Sheridan tries to rally support for his cause as direct confrontations with the Shadows begin in earnest. Friction increases between Londo and Morden.
####Overview

####Guest Stars

Jennifer Balgobin as Dr. Hobbs. Jonathan Chapman as Brakiri. Rance Howard as David Sheridan. Ed Wasser as Morden.
####Lurk

http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/synops/059.html
####Backplot

During the last war with the Shadows, a thousand years ago, they did roughly what they’re doing this time, seemingly attacking at random in the form of quick strikes. The intent may be simply to keep the major powers off guard, so they never know when the next attack will occur.

Vorlon ships are linked closely to their individual owners.
####Unanswered Questions

Who will replace Franklin as head of medlab?

Why did the Shadows wait until the Vorlon attack to move against Kosh? They could presumably have done it at any time. (See Analysis)

Do the Shadows know that the Vorlon attack was just a one-time thing, or do they now believe that the Vorlons are on the march? How

will that affect their strategy, if at all?

How did Delenn know there wouldn’t be a body?

What was the flash of energy that coursed through the station after the fight was over?

Does Lyta know about Kosh? How will she react when she finds out?

Was the data crystal on Talia Winters ([[Deathwalker]]) placed on Kosh’s ship?
####Analysis

Londo’s new pact with Morden may foreshadow the loss of his second chance for redemption ([[Point of No Return]].) With Londo’s poison coursing through his veins, Refa certainly qualifies as “the one who is already dead,” and now Londo has vowed to kill him. Along similar lines, Kosh qualifies now too; Londo may attempt to kill Kosh’s replacement, not realizing it’s another Vorlon entirely.

Londo played right into Morden’s hands. Morden was obviously responsible for Adira’s death (he paid off one of the ship’s crew, and he found out about her arrival from the Zocalo vendor) and it’s unlikely Refa even knew about her, much less participated in her poisoning. But any such protest on Refa’s part will likely fall on deaf ears if Londo speaks to him.

On the other hand, it’s also possible that Londo is attempting to fool Morden. Certainly Londo knows that Morden is up to no good — their conversation in the hallway, and Londo’s glare when he talks about people who deserve to die — are evidence of that. Maybe he’s playing along with Morden in an attempt to trip up the Shadows’ plans. The same hallway conversation offers evidence to the contrary, though; even then, Londo felt he had already been through worse than Morden’s associates could dish out, and with Adira’s death, that’s probably only intensified.

“The galaxy can burn. I no longer care,” says Londo. This echoes the conversation between Emperor Turhan and Kosh in [[The Coming of Shadows]]: “How will this end?” “In fire.”

Londo’s conversation with Morden — putting an end to a previous pledge and going on the offensive due to the loss of a loved one — is in some ways a parallel of Sheridan’s conversation with Kosh at the end of “In the Shadow of Z’ha’dum”.

Londo promised to pluck the Shadows’ eye out if it turned toward the Centauri homeworld. Foreshadowing, perhaps, for whatever happens to G’Kar’s eye in Londo’s dream ([[The Coming of Shadows]].)

What do the Shadows want? Delenn seems to know more than she’s telling. Morden’s keen interest in the Centauri’s continued aggression may provide a clue, but it’s ambiguous at best. If they simply want a constant state of chaos in the galaxy, their current strategy will eventually backfire; there won’t be anyone left to carry on fighting.

The fact that the Shadows attacked Kosh immediately after the Vorlon victory over the Shadow fleet smacks of the notion that there was a deal of some sort between the two races: the Vorlons stay out of the fighting, and the Shadows leave them alone. If that’s true, one sobering interpretation is that both races consider the war something of a game. On the other hand, the truth could be just the opposite; the Shadows may not have wanted to touch Kosh for fear of causing Vorlon retribution.

Along similar lines, Kosh told Sheridan that the Vorlons didn’t want to attack because “it is not our time.” What did he mean by that? What constitutes the Vorlons’ time? Kosh also mentioned that the Vorlons were still few in number, and were still preparing. Are their preparations simply a matter of boosting their manpower?

Even in his last moments, Kosh still chose to hide behind disguises and symbolism, appearing as Sheridan’s father rather than himself. Or maybe it’s not by choice after all; maybe all he can do is communicate with people in terms they already understand, though his recreation of the Icarus expedition in “In the Shadow of Z’ha’dum” suggests otherwise.

A more charitable explanation is that Kosh didn’t want Sheridan to realize he was in trouble, since Sheridan would have been inclined to race to Kosh’s quarters to try to save him — something that would have meant certain doom.

Kosh treated Sheridan like a child, calling him “impudent” and “disrespectful” before finally giving him what could be considered the Vorlon equivalent of a spanking. Then he appeared as Sheridan’s father. That suggests a certain condescending attitude on the part of the Vorlons toward the other races. Is that attitude based on anything? Delenn said the First Ones guided the younger races; maybe to Kosh, humans are children, and the war against the Shadows is a test of maturity.

