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At the end of S4 E17, "The Face of the Enemy", Edgars finally tells Garibaldi his plan to

release a virus that will make all telepaths dependent on injections

He then tells Garibaldi that he can't leave the compound for a few days until the plan is done.

Literally the next scene, with no explanation we see that Garibaldi has left the compound!?!

This seems really strange given:

  • How rich Edgars is
  • How paranoid Edgars is
  • How close Edgars plans are to completion
  • we are told later in the episode there are at least 2 personal bodyguards guarding the compound

I guess maybe Garibaldi is actually a master ninja at infiltration but it just seems like sloppy writing to me. Am I missing something here or is this a massive plot hole?

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    Perhaps the person Garibaldi meets in that next scene (spoilers!) has ... influence? abilities? ... which enable him to neutralise all obstacles between Garibaldi and himself.
    – Rand al'Thor ♦
    Commented May 18, 2018 at 22:13
  • I thought Edgars just ordered Garibaldi to stay in the compound, rather than putting him under guard?
    – Harry Johnston
    Commented May 18, 2018 at 22:25
  • Edgars employee says "Now that you know you'll have to stay on the compound until the spoilers. I'm sure you can understand the danger." I guess they didn't understand the danger if they told him the plans and then just went to sleep without any precautions.
    – Servitor
    Commented May 18, 2018 at 22:32
  • @randal'thor that's actually what I assumed when watching the episode. I assumed it was "AB"s doing. you should post your comment as an answer.
    – Kidburla
    Commented May 19, 2018 at 14:44

2 Answers 2

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This was addressed directly by the show's creator in an interview. In short, Garibaldi (someone who's worked as a Head of Security for several years and hence would have no problems spotting weak spots in someone's security) simply evaded the guards in the compound.

Q. Wasn't Edgars' complex guarded to keep people from leaving without permission?

JMS: If anybody could slip away, Garibaldi could.

Midwinter: JMS Speaks - The Face of the Enemy

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They trusted him.

The very scene you're describing, Edgars is literally letting Garibaldi in on the biggest secret he had. They would no more have set an active guard on Garibaldi than they would have for Edgars or his right-hand man. They wouldn't have let him in on the plan if they didn't trust him. If they didn't trust him, a corpse is better at keeping secrets than a prisoner. It is possible the only reason to keep him in the compound is simply to protect him from being targeted, or to prevent the secret from being spilled by any random telepath that wandered by.

The compound would be guarded, but most guards attention would be on preventing people getting in, not people getting out. Garibaldi would have had to evade security, but we've seen him do that before. He's had plenty of time to get familiar with the grounds, study patrol patterns, find any holes in the sensors or cameras, and determine his exit.

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