Babylon 5 Season 2, Episode 20. Written by
J. Michael Straczynski, directed by
John Flinn. Originally aired on
October 18, 1995.
Primary Plot: The
Narn Regime surrenders after the
Centauri begin to use
mass drivers to bomb their homeworld, ending the
Narn-Centauri War.
Secondary Plot: Draal offers the assistance of the
Great Machine to
Sheridan for the coming war.
Commentary: A very powerful, sad episode. One the one hand you have
Londo realizing just how dangerous the people he's been working with (
Lord Refa,
Mr. Morden) just might be...you can see this all just by reading Londo's face while he watches the bombardment of the Narn
homeworld, and it is again a testament to
Peter Jurasik's acting abilities that he manages to convey such a wide range of subtle emotions in only a brief moment. But on the other hand, you have Londo still going along with everything and acting just as ruthless to everyone else. The scene in the Council chambers when he callously reads off the
terms of surrender still gives me chills.
Londo's failure to stop the
mass driver bombardment of the Narn homeworld is most likely his second failed chance for redemption, as prophecized by
Lady Morella in
Point of No Return.
And then you have
G'Kar...beaten, powerless, desperate, devastated. A far cry from the proud warrior who we saw for much of the first two seasons. It continues to amaze me how much G'Kar and Londo changed over the course of the series, and how believeable the changes were due to the proficiency of the actors portraying them.
Note that
Draal is played by a different actor here than in
A Voice in the Wilderness, Part I and
A Voice in the Wilderness, Part II. The original actor was
Louis Turenne, the actor here (and for the remainder of the series) is
John Schuck. I honestly never noticed the difference until it was pointed out to me by a fellow fan. They explain it away by saying that the
Great Machine restored
Draal to "his appearance of thirty years past". That, as well as the extensive
makeup that playing a
Minbari character requires, was enough for me never to have an inkling it was a different actor. I just figured they had changed the makeup around.
"Now the trumpet summons us again: not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need;
not as a call to battle, though in battle we are; but as a call to bear the burdens of a long,
twilight struggle--year in and year out, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation--a
struggle against the common enemies of man--tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself."
--
John F. Kennedy
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Babylon 5 Episode Guide.