317: War Without End, Part II

Emperor Mollari blames Sheridan for the destruction of his world: after the end of the Shadow War, the Shadows' servants remained and are responsible for Centauri Prime's downfall.  He condemns Sheridan to death, but after he is taken to his cell he shifts back through time.

Meanwhile, Ivanova has staged a hull breach so Babylon 4 can be evacuated, as Sheridan helps Sinclair fit the beacon onto the reactor.  Babylon 4 commander Major Krantz channels more power through the reactor, sending Sheridan back through time and the whole station four years into the future.  After his previous exposure to the time field, this has caused Sinclair to physically age quite rapidly.  A small fleet of ships arrive to help Babylon 4 evacuate - headed by Sinclair and Garibaldi.  Zathras, in attempting to repair Sheridan's damaged time stabilizer, is captured by the Babylon 4 crew to be questioned, and is met by the younger Sinclair.

Back in the future, Sheridan meets with the future Delenn; to whom it seems he is now married, with a son, David.  Sheridan tells her about his time-travelling, and she believes him.  They are taken back before Londo - who has become quite drunk to evade the control of his "keeper", a Shadow implant on his neck.  Free of its influence, he informs them of a ship waiting for them, asking them to help his people.  After they have gone, G'Kar enters and, seeking to be free of Shadow control, Londo asks G'Kar to kill him.  G'Kar complies, but the implant retaliates and the two strangle each other to death.  Vir enters the room to discover their bodies...

Before he flashes back in time again, the future Delenn pleads with Sheridan not to go to Z'ha'dum.  On his return, the present Delenn swaps time stabilizers, causing her to become unstuck in time.  She finds herself aboard Babylon 5; Sheridan is asleep in bed, and she is greeted by a female voice.  Returning, Zathras gives her the repaired time stabilizer inside Babylon 4 when she reappears wearing the spacesuit, and the station is evacuated.

The station is moved into the real present so the crew can escape, but Sinclair refuses to leave: if he passes through the time field again he will age once more and die.  The note he received was written by himself, telling him that this is what must happen.  With Zathras, Sinclair remains on Babylon 4 with a triluminary, to transform himself into a Minbari.  He arrives in the past, and proclaiming himself to be Valen, presents the station to the Minbari and the Vorlons as their new base of operations in the first Shadow War.

Notes: This episode completes the human/Minbari soul cycle.  The soul the Minbari found within Sinclair when they captured him on the Battle of the Line (And the Sky Full of Stars, In the Beginning) was Valen's.  The triluminary he uses to transform himself is the same/similar to the one Delenn used in Chrysalis, and the one used to scan him during his capture.  It is from Sinclair's arrival into Minbari history that the "door" was opened for Minbari/human souls to cross.  Kosh hinted at his identity as Valen in a scene cut from The Gathering; see also Atonement for the consequences of his time-travelling.

Zathras refers to all of Sinclair, Delenn and Sheridan as "the One": Sinclair is the One Who Was, Delenn is the One Who Is, and Sheridan is the One Who Will Be.

Londo and a one-eyed G'Kar strangle each other to death, as foreseen by Londo in his dreams (see Midnight on the Firing Line, The Coming of Shadows).  Lady Morella (Point of No Return) predicted that Vir would also be Emperor upon Londo's death (see Sleeping in Light).  It is in between his two meetings with Sheridan and Delenn that Londo tells two children the story of the Earth-Minbari War (In the Beginning).  The full story of events surrounding Centauri Prime and Emperor Mollari are told in the Legions of Fire novels.

The elder Sinclair tries to tell Garibaldi to "watch his back", a reference to his shooting in Chrysalis.   The future Delenn tells Sheridan they have a son, David (see Wheel of Fire), and she also tells him not to go to Z'ha'dum (echoing Kosh's sentiments in In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum and Interludes and Examinations). Delenn's own vision of the future sees her in Sheridan's bedroom on Babylon 5 watching him sleep, and reacting in shock to the arrival of an unseen woman (see Shadow Dancing).

There are slight differences here to events as seen in Babylon Squared: Zathras does not "suddenly appear" in the conference room, and Delenn is not wearing red, nor holds her hand out to Sinclair, as she does when she greets him.  The spacesuits are also slightly different.

The story of Sinclair's actions as Valen, and the eventual fate of Babylon 4, are shown in the comic In Valen's Name.

The soundtrack of this episode is available on CD.

Guest Cast: Kent Broadhurst returns as Major Krantz, and Bruce Morrow returns as the B4 First Officer (Babylon Squared).