My Journey through Babylon 5

[Savatage]

3x13 - A Late Delivery from Avalon

Well it only took 57 episodes but I finally found out exactly what caused the start of the Earth-Minbari war. I believe it may have been mentioned briefly before, but Franklin really outlines in detail what happened during that unfortunate encounter between the two races.

I found this episode a little bit strange for obvious reasons. There were definitely some enjoyable moments though, highlighted by "Arthur" and G'kar. The bar scene was pretty good and I liked that someone like G'kar from a totally different planet and culture could relate so closely to what Arthur had to say. It really showed that some things in life are universal.

Other than that not much to say here really. Pretty much a filler episode with the exception of Franklin's revelation about the start of the war.

I suppose it was a filler episode, but I never thought of it as such because of all the good info we got. ("info dump episode" is that the term?) There's still more to learn about the Earth-Minbari war, but now you know how it started.

"And they made an agreeable thump..." classic.

[magictrick]

3x14 - Ship of Tears

I really enjoyed this episode. In fact, I would go as far as saying that it is one of my favourites. While not as intense as the other arc-focused episodes, it had some great aspects to it. I am actually surprised because thus far I haven't been a fan of the Bester character or the psi corp episodes on the show. This one was different for various reasons.

First off, I have to start by saying that the Delenn and G'kar scene was one of my favourites in the entire series. This scene is such a great representation of what the show is all about that it is incredible. G'kar exemplifies what good character development is all about. It is amazing to watch his transformation throughout the series up until this point. Delenn's statements outline what a good series should have, and that is that decisions are never black and white, there should always be a grey area. She doesn't try to justify her actions but simply states honestly the position she was in - "the lives of millions vs the lives of billions". Such a powerful statement. I give two thumbs up to both actors for doing a tremendous job in this scene.

The rest of the episode focused on the Shadows' "weapons", which we find out are humans, and more specifically, telepaths. This revelation helps explain why the Shadows with the help of Morden wanted to infiltrate Earth Central - they need humans. I'm curious though, are those aliens that the telepath saw in her mind how the Shadows actually look like?

Now about Bester in this episode. I liked what they did with the character because once again the show proved it can do layered characters really well, not just one-dimensional. Up until now Bester has been selfish, arrogant, remorseless and devious. He now actually displays how he too can truly care for someone, and do what it takes to save them. A good representation of the real life, where one-dimensional just doesn't exist that often.

Lastly, I was glad to see the war room and G'kar being brought into the mix. Great episode all around and I hope to see more like these down the road.

[Savatage]

JMS said his priority in writing was character first, plot second. I've never seen better character development in sci-fi than what you get in B5. Everything flows naturally from the circumstances the characters are in and the choices they make. IMO, it's also what gives the show re-watchablility.

I liked this episode. There was a bit of Plot Convenience Theater in the one telepath Franklin picks to study ends up being Bester's lover, but hey, it could happen.

[magictrick]

3x15 - Interludes and Examinations

This episode left me with quite a few unanswered questions. First being, if the Shadows are so powerful that they can take down Kosh, why aren't they just running rampart on Babylon 5 by now? They killed Kosh for getting the Vorlons involved, but now they must know the Vorlons will be gunning for them even more. At least that's what logic dictates but one never knows.

I liked the heated exchange between Kosh and Sheridan. The fact that Kosh gave in and helped knowing what would happen to him is pretty impressive. How Sheridan feels now must not be very good. Though the alliances have been solidified, we don't know how long they will last.

I liked Franklin in this episode, good job by the actor. The scenes with Garibaldi were really well done. I wonder what will be next for the good doctor. I'm sure the plan is for him to recover and then make his way back as Chief Medical Officer.

I'm curious to see the implications and fallout of Kosh's death and how it affects everything going forward. Maybe we will finally get to see more of the Vorlons.