How long has Kosh known what was going to happen to him? He implies here that Sheridan will die on Z’ha’dum because he won’t have Kosh’s help (“You said that if I went to Z’ha’dum I would die.” “Yes, now.”) Did he know why that would be when he first warned Sheridan in “In the Shadow of Z’ha’dum”? Were his lessons for Sheridan, teaching the latter to fight legends, meant to provide Sheridan with the confidence to disobey Kosh’s wishes when the time was right?

There is something of a thematic link between Kosh’s expectation of death and the story of Jesus played out by Brother Edward in [[Passing Through Gethsemane]]. Kosh knew what was coming, perhaps knew he could avoid it for a little while, but also believed it would be the wrong thing to do. So he waited in his quarters to face his executioners. Of course, Edward didn’t try to fight his killers off, so the parallel isn’t exact.

Kosh’s death was instantly known to the Vorlons, which suggests that all the Vorlons are linked together in some fundamental way. Perhaps the killing of Kosh, then, was less a blow against him personally than a slap in the face of the Vorlons as a whole.

If Kosh knew what was going to happen, why did he remain in his quarters, easily found? Perhaps he believed that the Shadows would go after Delenn or Sheridan in that case, and he considers them more valuable than himself.

Why can’t Kosh’s replacement continue Sheridan’s education and assist him at Z’ha’dum as Kosh would have? Presumably there was nothing special about Kosh from the Vorlons’ point of view. Or maybe the Vorlons are so few in number that Kosh was the only one among them who’s able to provide whatever assistance he had in mind.

The Vorlons still use conventional jump points rather than the faster hyperspace entry and exit technique employed by the Shadows. Is that a conscious decision on their part, or does it imply that the Shadows are more technologically advanced in at least some respects?

The Vorlons’ telepathy must be different than what humans are capable of; the Shadow ships were able to function as the Vorlons attacked, unlike the ship near the White Star when Bester was aboard ([[Ship of Tears]].) On the other hand, the small Vorlon fighters did seem to be doing a good job of confusing the Shadow warship they were attacking; it seemed to spin around randomly, and never fired back.

This episode was full of power surges and drains: the one noted by the C&C tech when Kosh and Sheridan were arguing, the lights dimming when Morden confronted Londo, the battle between Kosh and the Shadows, and whatever happened when Kosh died. Perhaps someone will put two and two together and have security promptly investigate any odd power level changes.

The C&C tech said that the power surge was “a non-localized phenomenon” — exactly the phrase used by Delenn to describe the Minbari concept of the soul in [[Passing Through Gethsemane]].

What is Earth’s official reaction now that open hostilities with the Shadows have broken out? Has Sheridan usurped Earth’s official relationships with all the alien governments he’s recruited into his alliance? The Shadows certainly have their fingers in at least some aspects of the Earth Alliance, but they don’t have total control yet; there must be some people in the Earth government advocating taking up arms against the Shadows.
####Notes

The masked alien is a Gaim, whose name is probably a reference to Neil Gaiman. The title character of Gaiman’s “Sandman” — one of JMS’s favorite works — has a mask of similar appearance.

The character of Dr. Lilian Hobbs is named after a fan, Dr. Lilian Hobbs, who won the bidding at a charity auction at the Wolf 359 convention in Manchester in 1995.

####Overview

Bester finds himself at odds with others within the Psi Corps and seeks Sheridan’s help, offering information about the Shadows in return. G’Kar presses for admission to the conspiracy of light.
####Guest Stars

Walter Koenig as Bester. Joan McMurtrey as Carolyn.
####Lurk

http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/synops/058.html
####Backplot

Telepaths who refuse to take sleeper drugs to suppress their abilities, or to join the Psi Corps, are sent to reeducation camps, one of which is on Mars. The Corps refers to them informally as “blips.”

The Shadows killed most of the Narn telepaths a thousand years ago. They were driven off by G’Quan and the remaining telepaths.

Telepaths can disrupt the link between Shadow ships and their non-telepathic pilots. The Shadows have thus been infiltrating Psi Corps, taking control of it from inside to prevent it from being used as a weapon against them. They are also capturing rogue human telepaths and altering them with cybernetic implants, possibly with the intent of using them as telepath-proof pilots.

Telepaths can locate ships by focusing on the occupants’ thought patterns. Their range is greatly expanded in hyperspace. Psi Corps kept

that a secret to prevent the Earth military from putting its members on the front lines.

Psi Cops are trained to pilot all the latest Earth Alliance vessels.
####Unanswered Questions

Were Franklin and Bester able to save Carolyn?

Are the rest of the telepaths still in cryonic suspension and on B5? Where were they taken, if not?

How much more does Bester know about the Shadows and their involvement with the Corps?

Who were the aliens in Carolyn’s flashback and on the bridge of the cargo ship?

Was Carolyn telekinetic, or did her modifications give her that ability? If the latter, are the Shadows telekinetic too?
####Analysis

Delenn still isn’t being completely open with G’Kar — she neglected to tell him about Kosh’s involvement, for instance. Perhaps she knows of Kosh’s manipulation of G’Kar ([[Dust to Dust]]) and doesn’t want the illusion shattered.

