User Reviews

Unless you are dead, this is a "must-see" episode of BABYLON 5. Yes, after an entire year of great episodes leading up to an ultimate showdown with the Shadow forces, it's finally here. But HOW all this occurs is definitely super-unusual and impossible to have predicted--and I appreciate this very much. First, Sheridan's dead wife returns! Yep, despite being told she perished on Z'Ha'Dum, she arrives on a shuttle very much alive! Plus, she seems convinced that the Shadows are NOT evil and all that Sheridan and the rest have come to believe is all a lie created by the Vorlon! Despite it being pretty obvious that she is NOT the same woman he once loved, Sheridan feels called to the planet--even though Kosh warned him he would die if he did this! Once on the planet, he is cordially treated by some human agents of the Shadows and the Shadows themselves reveal themselves. But, Sheridan is not convinced to join and at this moment, ir appears that he is a dead man! However, how all this is resolved is AMAZING and I can't say more, lest I spoil the suspense. But, unless you are a member of Psi Corps, you will never guess what happens next--but rest ssured, it is really, really exciting and worth the wait!

It was undoubtedly a great ending to the third season, but just one one major factor that bugged the bejeezus out of me for the whole episode...

When Anna came back suddenly after 5 years, she had nothing kind to say about Sheridan, only enigmatic comments about ZaHadum and leading questions.

He sends her to Franklin who goes out of his way to say that dental records match 100% which is totally redundant considering that DNA records also match 100%..

And yet, within the confines of these two episodes they have completely and utterly forgotten the concept of the sleeper agent, that was Talia Winters. And not only that but the straight forward advice that, "THOSE WHO WOULD NOT COOPERATE WERE KILLED"

So she is either a sleeper or an accomplice.... But sure, let's just let her into the inner sanctum of B5... b'cuz Sheridan's Wife.

And then there is the epidermal scarring at the nape of her neck... AND NOWHERE ELSE!!! This is like one of cheeeezy af Sci Fi moments when the girlfriend's eyes turn red right while she is hugging her guy.

And to top it off, we get Sheridan reduced to a daytime TV melodrama figure in how he suddenly turns around and treats Delenn like sh..t as thought his doubt is her fault.

What an absolute sh..t show! Fun for a 12 year old boy, but not for an adult viewer. Super frustrating watch for me, harking back to the inconsistent first season.

Sure, we know that it's going to be a bait and switch and that Sheridan is going to "bounce back" at some point, and that he has just been duping everyone into believing Anna was legit, but this trope has been worn so thin it was patently transparent and tired.

It is just so frustrating to watch an otherwise cerebral show to fall to the level of childish banter between the wooden Shadows, as if a Hitler Allegory would ever snare Sheridan in a tawdry display of Eugenics vs Humanism.

The whole premise is wooden, falls flat, and is shamelessly shallow.

SHOCKINGLY obtuse writing for a show that has been more intelligent than 90% of anything on the tube in its day. And worse that it happened arguably at the pinnacle of the entire show.

For me, personally, this was a criminal oversight and reduced an other wise 10 to a rather average (for this show) 8.

This episode has very high rating, but for me it was a disappointment. In this episode Sheridan's dead wife Anna tries to convince him to join Shadows. We finally get some explanation, Shadows give us the reasons of their actions, and their ideology turn out to be... incredibly dumb and unconvincing. I doubt that anybody even for a moment thought something like: "their methods are bad, but there is some logic there". No! No-one would fall for this, even Zach. Moral dilemma was much stronger in conflict with Earth government.

Also super unconvincing dead wife. We don't doubt for a moment that it is a trap, that it is not really his wife. We don't believe Anna and Sheridan obviously doesn't believe her either. She acts as Shadow's agent from the beginning, not as a miraculously survived woman, who sees her husband for the first time in years. She doesn't really talk about her feelings, about what happened, goes straight to business. We don't any any warm or love to Sheridan from her. No wonder Sheridan doesn't believe her.