####Overview

Delenn is in danger when a soul hunter, an alien who captures the souls of the dying, arrives at the station.
####Guest Stars

W. Morgan Sheppard as Soul Hunter #1. John Snyder as Soul Hunter #2.
####Lurk

http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/synops/002.html
####Backplot

The soul hunter of this episode has visited Earth before.

Minbari are trained from childhood to protect their souls from soul hunters.

The soul hunter had a unique perspective on a significant event in Minbari history:

[to Sinclair] “Minbari: jealous, selfish, private. We have saved only a few – very rare. The rarest of all, their leader Dukat, dying; your fault, your war; the pinnacle of Minbari evolution. We came, I, others. They made a wall of bodies to stop us! He died. And his dreams, his ideas – all that he was, all that he could ever be – gone… wasted… jealous…” Later he recognizes Delenn from the Grey Council, which was responsible for stopping him.
####Unanswered Questions

Why do all races but humans know about soul hunters? Since they all share the Minbari’s fear of them, do most of them share the Minbari belief in reincarnation?

Why are so many non-humans moving to Earth? They must face a fair amount of prejudice there. (cf: [[The War Prayer]])

What are the “certain classes” of Minbari in which Delenn says soul hunters have always taken a particular interest?

“Your fault, your war,” says the soul hunter to Sinclair, recounting Dukat’s death. Was he referring to humans in general, Sinclair in particular, or Dukat?

“If only you could see,” says the soul hunter to Franklin. Apparently he can actually observe the soul’s departure from a dying body. Later we see, possibly through Delenn’s eyes, a blue wispy something escape as she breaks a soul vessel. Does this mean that Minbari too can see souls?

With a glimpse into Delenn’s soul, the soul hunter exclaims, “You would plan such a thing? You would do such a thing? Incredible.” He’s had a long history with the Minbari – what would so surprise him? (Revealed in [[Chrysalis]] and [[Revelations]])

Recovering in Medlab, Delenn says to Sinclair, “I knew you would come. We were right about you.” Clearly, the Minbari have made predictions about him. However, Sinclair didn’t really prove anything about his character by rescuing Delenn – someone else could easily have been the one to find her. Perhaps he’s just fulfilled part of a prophecy, thereby confirming his role in it. (cf: “Parliament of Dreams”)

Combining the above questions, does Delenn’s incredible plan involve the Minbari predictions about Sinclair?

As the soul hunter himself challenged, why is one of the great Minbari leaders acting as their ambassador on Babylon 5? Sinclair is now wondering the same thing.
####Analysis

Delenn meets Sinclair just as he’s going to check out the injured pilot, and offers to help him ID the fellow. She has a knack for being at the right place at the right time. (cf: [[The Gathering]]).

Sinclair did not call for backup when he encountered the soul hunter, even though there were four others nearby searching for Delenn. He has a tendency to put himself into dangerous situations. (cf: [[Infection]])

During this episode there are three different stories told about the soul. Sinclair heard all three, and doesn’t know which to believe. All he knows is what he saw.

• Franklin: There is no soul that survives the body. With advanced technology, he allows, one could preserve a record of someone’s personality, but death is death.
• Delenn: All sentients have immortal souls. When a Minbari dies its soul merges with the souls of other dead Minbari. These are recycled into future generations, so as individuals advance their own souls, the Minbari as a whole advance.
• soul hunter: All sentients have ephemeral souls. When a person dies, the soul expires into oblivion. However, soul hunters have a prescient attraction to death – if they so choose they can capture and preserve a soul “for the greater good” at the moment it leaves the body. They carry with them a bag full of the souls they have “saved”, each in its own glass vessel.

For a Minbari, the soul hunter’s method of preservation is true death, for it cuts a soul off from the rest and diminishes the next generation; for a soul hunter, the true loss is uncollected souls.

These are completely irreconcilable belief systems.
####Notes

Dr. Franklin arrives on the starliner Asimov, which we see again later.

Dr. Kyle is on his way to a new assignment working with the president. He’s much needed there what with “so many aliens migrating to Earth,” as Franklin puts it.

The average human lifespan is almost 100 years.

Ivanova conducts a simple funeral with these words: “From the stars we came, and to the stars we return, from now until the end of time. We therefore commit this body to the deep.”

The soul hunter tells Sinclair his opinion of the Minbari: “pale, bloodless, look in their eyes and see nothing but mirrors, infinities of reflection…”

When Delenn is recovering in medlab at the end of the episode, she’s attached to a machine that should presumably be pumping blood back into her body. But the fluid is flowing out of her instead. The shot was played backwards so the director could get the camera movement he wanted.