####Overview

G’Kar tries to rally the Narn on Babylon 5. Kosh tests Delenn’s allegiance by summoning an ancient inquisitor.
####Guest Stars

Wayne Alexanderas Sebastian. Jack Kehler as Mr. Chase.
####Lurk

http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/synops/043.html
####Backplot

The Vorlons have visited Earth in the past, as recently as the nineteenth century, and have even taken humans to their homeworld.

Garibaldi maintains friendships with people he knows are dealing in illegal smuggling operations.
####Unanswered Questions

How did the Rangers get the message from Narn in 24 hours? (See Analysis)

Exactly how long have the Vorlons been visiting Earth, and for what purpose?

How did they discover Sebastian, and what made them choose him as their inquisitor?
####Analysis

All of the key players on the side of light have now had their commitment and loyalty to their cause tested. Sheridan, Garibaldi, Ivanova, and Franklin in their battle against the current Earth Alliance administration (cf. [[Divided Loyalties]].) And now Delenn and Sheridan as the “spirit” and “warrior,” respectively, of the Army of Light. The pieces seem to be falling into place on the side of light.

G’Kar preaching about what the Centauri will do next is somewhat chilling. Most people just don’t want to believe it. Yet in [[The Long, Twilight Struggle]] we heard that the Centauri have already annexed several non-Narn worlds. JMS has said that G’Kar is his Cassandra character, gifted with the power of prophesy yet heeded by none. The fact that it was a human who argued against G’Kar may be an indication of things to come.

Based on Sebastian’s comments, Sheridan determines that he is most likely Jack the Ripper. Sebastian’s final comment also appears to confirm this. The murderer killed five prostitutes between August 7th and November 10th of 1888 in the East End of London (Sheridan stated the West End, but got the date correct), and was never caught. He stalked the streets at night, slitting his victims’ throats and then mutilating their bodies.

The nickname “Jack the Ripper” reportedly came from several letters sent to the police, but their authenticity has been questioned.

The Vorlons have been to Earth on many occasions, and all over the galaxy in general. This is quite likely part of the reason why Kosh will be recognised by everyone if he(?) steps out of the encounter suit.

This marks the second time a major, secretive power has sent a human representative to Babylon 5 to ask a question: the Shadows with Morden and “What do you want?” and the Vorlons with Sebastian and “Who are you?” Why do the Vorlons, in particular, feel the need to act through a third party? Delenn obviously knows about Kosh already, so why couldn’t Kosh have conducted the interrogation? Perhaps he simply chooses to remain aloof and let others do his dirty work, or perhaps for some reason he felt he wouldn’t have been as effective as Sebastian was.

Sheridan and Garibaldi have given the Rangers their first trial in a combat zone, on behalf of G’Kar. They succeeded in the allotted 24 hours but we are given no information on how. Perhaps they are able to penetrate the Centauri communications network. Or perhaps it involved two “hit and run” jumps into the Narn homeworld system. The first to deliver the message to search for this family (there must already be Rangers on Narn,) and the second to pick up the required transmission. This runs the risk of being detected and caught by Centauri forces patrolling the system (a jump point presumably has a very bright characteristic energy signature on scanners). While the search might have been initiated via telepathic contact (cf. [[The Coming of Shadows]], specifically the Centuari Emperor’s telepaths, who can communicate over interstellar distances) this is unlikely, and telepathy almost certainly cannot transmit the contents of a data crystal. Another possible explanation is that there are Centauri Rangers.

Vir’s encounter with G’Kar indicates the depth of the hatred that the Narn feel for their oppressors. An apology is no longer possible in G’Kar’s eyes, only the release of his people from their occupation and the destruction of the Centauri along the way. Something inside Vir might well give soon; he has already stood up to Morden (“In The Shadow of Z’ha’dum”) and tried to tell Londo of the consequences of his actions – what next?

Vir’s dismissal of the Centuari businessman, “I have already told you the Ambassador can do nothing for you.” Is that a polite way of telling the businessman to go away, or has Londo’s sphere of influence been reduced by his refusal to involve the Shadows again?

There’s an interesting parallel between the main storyline and Garibaldi’s talk with G’Kar. Both Garibaldi and Sebastian go into their respective conversations expecting a certain outcome, but allowing room for the other person to act otherwise. The difference is that Garibaldi is an optimist — he expected G’Kar to do the right thing — while Sebastian expected to be disappointed as he so often had been in the past.

This isn’t the first reference to Jack the Ripper on the show. In [[Mind War]], Ivanova accuses Psi Corps of having “all the moral fiber of Jack the Ripper.” Whether that’s just a coincidence remains to be seen.

Given the fact that Delenn was a member of the Grey Council, the choice of Grey section (by Sheridan) as the place for the inquisition was rather interesting. In addition, some elements of the lighting inside Grey 19 (the circles of light on the floor, arranged in a circular pattern, with Delenn in a center circle) were reminiscent of the Grey Council, especially the last time she was in their presence.

On a more speculative numerological note, the number nineteen (the inquisition occurred in Grey 19) is composed of the digits “1” and “9.” Taking the analysis to an extreme, perhaps the “9” represents the Grey Council and the “1” represents the chosen one.
####Notes

One of the Narn in the meeting with G’Kar is played by Dennis Michael, a CNN reporter who was doing a story on B5’s makeup group, Optic Nerve, and was made up as a Narn as part of his news story.

Was someone named Sebastian an actual suspect in the murders?

In the original UK broadcast, the scene between G’Kar and Vir was edited to not show G’Kar cutting his hand. The edit is obvious once you know it’s there.

One of Sebastian’s closing remarks resembled a Biblical quote, John 15:13: “There is no greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”