After last episode’s character work detour, we are back on the main plots for this one.  In addition to more information about Londo and his ascension we get movement on the telepath plot, as well as the beginnings of a season-long mystery.  It feels odd to have the mystery introduced so late in a Babylon 5 season.  Most of the other seasons were heading towards their big episode by now.  In seasons 2 and 3 episode 9 was the episode that they named the season after.  With not a lot of plot left over to fill 22 episodes season 5 is setting a more deliberate pace.

We jump right into the mystery with Garibaldi delivering an intel report to Sherdian and Delenn, detailing an increase in attacks in the shipping lanes.  What is flummoxing the trio is the fact that unlike raider attacks the ships are being destroyed without being looted, making it look like some military is out to destroy supplies.  The fact that there are no witnesses means even the Rangers have no clue as to the identity of the aggressors.  Sheridan fears that delivering this news to the ISA members without a suspect could lead to a major fracture in the alliance.

On Centauri Prime Londo and G’Kar arrive and cause quite the stir at the royal court.  Londo has to explain to the other ministers that G’Kar is his bodyguard.  The courtiers are appropriately scandalized by the Narn’s presence, and he has fun tweaking them.

Lord Jano comes to visit Londo, and seems unconcerned with G’Kar.  Jano lets Londo know that things are strange with the Regent.  No one gets to see him officially, but he wanders the palace at night talking to himself even at one point ordering a guard to kill him.  Even stranger the teetotaler Regent is often found to be incredibly drunk.  He also reports that the Regent has begun classifying much of the government information.  Jano describes a darkness falling across the Royal Court.  Jano promises to pay attention to anything else that is strange.  Jano goes off to his own quarters to find the lights not working and the Regent waiting for him.  The Regent rambles a bit about interior design before telling a story to Jano about when Jano was a child being carried around the palace. He then confesses that if it was up to him no one would harm him, but that it is not up to him.  An unseen assailant then quickly murders the poor lord.

Byron gathers his telepaths together and lets everyone know about Lyta and the Vorlons.  He delivers a speech decrying the Vorlons, and then insists that the other races are responsible for helping them now that the Vorlons and Shadows are gone.

Sheridan and Delenn finish up some business with the Alliance and casually mention that the updated intel report will be sent to them that night.  As the ambassadors leave they are conspicuously followed around by Byron’s telepaths who all come back and report silently to their leader.  Byron leaves to find Garibaldi, not before telling Lyta that he will need her strength soon.

Londo goes to court the next morning and is not allowed to see the Regent.  He also asks after Jano and is given the brush off there as well.  Another lord confronts Londo and demands that he remove G’Kar.  He tries to bait the Narn by introducing the guard that whipped him on Cartagia’s order.  He gives G’Kar the whip and promises that no one will stop the Narn from doing whatever he wants to the guard.  G’Kar toys with the idea but explains that the responsibility rests with the late emperor.  They are interrupted by being summoned to Jano’s quarters where he is found hanging.  G’Kar and Londo agree right away that suicide is impossible.

Byron asks Garibaldi for an audience with the full Alliance, insisting that he has information which could ease tensions in light of the attacks on the shipping lanes.  Byron is allowed and promptly throws a hand grenade into the proceedings by bringing up the Vorlons and the creation of telepaths.  He then demands a homeworld for the human telepaths as payment for the sacrifice of telepaths during the Shadow War.  Which is kind of insane when most human telepaths, and humans in general, did not fight in the Shadow War.  Sheridan begins to try and talk to him, but Byron announces that unless he gets a homeworld he will release all the member race’s secrets to the galaxy.  Later when they discuss the situation Delenn points out that morally the telepaths may be entitled to something, over Sheridan’s objection.

Londo gets summoned to see the Regent but cloaked figures waylay him and G’Kar, separating the two of them.  Londo encounters the Minister of Assholes that toyed with G’Kar earlier.  The man declares that Londo is an obstacle and that he will be removed, producing a knife to throw at him.  The knife stops in mid-air before boomeranging back and killing the minister.  We see Londo’s savior briefly before G’Kar catches back up and the alien disappears.

On the station, Byron berates one of his people.  While he was away they had sent out someone to gather supplies.  They quickly all see that he was set upon by a gang of Drazi.  A bunch of the other telepaths run to the rescue murdering the Drazi and rescuing their friend.  Byron is distraught at the incredibly predictable violence that he set in motion.

Sheridan decides to bring the telepaths into custody, asking Zack to arrest them to get them into safety.  Elsewhere Byron and his people make preparations to resist the impending arrests, but one of his people argues that they should fight back.  Byron allows the man and his followers to leave, but insists that anyone that stays with him will commit to non-violence.

Londo meets with the courtier, who insists that he had no part in the assisnation attempt.  While he is making excuses G’Kar and Londo are summoned to the Regent silently.  Londo goes in alone to speak with him leaving G’Kar in the outer chamber.  Londo finds the Regent giggling and rambling.  The Regent explains that “they” saved Londo because they believe they have much in common with Londo.  He then delivers a message from them, telling Londo to stop inquiring about the supplies and ships before insisting that Londo leave.

Londo lies awake at night, before telling G’Kar that he wants to find the first transport back to Babylon 5.  He tells the Narn that for the first time in his life, he is afraid of the Royal Palace. He wonders aloud about what is happening with the Centauri fleet, before we are shown Centauri warships destroying a Brakiri ship.

We get treated to a brief scene of Lyta and Byron in bed together while Zack talks over the PA asking the telepaths to surrender to Security.

As much as I remember not liking the telepath plot I forgot how much I quite liked the conspiracy in the Centauri court plot.  The Regent has always been a fun background character and the show makes good use of his turn to being sinister and frightened all at once.  The only weak spot is how helpless Londo seems.  Things are going seriously wrong at the Royal Court but his solution is just to leave.  The same Londo that one year earlier sprang into action to kill his own emperor in similar circumstances. Aside from that it is overall a creepy and effective episode, though sadly a plot that will get pushed aside for now in favor of more telepath shenanigans and the return of Bester in “A Tragedy of Telepaths”.

Where do I know them from?

• Victor Love, credited as telepath, plays the violent telepath and previously appeared for four episodes as Mike the reporter in season 1 of The West Wing.
• Francis X. McCarthy as the traitorous Minister Vole, is a busy TV actor, who also appeared as Boots in Interstellar and as Dr. Kaiser in Basketball.
• Ian Ogilvy as Lord Jano, appeared as Chagall in Death Becomes Her.

The Good

• The conspiracy within the Royal Court is a good one, involving the keepers and other creepy stuff.  Good to watch in October certainly.

The Bad

• Byron’s plan is ludicrously stupid, trying to publicly blackmail all of the most powerful people in the galaxy with information that is only in your own heads.

Arc Points (Spoilers Ahead)

• Byron and his group fracture and the violent sect is set loose to do as they will.  This will have a legacy far beyond the current plotlines.
• We get introduced again to a bit of lore about the keepers, that they cannot handle excessive amounts of alcohol, though this weakness is difficult to exploit.
• The Rangers are shown to not be the silver bullet for peace that everyone was assuming as they seem incapable of stopping or even responding to the attacks on the shipping lanes.
• We are introduced to the idea that someone is using Centauri ships for the attacks but we do not know yet who is exactly piloting the ship.