- Title: Babylon 5 – Signs and Portents
- wiki: link
Our Throwback Tuesday post takes us back to the space station of humans and aliens all alone in the night. While there are episode-specific storylines here including raiders hitting ships on the way to the station, a Centauri seer (Fredi Olster) having a vision of the station’s imminent destruction, and a hostage situation, “Signs and Portents” stands out mainly for laying foundation for the larger arc which would lead to the Great War in the show’s later seasons. The episode features the first appearance of Mr. Morden (Ed Wasser) on the station as he seeks out various ambassadors looking for a suitable friend in the coming war. While G’Kar (Andreas Katsulas) laughs off the man’s unusual offer of friendship, Londo (Peter Jurasik) gives a response more passionate than intended, and Delenn (Mira Furlan) alone sees past the messenger to what his presence means for the galaxy.
Shadows are referred to by the seer and Delenn both as the show foreshadows the conflict which is to come, and we even get a glimpse of a Shadow ship towards the end of the episode. While the short-term relationship with Morden bears fruit for Londo, it will be quite some time before he discovers the full power behind the unusual man and the true cost of his friendship. Elsewhere, Sinclair (Michael O’Hare) shares his fractured memories with Girabaldi (Jerry Doyle) about his missing time following the Battle of the Line which leads to Girabaldi discovering the role the Minbari government had in Sinclair becoming the commander of Babylon 5. As with Londo’s understanding, it will take the show quite some time to reveal the Minbari’s interest in Sinclair and how his tied to the alien’s past and future.
