####Overview
G’Kar brings news of a terrible new enemy. The arrival of Sheridan’s sister opens up old wounds for the new commander. Dr. Franklin employs an unorthodox procedure to try to bring Garibaldi out of his coma. Delenn’s mysterious change is completed.
####Guest Stars
Beverly Leech as Elizabeth Sheridan. Macaulay Bruton as Garibaldi’s aide.
####Lurk
http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/synops/024.html
####Backplot
Sheridan’s wife Anna was killed two years ago when her ship exploded on its way to explore the recently discovered ruins of an ancient civilization on the Rim.
The Book of G’Quan, the holy book of G’Kar’s religion (cf. [[By Any Means Necessary]]) mentions an ancient enemy that rose to power a thousand years in the past, a power so great it nearly overwhelmed the stars themselves. And the book contains drawings suspiciously siimilar to the Shadows’ ships.
####Unanswered Questions
Is Delenn’s new appearance an outward transformation, a complete physical rebirth, or something even more fundamental?
What exactly has she become?
Was the result what she thought it would be? She didn’t seem to know what had happened to her when she first emerged from the chrysalis; clearly she didn’t go into the process with detailed knowledge of the outcome.
How much does G’Kar suspect about Londo’s involvement with the Shadows?
Why did President Clark order Garibaldi’s aide returned to Earth? Was he aware that the clandestine transfer would take place, or did someone else arrange that to stop the prisoner from being interrogated by Clark’s people?
####Analysis
The Book of G’Quan, assuming G’Kar was describing the text itself rather than his interpretation, says that the ancient enemy came from the rim of known space, the planet Z’ha’dum. That implies that the Narns, or some among them, were technologically advanced at least a thousand years ago; otherwise they would presumably have had no way of knowing the origin of the enemy, certainly not well enough to locate its home planet. Given that they are not particularly advanced compared to the other major races, one of three things must have happened:
Some event, possibly the last great war, reduced their capabilities enough that they had to start nearly from scratch.
They advanced technologically at a very slow pace, or not at all, over the past millenium.
Another race used the Narn (or their world) in the war, departing when it was over and leaving the Narn with only legends of the great enemy.
If the second is true, it’s possible that some of the other races acquired their technology from the Narns, an interesting twist on the established idea that the Narns are obsessed with obtaining technology from others (cf. “The Gathering.”)
When G’Kar’s wingman crashed into the Shadow fighter, the Shadow ship appeared to writhe in pain. It appears that employing living technology is a common trait of the very advanced civilizations (cf. “Infection.”) The question naturally arises: are the Shadow ships ships in the traditional sense, with crews or pilots aboard, or are they autonomous entities?
The fact that a one-man Narn fighter was able to destroy a Shadow ship implies that the Shadows can be overcome by force, assuming they aren’t so numerous as to overwhelm all their opponents.
Delenn flat-out lied when she said her government approved her transformation (cf. “Points of Departure.”) Yet they have made no move to replace her as ambassador. Perhaps they fear the consequences of working against the prophecy more than they fear what she’s doing.
Dr. Franklin hasn’t tried the healing machine on anyone, not even experimentally. Perhaps he hasn’t been studying it — which seems strange, given its potential to utterly revolutionize the practice of medicine. Now that he knows it works, he may be more inclined to use it in the future, possibly in place of hazardous conventional treatments.
Anna Sheridan’s research vessel was destroyed in an apparent accident on the Rim, on its way to explore an ancient civilization. The similarities to the destruction of the Narn ship sent by G’Kar are too great to ignore. She very possibly was killed by the Shadows, something which won’t endear them to Sheridan if he learns about it. If that’s true, the question of how the ruins of the civilization were discovered in the first place remains unanswered.
####Notes
The poem G’Kar read to Na’Toth is from “The Second Coming” by W. B. Yeats (quoted sections emphasized):
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of “Spiritus Mundi”
Troubles my sight: somewhere in the sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indigant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
Garibaldi’s aide is named Jack, though it’s easy to miss; Garibaldi mentions the name once after Talia leaves medlab and he speaks to Franklin and Ivanova.
The closed captioning spells G’Quan “Sh’Quon,” but JMS has used the shorter spelling on several occasions, so it’s the one used here.
Continuity gaffe: In the scene with Sheridan and his sister in his quarters, he drains his drink, walks toward the bar, and before he gets there, the glass refills and he drains it again.
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