[magictrick]

3x16 - War Without End: Part One

There is so much that happens in these 2 episode I'm still trying to recall all the details. I think there are too many to talk about them all without making an excessively long post so I will try to condense this by just discussing what I found to be the major plot points.

Sinclair makes his brief return and is clearly a changed man. Though I can still see traces of Commander Sinclair, his stay with the Minbari has affected him considerably, particularly in the way he speaks with those cryptic type of answers. I liked that they brought back the character and tied up his story line in Part Two really well.

So we find out they have to go back in time to save Babylon 4 in order to win the war 1000 years earlier. I'm still not quite sure why it was so imperative for Babylon 4 to be the staging of operations in the war and how that helped them win against the Shadows.

Sinclair's time travel experience is interesting to say the least. It offers us a peak into the future that might be that shows how much has actually happened and the outcome of the war. Clearly all of Londo's visions of the future came to be true, as did the prediction by that Centari prophet who predicted both Londo and Vir would become emperors.

3x17 - War Without End: Part Two

Part One was the set up of story lines which culminated in this episode. What I really liked is the interaction of the team on the White Star working together. It was well done and I liked seeing all the characters interact.

I liked how the story line linked to episodes as far back as the start of the series. I forget which episode it was in season 1 that Sinclair and Garibaldi end up on Babylon 4, but I have to say that the way it ties in with this episode is pretty genius. I have yet to see a Sci-Fi show with a story line that's so consistent in its build up that an episode in season 3 can tie back so well with an episode in season 1 in such a smooth manner that doesn't confuse the viewer at all.

Now for a bit on the smaller plot in this and that is John's time travels and what he sees. The Londo scenes were great. Terrific portrayal of a character who is broken and battered. Viewing himself as ultimately failing his people was intense to watch.

Now are we to assume there's a Shadow inside Londo? What was he referring to in that final scene with John and Delenn?

The fact that John and Delenn ended up together and had a child doesn't surprise me either. I guess this answers my earlier question about relationships between different races and why there aren't more.

Special mention to Zathras as he was entertaining to watch the whole time. I'm still not sure what race he is and how he ended up in the great machine. Either way, he clearly is much more intelligent than he leads on, as he pretty much had the answer to all the questions.

Two amazing episodes

[SaberBlade]

This two parter is perhaps the biggest reason why season 1 must be watched. It may not be the best season but the foundation it lays for future episodes pays off incredibly well in this two parter.

It really is hard to answer any specific questions you may have without it ruining the future, because just as this episode leads back to season 1, it also brings up things that carry on through to season 4 and 5.

As for the rest of your questions, I don't think I could answer a single one without saying that would spoil a later episode, even if it's just a minor realisation you may have. Definitely worth asking again when the Shadow War arc ends.

[Nolamom]

Zathras is one of my all-time favorite characters. I find him exceptionally entertaining.

[Savatage]

3x16 - War Without End: Part One

There is so much that happens in these 2 episode I'm still trying to recall all the details. I think there are too many to talk about them all without making an excessively long post so I will try to condense this by just discussing what I found to be the major plot points.

Sinclair makes his brief return and is clearly a changed man. Though I can still see traces of Commander Sinclair, his stay with the Minbari has affected him considerably, particularly in the way he speaks with those cryptic type of answers. I liked that they brought back the character and tied up his story line in Part Two really well.

So we find out they have to go back in time to save Babylon 4 in order to win the war 1000 years earlier. I'm still not quite sure why it was so imperative for Babylon 4 to be the staging of operations in the war and how that helped them win against the Shadows.

Sinclair's time travel experience is interesting to say the least. It offers us a peak into the future that might be that shows how much has actually happened and the outcome of the war. Clearly all of Londo's visions of the future came to be true, as did the prediction by that Centari prophet who predicted both Londo and Vir would become emperors.

3x17 - War Without End: Part Two

Part One was the set up of story lines which culminated in this episode. What I really liked is the interaction of the team on the White Star working together. It was well done and I liked seeing all the characters interact.

