305: Passing Through Gethsemane

Lyta Alexander returns from Vorlon space, much changed by her experiences, and now assigned to be an aide to Kosh.  Brother Edward, one of Brother Theo's group of monks, begins to experience what appear to be hallucinations: a black rose in his bag, and the words "Death Walks Among You" written in blood on the wall of his quarters.  When Garibaldi is unable to find a cause, Brother Edward begins to suspect his own conscience and, through his own initiative, discovers that he was formerly a serial killer who underwent a mind-wipe and change of personality.  A relative of one of Edward's victims engaged a Centauri telepath to unblock the mind-wipe so he could plan his revenge - and ends up crucifying Brother Edward.  Lyta is able to identify the culprit and he is sentenced to mind-wipe also - as a new recruit joins Theo's brethren...

Notes: Lyta Alexander was the first telepath assigned to Babylon 5 in The Gathering, and also appeared in Divided Loyalties.  She has been "modified" by the Vorlons, allowing her to breathe their atmosphere, and is now engaged to "carry" Kosh in her mind so he can observe events aboard the station discreetly (see also The Hour of the Wolf and Secrets of the Soul).  The "death of personality" punishment for hardened criminals is first introduced in The Quality of Mercy.  Delenn describes the Minbari belief of souls to Brother Theo, a thread seen throughout the series (Soul Hunter, Points of Departure).

Lennier gives some back-story about Valen: "He was the greatest of us.  A thousand years ago he came from nowhere, formed the Grey Council and brought peace to our people.  They say he was a Minbari not born of Minbari..." (see War Without End).

Director Adam Nimoy is the son of Star Trek actor Leonard Nimoy.

Guest Cast: Patricia Tallman returns as Lyta Alexander.  Brad Dourif (Brother Edward) indulges his propensity for playing disturbed characters and serial killers - his previous credits include the films One Few Over the Cuckoo's Nest (for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor), Dune, Alien: Resurrection and the TV series Star Trek: Voyager and The X Files.