The title is taken from John F Kennedy's Inaugural Address: "Now the trumpet summons us again: not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though in battle we are; but as a call to bear the burdens of a long, twilight struggle — year in and year out, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation — a struggle against the common enemies of man–tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself." (http://youtu.be/3s6U8GActdQ?t=2m3s)
The A-Plot is about the end of the Narn-Centauri War, and being thus focused on both G'kar and Londo, it draws on the two best B5 actors to make it truly amazing. Londo starts off back on Centauri Prime, where he is dragged kicking and not-quite-screaming into a stratagem to end the war. The Narn are putting everything they have into a sneak attack against the major supply depot at Gorash 7. So Refa pressures an increasingly reluctant Londo (http://goo.gl/6oVZFZ) to get his "associates" to ambush them there — while the main Centauri fleet assaults the Narn homeworld.
That leads to some remarkable scenes of Narn ships fighting a brave but quickly doomed fight against the Shadows (http://youtu.be/f-uhi_qIgSU). And just when you thought that was the downer image for the episode, we shift to Narn, where the unopposed Centauri fleet is using mass drivers (http://goo.gl/WM7Aj6) to propel huge rocks down from orbit — where they hit the Narn cities like nukes (http://goo.gl/FaFK5h). In an oft-to-be-repeated image, Londo is there on the lead ship, watching, sickened by what is being done (and his role in it) (http://goo.gl/NdnxUK, and the video at the bottom of this post).
This brutal attack is against all treaties, but the rest of the galaxy (as personified on B5) can only watch aghast while it happens. In the end, Narn falls. Londo returns to B5 as the proud and dutiful rep of Centauri, spelling out what the terms of the surrender treaty were — which include G'kar, as a member of the ruling council, being sent to Narn for trial.
It turns out though that G'kar, under orders, has requested sanctuary (Babylon 5 – G'Kar requests sanctuary / Londo surrenders his soul), which Sheridan is more than happy to give, the Centauri suddenly being seen as the bad guys by pretty much everyone. Nevertheless, no longer the ambassador for his people, G'kar is forced to quit the B5 Advisory Council chamber — but not before giving a soft, bitter, stirring speech (http://youtu.be/pJmuHNDcXLQ).
The acting (and direction) in all of this plotline is exemplary. G'kar is forced to be an observer in the fall of Narn, doing what he can but most often limited to prayer (http://goo.gl/3ID3Xz) and feeling crushed by defeat, as Andreas Katsulas begins an exquisite multi-year run as Citizen G'kar. For his part, Peter Jurasik's Londo Molari is nearly as sympathetic as a character, a man whose dreams of glory for his people (and, possibly, himself) are already turning into a mouthful of ashes even as they are succeeding beyond his wildest dreams. If ever a man was swept up events that he himself triggered, it would be Londo, with (at least in this episode), Lord Refa (http://goo.gl/dIlYYR) as his ally and unwitting torturer.
The station crew are in rare form as well. Sheridan has some poignant scenes with G'kar (http://youtu.be/pJmuHNDcXLQ?t=2m38s), beginning a relationship that will span future seasons. Ivanova is busy managing problems aboard the station; Garibaldi, likewise, but for him Londo's turn to the Dark Side clearly comes across as a personal betrayal (http://youtu.be/Ja0LfiRfHws?t=40s). Franklin, for his part, has already decided where his friendship lies — he passes on war info to G'kar that, though too late, is clearly not a "neutral" thing to do.
It's all huge and game-changing and massive and epic and wild, and drove the fans crazy when it happened (and, cough, still does.)
The B-Plot, alas, cannot stand up to it. The theme here is Sheridan and B5 becoming the coalescing center of a Conspiracy of Light. There's fuss and bother involving Draal (http://goo.gl/Nqfhsl) and Espilon 3, the planet below B5, throwing themselves in secretly as allies of Sheridan. And, at the end, Delenn (and Garibaldi) inform Sheridan about the Rangers, and the cross-species, loose-knit alliance of people out to stand against the Shadows (http://goo.gl/QLij7D), their leadership now co-owned by Delenn and Sheridan (with Kosh standing prominently in the background).
It's all interesting, but feels too pointedly like a cheering counter-balance to the disasters of the A-Plot. Sheridan is reluctant at first to engage with these offers of help (which, essentially drag him closer to, if not outright over, the line of treason and violating his oath), but he quickly shifts to gratitude for the gestures and always willing to launch into a speech. Delenn is back to her semi-cryptic, assured self, which is nice after recent, more emotive eps.
But it feels all a bit rushed — why is Delenn now willing to turn over co-ownership of the Rangers to Sheridan? Why is Draal now offering Sheridan his support in far-seeing and other powers (especially since, cough, we never really see much more of that in the future, cough)? There's a certain level of plot contrivance that rings false, especially as a final note on the episode after all the awful stuff that has happened.
Still, this is a huge episode, in terms of impact on the series, and that sweeps aside most objections. It was also the biggest episode to date the FX area, with lengthy battles that took a month to render but were still a distinct improvement from the show only a year earlier. Christopher Franke's music is top-notch, the acting is rock solid, the direction (surprisingly by John C. Flinn III) is well done in most cases … and this is easily one of the Top 5 episodes of the series, even with its weak points.
Like I said, this could easily have been the season ender. That it wasn't give some idea of what epicness is still to come …
Most Dramatic Moment: I'll go for the obvious and make it Londo witnessing the orbital bombardment of Narn. The look of sickness and despair on his face as he watches (http://goo.gl/hTfwW6 http://goo.gl/lscTg4), and then turns away, is hugely moving, and done solely through expression. (Babylon 5: Centuari attack on Narn) Failing that, there are a half-dozen moments for G'kar that also work, or perhaps the whole final confrontation in the Council Chamber (http://youtu.be/pJmuHNDcXLQ) would best fit.
Most Amusing Moment: Not an amusing episode. At all. The only humor comes in banter between Sheridan and Delenn, and most of it falls flat.
Most Arc-ish Moment: Again, there are a dozen different bits here that will come into heavy play down the line, but I'll call it for Sheridan taking (co-)command of the Rangers. This, along with Draal, are the beginning of Sheridan's rise to power.
Overall Rating: 4.8 / 5 — brought down only by the artificial joviality of the B-Plot — but still mightily awesome.
– Lurker’s Guide: http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/042.html
– Babylon Project: http://babylon5.wikia.com/wiki/The_Long,_Twilight_Struggle
– IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0517709/
– AV Club: http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/babylon-5-the-long-twilight-struggle-97729 (excellent review)
– Kay Shapero: http://www.kayshapero.net/b5review/Twilight.htm
– TV Tropes: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/BabylonFiveS02E20TheLongTwilightStruggle
Next episode: "Comes the Inquisitor," as Delenn faces her greatest test yet.