####Overview

The Narn-Centauri War reaches a turning point. Sheridan is contacted by a powerful ally, who offers assistance.
####Guest Stars

John Schuck. W. Morgan Sheppard as Warleader G’Sten. William Forward as Refa.
####Lurk

http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/synops/042.html
####Backplot

The new Centauri emperor, Cartargia, is acting mostly as a figurehead, a front for Refa and his compatriots.

A treaty among all the aligned worlds outlawed the use of mass drivers as a weapon of war, similar to the Earth treaties outlawing the use of chemical and biological weapons.

Draal says he has found other beings on Epsilon 3, ones who take care of the great Machine Draal is at the heart of. One of them is a fellow named Zathras (cf. [[Babylon Squared]].)

Delenn has been in charge of all the Rangers on Babylon 5. She now shares that command with Sheridan.

Sheridan does not know that Sinclair is behind the Rangers.

The Centauri seem to have gravity control technology. Londo watches as the Centauri bombard the Narn homeworld, standing — seemingly in gravity — aboard a motionless ship. (Either that, or they have magnetic shoes.)
####Unanswered Questions

What’s Zathras doing on Epsilon 3, and how did he get there? If the planet has been undisturbed for at least the past 500 years ([[A Voice in the Wilderness part 2]]) is he that old?

Where was Zathras such that Draal, with sight that extends across light-years, couldn’t find him? Perhaps he wasn’t in another place, but another time (see [[Babylon Squared]].)

Will the great machine be involved in pulling Babylon 4 through time?

Now that Londo has stated he no longer wishes to associate with the Shadows, his usefulness to Lord Refa is at an end. How will Refa handle this?

What exactly was G’Kar told to do in the Kha’Ri’s last message? Ask for sanctuary, obviously, but anything else?

What other technology do the Shadows have that we haven’t seen yet?

Have the Narn unwittingly discovered a weakness of the Shadows? (see Analysis)

Now that G’Kar has been stripped of his homeworld and position on Babylon 5, what can he contribute to the battle against the Shadows?
####Analysis

Londo is now convinced that his associates are far too powerful for their motives to be solely for his benefit. He realises that he has become a pawn in their larger game, and that his personal quest for more power has lead to the death of esteemed friends and many innocents. While convinced of this, and that he has allowed himself to be maneuvered at every turn by the will of others, he still carries through with his role as a paper tiger politician/ambassador.

The Shadows show some new weaponry. It appears that each ship can “give birth” to a cluster of forty or so of the smaller fighters G’Kar encountered at Z’ha’dum in “Revelations.” We are not shown that these fighters are re-assimilated at the end of the confrontation, and it is also unknown how many times each Shadow can do this.

The second weapon has the ability to disrupt a jump point so that it is fatal for any ship to attempt to use it. Once an attack against the Shadows begins it appears you can leave only when they so allow it.

The Shadow “wounded” during the battle is thrown off course by the loss of one of its spines. After the battle is finished, a second Shadow joins with it as if to assist it. The broken spine is clearly visible on the ship that does not move during the docking procedure. It suggests that the damaged Shadow was unable to function as effectively, perhaps because it was in pain.

With Draal offering the resources of the highly advanced technology at his command, it appears that Babylon 5 is one of the few places that may withstand a Shadow assault. That it can become the base of operations for the Army of Light is now clear.

Perhaps more importantly, Babylon 5 can probably also withstand a frontal assault by Earthforce, though they might prefer to destroy it from within.

The Centauri use of mass drivers flauts all previously signed conventions, and it appears (cf. [[And Now for a Word]], where the Centauri are discovered using Babylon 5 to transport mass drivers and energy weapons) that they have been planning this kind of assault on the Narn homeworld for some time.

A mass driver uses a heavy object (such as a small asteroid) launched from orbit toward a planet’s surface at low speed. As it falls through the planet’s gravity well it gains considerable momentum. On impact the immediate area becomes a crater, and huge quantities of dust are thrown up into the atmosphere, blocking out sunlight and causing something like a nuclear winter. E. E. “Doc” Smith’s Lensman series, written from 1937 to 1948, is the first literary SF work to use mass drivers as weapons for planetary bombardment as shown in this episode. (If you know of an earlier work, send me mail!)

All of the major governments (with the exception of the Vorlons) are now under serious internal stress. They are either introspective (Earth,) skeptical of present danger (Minbari,) overextended (Centauri,) or occupied (Narn). It appears that the Shadows have achieved, either directly or indirectly, effective destabilization of every major power that might stand up to their forces.

Ambassador Kosh openly lets the Rangers know of his involvement.

It appears that Garibaldi’s friendship with Londo has strained to the breaking point.

Sheridan now has access to the Rangers. This appears to be fulfilling the dream induced by Kosh (cf. [[All Alone in the Night]]) where he is described as being “The Hand.” Presumably this reference is to his role as someone who will help lead the forces of light as the right hand man of “The One.”

A fully prepared numerically superior Narn task force is easily destroyed by the Shadows. Unless more effective combat techniques are discovered, the battle with darkness will have to involve more subtle tactics.

Londo hasn’t forgiven Refa for the death of his friend Urza Jaddo ([[Knives]].)

Londo’s cough in the council chamber scene sounds suspiciously like the one in his dream in “The Coming of Shadows.” Could he be coming down with something? (See jms speaks)
####Notes

JMS premiered this episode at the Chicago Comicon on July 1, 1995.

W. Morgan Sheppard also appeared in the first season episode [[Soul Hunter]] as the title character.

The episode’s initial airing, in the UK, was 50 years, almost to the day, after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima during World War II.

Considering the obvious parallels between the Centauri use of mass drivers and the American use of the atomic bomb, that’s a serindipitous, if unintentional, bit of timing.

“Now the trumpet summons us again: not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though in battle we are; but as a call to bear the burdens of a long, twilight struggle–year in and year out, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation–a struggle against the common enemies of man–tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.” –John Fitzgerald Kennedy. An audio version of his speech is available.

In the first Londo-Refa scene, just before Refa sits, what looks like a wooden duck with its wings outstretched is visible on a shelf beside the throne. Perhaps it’s a Centauri cat (cf. [[Chrysalis]].)

Candles are used subtly to represent hope, here and in previous episodes (see jms speaks.) At the beginning of G’Kar’s prayer scene, the shelf behind him is filled with burning candles — but by the end, as his people’s last hope is destroyed by the Shadows, they’ve all gone out.

Likewise, when Londo and Refa are talking, they’re both cloaked in shadow — until Londo expresses misgivings about his associates and emerges into the light.

The battle sequence was directed by Mojo of Foundation Imaging; the mass-driver sequence was directed by John Teska. The episode has more effects footage than any previous one, nearly five minutes’ worth. The effects took almost a month to produce.