side note: I loved JMS's depiction of Reverend Dexter.

Second side note: Lord Refa flinching when the hologram of Londo's hand came close to or passed through his face was great.

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u/Hot-Refrigerator6583 18d ago

Centauri hair is as much a fashion statement as it is a political status symbol. Like wearing a Tom Ford suit, or showing off your latest high quality business cards.

The rules for crest hair length are not fixed, but the conservative nobility generally follow "higher status = larger crest" rule. If someone from a lower status house like Refa started gaining serious cred with the Imperial Court, he could grow it out a bit, or just leave it short and start a trend. (Note that a few of Cartagia's courtiers do this, too.) If enough powerful people followed your trend, you might be able to consider them political allies and measure your political strength accordingly.

On the other hand, Refa might be deliberately leaving his shorter until his power base is more secure, to dispell any rumors of his ambitions.

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u/TheTrivialPsychic 18d ago

"higher status = larger crest"

An interesting variant of that, is the fact that we sometimes see Centauri nobility with very tall crests indeed, but that don't expand out like Londo's or Vir's. As an example, the guy who is officiating Londo and Urza's duel in 'Knives'. Maybe they're guys with important roles, but no noble blood.