This section contains a summary of Babylon 5's story arc (the 5-year plotline) up to, but not including, "Knives." Note that this is chock full of spoilers!

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In "The Geometry of Shadows," Refa, a high-ranking Centauri noble, asked Londo to pledge his help in seizing the throne at some point.

In "A Distant Star," Lt. Keffer saw a Shadow ship in hyperspace and vowed to find out what it was.

"A Spider in the Web" revealed a mysterious "Bureau 13" operating out of the San Diego wastelands. An assassin, controlled by the Bureau, attempted to thwart a peaceful settlement of the situation on Mars. Scanning his mind, Talia saw a Psi Cop present at the operation that programmed the assassin, but she didn't tell anybody else. Sheridan's interest in conspiracy theories was revealed as he attempted to solve the puzzle, and the existence of a plant among the B5 crew, code-named Control, was hinted at.

In "Soul Mates," Londo's three wives came to the station; one, who knows G'Kar, tried to murder him. He divorced her and one of the others. Talia's ex-husband, from an arranged marriage courtesy of the Corps, tried to woo her back.

In "A Race Through Dark Places," Bester returned to Babylon 5. He believed an underground railroad was smuggling unregistered telepaths outside of Psi-Corps' control. Talia was captured by the rogue telepaths and told gruesome stories of the Corps' true nature: forced breeding, murder, and coercion. She and the others tricked Bester into thinking the railroad was stopped. Dr. Franklin was revealed as one of the railroad's participants. Talia discovered another part of Ironheart's "gift" -- she is apparently now immune to telepathic scans.

At Refa's behest, as the Centauri emperor lay dying, Londo asked Morden to destroy a major Narn colony in "The Coming of Shadows." The Narns, believing the Centauri military responsible, declared war. Sinclair sent a message to Garibaldi via a network of "rangers," spies, a group he apparently heads.

In "All Alone in the Night," Delenn was removed from the Grey Council, and a member of the warrior caste replaced her. We learned that Sheridan had been secretly evaluating the loyalty of the station's command staff, and is in league with a group (headed by General Hague, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) out to expose what they believe is an attempt by the Psi-Corps and others to control the government. Of special note is a densely-packed dream sequence in which Sheridan is visited by Ambassador Kosh.

President Clark's personal physician fled to the station in "Hunter, Prey" with files proving that Clark wasn't sick as he claimed when he left Earth Force One just before it blew up and killed President Santiago. Sheridan gave the files to a representative of General Hague. Kosh agreed to teach Sheridan until he is ready "to fight legends" -- at which point it was implied Kosh would reveal himself to Sheridan.

The Narn-Centauri war hit close to home during a reporter's visit to Babylon 5 in "And Now For a Word" -- the Centauri were using B5 as a transfer point for military equipment, prompting a Narn attack. Back on Earth, the Clark government formed the Ministry of Public Morale and the Office of Public Information.

"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum" revealed Morden's secret to Sheridan: he was on the vessel carrying Sheridan's wife, whose crew accidentally reawakened the Shadows four years earlier. The Shadows, Sheridan learned, are an ancient race, "old when even the ancients were young," defeated in the last Great War 10,000 years ago by a coalition of other ancient races known as the First Ones, of whom the Vorlons are the last remaining member. The Shadows, Sheridan learned, won't risk an all-out frontal assault as long as their existence is a secret. Earth's new Ministry of Peace sent a recruiter to Babylon 5 to enlist people in its citizen-vigilance program, the Nightwatch.

Last update: October 19, 1997