I liked how the story line linked to episodes as far back as the start of the series. I forget which episode it was in season 1 that Sinclair and Garibaldi end up on Babylon 4, but I have to say that the way it ties in with this episode is pretty genius. I have yet to see a Sci-Fi show with a story line that's so consistent in its build up that an episode in season 3 can tie back so well with an episode in season 1 in such a smooth manner that doesn't confuse the viewer at all.

Now for a bit on the smaller plot in this and that is John's time travels and what he sees. The Londo scenes were great. Terrific portrayal of a character who is broken and battered. Viewing himself as ultimately failing his people was intense to watch.

Now are we to assume there's a Shadow inside Londo? What was he referring to in that final scene with John and Delenn?

The fact that John and Delenn ended up together and had a child doesn't surprise me either. I guess this answers my earlier question about relationships between different races and why there aren't more.

Special mention to Zathras as he was entertaining to watch the whole time. I'm still not sure what race he is and how he ended up in the great machine. Either way, he clearly is much more intelligent than he leads on, as he pretty much had the answer to all the questions.

Two amazing episodes

I can answer one of your questions: Why they needed B4 as a staging area? The following is from "In Valens Name", a comic book written by JMS, Michael Collins and David Roach.

"We needed to repair our fleet, needed peace (it does say peace not place) to rest, and a place from which to plan our next
move. To return home would mean retreat. We could not do this...could not allow the darkness to follow us back"

"We had lost our base. We had lost our leaders. We had lost hope. In that moment (when B4 showed up), the universe
returned to us all three".

As for your other questions, well like Saberblade said, it's best to wait until you've seen a couple more seasons before we adress them.

These episodes really show the complexity of the B5 story. It still amazes me how stuff is there in season 1 and 2 that I didn't think twice about that comes back to have significant meaning later on. The show is episodic yet is seeded with this brilliant story arc. Can't say enough about how good the writing is.

And Zanthras rules!

[magictrick]

This two parter is perhaps the biggest reason why season 1 must be watched. It may not be the best season but the foundation it lays for future episodes pays off incredibly well in this two parter.

It really is hard to answer any specific questions you may have without it ruining the future, because just as this episode leads back to season 1, it also brings up things that carry on through to season 4 and 5.

As for the rest of your questions, I don't think I could answer a single one without saying that would spoil a later episode, even if it's just a minor realisation you may have. Definitely worth asking again when the Shadow War arc ends.

Well thank you for not spoiling anything for me I realize my questions entail hearing spoilers but I just have to type them out if they are floating around in my head

I can answer one of your questions: Why they needed B4 as a staging area? The following is from "In Valens Name", a comic book written by JMS, Michael Collins and David Roach.

"We needed to repair our fleet, needed peace (it does say peace not place) to rest, and a place from which to plan our next
move. To return home would mean retreat. We could not do this...could not allow the darkness to follow us back"

"We had lost our base. We had lost our leaders. We had lost hope. In that moment (when B4 showed up), the universe
returned to us all three".

Now that makes a little more sense. The way it was described in the episode was very brief so I didn't realize the full extent of B4's role in the war. This makes it sound like it was critical to have a planning base of operations. However, if they were losing that badly to begin with I'm still not sure how a new base would improve their odds so dramatically. I mean if anything, more ships is what they would need.

[Savatage]

Well thank you for not spoiling anything for me I realize my questions entail hearing spoilers but I just have to type them out if they are floating around in my head



Now that makes a little more sense. The way it was described in the episode was very brief so I didn't realize the full extent of B4's role in the war. This makes it sound like it was critical to have a planning base of operations. However, if they were losing that badly to begin with I'm still not sure how a new base would improve their odds so dramatically. I mean if anything, more ships is what they would need.

