Battle Breakdown : Battle of the Line (Babylon 5)

RIP Michael O'Hare. Considering what he went thru, it's a testament to his work ethic that we got such a great performance.

I just realized it was Valen's soul because Sinclair WAS Valen, or more specifically, would become Valen.

05:42 "They weren't trying to win. They were trying to stall." Beautifully put. That observation is so powerful. Reminds me of Londo's lines of fighting for every inch of space, and of hoping to die with half as much dignity - on the night he chose to die.

Mars was bypassed as was Rabaul when the US Pacific Fleet went onto attack the Japanese islands, sometimes it’s easier to let bases ‘wither on the vine’.

There's an answer to what the Humans thought the reason was in earlier dialogue. "How many Mimbari does it take to change a light bulb?" "None, they stop before the job is finished and won't tell you why." That is, Humans had no idea to the point of making jokes about it.

B5 also had some of the BEST speeches in a TV show that I have heard. (Even Doctor Who could take some notes)

Every time I hear the President's speech I get goose bumps.

Desperation was their situation, bravery was their choice on how to face it

They surrendered because Delenn's vote was reversed... The vote that started the war. She told the Vorlon's that the Gray Council was tired of the war, and that they only needed a good reason to quit. Capturing Sinclair, which the Vorlon's helped Delenn in doing, was the "good reason" she needed. Good thinking on her feet, tracing the vectors to a conclusion the rest of the Gray Council would support. Just excellent writing from JMS!

Londo said it best The humans, I think, knew they were doomed. But where another race would surrender to despair, the humans fought back with even greater strength. They made the Minbari fight for every inch of space. In my life, I have never seen anything like it. They would weep, they would pray, they would say goodbye to their loved ones and then throw themselves without fear or hesitation at the very face of death itself. Never surrendering. No one who saw them fighting against the inevitable could help but be moved to tears by their courage…their stubborn nobility. When they ran out of ships, they used guns. When they ran out of guns, they used knives and sticks and bare hands. They were magnificent. I only hope, that when it is my time, I may die with half as much dignity as I saw in their eyes at the end. They did this for two years. They never ran out of courage. But in the end…they ran out of time. One could argue that at the Battle of the Line, it was both desperation and courage that motivated them. Humans were so desperate for more time that a few brave soles sacrificed themselves for even just a minute or 2 knowing it could save some more lives. Its interesting how the Minbari never made that distinction when they've been almost equally backed to a corner in their involvement in their war with the Shadows.

"To lose this war means more than defeat. To surrender is to never go home. All of us must rise to the call, above and beyond!" - Col. TC McQueen, Space: Above and Beyond

The actress that played the President was also awesome as Rachel Garrett, captain of the Enterprise.

Dont forget that Dukhat was the Minbari's Chosen One. They believed with heart and soul, that Dukhat was the pinnacle of Minbari evolution, the greatest one since Valen, possibly even surpassing him in importance, intellect and everything else. He was the the one, they projected their hopes upon, and Humans killed him. That is why they readily went into a Holy War-Frenzy. There is actually an episode where Sinclair gets mindproped by a human operative as to what happened and why. The official line is given by Sinclairs first love interest: The Minbare thought they couldnt beat the Line. That was the official statement EarthGov gave. However, inside the government they knew it to be false and the operative wanted to know what actually happened, believing Sinclair betrayed humankind and cooperated, giving the Minbari a more devious way to conquer Earth without a slaughter: by collusion. The Vorlons knew what would happen up to the construction of B5 because they where there when B4 traveled back. One of the Kosh's (the 2nd one) was actually there when Sinclair transformed into Valen. Thus they had no need to do more than standing there and look cryptic.

Awesome tragic backstory for the Battle of the Line. Awesome narration by Londo in "In the Beginning". Awesome speech by the President. Awesome call to arms and awesome courage displayed by everyone to keep humanity alive. Awesome reveal by Delenn that Sinclair had Valen's soul, which he really really did. Awesome confusion from everyone, including the Minbari, when they surrendered to Earth. Awesome setup for the Babylon 4 arc to make sense. Thank you JMS, for creating such a rich and wonderful world.

The vorlons position is hardly a mystery. The whole thing is a predestination paradox and the 2 vorlons who were on dukats ship, kosh and ulkesh, were both present when sinclair/valen made contact with the minbari after babylon 4 was sent back in time. They knew exactly what happened. That does not mean the vorlons did nothing. It is strongly hinted at that dukat was searching for the humans on the behest of the vorlons. They were making sure the paradox happens.

The Battle Of The Line is what happens when you cross The Battle Of Wolf 359 with Sacrifice of Angels, but with far more emotional depth.

At 4:18, I always loved the bit where some star fury pilots move towards their fighters the second they hear "But for every 10 minutes we can delay the military advance, several hundred more civilians may have a chance to escape to neutral territory". No hesitation!

I think the mistake is in thinking the Vorlons are invested in the races or even the wins and loses of each millenial war. In many ways, at this point, the Vorlons and Shadows, are fighting an idealogical war, by proxy. They might win or lose one time around but when they do, they either take the lead and get to put their ideas into action through influence or they have to take a step back. It's incapsulated in the Vorlons aloofness and in the Shadows secretiveness. They are content to pull the strings from behind the scenes, seeking to humiliate one another, but never getting directly involved against one another. Until the later stages of the Shadow war. They each took greater liberties as time passed and each war took place, with the Vorlons altering species to be telepathic and perhaps (pure conjecture here) the Shadows making use of their own ships in battle and seeding alien worlds with said ships, were both escalations between each conflict. I think the Vorlons would have been pissed and disgruntled had the Minbari wiped the Humans and that led to the side of Order losing the ultimate war, but would feel comfortable knowing, the Shadows would never really directly threaten them. That wasn't how the game was played. For the Vorlons, they were above it all and for the Shadows, every defeat made them stronger. I think it was only in the Shadow war, that each side had reached a point, as the younger races started to become more independant of the whole affair, where each looked to the other as being the prime factor for this shift in influence and took the to more direct attacks, to terrify the younger races back into line. Most Vorlons didn't care about the bit players, they cared about being right and the Shadows were the same. The are the First One's version of the Narn and Centauri.

Valen/Sinclair the human Minbari Hybride was their greatest soul. That would be a gut punch to the religious cast. Once it came out the Minbari would have to see the greatest Minbari who ever lived, " the best of us" as Leneer said, was a human officer of no high rank or fame. Their best, was a human above average, but no where near the humans best. They already see themselves in decline. This would just be humiliating.

Do not forget they (the Vorlons and the old Minbari) needed also Babylon 4! and this station would not by build without the Baylon project.