"The Hour of the Wolf" is the first episode of the fourth season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5

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

Ivanova

Susan Ivanova

Susan Ivanova is a fictional character in the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Claudia Christian.-Character overview:...

, 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....

 and Lyta

Lyta Alexander

Lyta Alexander is a character from the fictional universe of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Patricia Tallman.Lyta was introduced in the pilot episode "The Gathering" as a telepath assigned to the Babylon 5 space station by the Psi Corps, a fictional organization...

 venture to Z'ha'dum

Z'ha'dum (planet)

In the fictional Babylon 5 universe, Z'ha'dum was the homeworld of the ancient, mysterious race known as the Shadows. The planet is near the galactic rim...

 to search for Sheridan

John 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...

. When they get there, a telepathic lure tries to draw them to the planet, but they are saved due to a precaution made by Lennier

Lennier

Lennier is a character in the fictional universe of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Bill Mumy. He is Minbari and acts as ambassadorial aide to Delenn throughout most of the series.-Background and career:...

. Lulled also by the telepathic message, he had failed to trigger a vigilance control, setting off an automatic sequence that sends the White Star away from the planet.

Holding the League worlds together is proving difficult to impossible without Sheridan, and the new Vorlon ambassador refuses to help or to attend meetings of the League.

Meanwhile, Londo Mollari discovers that the political climate on Centauri Prime has worsened - the Emperor is mad and has granted the Shadows a base on the planet in exchange for godhood. Sheridan appears to have survived in one form or another, and meets Lorien

Lorien (Babylon 5)

Lorien is a fictional character from the universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5. He appears at the start of season four and again in the last episode of the show. Lórien is also a name given to one of the Valar, god-like beings in the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, of whom series...

, an enigmatic being living below the surface of Z'Ha'Dum.

Arc significance

• A thousand years ago, the Shadows seeded hundreds of worlds with their ships so their forces couldn't be wiped out in a single attack.

• The explosion on Z'ha'dum destroyed the Shadows' biggest city and threw them into chaos. Now they've decided to seek outside help, and have enlisted the Centauri to shelter a small fleet of their ships in case Z'ha'dum is attacked while they're weak.

• Londo and Vir are scheming to kill Emperor Cartagia, who Londo believes has seriously endangered Centauri Prime by giving land to the Shadows. Londo's dream of Shadow ships flying overhead above him comes true in this episode, albeit with a few changes.

• According to Ulkesh, Sheridan opened an unexpected door on Z'ha'dum. Whatever that means, Sheridan somehow survived the two-mile fall, and now finds himself in the company of an enigmatic being, Lorien, who appears to know why Sheridan survived.

• The League of non-Aligned worlds, believing Sheridan dead and the battle against the Shadows at an end, are beginning to withdraw from the alliance.

• The Shadows have something called "the Eye" near Z'ha'dum. It appears to be able to telepathically contact normals, probing their minds and drawing them to the planet. It was this "Eye" that sensed Ivanova during her journey in the Great Machine on Epsilon 3 ("Voices of Authority.")

• The Vorlons are aware of what happened on Z'ha'dum, but according to Ulkesh, plan to do nothing about it. Lyta, however, believes they're planning something.

Production details

• The dream of Londo Mollari regarding the Shadows flying overhead on a clear blue sky becomes true in this episode. However, in his dream, Mollari is standing on a sandy landscape with pieces of metallic debris lying around (it was speculated that he's standing on the ruins of a Centauri city that was attacked by the Shadows). In this episode, he's watching the Shadow arrival, along with several Centauri, on the "Sand gardens" but there're no debris visible anywhere. Also, with Mollari's costume changing from purple to black (or dark blue) between season 2 and 3, in this episode Mollari's wearing of his old purple coat was the result of his black coat being sent to the cleaners and his purple coat the only available outfit in his closet.

• Emperor Cartagia's hair is shorter than that of the other nobles (as it is customary for Centauri nobles to have big hair to match their big position). It is explained that he is doing this to start a new trend and to be closer to the people, as well as his own way of rebelling against tradition.

• Emperor Cartagia is shown to be insane by talking to the decapitated heads of people who have opposed him, adorned on a table.

• The hour of the wolf
  Hour of the wolf
  The hour of the wolf is the hour between night and dawn during which the wolf is said to lurk outside people's doors. In Swedish and Finnish folk religion it is the hour when most people die and are born.-In popular culture:...
  
  is that hour around 3 a.m. when you can't sleep because you're worried about one thing or another. Ivanova says that she's been living in the hour of the wolf since Sheridan disappeared on Z'ha'dum.

• Lyta Alexander exhibited great powers in this episode, having the ability to telepathically scan Z'ha'dum for Sheridan (without line of sight) and hold back "any" Shadow ships nearby (which could number to dozens, hundreds, or thousands) even though in "Walkabout" she was only able to barely hold back one Shadow ship.

• Morden appears to Mollari scarred by burns he received from the attack of Sheridan on Z'ha'dum.

Quotes