The Centauri Emperor is going to pay Babylon 5 a visit, even though he's old and doesn't think he'll survive the entire trip (at least judging by the way he says good-bye to his
...yeah, sci-fi writers have no sense of scale. Anyway Sheridan correctly points out that the current Emperor's hands are clean. G'Kar doesn't care. He decides to assassinate the Emperor, apparently for kicks and giggles, because he records a message saying (falsely) that he's acting without the knowledge or permission of his government. So, uh, if they do believe him, all he's done is throw his life away in a pointless symbolic gesture. And if they don't believe him, it'll mean all-out war between the Narn and Centauri...
Speaking of all-out war between the Narn and the Centauri, Londo's new associate Lord Refa wants to send some sort of message while the Emperor is on-station. Londo is at first reluctant but decides that this is another opportunity for advancement, and if a Narn colony has to die for him to get ahead in life, so be it. And you thought Game of Thrones was full of jerks, petty rivalries, and magnificent schemers. So Londo has Vir get in touch with Morden, but we don't actually get to see Morden in this episode because the guest cast list is already quite long...
Garibaldi arrests a guy for following him, because in addition to the coming of Shadows, we're watching EarthGov slide into fascism and he thought he'd just get a head start on things. Okay, I kid. It's time for the Emperor's speech and he's the head of security, so naturally he's on high alert. Especially because about eight weeks ago (from his perspective) he failed to save President Santiago. Anyway, it eventually turns out that the guy following him is a Ranger (yes, named after the guys in that other really famous fantasy series, the same one that gave us Za'Ha'Dum) working for Ambassador Sinclair. So he's still in this game. And now Garibaldi knows about the Shadows.
Which is good, because the Shadows just went ahead and knocked out a Narn colony. Centauri ships came by to make sure the job was done, and some Narn ships caught them in the act, and now... yup, war.
But before news of the unprovoked attack reaches the station, there's still time for G'Kar to make his unprovoked attack on the Emperor. Unfortunately for him, the Emperor is inconsiderate enough to suffer a heart attack and die before G'Kar can kill him. Or rather, the Emperor suffers a heart attack, reveals that he came to apologize to G'Kar, and then dies. What follows is an amusing scene where Londo and G'Kar have a drink. Londo already knows that the news and the war are on their way, but G'Kar - who, again, was ready to throw his life away a few hours ago - is all happy for the future for pretty much the first time on the show. It's especially great because Londo's just had a dream showing exactly where all of this is going to lead: the Shadows will eventually swarm over Centauri Prime, Londo will become Emperor, and then he and a one-eyed G'Kar will strangle each other to death. He mentioned this dream all the way back in the first episode (the mutual kill with G'Kar part), but this is the first time we see it.
Well, then the news hits. G'Kar is pissed, naturally, but again this was a guy who was going to kill the Emperor. Now, yes, killing one guy is a bit different from obliterating a colony. Oh, wait, hang on. Despite the Shadows raining plasma death on the colony, apparently a lot of people are still alive down there. The Centauri intend to use them as slave labor, but Sheridan, acting on information from Garibaldi that the Centauri must have had help, says he'll be sending observers both to make sure the Narn civilians are well-treated and to investigate exactly how the Centauri were able to subdue the colony. Londo backs off. Garibaldi allows the Rangers to use B5 as a base of operations, and we learn that Delenn is going to get involved in their operation as well.
And there we go. The ante has been rather significantly upped. Great episode.
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