“The Fall of Night”
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Janet Greek
Season 2, Episode 22
Production episode 222
Original air date: November 1, 1995
It was the dawn of the third age… Sheridan is running drills with Zeta Squadron, specifically training them to deal with the Centauri military. Upon returning to the station, Sheridan meets with Drazi and pak’ma’ra representatives, who complain of aggression on their borders by the Centauri. Sheridan’s subsequent conversation with Mollari does nothing to reassure him, as Mollari blows him off, saying Sheridan’s influence only extends to this station.
Lennier and Vir meet at the bar, bitch about how incredibly fucking impossible and difficult their jobs as aides to ambassadors are, then say, “Same time tomorrow?”
One of Keffer’s fellow Zeta Wing pilots mentions that someone in Alpha Wing saw a ghost in hyperspace. Keffer goes to Harvey, the pilot in question, who initially rebuffs Keffer, thinking he’s going to rag on him, but then Keffer describes what he saw in hyperspace, and Harvey realizes that they both saw the same thing—Shadows. Unlike Keffer, whose Starfury was damaged when he saw it, Harvey got some readings, which he shares with Keffer. However, Harvey thinks Keffer’s nuts, as he wants nothing to do with any of it.
Two people from EarthDome show up: Frederick Lantze from the Ministry of Peace and Mr. Welles, who runs NightWatch. They’re here to examine the Centauri issues, which Sheridan is grateful for, and he’s hoping that Earth will finally take a stand against the Centauri.
While Lantze talks with various ambassadors of other nations—though he deliberately avoids talking to G’Kar despite Ivanova’s attempt to get the Narn a meeting—Welles meets with the NightWatch folks on the station, including Allan. It becomes clear that NightWatch is there to stamp out anything that even looks like sedition. Allan looks particularly uncomfortable when Welles grills him—albeit in a friendly, conciliatory, relaxed tone—about a shop owner who has been saying negative things about the Clark Administration.
A Narn heavy cruiser comes in through a jumpgate on the far side of Epsilon III. Sheridan didn’t think there were any Narn heavy cruisers left. The commander, Na’Kal, explains that they were on deep-space patrol when the invasion happened, and they’ve been on the run ever since. They’re in bad shape and request sanctuary on B5, which Sheridan grants.
Lantze is annoyed when he finds out that Sheridan has been conducting drills to defend against Centauri attacks, and asks him to stop doing so. It turns out that his purpose here has been to work toward Earth Alliance signing a non-aggression pact with the Centauri Republic.
A CnC officer who works for NightWatch meets with Welles with some information. While we don’t see what she says, given that Mollari calls Sheridan a minute later demanding that he turn over the Narn cruiser, we can guess that it’s about that.
A Centauri cruiser comes through the jumpgate demanding the Narn ship. Lantze is outraged that Sheridan granted sanctuary to the Narn, as that jeopardizes the alliance. Sheridan points out that (a) there is no alliance yet, (b) he granted sanctuary before he even knew there was a possibility of an alliance, and (c) Lantze is a civilian and he should kindly get the hell out of CnC.
Zeta Squadron is sent to escort the Narn cruiser to a jumpgate. Sheridan tells Mollari that once it’s out of B5’s jurisdiction, it’s on its own. That message also goes to the Centauri cruiser—which fires. B5 is forced to defend itself, and between B5’s defense grid and Zeta Squadron, the Narn ship is able to make it to the jumpgate safely—but the Centauri cruiser is destroyed.
Lantze berates Sheridan, but Sheridan points out that he followed regulations in general and his mandate to protect the station in particular. In the former case, General Order 47 dictates that they help a ship in need that isn’t in direct conflict with EarthForce. In the latter case, the Centauri fired first. So what the hell else was he supposed to do?
Welles, surprisingly, seems to take Sheridan’s side, agreeing that he followed regulations, and that the Joint Chiefs agree that he acted properly—in the conflict. However, Sheridan should have informed the Joint Chiefs of the sanctuary request immediately. The Centauri are willing to accept an apology from Sheridan and will then let the incident go. Sheridan refuses at first, but Welles makes it clear that the alternative is to be removed as head of B5, and probably a court-martial, so he agrees.
There is a meeting of all the ambassadors in Hydroponics, a less formal setting than council chambers, where Sheridan is to apologize. While putting on his dress uniform, he practices an apology that probably wouldn’t be accepted (see “The echoes of all our conversations” below), but on the train to Hydroponics, he finds himself alone in the car with a bomb that appears to have been left by a Centauri citizen. He is able to use his authority as B5 commander to open the door and jump out before it blows, but now he’s falling through the air, albeit slowly, over Hydroponics.
Ivanova orders a rescue, but it won’t come in time. Delenn urges Kosh to do something, despite the risk of revealing himself. The encounter suit opens, and a being of light flies up and saves Sheridan. The details of what everyone sees varies from species to species, but they all see a being of light who can fly.
