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								    ### GUIDE ### [3][Background] [4][Synopsis] [5][Credits] [6][Episode

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								   _Contents:_ [9]Overview - [10]Backplot - [11]Questions - [12]Analysis

								   - [13]Notes - [14]JMS


								     _________________________________________________________________


								Overview


								     The Army of Light mounts its final assault. Londo learns some

								     surprising information about Morden. [15]Ed Wasser as Morden.


								[16]P5 Rating: [17]9.30


								Production number: 406

								Original air week: February 3, 1997


								Written by J. Michael Straczynski

								Directed by Kevin Dobson


								     _________________________________________________________________


								Plot Points


								     * The first of Lorien's people were effectively immortal, but later

								       generations grew old and died.

								     * The Shadows and Vorlons never attacked one another directly

								       because their goal wasn't to defeat the opposition in a military

								       sense, but to convince their charges, the younger races, to

								       forsake the opposing philosophy. Along the way, both races lost

								       track of who they were and what they wanted.

								     * All the First Ones, including the Shadows and Vorlons, are gone,

								       ushering in the third age of mankind (which seems to refer to the

								       younger races as a group, not just humanity.) In the first age,

								       man was too primitive to be considered part of the larger picture.

								       In the second age, man was intelligent and aware of the greater

								       world, but his fate was manipulated by outside forces. Now, with

								       all the older races gone, man has entered an age of

								       self-determination.


								Unanswered Questions


								     * What lies beyond the galactic rim? Why do all the elder races want

								       to go there?

								     * How far did Lorien's broadcast of the conversations with the

								       Vorlons and Shadows extend? Just to the crews of the ships at

								       Coriana 6, or more broadly than that?

								     * Does Londo sending Vir back to Babylon 5 mean that Vir is now the

								       Centauri Ambassador?


								Analysis


								     * The First Ones were of surprisingly little help, considering the

								       trouble to which Ivanova and Lorien went to secure their

								       assistance. They amounted to little more than strange-looking

								       guns, just there to pop in, destroy the Vorlon planetkiller, and

								       do little else (though one of them can be seen destroying a few

								       Shadow and Vorlon ships.) Why were the Shadows and Vorlons

								       seemingly undisturbed by the intervention of their peers,

								       preferring instead to continue fighting as before? Why didn't the

								       First Ones do anything about the Shadow planetkiller?

								       It could be argued that they had to be present because Lorien

								       needed them to see that it was time to depart. But given how

								       reclusive most of the remaining First Ones were, they could likely

								       have remained right where they were without ever significantly

								       affecting mankind's reign of the galaxy. Only the Shadows and

								       Vorlons were actively interfering with the younger races. For all

								       intents and purposes the remaining First Ones were already gone

								       anyway.

								     * Sheridan's plan -- luring the Shadows to Coriana 6 with false

								       information, then planting bombs in nearby asteroids -- is the

								       same strategy he employed to good effect against the Black Star

								       during the Earth-Minbari War ([18]"There All the Honor Lies.")

								     * The representation of the Shadows and Vorlons while Sheridan and

								       Delenn were talking to them was symbolic of their nature. The

								       Shadows moved around, shifted form, and spoke with many voices,

								       representative of chaos. The Vorlons were frozen in ice, cold and

								       aloof and unchanging.

								     * The episode's title can be read as a reference to a crucible,

								       which certainly fits the theme of the storyline. Sheridan brought

								       together the concentrated forces of the Shadows, Vorlons, the

								       First Ones, and the younger races; as they were all forced to

								       interact, they were transformed.

								     * How did Londo know Morden was accompanied by Shadows? Perhaps he

								       simply put two and two together after noticing the strange sounds

								       near Morden in [19]"Interludes and Examinations," but this is the

								       first evidence that Londo has been doing research on Morden's

								       associates.