Even someone as highly ranked as Bester isn’t immune from the Corps’ rules about arranged marriages. On the other hand, given his obvious sense of genetic superiority, he may feel it’s his duty to the future of the human race to help breed a better telepath.

The mere presence of Bester stopped the Shadow warship from attacking the White Star (assuming it didn’t stop to avoid risking damage to the “weapons components.”) Was that because it couldn’t get close enough to attack without Bester interfering with its pilot’s bond? In any case, the effect is consistent with Talia’s experience in “In the Shadow of Z’ha’dum”, in which she was able to sense, even see, the Shadows without consciously probing for them.

A telepath who consciously chooses to disrupt a Shadow ship might be even more dangerous to them, though that isn’t clear.

Is there a reason the Shadows are choosing human telepaths in particular? Sheridan speculated that “they’re using humans to pilot their ships.” Is that universally true, or are humans simply one of a large number of races being used for that purpose? Would, for instance, a Centauri telepath be any good against a Shadow ship with a human pilot? The events on Narn suggest that telepathy’s effect on the Shadows isn’t race-specific.

If telepathy is a weapon against the Shadows, Sheridan may want to stock up on Dust ([[Dust to Dust]].) And given that the Psi Corps produces the stuff, Bester may be able to arrange that.

The Shadows may also be looking for telepaths for use as hyperspace trackers; presumably they know about the scanning abilities revealed by Bester.

Is detecting other ships in hyperspace something peculiar to human telepaths? If not, do other races use telepaths for that purpose? It seems odd that the ability would remain a secret for so long if all races with telepaths can use them to scout in hyperspace. On the other hand, each race who’s discovered the effect might consider it a military advantage and thus keep it under wraps.

Did Bester find out about Ivanova when she slapped him? Physical contact intensifies psi ability (established as early as [[The Gathering]]) but the slap was probably too brief to be of any use. However, he did take care to make her angry, which, as she herself has observed ([[Dust to Dust]]) makes scans much easier.

Does Ivanova’s latent telepathy provide any protection against attack by a Shadow ship? Ivanova has only encountered a Shadow ship once, in [[Matters of Honor]], and it fired at the White Star — but it didn’t hit the White Star. Perhaps Sheridan was wrong about why the Shadows missed. On the other hand, given the behavior of the Shadow ship in this episode, it’s unlikely the ship in the previous encounter would have pursued the White Star like it did. (See jms speaks)

As the only major race without telepaths, the Narn may be in for even more bloodshed and loss; they will be unable to protect themselves from the Shadows as they were (barely) able to before.

The cybernetic implants were perhaps put in place at the Mars facility destroyed by Garibaldi and Sinclair in comic #8, “Silent Enemies.” If so, it implies that the Corps, or some component of it, was abetting the Shadows in their quest to make human telepaths useless as weapons. However, the presence of the unidentified aliens, both on the cargo ship and in Carolyn’s flashback, strongly suggests that the operation was performed elsewhere, or without the Corps’ assistance.

Carolyn’s entanglement is slightly reminiscent of Draal’s attachment to the Great Machine in Epsilon 3 ([[Voices of Authority]].) When she said that telepaths prevent her from “hearing the machine,” was she talking about Shadow ships, or something similar to Epsilon 3? The Machine does seem to be affected by telepathy; witness Ivanova’s ability to pull extra information out of it when she was there.

What effect will Carolyn’s modifications have on her unborn child, assuming the Shadows’ agents allowed it to live?

The White Star can no longer be considered even remotely secret now that Bester has been allowed to wander around the bridge. Even if he truly opposes the Shadows, his primary motives might prompt him to tell others about the ship.

Bester is presumably still safely in his position at the Psi Corps; even if he’s unable to get any Corps telepaths to help combat the Shadows, he’ll likely be able to arrange for Franklin’s underground railroad to continue its work unmolested, providing the army of light with a supply of telepaths with which to man its ships.

His discovery of the Shadows and their involvement with the Corps, though, indicates that he’s not above unauthorized scans of his own people if it suits his purposes. Presumably he’s very careful to only scan people he’s confident won’t be able to sense him; or he scans them on some other pretense and they’re unable to tell that he’s pulling Shadow information from their heads too.

Bester claimed he last saw Carolyn four weeks earlier, but never elaborated on what happened to her after that. Was she spirited off on official pretenses, or did the Shadows or their agents kidnap her out of the middle of a Psi Corps installation on Mars?

Bester’s entrance into the army of light bears similarity to Marcus’ and Sheridan’s. All three vowed to fight on the side of light after a loved one was killed or taken by the Shadows.

Now that G’Kar is a full member of the war council, perhaps he’ll save Garibaldi the trouble of poring slowly through the Book of G’Quan for clues and will tell the others everything his people know about the Shadows and how to defeat them.
####Notes

The title may be a reference to the Trail of Tears, the forced march of thousands of American Indians away from their ancestral lands onto government-apportioned reservations half a continent away.

Vorlons also dislike telepaths, according to Garibaldi in [[Deathwalker]].

Bester quotes from Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado.”