After escorting the Narn ship out of B5’s jurisdiction, Zeta Squadron returns through a jumpgate. While in hyperspace, Keffer detects the same emissions that are in the recording Harvey gave him. He finds another Shadow ship, ejects his flight recorder, and then is destroyed.
Earth signs the non-aggression pact with the Centauri Republic. Shortly thereafter, the Centauri become more aggressive in expanding into other nations’ territories.
In the Zocalo, some folks are discussing what they saw when Kosh came out of his suit. A Drazi asks Mollari what he saw, and the ambassador rather bitterly says he saw nothing.
Allan watches in distress as the shop-owner Welles grilled him about is shut down, a sign saying he’s guilty of sedition posted on the grate that now covers the shop.
Delenn visits Sheridan, recovering in his quarters. She says that the Vorlons have been guiding younger species for millennia, and this is why Kosh had to stay in his encounter suit. Now she’s worried that the Shadows will know that they’re aware of them.
That concern turns out to be moot, as someone from ISN got their hands on Keffer’s flight recorder, with its nice clear image of a Shadow. So that cat’s out the proverbial bag….
Get the hell out of our galaxy! It’s not clear whether or not EarthDome and/or the Centauri still insisted that Sheridan give his apology after he was nearly blown up. For what it’s worth, J. Michael Straczynski said online that, following the attempt on Sheridan’s life, “the need for an apology was somewhat obviated.”
Ivanova is God. At one point, Welles goes to Ivanova in her quarters and tries to sell her on becoming part of NightWatch, in exchange for which she’ll get promoted faster. She tells him to pound sand.
The household god of frustration. At one point, Sheridan goes to Garibaldi for advice on how to deal with Mollari. Garibaldi analogizes what Mollari is going through to riding a wild horse, and the security chief admits to feeling a bit sorry for the ambassador.
If you value your lives, be somewhere else. Delenn convinces Kosh to expose himself to the station in order to save Sheridan’s life. He must be pretty danged important, huh?
In the glorious days of the Centauri Republic… To the surprise of nobody with a brain, the Centauri are not, in fact, slowing down their expansionist ways with their conquest of the Narn Regime.
Though it take a thousand years, we will be free. G’Kar tries desperately to speak to Lantze. The latter’s refusal to do so is the first sign that Earth’s intentions are not good ones…
The Shadowy Vorlons. We finally see an unadorned Vorlon and they look like angelic versions of whatever the species is of their observer. We only know that Mollari didn’t see anything when Kosh revealed himself—it’s not clear (one way or the other) if that is true of any other Centauri.
And the Shadows are also revealed for all to see—most of those who’ve seen Shadows before this episode didn’t live long enough to tell anyone—as they’re broadcast on ISN.
Looking ahead. The episode ends with a voiceover by Ivanova that is very much a preview of what the opening-credits voiceover will be for season three, which will also be spoken by Ivanova.
Welcome aboard. We have two actors who previously played Minbari in new roles: John Vickery (Neroon in “Legacies” and “All Alone in the Night”) as Welles and Robin Sachs (Hedronn in “Points of Departure” and “All Alone in the Night”) as Na’Kal. Both will return to these particular roles, Vickery in Crusade’s “Appearances and Other Deceits,” Sachs in “Walkabout.”
We also have recurring regulars Jeff Conaway as Allan and Joshua Cox as Corwin. This is Conaway’s last appearance as a guest star—he’ll be in the opening credits henceforth. And this is Cox’s last time being credited as “Tech #1”; when he returns as “A Day in the Strife,” he’ll finally be credited as Corwin, a name established way back in “And Now for a Word.”
Juli Doland and Rick Hamilton play Keffer’s fellow pilots. Donovan Brown and Kim Strauss play the pak’ma’ra and Drazi ambassadors, respectively.
Finally, we have a Robert Knepper moment, as I totally forgot that the late great Roy Dotrice was in this one as Lantze.
Trivial matters. This is the last appearance of Robert Rusler as Keffer, as he is killed. Reportedly, Keffer was added at the insistence of Warner Bros., who wanted a hotshot pilot as an opening-credits regular, and J. Michael Straczynski was never happy with that, and so didn’t do much with the character. What little was done was his seeing a Shadow ship in hyperspace in “A Distant Star,” which also killed Galus. That led to him trying to find it again, until Sheridan told him to stop in “Confessions and Lamentations.”
Lantze’s line about how there will now be peace in our time following Earth’s treaty with the Centauri is a deliberate echo of the words spoken by Neville Chamberlain after the United Kingdom signed an appeasement agreement with Adolf Hitler’s Germany in 1938. And we all know how well that turned out…
This is the first time we’ve seen B5 use the fancy-shmancy new defense grid that was installed in “GROPOS.”
The echoes of all of our conversations.
