When we saw the forms that they took, it was even more interesting to see the symbolism and how we might feel. The Shadows were black, and were like large spiders. They were creepy looking, and hid from others. Just looking at them made everyone squirm, even Sheridan had a reaction. But when Kosh revealed himself to save Sheridan from the bomb in the train, he was an angel to the humans and each race saw his form as some sort of positive religious figure. And in the end, what did we learn from Sheridan and Lorien? They each had faults and they each were playing the same game, only in a different way.
When we first met G'Kar, a Narn, and Londo Mollari, a Centauri, their looks were so different. G'Kar and the entire Narn race were reptilian looking. They had red eyes and spotted, scaly skin, they liked to live underground. They reminded me of snakes. The use of the snake has such a negative connotation in Western civilization because of the story of Adam and Eve in the Bible. It was the snake that tempted Adam and Eve and led to their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. So immediately, looking at G'Kar, here is an image that has a powerful symbolism, conscious and unconscious. It is easy to make assumptions about him and the Narn - that they are not a "good" race that they are deceitful, etc.
Then we see Londo and the Centauri - they look so much like humans. So we can identify with them and think that they are more like us -even when they are not. We think they have the same way of behaving, same morals, same ways of doing things - and we assume this again, based on the looks. It is an unconscious assumption.
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