Story: Into the Fire
Written By: J. Michael Straczynski
Season: 4
The Shadow War comes to an end in this big epic episode which pits the whole Galaxy against one another in hopes of finally ending it all. So Ivanova, Marcus, and Lorien head out to collect all of the First Ones for their help. After they collect all 6 (its like a game), they join the others where the Shadows and Vorlons all show up and ignore the Army of Light...so Sheridan blows up some asteroids filled with nukes to get their damn attention. Then they each comes through Lyta to try to convince the Army of Light they are right. The Vorlons overtake Sheridan to convince him they are right, and the Shadows overtake Delenn to prove their cause is right. But what neither side realizes is that through the First Ones everyone in the Army of Light can see what the other side is saying. More on that in a moment.
On Centauri Prime Londo has been made Prime Minister, and he quickly moves to get rid of the Shadows before the Vorlons can show up and blow the place to hell. He brings in Mr. Morden, who he just recently found out actually poisoned the woman he loved, and he kills the hidden Shadows that are always around him...then blows up the land that Cartagia gave to them. He essentially evacuated many Centauri, though some were asked to be sacrificed so the Shadows wouldn’t realize anything was up. He then kills Morden and puts his head on a pike, much like Vir had once said he wished to see. But the Vorlons are still coming, because there is still one element left on Centauri Prime that has been touched and influenced by the Shadows...Londo. Luckily all Vorlons get called away to fight the Sheridan gang and the Shadows so the planet remains safe for now.
Now back to the Sheridan trap: The Vorlons talk about order and the Shadows speak about chaos. Listen to us or get a spanking vs. Fight each other until you are the victor and become stronger. But both Sheridan and Delenn point out that they are just fighting each other by using others to fight. They don’t dare fight each other head on, because they are really just trying to prove to the other one that their way is correct...they want to rub it in each others pathetic faces. But when everyone can see what they are really all about, the Army of Light refuses to fight anyone at all...and the war is essentially over. Both the Vorlons and the Shadows send what I assume were Holograms of themselves to basically say “dang it, oh but we can go with the First Ones and move on, and we won’t be alone? Neat!”. Then they just fucking leave.
The War is literally Over. It’s a great end to the Shadow War story, to see both sides that have been trying to manipulate the other side for generations for what they really are, and to see them just finally realize that this Galaxy has outgrown them, and they need to move on. It’s time for a new age of mankind...the Third Age, perhaps? I enjoyed this episode, as it is the 6th episode of the season and feels like the end of a 6 episode build up that doesn’t disappoint.
NEXT TIME: The Third Age of Mankind
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