To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive

Knives
Okay, so the random alien possession was pointless, but it's an okay Londo episode. Like "In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum," this pretty much confirms much of what we knew before--Londo feels he can't stop what's happening, Vir thinks he can, Refa is evil. It's interesting that Londo says this is the first time he's not sure he made the right choice, as I recall him being pretty upset after his dream in "Coming of Shadows." Maybe it's more personal now.

Frivolous observation: is that Hobbes (of Calvin & Hobbes) on Sheridan's fighter helmet? 'Cause it sure looks like it is.

I still love the debate over Centauri opera Vir and Londo get into. And the random baseball field in the middle of B5 is still cool.

Confessions and Lamentations
Another episode that basically stands alone (although the Markab homeworld being dead comes in handy later when they need to blow the nearby jumpgate). After all the work he did creating believable alien religions and making much of his plot structure run on prophecy, I think this episode is JMS giving us his real opinion on religion--it holds us back and creates division, too-strict adherence can be deadly, and basically we're better off without it.

I was somewhat surprised that Delenn's humanitarian sentientarian efforts were accepted by the Markab. She hasn't had the most luck lately with personal sacrifice for someone else's benefit, you know? Which I suppose is important to her character--despite the fact that no one actually appreciates what she does, she's going to go ahead and do it because she thinks it's the right thing to do. (And this time, at least, the recipients do appreciate it.) And she risks the fulfillment of her destiny by going into the plague zone. Despite how crazy she can be when prophecy is on the line, I wonder if this might be closer to her true character. (Perhaps this is what gets illuminated in "Comes the Inquisitor.") As for Lennier...I wonder how much of his desire to go in there with her was based on an altruistic desire to ease suffering, and how much on the fact that she was going to be there.

Speaking of Delenn, I think by this time she's really moved on from "flirting with this guy because the prophecy said so" to actually wanting to let Sheridan into her life because she likes him. It becomes correspondingly more awkward as it becomes more personal and she cares more about getting it right. *g* Sheridan, though, was totally not helping in the dinner scene. You'd think he'd at least know EVERYTHING is ceremonial with the Minbari. I always wonder what Lennier and Delenn say to each other after he leaves.

This is also the first episode where we get the "we'll meet again in the place where no shadows fall" saying. I can't remember if it's actually a touchstone in the series or if that's more of a fanon thing; since I don't tend to read Sheridan/Delenn fic, I'm thinking it appears at least a few more times on the show. I imagine it must be from the first Shadow War, with Valen/Sinclair. You know, I wonder if he's the one who added this very heaven-like idea to their reincarnation-based theology. Oh, Sinclair. You sneaky Catholocized the Minbari religion, didn't you? *snerk*

The "man" who visited baby!Delenn in the temple was supposed to be Valen, wasn't he? Oh, that is just hilarious now. Awww.

Franklin got to be SCARY this time around! I would not want to have been one of his underlings in that scene where he shouted at all of them. Meep. I also see he's working those stims; poor, poor Franklin.