Well here we are.  I started this project while on my Christmas vacation and twenty two weeks later we have come upon the first big milestone, the season 1 finale “Chrysalis”.  All of season 1 has been one great exercise in table setting.  Establishing the universe, fleshing out the characters, setting up the arcs, etc.  The finale is no exception.  We get a return of Mr. Morden and his associates, major changes to the balance of power, and characters that go through big changes.  The whole season may have been titled “Signs and Portents” ,after episode 13, but it could have just as easily shared its name with the finale.

We start the episode in some familiar territory.  G’Kar and Londo are arguing in the council chambers over a border dispute.  The Narn are declaring a previously neutral region, Quadrant 37, to be their territory.  When Londo points out that Centauri navigation of this region is stipulated in a treaty, G’Kar brushes that aside by declaring any treaty signed under duress no treaty at all. The session ends with no progress on the dispute.

The other main plot of the episode takes us back to problems with Earth.  Someone Garibaldi calls Petrov, played by David Anthony Marshall, stumbles into the Zocalo and dies.  Before he does he implores Garibaldi to stop “them” from killing “him”, and we hop over to the credits.

Garibaldi is explaining to Sinclair and Ivanova that Petrov was a snitch had been quiet recently. Franklin comes in to confirm that they couldn’t save him.  Garibaldi is galvanized into trying to figure out what the hell is going on.  

Sinclair unwinds with Catherine Sakai, who we haven’t seen in quite a while.  They cuddle while idly watching the news of the Earth President’s trip to various colony worlds.  The news drops a nugget that the President is expected to announce his policy vision for foreign relations and immigration while on the tour.  Sinclair switches off the news, in order to awkwardly propose marriage to Catherine, which she accepts. 

Londo sits in his quarters complaining about his life to Vir.  He has received word that the Emperor wishes to give Quadrant 37 to the Narn in order to lessen tensions, something that Londo is against.  He amusingly compares the situation to being nibbled to death by cats(ducks). His ranting is interrupted by a call from someone else we have not seen in a while, the ever slimy Mr. Morden.  Morden offers his help with the situation, and Londo quickly accepts the invite to a meeting.

Delenn meanwhile is putting together a crystal structure in her quarters.  Lennier reports to her that he asked her question to Ambassador Kosh, and Kosh has responded “yes”.  It is terribly mysterious, as Minbari things tend to be. The answer rattles Delenn and she rushes off.

Garibaldi starts just aimlessly wandering around the homeless encampment where Petrov was living before he lucks out and someone is willing to talk to him.  He lets Garibaldi know that someone came down to ask for day laborers for some shady cargo loading.  He points Garibaldi toward a man called Deveraux that hangs out in the casino. 

Londo keeps his appointment with Mr. Morden in a hedge maze.  Morden offers to “fix” Quadrant 37 for Londo. Londo brushes this off, pointing out that it is a major Narn military outpost.  Morden assures him that his associates can handle it, and to tell his government that he will personally handle Quadrant 37.  A little late in the process Londo inquires about the price for this assistance.  Morden insists that there is no price, other than maybe Londo doing them a favor in the future.  Londo returns to his quarters and has Vir send the message to homeworld that he will deal with Quadrant 37.  

Delenn meets with Kosh in his quarters, and asks to see him.  Kosh obliges off screen, and Delenn leaves promising that Kosh will not see her again as she is now.  Terribly mysterious.

Garibaldi blunders into the casino and confronts Deveraux, played by Edward Conery, who gives him a rude brush off.  Garibaldi decides to take him in, and he mocks Garibaldi by telling that this is too big for him.  

Sinclair goes in person to try and reason with G’Kar, interrupting his time with two human women.  G’Kar insists that the issue is dead and that there is no point in further negotiations.   Sinclair talks about crossroads, and asks G’Kar to choose a different path. 

We get treated to a sweet scene, when Sinclair and Catherine ask Garibaldi and Ivanova to be their best man and maid of honor.  The nice scene gets interrupted by security telling Garibaldi that the prisoners have escaped.  Garibaldi suspects that there is something bigger at work, and lets Ivanova and Sinclair know his suspicions.  

We get a quick action scene that gives us our first good look at Mr. Morden’s associates.  They wipe out the Narn military outpost in a matter of minutes, then fade back into space.  Na’Toth wakes G’Kar with the news that the outpost is now “gone”.  She lets him know the base and the warships are destroyed, a loss of 10,000 warriors.  G’Kar eliminates suspects, and realizes that a new race must be in play.  

Garibaldi starts digging through Deveraux’s cargo.  He is joined by his aide, and they take apart the boxes to find transmitters that are capable of jamming communications channels.  They also find a device that indicates that the transmitters are going to be jamming the presidential ship near Io.  Garibaldi rushes off to meet with Sinclair and inform him, ordering his aide to guard the boxes.  As soon as he leaves the room, the aide calls someone and tells them to stand by.  Garibaldi gets intercepted by Deveraux and his men, and while he is distracted gets shot in the back by his aide.

