Martial Law

Story: Point of No Return

Written By: J. Michael Straczynski

Season: 3

Martial Law makes its way from Earth onto Babylon 5, with Garibaldi losing his position as when EarthGov puts Night Watch in charge of Security.  Things get heated as Night Watch cracks down on anyone who isn’t a completely loyal to the President.  Zach Allen continues to be conflicted about his allegiances, and he finally makes a decision as to who he stands with in this episode.  Zach alerts Night Watch of a plan Sheridan and Co. have to harbor Narn fugitives, and they go into attack, only Allen has chosen to allign him self with Garibaldi and Sheridan, and he lures all of Night Watch into a trap.  Security forces are then a little light, though the recently released G’Kar helps out by leading his Narn into filling out the security detail. 

The sub-plot involves Londo inviting the wife of the late Emperor to the station to give a tour, and for her to to give confirmation of his destiny, as she is a “seer”.  She does give him some cryptic notes on his future as well as telling him and Vir that they will both be Emperor, one will become the Emperor after the other dies.  It leaves them both a little uneasy.  

The main plot is a great furtherance of the the story that has been building for years but essentially began in the previous episode.  The sub plot is certainly interesting in-story, but it is also interesting for who plays Lady Morella, Majel Barrett-Roddenberry.  This sort of served as a gesture of goodwill between the B5 and Trek franchises, as the fandoms clashed at the time.  I liked seeing her, though I don’t care about the two franchises minor feud.  

NEXT TIME: Severing Ties