Editing Lyta Alexander

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2013}}
{{inuniverse|date=July 2023}}
{{Notability|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox character
| name        = Lyta Alexander
| series      = [[Babylon 5]]
| image       = B5-lyta-alexander-300.jpg
| caption     =
| first_major       = [[Babylon 5: The Gathering]]
|first_date=1993
| last       = ''[[Babylon 5: A Call to Arms]]'' 2023
|last_date=1998
| portrayer   = [[Patricia Tallman]]
| voice       = Patricia Tallman
| species     = [[Human (Babylon 5)|Human]]
| origin            =[[Earth]]
| affiliation       =  [[Psi Corps]]<br />[[Vorlon]]s<br>Telepath Underground Railroad
}}
'''Lyta Alexander''' [Lyta pronounced as: (/lit/ LEE-tah)] is a fictional character portrayed by [[Patricia Tallman]] in the science fiction television series ''[[Babylon 5]]''. 

==Role in ''Babylon 5''==
===Character arc===
In the series' pilot, Lyta is described as a sixth generation [[telepath]], but she points out that telepathy may have been running undetected in her family even earlier since telepaths were not monitored before that generation. In the series, it is stated that Lyta was trained by the [[Psi Corps]] and that she briefly interned with the Psi Cops division. <ref name="ReferenceA2">"[[List of Babylon 5 episodes#ep41|Divided Loyalties]]," ''[[Babylon 5]]''. 1995-10-11.</ref> After an incident while accompanying [[Alfred Bester (Babylon 5)|Alfred Bester]],<ref>"[[The Face of the Enemy (Babylon 5)|The Face of the Enemy]]," ''[[Babylon 5]]''. 1997-06-09.</ref> she transfers to commercial work. In 2257, she is assigned as Babylon 5's first commercial telepath.<ref>"[[Babylon 5: The Gathering|The Gathering]]," ''[[Babylon 5]]''. 1993-02-22.</ref> Soon after she arrives at the station, she scans Vorlon Ambassador [[Kosh Naranek|Kosh]], in violation of the wishes of the Vorlon government, in order to try to discover the identity of his attacker.

In season 2, Lyta's experience with the Vorlon ambassador permanently changes her, but many of the characters  are being altered, including Babylon 5's commander. Lyta, the telepath, is recalled from her assignment a few weeks later and is questioned regarding her encounter with Kosh. She gets interrogated for months by the Psi Corps, she eventually escapes and joins the Mars Resistance. While underground, she uncoveres information regarding a [[Mole (espionage)|mole]] among the [[Babylon 5]] command staff. She returns to the station in late 2259, where she reveals [[Talia Winters]] as an unwitting mole for secret forces in EarthGov and Psi Corps.<ref name="ReferenceA2">"[[List of Babylon 5 episodes#ep41|Divided Loyalties]]," ''[[Babylon 5]]''. 1995-10-11.</ref>

In season 3, Lyta travels to the Vorlon homeworld, one of the few known humans to do so and live. There, she gets modified by the Vorlons and is given gill-like implants to allow her to breathe in a Vorlon environment and the ability to "carry" a Vorlon consciousness. This tremendously increases her telepathic and [[Psychokinesis|psychokinetic]] powers beyond what she herself can realize. She returns to Babylon 5 as an aide to Ambassador Kosh.<ref>"[[Passing Through Gethsemane]]," ''[[Babylon 5]]''. 1995-11-27.</ref>

In season 4, Lyta is key to the eventual resolution of the Shadow War on Coriana 6, serving as the vessel through which Sheridan and [[Delenn]] confront the elder races and forces them to leave the galaxy.<ref>"[[Into the Fire (Babylon 5)|Into the Fire]]," ''[[Babylon 5]]''. 1997-02-03.</ref> Immediately after the Shadow War, she becomes part of the expedition to the Shadows' homeworld of [[Z'ha'dum (planet)|Z'ha'dum]]. Using unknown abilities and implanted instructions from the Vorlons, she triggers the destruction of the planet to spite [[Alfred Bester (Babylon 5)|Alfred Bester]] and prevents Shadow technology from falling into the wrong hands.<ref>"[[Epiphanies (Babylon 5)|Epiphanies]]," ''[[Babylon 5]]''. 1997-02-10.</ref> However, after the conclusion of the Shadow War, she finds herself unwelcome and having difficulty finding employment. She  goes on to play a decisive role in the endgame of the Earth Civil War, triggering the shadow-modified telepaths smuggled aboard Earth ships to disable the fleet at Mars.<ref>"[[Endgame (Babylon 5)|Endgame]]," ''[[Babylon 5]]''. 1997-10-13.</ref>

