Shadow Dancing
Encyclopedia
"Shadow Dancing" is an episode from the third season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5
.
stages a major battle against the forces of the Shadows.
After discerning the Shadow's plans to gather thousands of refugee ships into sector 83 in order to obliterate them all and thus demoralize their opponents, Sheridan and Delenn
work to convince their allies to send as many ships as they can for a planned preemptive strike against the Shadows.
Dr. Franklin
is still on "Walkabout" following his resignation from his medical duties after admitting to his addiction to stims.
Commander Ivanova
is ordered by Sheridan to take the White Star and scout sector 83 before their primary armada arrives. Ivanova has trouble sleeping on the inclined Minbari beds and decides to rip the pillows off of all of them and create a makeshift bed on the floor. However, before she could gain some sleep, Marcus Cole
detects the presence of a Shadow scout ship. The White Star is detected by the enemy ship and Ivanova is forced to pursue the ship and destroy it. The White Star incurs heavy damage, its engines disabled. As the automatic repair systems kick in, a massive Shadow armada emerges from hyperspace en route to the primary target. Risking detection from the enemy fleet, Marcus sends the signal to their own fleet to jump out of hyperspace.
On Babylon 5, Dr. Franklin notices two men beating up another man in downbelow and tries to stop them but ends up being stabbed. As he slowly bleeds to death, the shock and trauma causes him to hallucinate and see himself still clad in his Army of Light uniform and carries a conversation with himself at how he has always run from his problems (his father, his studies, and his work) and proceeds to insult his Walkabout, calling it another form of running away. Despite the tremendous blood loss, Franklin manages to muster enough strength to crawl out of downbelow and into the Zocalo where security officers take him to medlab.
A massive battle ensues between the Army of Light and the Shadows. Ivanova's White Star, with its engines repaired, joins the fray. In order to defeat the Shadow ships, the Army of Light utilize telepaths to "stun" the Shadow vessels and then fire continuous beam weapons in order to punch through the Shadow's shields (as previously seen in "Long Twilight Struggle", "Interludes and Examinations", and "Walkabout". According to speculation, the Shadow ships's shields disperse the incoming energy and only a continuous burst of energy will overwhelm its dispersal capabilities and punch through). Sheridan and Delenn command the battle aboard a Minbari Sharlin Class Warcruiser
.
After a fierce battle, the Shadows are forced into retreat. Back on Babylon 5, Franklin is rushed to surgery. Survivors on the side of Light are attended to on the station. Delenn tells Garibaldi that for every Shadow vessel that they were able to destroy, two of theirs were lost.
Later in his office, Delenn, Sheridan, and Ivanova discuss the vision/dream that Sheridan had whilst held up aboard the Streib ship, in particular the comment of the Ivanova vision about Sheridan being "the Hand." They come to the conclusion that Sheridan has an "equal and opposite" on the Shadows' side, and that whoever he is, he is searching for Sheridan.
Later that night, as Sheridan sleeps, Delenn watches over him. Afterwards, her attention is diverted to a snow globe, which she picks up and plays with. Suddenly, the doors open and in comes Anna Sheridan, Sheridan's supposedly dead wife.
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
.
Synopsis
Captain SheridanJohn Sheridan (Babylon 5)
John J. Sheridan is a lead character in the fictional universe of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Bruce Boxleitner. For most of the series, he is the commander of the Babylon 5 station; during the series' final season he is the President of the Interstellar...
stages a major battle against the forces of the Shadows.
After discerning the Shadow's plans to gather thousands of refugee ships into sector 83 in order to obliterate them all and thus demoralize their opponents, Sheridan and Delenn
Delenn
Delenn is a fictional lead character in the universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Mira Furlan.-Overview:Delenn, an alien ambassador and leader from the planet Minbar, is one of the pivotal characters in Babylon 5....
work to convince their allies to send as many ships as they can for a planned preemptive strike against the Shadows.
Dr. Franklin
Stephen Franklin
Stephen Franklin is a lead character in the fictional universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played by the late Richard Biggs. He serves as the chief medical officer on the Babylon 5 space station.-Personality:...
is still on "Walkabout" following his resignation from his medical duties after admitting to his addiction to stims.