								     * What happened to the Shadow hit by the guard's weapon? Was its

								       body recovered? In [20]"The Long Dark," when the Shadow warrior

								       was killed, it didn't leave a body behind, so perhaps it's some

								       kind of standard protection mechanism used by the Shadows and

								       their servants.

								     * By killing Morden and destroying the Shadow base, Londo has

								       probably sealed the fate of Centauri Prime as seen in [21]"War

								       Without End, Part Two." As Morden said, the Shadows may be gone,

								       but they have allies, and Londo told Sheridan in that episode that

								       the Shadows' allies were the ones laying waste to Centauri Prime.

								       Whether those allies will also be responsible for putting the

								       keeper on Londo isn't clear. If so, they would appear to be after

								       more than simple revenge, since they were trying to extract

								       information from Delenn.

								       Ironically, if Londo had left the base and Morden alone, the

								       Vorlons would have turned back anyway, since their planet-killer

								       was summoned to Coriana 6 before it fired a shot at Centauri

								       Prime. Of course, he had no way of knowing that.

								     * As the Vorlon ship passed overhead, Londo and everything around

								       him fell under its shadow, underscoring the point about Londo's

								       Shadow involvement.

								     * After Selini was destroyed, Morden clutched almost desperately at

								       his pendant. Just a reflex, or was it perhaps some form of link to

								       the Shadows?

								     * Given his fate when Sheridan destroyed the White Star on Z'ha'dum,

								       and the fact that only extreme intervention restored any semblance

								       of his physical body ([22]"The Hour of the Wolf") Morden may

								       qualify as "the one who is already dead" from Lady Morella's

								       prophecy ([23]"Point of No Return.") By killing Morden and thus

								       condemning Centauri Prime to the dismal future seen 17 years

								       hence, Londo has plausibly given up a chance to redeem himself.

								     * The Shadows themselves may have departed, but what have they left

								       behind? Many of their ships were manned by other races. Did the

								       pilots leave for the Rim as well, or are there still Shadow ships

								       flying around the galaxy? What about their cities on Z'ha'dum, and

								       the ships they buried on worlds all over the galaxy? Did all their

								       representatives on Earth and elsewhere leave too?

								       Similarly, is the Vorlon homeworld now accessible to anyone who

								       cares to visit? What did the Vorlons leave behind?

								       Lorien also may have left something behind, namely the ship he and

								       Sheridan took to Babylon 5 in [24]"The Summoning."

								     * Who will force mankind to step down when our time has passed? The

								       Vorlons and Shadows likely wouldn't have left were it not for

								       Lorien's intervention. With both of them, and their peers, gone,

								       there'll be no father figure to coax mankind out of the way

								       millions of years hence, when _we're_ the mysterious elder race

								       meddling in the affairs of the newcomers.

								       Perhaps that role will be filled by Jason Ironheart ([25]"Mind

								       War.") He indicated he'd be back in a million years.


								Notes


								     * In the initial US broadcast, the end credits were accompanied by

								       the theme music from season three, not season four.

								     * Reflecting his increased status, Vir's hair appears to be somewhat

								       longer in this episode than previously.

								     * The space background in the opening sequence, when the White Star

								       awaits the arrival of more First Ones, is from a [26]Hubble Space

								       Telescope photo, part of the Eagle Nebula.

								     * The island of Selini, shown being destroyed by Londo, bears strong

								       similarity to the island of Sicily, Italy, as seen from space.

								     * The scene in which Lorien tells Ivanova about his people and about

								       his immortality was originally written for the previous episode,

								       [27]"The Long Night." That's why it takes place aboard Babylon 5

								       rather than the White Star, forcing a rather strange detour to the

								       station when Ivanova would have wanted to head directly to the

								       scene of the battle. When Lorien says, "I was told you were ready

								       to leave," he's referring to Ivanova's departure on Sheridan's

								       mission to find more First Ones. To cover for this inconsistency,

								       an extra line of voiceover dialogue was added to the first scene

								       in the episode, Ivanova telling Lorien that they need to get back

								       to Babylon 5 and rejoin the fleet.

