This episode exposes who might be two-faced. Garibaldi? G’Kar? VIR? Each has reasons we explore in this episode — Garibaldi to protect his drinking addiction, G’Kar to shun the popularity that he should have expected, and Vir to disrupt the entire Interstellar Alliance (maybe?).
Byron’s short time on Babylon 5 comes to a fiery end thanks to Bester’s insatiable desire for revenge. “Vengeful Lyta” is left to pick up the mantle and #rememberbyron. Garibaldi’s path, too, is derailed by Bester, and that leads Patrick to make a dark prediction for the series finale.
Lochley’s best idea for handling Byron’s hunger strike involves Bester — a plan clearly destined to fail. We also get into the rehashing of old rivalries via the Interstellar Alliance and look at Season 5 as a whole to this point.
Byron’s failure to earn the buy-in of his followers is starting to blow up in his face, and he’s getting more desperate. The Centauri royal court, meanwhile, is a mess, but Londo (and new bodyguard G’Kar) are managing it as well as they possibly can. We also catch Zack Allan being a dork, and we pay our respects to “Regent Ferrari.”
The Brakiri day of the dead brings four gone souls back to Babylon 5 — Adira to Londo, Dodger to Garibaldi, Lennier to Morden and Zoe to Lochley. We dive into each one of those visits, as well as a visit from Penn and Tel... wait, Rebo and Zooty, and the role of comedy in society.
We have parallel story lines building in this episode — the Hyach/Hyach-do problems give perspective to the growing divide between “normals” and telepaths. We also learn about the Vorlons’ role in the growth of telepaths, Franklin’s new purpose and Byron’s mission-turned-crusade.
We’re on full “cult stuff” alert in this episode as Byron’s martyr vibes are on full display — and Lyta’s buying into it. We also dip into history — Byron and Bester have it, Lochley and Sheridan have it, G’Kar and Londo have it… and Char pairs up two characters on the station for ‘shipping.
A cliffhanger at the end of the episode has us speculating on the connection between Sheridan and Lochley. We also speculate what side of the war Lochley was on — and what that means for B5 leadership. Also, Zack Allan isn’t a complete moron as he deals with roving gangs in Down Below, and we see a bit more of the Rangers in action.
Our friends Mack and Bo lead us through this week’s Babylon 5 storyline. Through their eyes, we see a bit more into how the station runs as the commanders prepare for, and fight, a battle. We also see Franklin’s origins, Sheridan’s hypocrisy and Lochley’s commitment.
The big question of this episode: Should the Interstellar Alliance have a baseline standard for decency? We debate legislating morality, the peeks into the “slice of life” moments with Sheridan and Delenn, the growing (but not shipping) relationship between Byron and Lyta, the seeds being sown for a telepath war, and a budding theory about a fight in the Zocalo.
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