I think in a sense B4 did provide them with more ships because it provided a place to repair the ships they had and bring them up to 100%. Think about the Narn ship that Sheridan gave sanctuary to. They needed a safe place to take the jump engines off-line. If they tried that in some random place in normal space, they would be sitting ducks. I think it safe to assume the Minbari were in a similar dilema - desperately needing to reapir there ships, but with no safe place to do so.

[Cold Fuzz]

Looks like I have a wee bit of catching up to do. This is what happens when tribulation at work starts affecting my downtime. I hate it.

3x12 - Sic Transit Vir

....

Interspecies relations is rarely touched upon in B5 because, with the exception of Delenn and Sheridan, everybody else is portrayed as genetically incompatible. There are a couple of mentions of about the Drazi and the Brakiri but that's more of a taboo forbidding the Drazi from touching the Brakiri. Aside from that, there's a rather humorous exploration of whether humans and a Pak'ma'ra are anatomically compatible in Crusade.

I liked this episode, but one thing I always wondered was what happened to the Narn they had tied up? If memory serves (and it doesn't always) the last we saw was her offering the blade to Vir and him just looking shocked. We can assume Vir didn't kill him, but what did happen?

That's a very good question which I totally forgot to ask about. I am curious as well. Will wait for our resident B5 expert to answer this one.

I haven't watched Ship of Tears in over a year but I believe it's implied that Vir let that Narn go.

3x13 - A Late Delivery from Avalon

....

Other than that not much to say here really. Pretty much a filler episode with the exception of Franklin's revelation about the start of the war.

I suppose it was a filler episode, but I never thought of it as such because of all the good info we got. ("info dump episode" is that the term?) There's still more to learn about the Earth-Minbari war, but now you know how it started.

"And they made an agreeable thump..." classic.

Most people tend to dislike info dump episodes. I think exposition and backstory can be very interesting if it's pulled off in an interesting way and this episode delivered on that. You'll see a wonderful exploration of the Minbari War in In the Beginning.

3x14 - Ship of Tears

...

I love the war room. It was a wonderful outgrowth of the war council Sheridan began at the beginning of the season. Now that Earth isn't breathing down their necks with Night Watch and all that totalitarian nonsense, the B5 crew can concentrate on the Shadows.

I suggest reading the Technomage trilogy at some point in the future. Aside from being a wonderful read, you'll see the events transpiring during the Shadow War from a vastly different perspective. That and you'll get a very good dose of the Shadows and the Vorlons.

As for those aliens you saw, those weren't the Shadows. Those were their servants, of which they have many.

This is true appearance of the Shadows:

JMS said his priority in writing was character first, plot second. I've never seen better character development in sci-fi than what you get in B5. Everything flows naturally from the circumstances the characters are in and the choices they make. IMO, it's also what gives the show re-watchablility.

I liked this episode. There was a bit of Plot Convenience Theater in the one telepath Franklin picks to study ends up being Bester's lover, but hey, it could happen.

B5 has the best re-watchability for me exactly because of the character development. Everybody changes dramatically with little or no exceptions.

3x15 - Interludes and Examinations

...

The Shadows are leaving B5 alone for now. Why? What do the Shadows want? This is the part of the season where the Shadows' own question is being focused on them. I'll only say that the Shadows are leaving B5 alone because, for the time being, it serves their objectives to do so. That of course could change at any time.

As for the Vorlons getting directly involved, Kosh's reluctance to do so points to something about how this war is being fought, especially when Sheridan comes down hard on him because he has to fight this war his way.

Just a bit of commentary about the Vorlons' ships: Until now, we have never seen them directly engage in combat. Though the Shadows have shown themselves to be fearsome in battle, I think the VFX people did an excellent job in showing Shadow ships "panicking" in a manner of speaking. The element of surprise played a big factor of course but if you analyze that battle closely, you'd see that the Vorlons in some ways outmatch the Shadows. For one thing, they have a greater diversity in their types of warships. For example, that enormous heavy cruiser has enough firepower and defenses to take down multiple Shadow warships. And those Vorlon fighters are easily the most maneuverable we've ever seen in the show, easily dancing around the Shadows.