								     * Lorien said there were six First Ones, but only five can be seen

								       leaving the scene of the battle. Of course, the sixth might have

								       left separately, or Lorien could have been referring to himself.

								     * When Londo arrives in the throne room, he gathers his WITS about

								       him: he orders the unnamed Minister to gather the ministers of

								       War, Information, Transportation, and Security.


								jms speaks


								     * One of the things about the way events come to a head and finish

								       in ITF is that it's very unnerving...okay, *now* what? The ongoing

								       conflict has become something you could count on, you knew the

								       rough shape of what might be coming along. Now all that's kicked

								       over, and you have to get on with the next aspect: making a new

								       life.

								       What interests me, what I wanted to do with making this show, was

								       in large measure to examine the issues and emotions and events

								       that precede a war, precipitate a war, the effects of the war

								       itself, the end of the war and the aftermath of the war. The war

								       is hardware; the people are at the center of the story.

								     * So far the general reaction has been, "But...but...what NOW?"

								       which is *exactly* the reaction I was hoping for.

								       Everybody keeps commenting, "This is the sort of episode you have

								       at the end, not 6 eps into your season." Yep.

								       We're funny that way....

								     * Now comes more fun...again, it's all about process...going from

								       post-war (Minbari) to an uneasy peace, to showing how a war starts

								       to come about, the actual beginning of a war, its progress, then

								       the aftermath. That arc really is at the core of the show...the

								       changes that take place through this process.

								     * I've always preferred the arc, both inside an episode, and between

								       episodes, and even in the course of a season, where there's the

								       resolution and then there's time to consider, reflect, and show

								       the impact of these things. It's not just about solving the

								       technical problem that way...it's about the people who solve the

								       problem and how they are affected by the problems and solutions.

								     * It's often the aftermath that holds the greatest interest. The

								       Civil War tells one kind of interesting story; the Reconstruction

								       that followed, which endured for many years longer than the war,

								       tells another, just as interesting story.

								       There's a line one of the characters will say soon, "The

								       duration's going to be a lot longer than the war." It's a very

								       true comment.

								       One of my favorite books is "Alas, Babylon," by Pat Frank, which

								       is about a nuclear war (written in the early 60s). But the war

								       happens entirely off-stage, way in the distance...and the book

								       focuses on one small township dealing with the after effects, and

								       the day-to-day realities of surviving in a changed world. I've

								       always been partial to that kind of storytelling.

								     * As for the story being over...not by a long sight. Frankly, some

								       of what's coming in the latter part of this season is more intense

								       than anything we've done previously. We really focus in on the

								       characters and the after-shocks of the war, in ways usually

								       ignored.

								       After all, we all know how nice and calm and civilized Europe was

								       after the War To End All Wars came to an end...we hardly heard a

								       peep from that part of the world thereafter....

								     * As usual every season, we start out with lighter CGI episodes, and

								       build to big stuff as we go. That will be the same this season as

								       last. Our first really big CGI episode last season was "Messages,"

								       which was around episode #8, then "Severed," episode #10. This

								       season we'll hit with big stuff around episode #6, which will

								       likely be as big as "Severed." Rather than push stuff back, we've

								       been able to move CGI stuff forward and expand on scenes.

								     * Just a quick note with two purposes:

								       1) to alert folks interested in Lightwave to check out the B5

								       episode airing in about 2 weeks, "Into the Fire," the second new

								       episode back, to see some nifty stuff one can do when one applies

								       oneself. That episode has roughly 114 CGI shots in 43 minutes, and

								       are easily some of the most elaborate ever done for TV. (There's

								       some nice stuff toward the latter half of this coming week's

								       episode, but the following one is the big blow-out.)

								       and

								       2) to plink the noses of those on here who came on proclaiming

								       that "good sources" told them that the CGI EFX on B5 would either

								       go to hell, or look crappy, or be less than before. We're now

								       doing far more EFX than in any previous season, and more elaborate

								       shots. I said these individuals were full of it then, and the

								       facts have spoken for themselves in the time since. These

								       individuals have since dropped away and gotten real silent. I hope

								       they'll be as forthright now that they've been shown to be wrong

								       as they were in their original proclamations.

