BPP 522 – Sleeping in Light

The Babylon Project Podcast

With the last show leaving us satisfied with a very appropriate and emotional season ender, the SERIES concludes with this episode. If you thought the last one tugged on the heart strings, this one beats it, hands-down. Things begin with a monologue by Michael as we learn 20 years have passed since the incidents on Z’ha’dum and Lorien extending John’s life. The show opens with some certainty that John’s departure from this life is imminent. Listener, I hope your heart is ready.

John is having dreams that specifically lead him to believe — or know — that it’s time. He’s not hiding anything from Delenn and while he isn’t blunt about it, she suspects as well. As he rises early with Delenn to enjoy the sunrise, we see that at some point during the time between his arrival on Minbar and now, he’s become the Entil’Zha. As the opening scene concludes, we learn it’s time to send the messages…

Back on Earth, we see Susan is back, now a General, and tired (or angry, or both) of the politics that revolve around her rank. Earth appears to still be in the Alliance, but it also seems things are generally cold toward the Rangers. A Ranger arrives and hands Susan a message.

Vir is Emperor now and is interrupted by a Ranger who delivers him a message.

Stephen and Michael are together on Mars and a Ranger delivers messages to them too.

In each case, the recipients quickly react and depart for Minbar. The messages were in fact the notification that John’s time is drawing to a close, and his call to his friends to come see him. But where’s Zack? As the various messages are delivered, we learn that one was sent and returned, giving us a hint that it might have been intended for Zack.

With everyone assembled, there are quiet and heartfelt moments for the group at dinner, and a toast to those no longer with us. As the evening continues, there are side discussions going on as well, including a significant one between Delenn and Susan. We learn that John and Delenn’s son David is in deep space and that Delenn is now the President of the Alliance. In this capacity, she invites Susan to become the next Entil’Zha. While it’s not really joy on her face, we catch a glimpse of a moment of joy in the midst of all the sorrow as she’s asked to essentially rejoin the Babylon 5 family she’s been away from for so long.

After everyone heads to bed, John and Delenn have another quiet moment. In that moment he notes it’s Sunday tomorrow. He talks about when he was a boy and reminisces about how his father used to take them all on a Sunday drive. There was never a specific destination, rather it was just a drive. He tells Delenn he wants to go for a drive. The evening ends quietly and intimately, with tomorrow ominously approaching.

The next morning John is in his full Alliance uniform and Delenn is dressed stunningly. It’s here that we learn it was understood the evening before that John will be going for the drive and this is his goodbye to Delenn. It’s early morning, they embrace, he cries (for what may be the first time in the series!), and in one of the heaviest moments of the series, she tells him “good night, my love.” He walks away, pauses, then departs, and we know this is the last time they’ll be together.

John arrives on a deserted Babylon 5 to take a final stroll there, and finds Zack. We learn now why Zack didn’t come to the gathering on Minbar. A message was sent for him, but he was on Babylon 5 and never received it. In a moment of grace very typical of the honor of John Sheridan, he saves Zack the heartache of knowing he’s dying or that he missed receiving his message. Zack offers to walk him around and in carefully selected words, he responds, “I know the way.”, foreshadowing his pending death. It appears Zack was right—he just might be there until they turn the lights out. We’ve learned that Babylon 5 has come to the end of its useful life and is scheduled for demolition, so the lights will go out soon.

As things begin to wrap up, we seen Sheridan heading to Cortana 6. He’s fading, and he’s waiting. Back home, we see Delenn. She knows. Then Lorien joins John and explains he’s not only there for John, in fact they have waited for him to live out the remainder of his life. Now the time has come for him to move from this journey ends and “another begins.” With tears in our eyes and heavy hearts, John is consumed in light as he quietly passes away (falls asleep), and Babylon 5 is destroyed, dying with him.

But in a moment that makes us smile just we see JMS in a cameo finally turning out the lights.

Susan gives us the closing monolog as the show ends. Susan takes the position of Entil’Zha and we see Delenn finally sitting…alone on a bench. And next to her, we see the spirit of John, now sleeping in light. But don’t stop there, be sure to watch the closing credits (and listen to the music!). What a way to close out a series that arguably stands alone in quality television storytelling.

With the original series behind us, please join us as we begin our reviews of the movies in the official Babylon 5 universe!

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Just remember… No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There’s always a boom tomorrow!

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