Story: Sleeping in Light
Written By: J. Michael Straczynski
Season: 5
“Sleeping in Light” was, as stated before, originally shot as the season finale to Season Four. PTEN was pretty much going out of business and it looked unlikely that Straczynski was going to get his original five year plan completed. so Season Four wrapped up the most major storylines early to make sure the show got the closure it deserved. “Sleeping in Light” was the ultimate finale for the show, as it serves as an epilogue to all of the events that had happened thus far. When TNT picked up the show for a final fifth season and some TV movies, Straczynski held back his finale and quickly wrote and shot a new finale for Season Four, and waited to edit this story until the end of the fifth season.
So the story takes place years after the events of the series. While it was made before Season Five was produced, it doesn’t contradict anything that took place there. Because it was shot with Season Four, it doesn’t include any mention of Lochley, but that isn’t really a problem, she just wasn’t part of the gang that Sheridan wished to reunite, and really she wasn’t. She was the new guard that took over for him as he was heading out the door...and his ex-wife. What is lovely is that we get one last chance to see Claudia Christian as Susan Ivanova.
The plot is essentially fulfilling the promise that Sheridan would only live about 20 more years after dying and being revived on Z’ha’dum. He can tell that he is near the end, and he invites old friends to come visit, one last time. We get Emperor Vir, Garibaldi and Franklin, and General Ivanova all coming to see former President Sheridan and Delenn again. The specifics aren’t really important to my review, but it was nice to see where all these characters ended up, and what their futures may yet entail.
Sheridan decides that he wants to wake up the next day and go for a Sunday drive just like he took when he was a kid with his dad. He takes out a White Star by himself, and visits Babylon 5, which is now redundant and getting ready for decommissioning and demolition. There he sees Zack Allen who offers lunch to Sheridan, but he doesn’t have the time...he has to go to where they won the Shadow War. He gets there and sees Lorien one more time, from beyond the rim. Sheridan sees a white light, and when his White Star is found...he is nowhere to be found. He could one day return, or maybe not.
Babylon 5 is demolished, it was the last of the Babylon stations, there would never be another. It is a fine end for the series, even if Season Five did open a few can of worms that leave things dangling I’d rather weren’t open near the end (like the keeper in the Urn left with Sheridan and Delenn, or what happens with G’Kar, Lyta, and the Telepath war)...I feel there was plenty of closure in this episode for our characters to be happily satisfied.
NEXT TIME: Season 5 Recap
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