babylon 5 - Why does Londo respond differently to Kosh in the Season 2 finale?

Centauri have telepaths, so

they have been manipulated by Vorlons like all other races with telepaths. The angelic appearance of Vorlons is also a result of this manipulation.

When Londo asked what he saw when he looked at Kosh outside his encounter suit, he replied "absolutely nothing". How come?

Answer

There are a couple of ideas in the analysis of the episode in the Lurker's Guide to B5:

Londo failed to see Kosh when he revealed himself. Does this extend to all Centauri, or is it peculiar to Londo? If it is the former then it suggests that either the Vorlons have not openly visited the Centauri (why?) or that their worship of their deceased Emperors as gods has diminished the effect of exposure to Vorlons. If it is the latter then it must be because of Londo's association with the Shadows. If this is the case then what would be the response of other Centauri on seeing a Vorlon?

And some comments from J Michael Straczynski, the writer, on the same page:

Nnnnnnoo, not really; the Centauri don't actually have an equivalent to G'Quan or Valen.

They [Centauri] believe in a variety of afterlives; the god you worship, of the centauri pantheon, holds dominion over a given "heaven" or afterworld. If you appease the god sufficiently during life, it will accept you into that afterworld, in preparation for the day when all heavens are united; if not, you will have to be reborn and choose another until one accepts you.

Comments

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