Babylon 5/Recap/S04/E09 Atonement

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
< Babylon 5‎ | Recap‎ | S04
There is nothing to fear in the dreaming. Only that which we bring with us. The dreaming takes us forward and the dreaming takes us back. Walk with me in the dreaming, Delenn.
—Dukhat

This episode contains examples of:

  • The Atoner: Delenn has regretted starting the Earth-Minbari War, and has been trying to make up for it ever since.
  • Awful Truth: Callenn clearly regards the fact that many modern Minbari have human DNA as this, and Delenn is able to use it to leverage an agreement where he approves her marriage as an ancient Minbari reconciliation custom in exchange for her keeping it to herself.
  • Call Back: Delenn mentions the Minbari custom of a female watching her chosen male sleep. She names the time on the White Star as the first night, and the time in his quarters as the second.
  • The Clan: Delenn is summoned by hers to explain why she is going to marry a human. Lennier is from another clan, but he accompanies her anyway.
  • Continuity Nod:
    • When Ivanova goes to the Drazi...Party? War? Whatever it is, she's wearing the Green Leader sash she got in The Geometry of Shadows.
    • The Minbari realize tragedy is about to strike when they see Soul Hunters closing in.
    • When Dukhat takes Delenn as his protege, he says, "I cannot have an aide who will not look up. You will be always running into things." She said the same thing to Lennier when he arrived.
  • Don't Ask: Ivanova when she emerges from the Drazi party.
  • Little Black Dress: Delenn causes Sheridan to forget what he was thinking when she appears in it.
  • Loophole Abuse: Callenn's solution makes use of an all-but-forgotten custom from when Minbari still fought wars with each other to approve Delenn's marriage to Sheridan.
  • Major-General Song: Thank you, Marcus.
  • Mentor Archetype: Dukhat to Delenn.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: Delenn immediately regrets her enraged decision, but it's too late to stop a full-scale war.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Delenn inadvertently starts a genocidal war when she votes to destroy the human ships.
  • Secret Legacy: Delenn finds out she is descended from Valen, a.k.a. Jeffrey Sinclair, which means she's always been part human.
  • Unstoppable Rage: Delenn's reaction to Dukhat's death.

"No mercy! No mercy!"

    • The Minbari in general during the war with the humans. As one of Delenn's colleagues tells her, they are "a world gone mad", and the fires of their madness cannot now be controlled; they must burn out over time.
  • Vision Quest: The Dreaming.
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