Babylon 5 Season 1 Finale (Episode 22). Written by
J. Michael Straczynski, directed by
Janet Greek. Originally aired on
October 26, 1994.
Primary Plot: Garibaldi uncovers a plot to
assassinate Earth Alliance President
Luis Santiago.
Secondary Plot: Morden helps
Londo eliminate the
Narn presence in
Quadrant 37.
Tertiary Plot: Delenn begins a mysterious
transformation.
Commentary: This is affectionately known as THE EPISODE WHERE ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE. It's amazing how much JMS' writing makes you actually
care about Santiago's death, even though the character is never even seen on screen (except in one quick still shot in
Midnight on the Firing Line).
The corruption of Garibaldi's aide (later identified as Jack) is foreshadowed in
And The Sky Full of Stars. If you watch his reactions to various things in that episode, it's fairly clear (
hindsight being 20/20) that he was part of the conspiracy in that episode. Also, when Jack meets
Bester in
Mind War, that's generally considered to be the first contact Jack had with the
Psi Corps. Furthermore, in
Eyes, Jack is the masked evil dude in Ivanova's dream (you couldn't possibly pick that up except by checking the credits, though).
The fact that
Vice President Clark very conveniently came down with a cold right before
Earth Force One exploded is the first clue that he was in on the conspiracy. This
line of thought is resolved in the Season Two episode
Hunter, Prey.
The scene where Clark takes the
oath of office aboard
Earth Force Two was intentionally made to look exactly like the famous photograph of
Lyndon Johnson taking the oath after the
assassination of
John F. Kennedy in 1963. While it's farfetched at best that a 2250s spaceship would enough look like a 1960s atmospheric airplane for the shots to be so similar, it is a nice homage.
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