A plague brings out the best and worst on B5, and things seem to heat up between Delenn and Sheridan(!).
I was a bit confused by Sheridan’s resistance to any investigation into hyperspace; I must be forgetting something that happened in a recent episode.
Loved the scenes involving the Minbari meal rituals, though I would have liked to find out more about what was served. Lennier is really growing on me. Great expression on his face when Delenn invites Sheridan back for a traditional Minbari meal anytime.
I liked the Lazarenn, Markab doctor, esp the interactions between him and Franklin. I was saddened when Lazarenn died.
Very sad when the Markab (thanks to Maspolio for pointing out my earlier typo) were wiped out by the disease before the vaccine could be distributed. 
And WHOA! Chemistry between Delenn and Sheridan! HA, I KNEW IT!! All those talks in the zen garden…
So wow, this brings up a whole host of interesting possibilities, especially since Delenn can get pregnant. Are there going to be little Sheridans running around soon?
And how will Lennier feel about this? Sure, he usually seems respectful and peaceful most times, but we’ve seen what he can do when he gets mad. Plus it’s still not clear whether his feelings toward Delenn are entirely platonic. And then throw the fact that some of Lennier’s family was killed by Sheridan; should be interesting.
Sheridan: “Delenn…? When I do see you again, call me John?”
Enjoyed getting a deeper glimpse into the personalities of Delenn and Lennier, how compassionate and giving they both seem to be. And what a good team they make…at least until Lennier goes into a berserk jealous killing rage, that is.
Delenn: Don’t look away, Captain. All life is transitory … a dream. We all come together in the same place at the end of time. If I don’t see you again here, I will see you in a little while in a place where no shadows fall.
Next episode: Divided Loyalties.
[For those who comment below: As the title of my blog indicates, I'm watching B5 for the very first time so PLEASE refrain from posting plot/character spoilers/hints about upcoming episodes, or including links to pages with spoilers (unless you warn readers that they contain spoilers). More info about spoilers here. Thanks so much! - Debbie]
12 comments ↓
That was a sad episode, but the part about the traditional Minbari meal was funny. I realy like Lennier, I think I began liking him around that episode. He’s much more complex than he seemed to be when he first arrived on the station.
Just to clarify, the aliens who were wiped out were the Markab. The Pak’ma’ra are the ones who look like Cthulhu’s little brothers.
And apparently they don’t take a capital letter…
This was a hard episode for me. I never go for the “well there was nothing we could do” kind of ending, though I can see the point JMS is making.
As for the hyperspace expeditions, remember that in “In the Shadow of Z’ha’dum” Delenn implored on Sheridan that the Shadows cannot find out they know about their return. Keffer’s already hinted on having seen something in hyperspace; Sheridan doesn’t want him to find out more and spread the news about it.
“Faith manages” became something of a motto for the B5 production crew, and fans…
For all that “Coming of Shadows” is a stand-out episode, I find that this is the one I keep coming back to in this season for that powerful-story hit.
As an added note of poignancy, from this point on, the Markab seat in the assembly of the League of Nonaligned Worlds remains empty through the rest of the series.
Fax Paladin #4: I have a custom button that says “Faith manages; Knowledge works.” (I probably should have had it say “Faith manages but Knowledge does the work”; too many people don’t get it in that way.)
Remember, the Pak’ma’ra are carion eathers, so I think it takes the audience to make the connection that the one Pak’ma’ra death could have occured due to eating a dead Markab.
“As an added note of poignancy, from this point on, the Markab seat in the assembly of the League of Nonaligned Worlds remains empty through the rest of the series.”
Whoa, I never noticed that! And I’ve watched B5 so many times. Thanks for that note Terence. Even a “non-virgin” can learn a few things too!
There are several show where JMS goes to many places where regular TV is just too scared to go. In the first season he has parents kill their own kid and here he wipes out a whole race. It’s not the ‘happy’ Star Trek universe is it?
“Faith manages; Buffy just bosses people about. ” =:o}
My favorite Lennier scene (and when I fell in love with him absolutely) was the motorcycle.