CORPS IS MOTHER, CORPS IS FATHER. You'll either love him or you'll hate him. And the later is much more frequent... We're dealing with the infamous Mr. Bester here, played beautifully by Star Trek TOS W. Koenig. And this episode is all about him.Welcome to the inside of the Psi Corps, and particularly the Psi Cops division. Bester is assigned to two level 12 telepaths, to evaluate them as possible Psi Cops. As he takes them to a fist tour around the department, a dead body is found. Another Psi Cop trainee has been murdered, possibly by his roommate. The fugitive is traced to Babylon 5 (surprise, surprise) and Bester goes after him.
This is a highly entertaining episode. Most B5 has been intrigued with the Psi Corps, and this episode throws light to many aspects of this secretive organization. Not all questions are answered, but we learn a lot of new info and we are confronted by many unexpected secrets. And then there's Bester. So far, he's succeeded in making us dislike him, starting from the episode "A Race through Dark Places" up to his dealing with Garibaldi. Some of us may have felt pity for him, with his only love modified by the Shadows and still in cryogenic stasis on B5. And other viewers, those who prefer evil characters, may absolutely adore him. However, in this episode we learn more about his psychology: He DOES love his people and he wants to help them, in his own way, believing he's doing what's best for them.
Interesting touch: the titles sequence, when the station's logo is replaced by the Psi logo.
MEDITATIONS ON THE ABYSS. Lennier has left B5 because of his feelings for Delen. However, he's a ranger in training and always at her side. And now she asks of him to gather evidence for the Centauri being behind the attacks on the Alliance Members' ships. How can he turn her down?
And during his training in the edge of Centauri space, he finds himself stuck in a Minbari fighter with air running out. He enters a meditating state, reducing his vital functions, and meditates on the abyss around and inside him.
Meanwhile, G'Kar realizes he's now a religious icon. He has to accept this burden and teach his people and guide them away from hatred. However, not all are ready for enlightenment, and the abyss he's trying to pull them out off much too dark....
DARKNESS ASCENDING. Lennier is on a secret mission to find evidence of the Centauri attacks on the Alliance members' ships. However, Sheridan finds out and Lennier is called back. But devoted to his mission, he steals a fighter and flies off. He wanders in hyperspace, seeking evidence. Oxygen runs dangerously low, when he's confronted by the ugly truth. A truth that will eventually lead to war.
Meanwhile, Mollari returns to Centauri Prime to investigate the matter. And G'Kar stays at his side as a bodyguard.
AND ALL MY DREAMS, TORN ASUNDER. The war begins as a blockade to Centauri space. Sheridan urges the Alliance members not to fire first. To achieve that, he sends the White Star fleet to patrol the space involved in the blockade. And Garibaldi is in charge of co-ordinating these maneuvers. However, he's only human and his addiction gets in the way.
Meanwhile, on Centauri Prime, G'Kar and Mollari end up in a locked cell.
MOVEMENTS OF FIRE AND SHADOW. Sheridan is confronted by the united Drazi/Narn Forces. The launch an attack on the Centauri homeworld, while Franklin and Lyta fly off to the Drazi homeworld to learn why the Drazi don't return the Centauri corpses of the soldiers fallen during the war. And a terrible secret is revealed.
In Centauri Prime, Mollari meets Darkness. And as the Reagent shuts off the planet's defense grid, he stands helpless as his beloved world falls to pieces...
Meanwhile, Sheridan rushes with the White Star fleet to the Centauri Prime to try to stop the attack. In the same time, Dellen travels back to Minbar, but in the way her ship is attacked and Lenier and herself are the only survivors aboard. And they drift further into the hypespace, with all controls dead...
THE FALL OF CENTAURI PRIME. The Reagent is read, long live Emperor Mollari! But Fate had other plans for him... and so did the Drakh. He learns the awful truth behind the recent war and what is planned for him. As his last action as an individual with free will, he has a final conversation with G'Kar, his opponent, his nemesis and only true ally... The war ends, and his dream comes true, although in a way he never expected.
Dellen and Lennier are still trapped in a dying ship, when Centauri cruisers find them and get ready to destroy them. Facing death, Lennier reveals Dellen his secret, a secret she already knows... But they are rescued instead, and now they both have to live under the weight of their secret.
The episode ends with Mollari's coronation as the new Emperor. But there aren't any celebrations or festivities. He walks alone, as if he's walking to his death... Apart from "Sleeping in Light", this episode has the saddest ending in the series.