This episode kind of feels like the original Season 2 premiere.  Last weeks episode was an emergency story that had to deliver a great deal of exposition about a sudden new lead character.  It was such a large task that they really didn’t have time for any Londo or G’Kar stuff, and only briefly checked in on the cocooned Delenn.  Now we get answers to those dangling threads.

The episode opens with the classic scenario of Londo yelling at the rest of the council.  I like that he is almost echoing the frustrations of the viewer when he points out that they cant move forward without G’Kar and Delenn.  Londo tries to reprimand both of the governments, but parliamentary procedure is a harsh mistress and he cannot obtain the second on his motion.  Londo tries to corner Na’Toth about G’Kar but she brushes him off(this season she is played by Mary Kay Adams, a rare example of Babylon 5 recasting instead of bringing in a new character).  We get to see G’Kar is in some trouble though, as he and several other Narn fighters are being chased by strange looking enemies.  The others sacrifice themselves allowing G’Kar’s fighter to escape to Babylon 5. 

We swing back from the credits to a jazzy intro to Aerhart’s bar, where Franklin approaches Sheridan about Garibaldi.  Franklin reports that the security chief seems to be stuck in the coma, and that nothing is working to bring him out of it.  He suggests using the alien healing device from last season to help revive Garibaldi.  Sheridan is hesitant but gives his permission for Franklin to go forward.  

Sheridan meanwhile receives his sister Elizabeth, played by Beverly Leechy of Mathnet fame,  for a visit.  She immediately points out that her brother has gained weight, which is a good shitty sibling thing to do, and they head off.  Over dinner, Sheridan explains his new assignment to his sister and he genuinely seems to enjoy it.  He and Elizabeth start talking about Sheridan’s wife who died two years ago.  Sheridan unloads that he still has trouble with acclimating to his wife’s death, and we get to see a strongly emotional side of the new captain.  Later they catch up further in his quarters.  Sheridan is still talking about his job, but he laments that his wife would have greatly enjoyed living on the station as well.  He then lets his sister know that he carries guilt over her death.  He had given his wife the brush off because of his duties and that had caused her to take the job on the Icarus, a ship that then had an accident and exploded. 

Sheridan’s sister has another bombshell to drop on him.  Anna had sent Elizabeth a message explaining that she had already decided to go on the Icarus before Sheridan snubbed her, which helps begin the process of alleviating his guilt. 

Mr. Morden slides up to Londo in one of Babylon 5’s parks.  Londo still seems nervous about what happened at the end of last season, but Mr. Morden is not concerned.  Londo jokes that Morden’s associates may as well take out the whole Narn homeworld, but he is quickly sobered when Morden responds simply with “one thing at a time”.  Before he leaves Morden asks Londo to let him know if he hears of anything strange happening on the Rim. 

Franklin begins setting up to use the machine on Garibaldi, when Sheridan interrupts to volunteer to be the one hooked up.  It ends up working and Garibaldi finally wakes up.  Franklin excitedly radios over to Ivanova that he is awake, only for the Aide to overhear and start heading that way as well.  Sheridan and Ivanova arrive and Garibaldi is shocked to find out that the President is dead and Sinclair has been reassigned. They question him on whether he remembers who shot him, while the Aide eavesdrops with his hand on his gun.  

G’Kar sneaks back onto the station and surprises Na’Toth.  He starts talking about encountering the darkness, and he seems very shaken by whatever he experienced while he was searching for what happened to his government’s base.  He lets Na’Toth know that in his holy book there is a reference to an ancient enemy that came from the rim of the galaxy.  He went in search of that planet and found forces gathering in places where there is not normally any life. He plans on warning all the other races that something is coming.  

While that is happening our other AWOL ambassador starts making her moves, as the cocoon starts seeping green goo and falling apart.  Lennier comes back to her quarters to find the cocoon empty, and Delenn sitting in a corner making pained noises and wearing a robe.  He promptly calls Franklin.  He comes over quickly and examines her, finding that she has some kind of flaky substance covering her body.  As the pieces fall off they expose normal looking skin underneath.  

G’kar begins telling the council about what he found out.  Sheridan seems doubtful, as does Londo.  G’Kar promises proof, letting them know that a ship will be sent to gather data at a desolate planet on the rim called Z’ha’dum.  Londo promptly let’s Mr.Morden know about the Narn expedition.  This has the obvious effect of dooming the poor Narn ship.  An enemy ship is waiting for the Narn cruiser and destroys it as soon as it comes out into normal space.  G’Kar quickly realizes that either Londo or Sheridan had warned the enemy that the ship was coming.  The proceedings are interrupted by Delenn’s return, now complete with hair! Everyone is shocked by her new appearance, and she explains away her change as something that was done to foster greater understanding between humans and Minbari.  

Garibaldi has Talia brought to his hospital bed.  He has her use her talent to let him relive his shooting in more detail and he notices his Aide’s reflection.  Apparently this is all station security needs and they quickly arrest the Aide.  Garibaldi drags himself out of bed so that he can go down and interrogate him personally.   The Aide indicates that he had his orders from a new order back home that is coming into it’s power.  Garibaldi name drops Home Guard the racist militia from the first season, but the Aide dismisses them as clowns. Overall he seems far more smug then someone who has been arrested should be. 

heridan receives a call from the president.  President Clark demands that the prisoner and all investigation materials be turned over to him directly.  Predictably during the transfer the prisoner and all the materials vanish when transferred to a ship that had all the right paperwork but was not the actual government ship. 

Next week we take on a goofier entry complete with space wizards and an over the top parody of party politics with “The Geometry of Shadows”. 

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 are smaller.

The Good

• Captain Sheridan is settling in, and seems genuinely excited to be part of Babylon 5, even if most of the other characters are treating him fairly cooly. 
• Another taste of how improved the CGI has gotten, the quick fight between the Narn ship and the enemy ship looked great.  
• Delenn with hair finally arrived, which combined with G’Kar means the gang is pretty much all back together.  

The Bad

• The Aide’s arc is underbaked and doesn’t really land.  Since we barely saw him in the first season the idea that he possibly escaped prison doesn’t mean much.  
• Garibaldi’s reflexive mistrust of Sheridan is extreme, but then again he is supposed to be a paranoid man.
• Our final change up in G’Kar’s aide finally arrives, to little fanfare. 

Arc Points (Spoilers Ahead)

• Sheridan’s wife is brought up for the first time.  This relationship will inform several future episodes, and will get recast with Boxlietner’s then wife Melissa Gilbert. 
• Delenn and Lennier lie to the council to help Delenn save face when they say that she undertook her transformation with the permission of her government, which is very much not the case and will come back to haunt Delenn.
• For not being at war with anyone the Narns have lost quite a few ships and men.  This will also prove to be a problem for them as the season progresses.