“I’m sorry we had to defend ourselves against an unwarranted attack. I’m sorry that your crew was stupid enough to fire on a station filled with a quarter million civilians, including your own people. And I’m sorry I waited as long as I did before I blew them all straight to hell.”
—The apology to the Centauri that Sheridan rehearsed in his quarters.
The name of the place is Babylon 5. “We will, at last, know peace in our time.” Okay, let’s start with the Starfury-shaped elephant in the room: the utter failure of the character of Lieutenant Keffer to in any way, shape, or form work. And that’s entirely on the back of J. Michael Straczynski who refused to do anything interesting with him.
Look, I get that it’s annoying when studio executives make demands, but they’re the ones who pay the bills. When I write, for example, a media tie-in novel, I have to follow the rules that are laid down by the people who own the property. For that matter, when someone writes a Babylon 5 script, they have to follow the rules of the setting that Straczynski established.
So he should’ve just sucked it up and actually made Keffer into a character instead of a cipher. It wouldn’t have taken much. Hell, he gave Lantze more of an interior life in a single conversation with Ivanova in this episode than he was able to dredge up for Keffer in a half-dozen appearances. I mean, the first shot we got of Keffer, back in “Points of Departure,” he’s looking at a hologram of a pretty woman. We never have the first clue who this woman is. Is she a girlfriend? Sister? Wife? Close friend? Ex? Hooker? Sex simulation? Was he watching the holographic equivalent of a porn site? And then we never found out anything else about him, beyond his Shadow obsession, which barely got any play. It wouldn’t be so bad except Keffer’s in the opening credits of every episode, and the utter failure to do a damn thing with him makes Straczynski look bad and it makes poor Robert Rusler—who probably thought he was getting, y’know, a role, and whose fault this absolutely was not—look bad.
As a result we have, in this episode, the death of a character we have never, in his meager six appearances prior in a twenty-two-episode season, been given a single solitary reason to care about.
Sigh. Okay, I’ve just spent four paragraphs on one character, who is a minor part of a much greater episode. I do feel like I’ve given more thought to Keffer than anybody actually involved with the production of B5, up to and including Rusler.
The rest of this episode is generally excellent. The notion of Vorlons as angels—and as looking different depending on who’s looking at them—is one of those things that sounds cooler than it actually is, and raises all kinds of questions that never really get answered.
But that was the only non-Keffer thing that twigged me in the episode, and it didn’t twig me that much. Besides, I just love that Mollari doesn’t see anything, a great metaphor for what he’s become.
We get so many great moments here, from Vir and Lennier’s bitch session to Ivanova telling Welles to go fuck himself to Sheridan’s practice apology to Allan’s utter misery as he realizes just what he’s signed up for with NightWatch.
Welles is a little too broad a bad guy. It’s interesting, John Vickery has had many roles on B5 and the various Star Treks, and the only two that didn’t move me much are the two in which he wore no facial prosthetics: Welles, and the Betazoid he played on The Next Generation’s “Night Terrors.” In his other roles as Minbari, Klingon, and Cardassian, he was superlative. Go fig’.
It doesn’t help that Vickery suffers by comparison to the great Roy Dotrice, but so would most people. However, Lantze is also better written. He’s a person who genuinely believes he’s doing the right thing. He’s also completely open and honest, and never prevaricates about his intentions. While he does have an overinflated sense of his own importance—there are several occasions where he oversteps with Sheridan, assuming an authority over military matters that he doesn’t have—it comes from a place of genuine patriotism.
By contrast, there is very little that is genuine in anything Welles says or does. He’s a pretty obvious snake in the grass, and it’s to the credit of both Ivanova and Allan that they both see it instantly, though Allan isn’t really in a position to do anything about it. But the threat that NightWatch poses is quite real, as is made clear by Welles’ meeting, by the CnC officer who snitches on Sheridan, and by the shutting down of a shopkeeper who was just speaking his mind.
The big turning point here is Earth refusing to take a stand against Centauri aggression. It’s obvious that Sheridan in particular was counting on that, and he’s utterly gobsmacked that Lantze has an agenda that is a hundred and eighty degrees from what he was expecting. Now the promise he made to G’Kar back in “Acts of Sacrifice” to help the Narn feels even more hollow. Earth’s neutrality in the prior episode was bad enough, but now Sheridan can only keep his promise to G’Kar if he goes against his government. Not that that’s necessarily a deal-breaker…
This is overall a brutal end to a brutal season, as the Centauri are becoming a huge threat, and that’s as nothing compared to the danger posed by the Shadows. (Who are, of course, partly responsible for why the Centauri are such a huge threat…) Ivanova’s closing voiceover serves as the perfect coda to the season and a preview for the next one: B5 has failed at being the last, best hope for peace because there is, at this point, absolutely no hope for peace.
Next week: An overview of the second season.