Commander Ivanova
Susan Ivanova
Susan Ivanova is a fictional character in the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Claudia Christian.-Character overview:...
is ordered by Sheridan to take the White Star and scout sector 83 before their primary armada arrives. Ivanova has trouble sleeping on the inclined Minbari beds and decides to rip the pillows off of all of them and create a makeshift bed on the floor. However, before she could gain some sleep, Marcus Cole
Marcus Cole
Marcus Cole, played by Jason Carter, is a fictional character in the universe of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5. He was a regular in the third and fourth seasons of the show...
detects the presence of a Shadow scout ship. The White Star is detected by the enemy ship and Ivanova is forced to pursue the ship and destroy it. The White Star incurs heavy damage, its engines disabled. As the automatic repair systems kick in, a massive Shadow armada emerges from hyperspace en route to the primary target. Risking detection from the enemy fleet, Marcus sends the signal to their own fleet to jump out of hyperspace.
On Babylon 5, Dr. Franklin notices two men beating up another man in downbelow and tries to stop them but ends up being stabbed. As he slowly bleeds to death, the shock and trauma causes him to hallucinate and see himself still clad in his Army of Light uniform and carries a conversation with himself at how he has always run from his problems (his father, his studies, and his work) and proceeds to insult his Walkabout, calling it another form of running away. Despite the tremendous blood loss, Franklin manages to muster enough strength to crawl out of downbelow and into the Zocalo where security officers take him to medlab.
A massive battle ensues between the Army of Light and the Shadows. Ivanova's White Star, with its engines repaired, joins the fray. In order to defeat the Shadow ships, the Army of Light utilize telepaths to "stun" the Shadow vessels and then fire continuous beam weapons in order to punch through the Shadow's shields (as previously seen in "Long Twilight Struggle", "Interludes and Examinations", and "Walkabout". According to speculation, the Shadow ships's shields disperse the incoming energy and only a continuous burst of energy will overwhelm its dispersal capabilities and punch through). Sheridan and Delenn command the battle aboard a Minbari Sharlin Class Warcruiser
Sharlin Class Warcruiser
The Sharlin Class Warcruiser is the main starship used by the Minbari Federation in the fictional Babylon 5 universe. Also commonly known as the Minbari War Cruiser, the Sharlin class is very large but conflicting sizes have been noted by different resources...
.
After a fierce battle, the Shadows are forced into retreat. Back on Babylon 5, Franklin is rushed to surgery. Survivors on the side of Light are attended to on the station. Delenn tells Garibaldi that for every Shadow vessel that they were able to destroy, two of theirs were lost.
Later in his office, Delenn, Sheridan, and Ivanova discuss the vision/dream that Sheridan had whilst held up aboard the Streib ship, in particular the comment of the Ivanova vision about Sheridan being "the Hand." They come to the conclusion that Sheridan has an "equal and opposite" on the Shadows' side, and that whoever he is, he is searching for Sheridan.
Later that night, as Sheridan sleeps, Delenn watches over him. Afterwards, her attention is diverted to a snow globe, which she picks up and plays with. Suddenly, the doors open and in comes Anna Sheridan, Sheridan's supposedly dead wife.
Arc significance
- The alliance has its first victory against the Shadows.
- Dr. Franklin is nearly killed, and returns from his "walkaboutWalkaboutThe walkabout is a purported Australian aboriginal ritual of manhood.Walkabout may also refer to:- Art :*Walkabout , a 1959 book written by James Vance Marshall, set in the Australian outback...
". - Anna Sheridan returns from Z'ha'dum.
- The scene where Anna Sheridan enters Sheridan's quarters was foreseen by Delenn in "War Without End".
Production details
- The name of one of the Minbari cruisers, Enfili, is also the name of a race in the League of non-aligned worlds which is antagonized by Raiders during season 5 ("Paragon of Animals").
- The White Star collided with a Shadow scout ship and emerged damaged but intact. It is unknown if she was able to fire a quick burst before being rammed or the sheer force of the impact alone resulted in the Shadow ship's destruction. Either way, it shows that the White Star ships are very durable and can heal very quickly.
- According to the canonical Technomage trilogy books, the Technomage Alwyn participated in this battle by disguising his ship as a Narn Fighter. Also, Sheridan was able to discern the pattern of Shadow attacks because of the Technomage Galen.