The A-Plot is the big one: Dilgar Scientist / Warmaster Jha'dur (http://goo.gl/9RVed2), more popularly known as "Deathwalker," comes to the station with a proposal. She's developed an immortality drug, based on the war crimes-level research (http://goo.gl/kX3lZU) she did during the Earth/Dilgar War and in the decades since. She's basically selling it to the highest bidder, ostensibly to save her skin. Bitter hilarity ensues as various governments (the Narn and Human in particular) try to secretly vie for the formula, while the League of Unaligned Worlds (http://goo.gl/qiKRd8) seeks to hold her accountable for her crimes.
Ultimately, EarthGov pulls strings the hardest (and offers to cut the League in on the cure), and Jha'dur is to be sent back Earth. She's previously taunted Sinclair that the immortality serum will be a monument to her dead race, savoring the irony that the galaxy will be indebted to the people they hated. She now taunts Sinclair before she leaves that the drug can only be manufactured at the cost of other lives — and that this will be her monstrous legacy, demonstrating that the other races of the galaxy are just as bloodthirsty and corruptible as they look down upon the Dilgar as being.
The Gordian Knot is cut, at the end, by deus ex Vorlon, who simply blow up Deathwalker's ship as it is departing B5 (http://goo.gl/uI5CXX). "You are not ready for immortality," intones Kosh, leaving everyone feeling both rankled and vaguely relieved.
There are other cool bits — Na'toth (http://goo.gl/MiDECc) seeking revenge against Jha'dur, ships from the League coming to take Deathwalker by force (http://goo.gl/0jgqCS http://goo.gl/nYe2lY http://goo.gl/09ydmb), some subplots about how Jha'dur has been sheltered all these decades by one of the more radical Minbari sects — but that's the gist of it. One one level, it feels a bit like a "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode, but there's a lot more tension, violence, and moral uncertainty than TNG would have been comfortable with. Very nicely done.
The B-Plot is a bit more bizarre. Kosh engages Talia as a telepath during negotiations / conversations with a zany gent named Abbut (http://youtu.be/ZVo14ZnZkog). They exchange several sessions of non sequiturs (http://goo.gl/7Zdwvi), during which Talia has weird mental flashes and memories. It turns out the whole thing is a way to mentally probe Talia in return — recording "Reflection. Surprise. Terror. For the future." Whether it's Kosh's rather intrusive attempt to have leverage over her in the future, should it be necessary, or (as comes up briefly in the second season episode, "Divided Loyalties") it's a way to make a "backup" of Talia's mind, is never fully resolved.
All in all, a lot of Vorlon action in this one, in both plot lines in fact. The characterization is good (with some occasional dialog problems for Garibaldi and Sinclair), the conspiratorial bits among the various races are delicious (and revealing), and the heated politics make it clear the value — and weakness — of Babylon 5 and its diplomatic mission.
Most Dramatic Moment: Deathwalker lays the smackdown on Sinclair. "You and the rest of your kind take blind confidence in the belief that we are monsters —that you could never do what we did. The key ingredient of the anti-agathic cannot be synthesized. It must be taken from living beings. For one to live forever, another one must die. You will fall on one another like wolves. It will make what we did pale by comparison. The billions who want to live forever will be a testimony to my work, and the billions who are murdered to buy that immortality will be a continuance of my work. Not like us? You will become us. That’s my monument, Commander." (GIFfiness: http://goo.gl/GJBpx3)
Most Amusing Moment: Any time Kosh and Abbut are exchanging cryptic phrases. Though one has to give a nod to Ivanova's "Makar Ashai, our gun arrays are now fixed on your ship. They’ll fire the instant you come into range. You'll find their power quite impressive … for a few seconds."
Most Arc-ish Moment: The Vorlons take out Deathwalker, making it clear who the teachers are out on the school yard. Both there and on the more local (Talia) level, the Vorlons do as they please, answerable only to their own inscrutable motivation. We'll get more of that in the future.
Overall Rating: 3.9 / 5
Lurker’s Guide: http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/009.html
– Babylon Project: http://babylon5.wikia.com/wiki/Deathwalker
– IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0517644/
– AV Club: http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/babylon-5-deathwalkerbelievers-81843
– Making Light: http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/012828.html
– Kay Shapero: http://www.kayshapero.net/b5review/Deathwalker.htm
– TV Tropes: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/BabylonFiveS01E09Deathwalker
