Now that we have done some character work, checked in on many of our ongoing plots, and introduced our newcomers, it is off to the Season 3 races.  “Messages From Earth” and the next two episodes run straight into each other and jack up the long simmering Earth plot into a full boil.  Along the way we are going to get some terrific action sequences, some great character moments, and some long term alterations to status quo.  Also this episode marks one full year of me doing these write ups!

It is a nice touch that this episode starts off with some light comedy.  Garibaldi is whining about the food in the mess hall, and gets mocked for it by Ivanova and Sheridan, before a mess attendant interrupts to give Ivanova an extravagant, for deep space, breakfast of bacon and eggs, a gift from Marcus. We then jump to Marcus in a desperate fight to save a woman from a wave of attackers in Down Below.  

We come back from the credits to some ISN exposition about the President trying to take attention from his crimes by pointing to the Shadows as an alien threat on the border.  The woman from earlier is in Medlab and Franklin is positive about her recovery.  Marcus indicates her attackers were professional assassins.  

Garibaldi swings by to have a nice little scene with G’Kar in prison.  G’Kar’s is relaxed and enjoying the time he has now to think and to write, and sometimes to sing which is not appreciated by his fellow prisoners.  G’Kar feels that he is on the cusp of something great with his writing. 

Garibaldi ends up being the one to request that the woman be brought to Babylon 5.  Her name is Dr. Mary Kirkish, and she was on the run before Garibaldi ordered the Rangers to find her and bring her to the station.  She tells the war council that she was an archeologist working for Interplanetary Expeditions, and that she participated in a dig on Mars that uncovered a dormant Shadow ship.  She points out that this means the government is lying about never seeing these ships before.  She then lets them know that eventually another ship came and finished digging it out of the ground.. Garibaldi chimes in that when he was stationed on Mars he witnessed part of what happened and found a Psi Corps badge in the area.  She then tells them that another ship has been found on Ganymede and that Earth is planning on trying to keep that one.  Delenn promises to keep Dr. Kirkish safe in Minbari territory while the council plans its next move. 

Franklin points out that if Earth and the Shadows are allied then the whole situation may be too big for them to face.  Sheridan sends everyone but Delenn away and says he needs time to think.  When he reconvenes everyone he is dressed in his civilian clothes and lays out a plan to take the White Star to Ganymede to destroy the Shadow ship on the ground.  He and Delenn are not under any illusions about their chances against a Shadow ship and Earth’s defense fleet.

While the main cast is otherwise engaged, Zack ends up talking with another guard who runs the Night Watch on the station. He smugly quotes Thomas Jefferson, before also making some creepy comments about surveilling everyone, just to hammer home that he is a tremendous asshole. Later on the Night Watch rep holds a meeting where he indicates that the Night Watch has found “proof” that the media, some senators and even some members of the Joint Chiefs are part of a conspiracy to destroy Earth on behalf of alien governments.  He also indicates that there are lists of arrestees already drawn up.  Zack to his credit looks incredibly uncomfortable with the new guidelines to investigate everyone, but he also looks just as suspicious as the others about Captain Sheridan’s absence.

Sheridan is clearly exhausted, so Delenn shows him to the sleeping quarters on the White Star complete with the crazy 45 degree sloped Minbari beds.  Apparently the Minbari believe that sleeping horizontally tempts death.  What follows is a sweet scene where Sheridan talks about his father and home, and Delenn helps him sleep by having the ship make the sound of rain falling on a roof. 

Ivanova and Marcus get a short scene where she rants at him about the situation that they are in.  She has decided to blame Marcus for the captain going off to fight the Shadows, but Marcus stops her short by revealing that he assumed that Sheridan would send him to Ganymede instead of going himself.  

Sheridan and Delenn finally arrive at Jupiter, but they arrive minutes too late and the Earth government is already in the process of trying to put a pilot into the ship.  The pilot gets absorbed by the ship which then goes insane and destroys the base before deciding to chase after the White Star.  Sheridan then leads it into Jupiter’s atmosphere and tricks it into descending too far, and it ends up crushed in the gravity well.  Before everyone has a chance to celebrate too much they get fired on by the Agammenon Sheridan’s old ship.  Instead of fighting they decide to open a jump point in the atmosphere.  They slip away and make it home to the station.   

Back on Babylon 5, the news indicates that Earth blames the White Star for the destruction of the base, at least publicly.  Creepy Night Watch guy has a private conversation with Zack and he points out that Sheridan was away from the station for four days.  He also points out that this means the Chief is in on something.  He asks Zack to try and infiltrate the conspiracy by going to Garibaldi with an offer of help. Zack angrily points out that ever since he joined the Night Watch Garibaldi has stopped trusting him.  

There is another silly scene between Marcus and Ivanova where he cheers her up with a made up org chart that shows him in relation to everyone else, addressing one of her main complaints.  The funny little scene is interrupted by ISN reporting that President Clark has signed a decree implementing martial law in the Earth Alliance and that he will explain why to a closed session of the full Earth Senate.  

This is a great episode, and on rewatch it is even better, knowing that each of the next few episodes will be a step up in quality, each one expertly raising the tension and the stakes.

Next week things get ramped up even more with a great episode that centers around Zack of all people called “Point of No Return”.

As always the show is available to watch for free on Tubi with ads. 

Where do I know them from?

• Nancy Stafford is another TV veteran who bounces around projects.  I think the only thing I ever saw her in was an episode of Frasier.  According to IMDB she is also in some kind of cowboy movie with Bruce Boxleitner called Far Haven.  
•  Vaughn Armstrong plays a creep here, but he is also a dedicated Star Trek series alum, with appearances in Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and a recurring role as Admiral Forrest in Enterprise. 

The Good

• This is a great one with a purposeful plot and some great action set pieces as well as some solid performances. 

The Bad

• The only weak point, and this is a common one in most TV of the era, is that the physical fight between Marcus and the assassins looks kind of lame compared to fight choreography today. 

Arc Points (Spoilers Ahead)

• We learn more about Earth’s ties to the Shadows, which is huge.
• We also learn that the Night Watch is continuing to ramp up their activities in defense of their shitty president. 
• The episode and the next one show the command staff as being very careful to not engage Earth, and to do their best to stay within the rules, but that streak cannot last as the pressure mounts. 
• This will also be the first night that Delenn watches over Sheridan’s sleep, an important courtship milestone that Sheridan is completely unaware of yet.