Two parters in such a serialized series seem like they dont make sense, but I kind of view this one as a TV movie that got broken into two episodes.  There were some dangling plot threads, and this episode comes along to snip the last few of them off. The fact that I did not know that about this episode for years, and never noticed is a testament to how strong the writing is on this sometimes quite goofy show.  

We get nice look at the serene and crystalline Minbari homeworld here, lingering on the headquarters of the rangers, before we go internal and see a minbari running after a cloaked figure.  He has a 9000 year old time capsule that was commanded to be opened on this day, and he is seriously freaking out, because in the capsule is an envelope addressed to Jeffery Sinclair the cloaked figure. He does not look like he has any better answer.

Back at the station, Corwin lets Ivanova know that they are receiving a distress call from the area where Babylon 4 disappeared.  When they clean it up, it is Ivanova sending a distress signal from a Babylon 5 that is under attack and falling to some enemy.  Mysteries abound as we go to credits.

Back on Minbar reading the letter has not seemed to help Sinclair any.  He says goodbye to his assistant, and prepares to leave Minbar, and this seems to concern the minbari.  A vorlon creeps out of the shadows, and says some cryptic things about Sinclair being the closed circle, which does not comfort anyone.  

Back on B5 Ivanova shares the message with Sheridan and the others.  Garibaldi points out that this signal could be from the future, sharing that when he went to Babylon 4 he saw a vision of a massive battle on Babylon 5, and that they were losing the battle.  Garibaldi volunteers to go and check out what is going on, and he leaves in a Starfury.  He eventually manages to get a visual image and it mostly confirms what they thought, that Ivanova in her Army of Light uniform is broadcasting from a destroyed C&C.  The enemy is confirmed to be a massive fleet of Shadow ships. 

Sinclair arrives at the station, having a brief conversation with Zack at customs, and seeming much wiser and older than he was when he left, and giving a very Vorlon style answer to Zack’s question about how long he plans on staying.  When Lennier goes to Delenn to let her know that Sinclair has arrived, she is sitting in the dark.  As the two leave we see that she has also received a letter from the time capsule, again written in English.  

Sheridan and Marcus are going over news about the Shadows, when Delenn barges into the war room and demands that both of them, and Ivanova join her on the White Star immediately.  She mentions that one other will be coming with them and Sinclair then waltzes in to the room as well stunning Sheridan and Marcus.  Garibaldi links in to communicate that the rift in time is being generated by Epsilon 3.  Delenn once again implores everyone to go to the White Star and only offers that they all have to go because they have to when asked why. 

Down on the planet we get a scene of Zathras and another inhabitant discussing the machine and Draal, and Zathras assures the other alien that Draal has left him with instructions on what to do.  

Everyone finally listens to Delenn and starts heading for the White Star, and Sheridan questions Sinclair about the situation and only gets odd answers from him.  He is not convinced, but Marcus warns him off of trying to get a straight answer out of the leader of the Rangers.  Once they all make it to the White Star, Delenn is somewhat more helpful but no less confusing.  She shows them a record from 1000 years ago during the Shadow War.  She tells the story of how towards the end of the war the Shadows managed to destroy one of the Minbari’s most essential starbases, greatly reducing their ability to launch attacks on the Shadows.  Just when everything seemed doomed, a new space station appeared out of nowhere for them to use: Babylon 4.   Just when everyone is processing that, Delenn reveals that those assembled in the room are the ones that stole Babylon 4.  Delenn connects the dots for them that without Babylon 4 the previous war will end with the Shadows in a much stronger position, enabling them to annihilate Babylon 5.

Eventually Zathras arrives with a bunch of time travel equipment. Sinclair recognizes him right away from his time on Babylon 4 during the rescue operations.  Zathras also indicates that he has heard of Sinclair and Sheridan and knows things about them.  After they break away from Zathras, Sinclair asks Sheridan to send Garibaldi back to Babylon 5 without telling him that Sinclair is on the White Star.  With that done, they move into the rift, outfitted with devices to protect themselves from the side effects of time travel. 

The White Star quickly finds and destroys the small Shadow ships, and stop them from bombing Babylon 4, but the explosion hits them too, and Sheridan becomes unstuck in time.  The others have to continue on without him, as Babylon 4 was damaged too and they need to fix it up and prepare it for time travel.  Sinclair takes over the mission and rallies the others to the task.

Sheridan meanwhile gets to experience some of his own future, and it is not a fun time.  He has been captured by Emperor Londo Mollari who is having him beaten by his royal guards.  Londo shows him a burning and blasted city outside the palace and implies that Sheridan is to blame for all of it, and that is why he is to be executed. 

All of that gets us to the end of the first half of the two parter.  We have some of the Babylon 4 mystery solved, but there are still lingering questions, and of course the cliff hanger of trying to get Sheridan back that will be revealed in “War Without End-Part 2”.

As always the series is available to stream on Tubi for free, with ads. 

Where do I know them from?

• Tim Choate shows up again as Zathras, an alien with a connection to the great machine and Draal. He bounced around TV in the 70’s 80’s and 90’s but I dont believe I saw him in anything else.
• Time Winters plays Rathenn, Sinclair’s Minbari aide.  He has also had a pretty steady career of small roles and voice work, including doing several voices for Fallout 4. 

The Good

• After a heavy episode this one is kind of a fun time travel caper and it brings back Michael O’Hare which is nice.
• They do a good job of putting all the pieces into place in a way that does not necessarily contradict “Babylon Squared”.  

The Bad

• Zathras is Zathras.  I actually dont mind him that much but I acknowledge that he can be… polarizing amongst the fans. 

Arc Points (Spoilers Ahead)

• The original plan for Babylon 5 before a million things wrecked it, was that Babylon 5 was going to be destroyed straight up and that the time traveling Babylon 4 would be the show’s new home, as well as a movable station that they would use as their main battleship.  Not sure how that would have been, but due to cast changes and other factors, they had to change it.  I appreciate that JMS decided that even though the plan had changed he wanted to go back and deal with that mystery. 
• Sinclair and Garibaldi missing each other is played as a tragedy which was a deft way of handling two actors that could not stand to be in the same room as each other.
• O’Hare’s guest spot also closes his storylines, and offered the actor a graceful way to end his role on the show.  This was also done to let him demonstrate that he could still work despite his mental health diagnosis.  
• I will save some stuff for the Part 2 article, but I overall enjoy how neatly this is all done, so much that it seemed pretty seamless to a younger me.