								       Otherwise we'd have to assume that these individuals were spewing

								       out things they knew weren't true, just to poison the well and

								       cause us grief, and I just can't *imagine* that *anyone* would do

								       something like that....

								     * _Why wasn't the Vorlon shown in its true form?_

								       Because we'd still be rendering it. There are 114 EFX shots in

								       that episode, and as it was we just barely made the satellite

								       uplink. If it wasn't absolutely necessary, better to do it more

								       simply. As it was, we were rendering the shadow form too.

								     * _Are you happy with having to hurry season four along in case the

								       show isn't renewed?_

								       Truth: I go back and forth. The "Into the Fire" thing, for

								       instance... it would've likely been a two-part episode, but it

								       still would've ended up exactly where it ended up. A few more big

								       explosions, but I wonder also if that really adds anything past a

								       certain point.

								       From a production standpoing, since "Fire" darn near killed us in

								       the CGI department, it's probably a darned good thing it DIDN'T go

								       for 2 eps. That puppy had something around 120 or 140 EFX shots.

								       Overall, I'm actually quite happy with how this season is going,

								       in terms of the intensity of the arc and the emotions and

								       incidents. Parts would've been a bit more laid-back if I had

								       decided not to cover my bets on renewal, and maybe the situation

								       has worked out to the best (again the ABA principle, Art By

								       Accident).

								       So I dunno...all I know is what's in the episodes this season, and

								       it's pretty cool overall....

								     * 1.) The CGI was excellent and seemed very different than in

								       previous episodes, much larger, better defined, darker. Was this

								       an effort on your part, or the post-production department?"

								       We're trying some new rendering techniques...I think they're

								       working very well. (Some of the stuff in the next episode has a

								       very realistic feel to it.)

								       2.) Have you found some way to slow down time or compress the

								       episode into a shorter span? When I finished this one, I swore I

								       had watched a two hour movie.

								       You did. We arranged for a time dilation bubble to appear over

								       your house.

								       3.) Any reaction from the actor or staff on this one? Especially,

								       Ed Wasser? (Might be a bit of spoilers in the answer to this one)

								       Ed wants to come back as an alien. I see no problem with this.

								     * _Any significance to Morden's pendant?_

								       It may have its uses.

								     * The shadow voice was definitely Ed Wasser.

								     * Yeah, that was Ed's voice. Seemed appropos.

								       Definitely didn't want it to end in a big explosion. We've seen

								       many of those; how many more can you see? One is the same as the

								       other after a while. And if we destroyed everything, how would

								       that show we'd grown enough to create the new age? It's a matter

								       of evolution, not destruction.

								     * I've suggested the use of a minor chords version of the theme

								       music to Chris on several occasions, where it seemed right, here,

								       Signs and Portents, and in others. The change from minor to major

								       chords does signal an emotional transition, and it works well.

								       The director initially didn't want to do the Londo rage scene in

								       one take; it was something I felt very strongly about, and I think

								       it works well.

								       BTW, there's another example of a long single take coming up soon,

								       on Epsilon 3, which is all I'll specify. I kinda wanted the scene

								       to play itself out, without cutting, and to show just how

								       amazingly capable some of our actors can be. We're talking here

								       almost 4 minutes of footage, not one cut in the whole thing, very

								       fast dialogue, and not a single muffed line, with the performances

								       working wonderfully. You'll know it when you see it.

								     * _Why were the other First Ones still around?_

								       They were all still hanging around here, for one reason or

								       another, mostly to do with inertia, familiarity...but finally

								       recognized that it was time.

								     * The Sigma 957 ship was one of the First One ships, yeah.

								     * I don't think the shadows speaking through Lyta referred to Delenn

								       by name; they said only, "And you they have left for us."

