Babylon 5 (Season 4)

When Season 4 was airing, Babylon 5 was in danger of being cancelled, so it ended up having to compress pretty much the entirety of the show's resolutions in a single season. As a result, we got the most rapid fire and relentless season of the bunch, one that might end up being my favorite season of the bunch.

Season 3 ended with a lot of loose ends, Z'ha'dum was just blown up, Sheridan is presumably dead, Garibaldi is missing, and Londo went home. Unlike Season 2 which resolved everything in just two episodes, Season 4 devotes an entire six-episode-arc to dealing with the fallout of Z'ha'dum, and it was absolutely spectacular. This season does a great job of exploring the ramifications of the finale, nothing ever feels like it doesn't matter. Londo returns home and is forced to deal with a psychopathic emperor, Sheridan is brought back to life but at the cost of only having 20 years to live, the events of Z'ha'dum made the Shadows and Vorlons even more aggressive, and Garibaldi is recovered but with zero memory of what happened. It's an excellent buildup to a one-two punch of some of the show's best episodes, and brings the season off to a great start. The main complaint about this arc was its really fast pace, and while I do wish these episodes were extended a bit, the sheer intensity made it one of my favorite stretches of episodes in the whole show.

However, once that phenomenal initial arc ends, the season shifts its focus back to the war against Earth. While I did like some of the storylines like Lyta's conflict with Bester, I was a bit disappointed at first since the season slowed down to an uncomfortable pace. Garibaldi's mystery was drawn out, Delenn had a pretty dull Grey Council subplot, and Earth's misinformation campaign hit eerily close to home, but then I realized that this was the point. The season shifted to a bit of a Cold War between Babylon 5 and Earth, culminating in the episode "No Surrender, No Retreat" where Sheridan finally snapped and declared war against Earth. From then on, the season went back to its blisteringly fast pace, resulting in a stretch of episodes even better and more intense than those initial six. The big war with Earth has some of the best space battles in the series, and the payoffs are insanely cathartic, from Garibaldi being revealed to be controlled by Bester, to the capture and subsequent rescue of Sheridan, to the denouement episode in Rising Star. Some of these payoffs, Garibalid's in particular, are so good that it makes the previous season even better in retrospect. These final few episodes feel grand, epic, and final, but despite the heavy focus on plot, this season is also willing to experiment with episodes like Illusion Of Truth, Intersections In Real Time, and even the finale itself. While some might not like how eventful this season is, I feel like the lack of potentially weak standalones throughout most of the season led to the most consistently strong lineup of episodes in the series, with two of the show's best arcs of them all.

Speaking of which, these are some of the highlights for me, of which there are quite a lot of:

The Long Night: While much of this episode is the build-up to the big battle in Into The Fire, it also packed in one of my favorite scenes in the whole show. The attempted assassination of Cartagia was tense, shocking, and brilliantly executed. I was genuinely surprised that Vir was the one to kill him, but it was a perfect decision. Even after wanting him dead for five episodes, the fact that someone as idealistic as Vir did the job just made it feel all the more bittersweet.

Into The Fire: This episode was ballsy as hell, and I respect JMS for deciding to end the show's primary conflict six episodes in. This episode feels like a season finale, it could have been an amazing season finale, but it's just Episode 6. I mean, where do I even begin with this one? There's Londo learning Morden filled Adira, the massive final battle with the Shadows that rivals TRoS in sheer scope, the island of Selini being blown up, Morden's death and Vir gloating, and Sheridan solving the conflict through words alone. It's satisfying, it's epic, and it's one hell of an episode.

Epiphanies: When Into The Fire ended, I was left wondering what the show had left now that the Shadow war was over. Well, this episode made a pretty great case, with Londo picking a new Regent, the conflict with Earth finally being revisited, Bester returning and having an incredibly compelling encounter with Lyta, and craziest of all, Z'ha'dum completely blowing up, for reals this time. 

No Surrender, No Retreat: I already mentioned how satisfying the opening of this episode is, with Sheridan finally taking matters into his own hands, but that's not even the only good part. Londo and G'Kar reconciling throughout the season was one of my favorite parts, but this episode has them at their most honest and vulnerable, with G'Kar's apology being easily one of my favorite scenes in the series. Then there's the liberation of Proxima 3, a massive battle that leads to a truly satisfying victory. There's also the cliffhanger where Garibaldi flees to Mars. I wanted him to stay there, he was getting kind of annoying.

The Face Of The Enemy: This episode was easily the darkest hour of the season, the lowest point of the Earth war, packing in one massive cliffhanger with Sheridan's capture and Garibaldi losing everything. However, what I really love about this episode is how it made me love the Garibaldi storyline. For most of the season, I was concerned about Garibaldi's change in attitude, it gave me serious possessed Cordelia vibes (if you've seen my Angel Season 4 review, you'd know why that would be concerning). However, Bester's explanation for what happened put all of my worries to rest, tying up the disparate threads of Mars and the Telepaths while giving a satisfying resolution to the Garibaldi mystery. Garibaldi was never turned evil, per se, he was just given a different mission.

Intersections In Real Time: This is one of those rare episodes that I have to discuss even if I didn't quite love it. This episode is hard to watch, it's basically one long torture scene where pretty much no plot progresses at all, nothing's changed. However, it probably has more artistic merit than most episodes in the whole series, because it also has dark, moody, and visually striking cinematography, a powerful theme about the power of saying No, a gut-wrenching twist ending, and the fact that it's nearly entirely in real-time. I will never watch this episode again, but I also don't think I'll forget about it anytime soon. I'd also like to point out Illusion Of Truth and Deconstruction Of Falling Stars for being experimental and powerful as hell, even if I was a bigger fan of the plot-driven stuff.

Between The Darkness And The Light: This episode is the start of what I like to call the "plot resolution trio", a group of three episodes that begin to resolve all the conflicts in beautifully satisfying ways. The early scene where Garibaldi tries to prove his innocence is compelling, and I love the sequence where he tries to redeem himself by helping rescue Sheridan. Even more, the scene with Ivanova's "Death Incarnate" speech is just plain excellent.

Endgame: This is it. The final battle, the absolute climax of the series. It's bigger than Severed Dreams, bigger than Z'ha'dum, and even bigger than Into The Fire. Endgame packs in so many massive game-changing moments of action and emotion, from the huge space battles, to Franklin's Telepath plan, to Marcus's sacrifice, to Sheridan against his own mentor, to Clark's death. I absolutely loved this episode, it perfectly balances the triumph and tragedy of ending a war as big as this.

Rising Star: Babylon 5 has always been great with the aftermaths of grand events, episodes like Ceremonies Of Light And Dark or Epiphanies, so Rising Star ended up being one of the most emotional and satisfying denouements I've seen in a TV show. Right when the episode started with Ivanova's breakdown, I knew this episode was gonna be a rollercoaster, and it absolutely was, from Londo being made emperor against his will, to Sheridan and Delenn's wedding, to the big trial, to Lise's return. Yet, it also doesn't quite feel like the end either, a perfect balance of resolution and intriguing hooks for Season 5.

Overall, while its wonky pace may put some people off, Season 4 of Babylon 5 still does an amazing job of resolving all of its massive story arcs in memorable and satisfying ways. It's consistently strong in quality, low in fluff, and compelling from start to finish.

5/5 Stars