I’ve always hated good-byes.
Lochley and Sheridan say their good-byes. I’m really glad that the past relationship between them didn’t turn B5 into a soap opera (as other shows might have).
G’Kar leaves Ta’Lon an incredibly eloquent message, asking Ta’Lon to take his place as a representative of their people on B5. I liked how they did the fade in and fade out, bringing G’Kar into the scene as if he was really there:
Franklin also passes on the torch…
I love they handled the good-bye scene between Franklin and Sheridan, from down the hall:
So sad to see Franklin leaving, especially knowing that the actor dies. Could someone please tell me what happened to the actor? That must have been a blow to the B5 fan community. 
We see Garibaldi settled into his leadership role, and we can already tell he’s going to be good at it. I love the fact that he recruited all the troublemakers in the company to keep him in line. 
I couldn’t help but tear up as the camera panned across the faces of the new Babylon Five crew as they watched Sheridan and Delenn depart on the White Star:
But my tearing up devolved into outright crying when Lochley gave a salute and Sheridan gave a return salute from his ship:
The only thing about this episode I -didn’t- like was the subplot about Lennier:
That Lennier would PURPOSELY let Sheridan die is SO AGAINST HIS CHARACTER. Yes, he was in love with Delenn. But he also knew how much Delenn loved Sheridan, and that she had chosen Sheridan despite the fact that she knew about Lennier’s feelings.
And yeah, I know he turns back … but the REAL Lennier would never have left Sheridan in the first place.
Then he takes off like a child who had just been caught doing something bad.
NO NO NO NO NO. I so wish they hadn’t put this subplot in this episode. I could understand it appearing earlier in the series, when there was time for us to see the aftermath, to watch Lennier deal with his guilt and then grow as a person. But to have the series end with Lennier trying to kill Sheridan? What were they thinking?? Sigh.
But I’ll stop ranting (for now) and get back to the story…
I was happy to see Londo again, and to see that he seemed happy for once…at least until later in the episode.
And Delenn can see the creature on Londo’s shoulder! Or perhaps the creature chooses to let Delenn see it? (but if so, why?)
Londo tells Sheridan and Delenn that his gift should be given to their child when he comes of age. But it turns out that the urn contains one of those parasite spider monster creatures! AUGH!
Londo: Now what?
Keeper: Now we await the passage of years.
Londo: Years?
Keeper: We are very patient.
Why doesn’t Delenn say anything to Sheridan later?
Sheridan records some advice for his unborn child, knowing that he has limited time. As he talks, we see glimpses of the other B5 characters, past and present scenes.
More tears.
Sheridan: [to David] I give you .. what little wisdom I have. Delenn .. is the greatest ally you will ever have. Her depths of courage and compassion are unmatched in my experience. Look to her .. for wisdom and fire in equal measure. And if you ever have any doubt .. talk to her. She will never judge you. She will only love you. From time to time, you will make mistakes. They’re inevitable. Sometimes those mistakes will be .. huge. What matters is that you learn from them.
Sheridan: [to David] At times, you may end up far away from home. You may not be sure of where you belong anymore. But home is always there. Because home is not a place. It’s wherever your passion takes you.
Sheridan: [to David] Fight .. for what you believe. Which brings me to the .. first piece of advice my dad ever gave me, and now I’m giving it to you. Never–
Delenn: Never start a fight. But always finish it.
Sheridan: Always finish it.
7 comments ↓
According to JMS, Richard Biggs had an unsuspected cardiac or arterial condition, and one day it just went pop, or whatever these things do. He had a nap, got up and did some stuff, said he still felt a little tired, went back to sleep and didn’t wake up again.
Of ways to die, it doesn’t sound that bad…but gods, yes, he was way too young and had so much still to do.
As of course did Andreas.
G’Kar? The actor that played G’Kar is dead, too??
Yes, the actor that played G’Kar is dead, too. He died of lung cancer in 2006. That was even harder than Richard Biggs’ death–I always liked Franklin, but I *loved* G’Kar. There’s a tribute to Andreas on the Lost Tales DVD. (BTW, I think you can start watching the movies, now. And I would especially suggest watching “In The Beginning.” Most of it’s a rehash of what we learn over the course of the series, but it’s interesting and well done and you don’t want to miss the little bit that’s new.)
As to Lennier, I agree–it must have been the Minbari equivalent of a psychotic break, or something. Anyway, that’s what fanfic’s for. Two good fanfics dealing with Lennier, after: http://rivendellrose.livejournal.com/491310.html
http://rivendellrose.livejournal.com/467222.html#cutid1
The actor who played G’Kar died about a month after I finished watching the series for the first time. It hit me pretty hard as a result.
I’d recommend watching “In The Beginning” before reading the Centauri books. There is one character who will be more fun as a result.
I could probably write a long psychoanalysis of why I think what Lennier did made sense, but then you’d probably get bored and I’d start psychobabbling again and we really don’t want that to happen. I confused my roommate the other day by using the words “collective post-war subconscious” in a sentence, so yeah. I do think it makes sense, but maybe that’s just ’cause my psych background gives me a predisposition to pick apart characters’ brains and analyze the heek out of them.
My beef with that, really, was the lack of closure. You don’t just send Lennier off like that and leave him as this giant loose end of DOOOOOM because that’s just *not cool*.
That salute totally made me cry as well.
The Centauri Prime trilogy of novels follows up the subplot about the Keeper in the urn and David Sheridan, and the future Sheridan saw in War Without End.
The big crowd in The Zocalo got to me, also, amoung the other good-byes. That had to be about everybody behind the cameras, production and office crew getting their chance to be an extra and maybe on camera. Watch for a similair tribute in the next episode.
I did not remember the hand-off to the other characters, so I was glad to see that again. Now I wonder what Ta’lon’s story would be.