								       The jostling from the asteroid was an accident, though the others

								       would've figured out what was going on soon enough.

								     * _Any relation between the Vorlon representative's outfit and

								       Ivanova's in the [28]"All Alone in the Night" dream?_

								       No, no relation to Ivanova's outfit. I just wanted a sense of

								       something that was both ancient and ageless, frozen, formal,

								       distant.

								     * The woman was in ice as a symbol of their ridigity, their

								       inflexibility, "frozen in time," as the shadows say.

								     * _Two ancient adversaries gave up just because Delenn and Sheridan

								       told them to?_

								       I think that, for me, what mitigates against that is that a) it

								       wasn't just Delenn and Sheridan, it was with virtually every other

								       major civilization around backing their play, and adding their

								       support, their voice, even being willing to die for the sake of

								       this confrontation. If it were just the two of them...they'd be

								       scragged. The two forces needed to be shown that the others had

								       turned against them, and that their true faces had been exposed.

								       b) The other key for me is that neither the Vorlons nor the

								       Shadows saw themselves as conquerers or adversaries...both

								       believed they were doing what was right for us. And like any

								       possessive parent, they'll keep on believing that until the kid is

								       strong enough to stand up and say, "No, this is what *I* want."

								       Most wars tend to end with one singular event...sometimes it's a

								       big bomb, or a series of big bombs...and sometimes it comes with a

								       negotiation. The two sides meet in a room, sometimes with

								       representatives of other nations, and together they hammer out a

								       truce, or a peace. There's the Nagasaki solution on the one hand,

								       and the "let's meet in a room and talk about this" of Jimmy

								       Carter, Anwar Sadat and Minister Begin.

								       Both work.

								     * There is a definite parent/child/parent dynamic going on there, in

								       that Lorien is, in a way, in that role to the Vorlons and the

								       Shadows, they're in that role to us, and we're in that role to

								       those who will follow. It's the endless cycle.

								     * _About the final scene between Lorien and the Vorlon and Shadow

								       images_

								       One could almost argue for the whole scene as a classic

								       "intervention" out of psychotherapy or group counseling.

								       Very early on, John Copeland asked me, "Okay, bottom line it for

								       me, what's the war about?" I said, "It's about killing your

								       parents." And his eyes went wide, and I explained, "No, not

								       literally...but at some point you have to step outside the control

								       of your parents and create your own life, your own destiny. That

								       process is inevitable...and if there are indeed older races, and

								       they're interfering, that puts them smack in the middle of that

								       same process."

								       It's not about who has the biggest gun, because there's *always*

								       somebody else with a bigger gun...it's about *understanding* your

								       way out of a problem.

								     * _Will we ever learn why the first Kosh was more sympathetic to the

								       younger races than his replacement?_

								       That's a good question, and one of the things I'd like to do (but

								       which I can't see any way to do in the series) is the whole story

								       of who Kosh was, how he got to be who and what he was, why he felt

								       the way he did toward humans (part of it was knowing

								       Valen)...maybe this will have to go into one of the novels.

								     * _Did Kosh go to B5 knowing that the conflict would soon be over?_

								       I think Kosh came late to the table. I don't think he came to B5

								       with that intent, but it grew in him over time that this cycle had

								       to end, and he could be instrumental to that.

								     * The main motive for going beyond the rim...there's a heck of a big

								       Taco Bell out there....

								     * The notion of the Vorlons and Shadows representing Order and Chaos

								       goes back to the Babylonian creation myths, that the universe was

								       born in the conflict between order and chaos, hence part of the

								       reason I decided to name this show after Babylon. That's called

								       *research*. It informs the show, but it is not the show.

								     * Certainly Londo would like to avoid his fate, and Lady Morella

								       prophesied certain ways of doing this...and he's had some chances,

								       and blown them. As you say, he's creating the very future he'd

								       hoped to avoid.


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								      [35]Last update: January 12, 1998


								References


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