If they're such a powerful match for the Shadows, then why are the Vorlons holding back so much? Just food for thought there.

3x16 - War Without End: Part One


3x17 - War Without End: Part Two

Just to clarify something about Londo, there wasn't a Shadow inside Londo. The Shadows can't inhabit other living creatures, at least as far as I know. I think the best part about this episode is that Delenn and Sheridan's first onscreen kiss takes place in the future.

Ah, Zathras. Wonderfully entertaining character. It's a real pity that actor Tim Choate was killed in a motorcycle accident back in '04.

I can answer one of your questions: Why they needed B4 as a staging area? The following is from "In Valens Name", a comic book written by JMS, Michael Collins and David Roach.

"We needed to repair our fleet, needed peace (it does say peace not place) to rest, and a place from which to plan our next
move. To return home would mean retreat. We could not do this...could not allow the darkness to follow us back"

"We had lost our base. We had lost our leaders. We had lost hope. In that moment (when B4 showed up), the universe
returned to us all three".

As for your other questions, well like Saberblade said, it's best to wait until you've seen a couple more seasons before we adress them.

These episodes really show the complexity of the B5 story. It still amazes me how stuff is there in season 1 and 2 that I didn't think twice about that comes back to have significant meaning later on. The show is episodic yet is seeded with this brilliant story arc. Can't say enough about how good the writing is.

And Zanthras rules!

I've never seen In Valen's Name. Thanks for posting this!

Well thank you for not spoiling anything for me I realize my questions entail hearing spoilers but I just have to type them out if they are floating around in my head

I have only one more comment on the B4 two-parter, specifically the snow globe scene: There is only one being in the universe that could provoke that kind of horror from Delenn. And who could that be?

[maneth]

War Without End is definitely my favorite two-parter of any show. Really great stuff.

[magictrick]

3x18 - Walkabout

The episode after the 2-parter picks up right where the others left off as the war with the Shadows continues. Plenty of action in this one and a new possible weapon tested with success. So now that they know telepaths can disrupt the Shadow ships what will happen? Will they begin seeking the aid of telepaths and psi corp?

The new Vorlon ambassador doesn't really feel new at all because he's exactly like Kosh, even his name is the same. He's also named Kosh and apparently "we are all Kosh". I think this is interesting I can maybe take a guess of what this means.

I'm still curious as to what Lyta is helping the Vorlons with and what her connection is to them. I'm sure it will be something that ties in with everything that's being going on but I can't figure out what it is at this point. Either way I liked that the Lyta character made another appearance, they should really give her more of a recurring role to make up for the absence of Talya.

Franklin's side story was overshadowed by the main plot line. They are going the typical route with him and the whole "finding himself" thing. Has been done many times before but lets see what comes of this. If there is any consistency here, we should be able to notice a significant change in something about him as that is what B5 does best - character development.

[maneth]

Yeah, I always felt Franklin's drug addiction and recovery were really well done. There's a pretty profound connection between Lyta and the Vorlons.

[Raw_Deal]

I think the best part about this episode is that Delenn and Sheridan's first onscreen kiss takes place in the future.

That's what JMS had to say about that kiss (from the Lurker's Guide):

* As I wrote the episodes prior to WWE2, I kept leading up to that first kiss, over and over, but deliberately never quite getting there. I knew that when it came time to do it, I wanted to do it in just the way you describe...it would and wouldn't be a first kiss, both at exactly the same time. So there's the moment everyone's been waiting for, but not in quite the way anyone had expected.

* I knew everyone would be waiting for that first kiss, so I made sure it was different, that it was a first kiss for one of them, but not the other, that it was natural and totally unforced and surprising. So for Sheridan, his first kiss of Delenn was actually his second (by a long ways), and his second, when it comes, will be her first.

I really like that.