Sinclair tries to find Garibaldi, but gets visited by Delenn instead.  She shows off the triluminary that she got earlier.  Sinclair recognizes it as something that was used on him while he was a prisoner of the Minbari.  Sinclair admits that he remembers what happened to him during the Battle of the Line.  Delenn invites him to her quarters and promises answers.  She goes back to her quarters and continues working on her crystal puzzle.  Lennier is worried about what she is doing, as she places the triluminary on top of the puzzle, energizing it.  The puzzle begins shooting out a webbing like material into a corner of her quarters.  Eventually Delenn takes her place within the webbing, though it sounds like it is painful.  

Garibaldi repeats Petrov’s move from the opening and manages to crawl his way to a public place, just as the New Year’s countdown is going on.  He gets rushed to medlab where he lets Sinclair know that they are going to try and kill the president.  Franklin whisks him off for medical treatment while Sinclair desperately tries to raise Earth Force One.  The jamming has begun, and they cant get through.  ISN reports that the president has not yet begun his speech.  Their cameras are rolling as Earth Force One explodes then disintegrates .  The C&C staff look on in horror before Sinclair orders the channel turned off. 

G’Kar and Na’Toth bump into Ivanova on the core shuttle, and G’Kar expresses his condolences on the President and Garibaldi.  Na’Toth also promises revenge against whoever destroyed the base.  Londo meanwhile meets with Morden and he is horrified by the fallout from this “favor”.  Morden seems unconcerned, pointing out that it just just dead Narns, Londo’s sworn enemy.  He also points out that thanks to this Londo is now being noticed, positively, by elements of his government. 

Sinclair lays out his concerns about the president to an unnamed senator.  She dismisses the idea of an assassination plot out of hand, and orders him to not tell anyone else about his suspicions.  Later he drunkenly watches the new president Morgan Clark get sworn in LBJ style.  Kosh interrupts him to remind him of his appointment to see Delenn.  He rushes off but is too late to speak with her, as she is now fully cocooned, the literal chrysalis that the title alludes to.  

Meanwhile Garibaldi’s aide begins cleaning up, by killing Deveraux and his men.  In wonderful cop solidarity one of the other officers points out some flaws in the aide’s story about why he had to kill them, but shrugs it off.  

Elsewhere in housekeeping, Na’Toth discovers that G’Kar has left to personally investigate Quadrant 37’s destruction.  Londo pops by to visit Garibaldi, while Garibaldi’s Aide watches the surgery menacingly.  Meanwhile Morden has a conversation with some nearly invisible spider creatures indicating that they have more plans for Londo, Lennier keeps vigil over Delenn, and Sinclair laments that nothing is the same anymore.

This was a big one, setting up much of the next season and it does a decent job of it.  We have nearly all of our alien characters engaged in change, and our human characters are in a state of shock.  This is the end of 2258 and next season taking place in 2259 will have to unpack all of this.  Thank you everyone that commented and read through as I pushed through these episodes.  Next week we will be back with Season 2, Episode 1 “Points of Departure” and even more changes.

As always, a reminder that you can watch the episodes on Tubi with ads.  It is apparently back on Amazon Prime, but Tubi is free and their ad breaks feel smaller.  

  The Good

• I think that overall this episode sticks the landing in a good way.  Most of the characters have been given strong conflicts and motivations to carry them over into season 2.
• I like how the presidential procession is in the background all episode until disaster strikes.  Even the quick mention of the VP getting off before Io. 
• Mr. Morden’s associates are seen to be supremely powerful, taking out the military base with no apparent difficulty.

The Bad

• Garibaldi’s Aide (doesnt even have a real name) is the weak part here.  Without any kind of characterization and not enough appearances his betrayal barely even registers.  
• The battle scene is thankfully the last of the really awkward CGI battles.  Starting next season they get a much better handle on how to use the technology.  

Arc Points (Spoilers Ahead)

• Delenn will come out of her cocoon as a human/minbari hybrid(though sadly for Mira Furlan the change meant more time in the make up chair).  This is one of those wistful might have beens, since the original plan was for a male Delenn to come out as a female hybrid, something that was dropped after the pilot.
• Speaking of being dropped after the pilot, Ivanova’s role was originally a character called Lt. Cmdr Laurel Takashima, played by Tamyln Tomita.  According to JMS the original plan was that it would have been Laurel that shot Garibaldi in the back, significantly raising the stakes of the situation.   
• The biggest change of course is the series lead. Michael O’Hare’s schizophrenia became too unmanageable and he had to bow out of playing Sinclair.  The stress of being the lead in a 22 episode series had been too much for him, and it had caused him to engage in erratic behavior that irritated the rest of the cast who did not know about his condition.  Jerry Doyle in particular butted heads with him repeatedly as he interpreted odd behavior as some kind of power move and decided to try and out power move O’Hare.  A new character will come on board as Capt. John Sheridan.
• Because of Sinclair being gone Catherine Sakai won’t reappear either. Most of her plot gets pushed onto the dead wife of a Sheridan, but you can see easily see how an independent explorer and surveyor would have possibly gotten killed or capture by the Shadows.
• Garibaldi’s condition is grave, but thankfully Dr. Franklin was just given custody of a miracle alien healing device.  Well timed!