In season 5, Alexander becomes romantically involved with [[Byron (Babylon 5)|Byron]], revealing to the telepaths that they had been created by the Vorlons as weapons for their war with the Shadows. After Byron's death, Alexander gets inspired by his cause to create a homeworld for telepaths, and becomes the leader of a movement sponsoring violent resistance against the Corps. Lyta also begins to more thoroughly explore the abilities the Vorlons had given her. She eventually gets arrested aboard Babylon 5 for supporting terrorism by [[John Sheridan (Babylon 5)|John Sheridan]].<ref>"[[Wheel of Fire (Babylon 5)|Wheel of Fire]]," ''[[Babylon 5]]''. 1998-11-04.</ref> [[Michael Garibaldi]] makes a deal with her to help her avoid prosecution and provide funding for her cause. Former [[Narn]] Ambassador [[G'Kar]] takes her with him on a mission of exploration.<ref>"[[Objects in Motion]]," ''[[Babylon 5]]''. 1998-11-11.</ref>

=== Characterization ===
{{Expand section|date=November 2019}}
The character of Lyta Alexander has been subject to literary analysis, for example, in the dimension of feminine identity. <ref name="Helford20002">{{cite book |author=Elyce Rae Helford |url=https://archive.org/details/fantasygirls00elyc |title=Fantasy Girls: Gender in the New Universe of Science Fiction and Fantasy Television |date=30 May 2000 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |isbn=978-0-7425-7969-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/fantasygirls00elyc/page/231 231]– |url-access=registration}}</ref>

== Conceptual history ==
Lyta was introduced in the pilot episode "[[Babylon 5: The Gathering|The Gathering]]" as a [[Telepathy|telepath]] assigned to the [[Babylon 5 (space station)|Babylon 5]] space station by the [[Psi Corps]], a fictional organization providing support to telepaths and monitoring their activity. However, she did not appear in the remainder of season 1 due to a dispute concerning Tallman's salary.<ref>[[Patricia Tallman|Tallman, Patricia]].''[http://www.b5pat.com Pleasure Thresholds] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720154717/http://www.b5pat.com/|date=July 20, 2018}}''.2011</ref> Lyta's role was largely taken up by [[Andrea Thompson]], who was cast as [[Talia Winters]], a telepath who took over Lyta's responsibilities at the station. After Thompson left the series due to disagreements regarding the amount of screen time given to her character,<ref>http://www.jmsnews.com/msg.aspx?id=1-69 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923074412/http://www.jmsnews.com/msg.aspx?id=1-69|date=September 23, 2013}}. Originally posted to [[Usenet newsgroup|newsgroup]] ''[[rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated]]'' on 2000-11-23.</ref> Lyta returned as a recurring character in seasons 2 and 3 after Capt. [[John Sheridan (Babylon 5)|John Sheridan]] took over as station commander and became a regular cast member from season 4 on. Her character simply resumed the dramatic arc once intended for Thompson's.

Lyta does not appear in any of the [[Canon (fiction)|canonical]] materials released since the end of the series. It is strongly implied in ''[[Crusade (TV series)|Crusade]]'' and some of the canonical novels that her actions (both on Babylon 5 in 2262 and afterward) led to the [[Telepath War]] of the mid-2260s, in which she was killed. According to Straczynski,<ref>{{Cite web |title=JMSNews ATT:JMS Titles and full names |url=http://jmsnews.com/messages/message?id=16148 |website=jmsnews.com}}</ref> Lyta was intended to appear in the ''Crusade'' episode "The Path of Sorrows" as part of a flashback, but Tallman's salary negotiations failed. The scene featured an unnamed telepath who died striking against the Psi Corps. Whether or not this was meant to be Lyta, Straczynski confirmed that she died in such an attack. In the aforementioned script book, Straczynski wrote that both Lyta and [[Lennier]] were killed in the explosion of Psi Corps Headquarters in a major battle of the Telepath War. Hints about her death had also been given by Straczynski in posts to the ''Babylon 5'' newsgroup.<ref>{{Cite web |title=JMSNews Bad Rumour - Sheridan Leaving? |url=http://jmsnews.com/messages/message?id=16184 |website=jmsnews.com}}</ref> and in the final novel of the Psi Corps Trilogy by [[Gregory Keyes|J. Gregory Keyes]]<ref>Keyes, J. Gregory. ''[https://www.amazon.com/dp/0345427173 Final Reckoning: The Fate of Bester]'', p. 228. New York: Del Rey, 1999.</ref>

== Reception ==
{{Empty section|date=November 2019}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Babylon 5}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Lyta}}
[[Category:Babylon 5 characters]]
[[Category:Fictional female soldiers]]
[[Category:Fictional military personnel in television]]
[[Category:Fictional telekinetics]]
[[Category:Fictional telepaths]]
[[Category:Television characters introduced in 1993]]