G’Kar tries to avoid capture by the Centauri while continuing his search. Delenn urges the Rangers to strike against the Shadows.
####Overview

####Guest Stars

Wayne Alexander as Lorien. Wortham Krimmer as Emperor Cartagia. Lenny Citrano as Isaac. Anthony DeLongis as Harry.
####Lurk

http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/synops/068.html
####Plot Points

Garibaldi was captured and is apparently in the custody of Psi Corps.

Lorien claims to be the first of the First Ones, and lives deep within Z’ha’dum. He says the Shadows return to Z’ha’dum because he’s there, and that Kosh knew about his presence when he told Sheridan to jump.

G’Kar has been captured by the Centauri. In exchange for help overthrowing Emperor Cartagia, Londo has promised G’Kar that the Centauri will withdraw from Narn after Cartagia is gone.
####Unanswered Questions

Exactly who captured Garibaldi, and why? The Psi Corps, or some other group associated with them? How did they recover him from the inside of a Shadow vessel? Did the Shadows give him up voluntarily?

Why did they want to know what he remembered?

Is Lorien’s claim true? Is he a member of a race of elder beings, or is he somehow the first intelligent lifeform in the galaxy? What is he, exactly?

When, and under what circumstances, did Lorien meet Kosh?

How is Londo planning to use G’Kar to unseat Cartagia?
####Analysis

If Garibaldi has indeed been captured by the Psi Corps, why do they need to question him? Presumably they could just pick whatever information they need out of his mind. Perhaps they’re simply trying to get him to cooperate, on the assumption that if he cooperates in one area, he’ll be more malleable in others.

Alternately, perhaps they’re making sure he doesn’t remember what happened to him because they’ve done something to him and wiped his memory of the event. That would explain the conclusion of the interrogation scene; they gassed him to transport him elsewhere once they were satisfied that their memory wipe was solid.

Centauri torture is likely to result in the loss of G’Kar’s left eye ([[The Coming of Shadows]], [[War Without End part 2]].) Whether that eye is the subject of Lady Morella’s prophecy ([[Point of No Return]]) isn’t clear; it’s certainly plausible that Londo could redeem himself by halting the torture of G’Kar, but there are other eyes that don’t see (e.g. the Shadows’ Eye at Z’ha’dum in [[The Hour of the Wolf]], or the Centauri Eye from [[Signs and Portents]].)

Given Lorien’s assessment of his situation, Sheridan presumably qualifies as “the one who is already dead” in Morella’s prophecy. And, in fact, Londo spares his life 17 years in the future ([[War Without End part 2]].) Assuming the prophecy is correct and Londo was thus redeemed, obviating the need for a third chance, what form would that chance have taken?

Why is Lorien so interested in what happens to Sheridan? He said Sheridan was “the only one to make it this far.” Was he referring to the physical descent down the chasm, or some more spiritual journey?

Lorien said neither Kosh nor Sheridan wanted to die. Assuming he was able to resurrect Sheridan, is Kosh also still alive? If so, what did Kosh find to live for?

Lorien said he had been waiting for someone to talk to. He also said, several times, that Sheridan was trapped between life and death, between seconds. Given that he was there with Sheridan, and that Kosh knew about Lorien’s presence, it’s plausible that Lorien, not Justin, is in fact “the man in between” from Sheridan’s Kosh-induced dream ([[All Alone in the Night]].) If so, what will he do now that he’s found Sheridan?

Lorien, if that’s who the formless being in Sheridan’s dream is, asked both the Vorlon and the Shadow questions. Why are those questions significant to him? He said that there was no good answer to “Who are you,” implying perhaps that the search for an answer is what matters.

Did the Shadows and the Vorlons get those questions from Lorien? Lorien claims to have met Kosh (who, oddly, he knew by name, which would seem to contradict the new Kosh’s statement that “we are all Kosh”) so presumably he has also met the Shadows. Perhaps each race latched onto one of the two questions, adopting it as its own.

Later, however, Lorien asked Sheridan three questions: who he was, why he was, and what he wanted. The middle question is new. If the Vorlons and the Shadows are supposed to ask the first and last questions, is there supposed to be another group asking the second? (See jms speaks)

One person did ask all three questions once: Sinclair, when he was captured during the Battle of the Line ([[And the Sky Full of Stars]].)

Kosh may have implied the presence of a third question in [[Deathwalker]] when he told Talia, “Understanding is a three-edged sword.”

Lorien echoed another statement of Sinclair’s, also from [[And the Sky Full of Stars]]. Sinclair said of his wingman Mitchell, “I tried to warn you, but you wouldn’t listen… you never listened.” Lorien said the same of the Shadows and Vorlons, or so it seemed, though he didn’t provide any more context or explanation.

Vir made a similar comment to G’Kar in [[Comes the Inquisitor]]. “I wish… there was something that I could do. I tried telling them, but they wouldn’t listen. They never listen…”

In [[Infection]], Garibaldi observed to Sinclair that people look for things to die for, because it’s easier than finding something to live for. Lorien echoed that sentiment at the end of this episode.

Lorien said he hated to see his children fighting. Does that imply he doesn’t approve of Sheridan’s war against the Shadows? For that matter, does it mean he doesn’t approve of the Vorlons and the Shadows fighting? If so, can he do anything about it?

Can Lorien leave Z’ha’dum? Perhaps the planet is part of him, or he’s bound to it in some way; in that case, Delenn’s plan to attack Z’ha’dum could prove disastrous, assuming the Vorlons are as interested in Lorien as the Shadows are.

Lorien said the Shadows think they return to Z’ha’dum to show him respect, but that they don’t understand any more. What don’t they understand? Why did they originally start returning to Z’ha’dum, and why don’t they understand now what they did long ago?
####Notes

The lighting at the end of the prison cell scene is symbolic; as soon as Londo agrees to free Narn, the cell door opens and G’Kar is bathed in white light, his life’s goal finally within reach.

The passage of time on Z’ha’dum, or at least in Sheridan’s condition, is similar to the effect of a black hole at the event horizon: time slows down to a standstill from the point of view of an outside observer.

As originally broadcast, Franklin cites the date as January 8 in his opening monologue, and says it’s been 14 days since Sheridan disappeared. In the second US broadcast of the episode Franklin’s opening monologue was fixed to say it was 9 days since both Sheridan and Garibaldi disappeared. (See jms speaks) However, the UK broadcast, and possibly others, used the original incorrect date. The engine part G’Kar handed to the man in the bar is an overthruster prop from “Buckaroo Banzai.”