Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Jim Johnston

If only life imitated art a little better. Wouldn’t it be nice right now to see a whole bunch of politicians outwit the illegal occupation of our cities, among other things? J. Michael Staczynski was quite prescient. Either that or humans repeat the same mistakes over and over again. Point of No Return is the turning point of the series, where everyone must decide where their loyalties lie. There doesn’t seem to be the space for people to claim they were “just doing their job.”

The aide to the Centauri Ambassador has returned from his extended stay in Minbar. Vir (Stephen Furst) is meeting with Ambassador Londo Mollari (Peter Jurasik) in his quarters. Londo tells Vir that he has to redo a report about Vir’s time on the Minbari Homeworld that took Vir weeks to compile. Londo is critical of Vir’s honesty about the Minbari. Londo receives a call from Centauri Prime. Lady Morella (Majel Barrett) will be arriving on Babylon 5 at Londo’s request. She is Emperor Turhan’s third wife and quite highly regarded on Centauri Prime.

Vir, intelligence has nothing to do with politics – Londo

However, when Londo goes to prepare for her visit, he finds the station in an uproar over the declaration of martial law back on Earth.

Commander John Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) communicates with his contacts on Earth and learns that President Clark has just issued an executive order dissolving the Senate, meaning there is no legal way to check his power. The Senators are on the run or in hiding and looking for support from the military. General Hague is also missing. While speaking with his contact, the elite guard attacks the Senate Office Building. He passes along a message that Babylon 5 is on its own.

Sheridan and Commander Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian) tell the command staff to maintain combat readiness in case there is an attempt to take over Babylon 5. Garibaldi meets them and tells them there is an alert out for General Hague. It’s believed he might be organizing a military counterstrike against Clark. Ivanova thinks Hague might try to make it to Babylon 5.

Meanwhile, the head of Nightwatch tells Zak (Jeff Conaway) there is a meeting and urges him to bring his weapon and extra ammunition. Zak is not comfortable with where this seems to be going, but attends the meeting.

Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle) visits the former Narn Ambassador, G’Kar (Andreas Katsulas), in his cell and releases him early. Ta’Lon (Marshall Teague) is waiting for G’Kar at his quarters. G’Kar reveals that he has a new understanding of what their purpose is: to serve the universe itself.

Vir questions why Lady Morella’s visit is so important. Londo tells him that she is known to be a seer. They also believe that she now speaks for the late emperor from the other side. When she arrives, she questions why Londo is the only one there to meet her.

There is a transmission from General Smits (Lewis Arquette) back on Earth. As Sheridan and his command staff listen, he advises them to follow the chain of command. Then tells them that the political office has assigned offworld security to Nightwatch. Sheridan objects, but Smits stops him. Garibaldi threatens to quit, but Sheridan stops him.

Londo tells Lady Morella the truth as to why he wanted her to visit. She states she will honor his request before she leaves.

Garibaldi heads to where Nightwatch is meeting. Zak intercepts him and urges him to play along. Garibaldi refuses and disrupts the meeting, and questions whether they work for Nightwatch or for the Station and Sheridan. He relieves Garibaldi as Security Chief and installs Zak.

Sheridan receives an order declaring martial law on the station.

Londo is giving Lady Morella a tour when an ISN broadcast shows General Hague’s ship fighting other EarthForce ships near Io. Nightwatch’s heavy-handed tactics result in a riot just as Sheridan announces that Babylon 5 is under martial law. Sheridan is talking about it with Dr. Franklin (Richard Biggs) when he has a bit of insight as to what General Smits was telling him and sends for Garibaldi.

Sheridan, Ivanova, Garibaldi, and G’Kar are waiting for Zak when he returns to his quarters. Zak tells the head of Nightwatch that there’s a ship coming in with Narn to replace Nightwatch. He says he can’t go along with it. They anticipate arresting Sheridan for treason.

G’Kar meets with the Narn on Babylon 5 and asks for their help.

The Nightwatch are lured to one of the landing bays and trapped there. Sheridan advises them that they are under arrest. He tells them the order was an illegal one since it came out of the political office and not from anyone in the chain of command. He tells them they can stay where they are or surrender and be confined to quarters. In the meantime, the Narn will act as security on the station.

Lady Morella tells Londo she will tell him what she has seen, but will deny it if ever asked. She states that he has three chances to save himself from his possible future and gives a cryptic warning. Vir laughs when she tells him that he will one day be Emperor. Since they cannot both be Emperor at the same time, that means one will become Emperor after the other is dead.

G’Kar tells Sheridan he wants in on the new alliance Sheridan has been forming. That is his ask for having helped with the Nightwatch situation.

A lot is happening in this episode. Credit to the director and the editors for crafting an episode that has this much going on without feeling compressed or rushed. G’Kar being released from the prison on Babylon 5 is huge, really, but it’s just a small piece of the episode. Letting him out early has the potential of enraging the Centauri, particularly Londo. With the wife of the late Emperor due to arrive at the station, it has the potential to make it look lawless. However, that’s never really approached, and it’s just accepted that he served his time. There’s foreshadowing in the Narn beliefs system. Their book of worship and philosophy is the Book of G’Quan. G’Kar’s book that he will write will become another of their holy books, but it’s just a small event, planting the seeds for fruition in the future.

Just as the Imperial Emperor dissolves the Senate in the first Star Wars movie, here, President Clarke dissolves the Senate on Earth in an effort to consolidate his power. At one time, I would have said that there was no way the people of Earth would have stood for that. I’ve been educated by what has happened here in the United States over the past year and a half. People convince themselves that “politics” will not affect them and ignore when the rules that are supposed to govern us are flouted by those in power. I would have never thought anyone in the U.S. would have stood for Concentration Camps being developed, as well as zero accountability to the Constitution. I would have thought there would be rioting in the streets at the mere thought of it. I stand corrected.

The technicality that enables Sheridan to usurp the authority Nightwatch has been given is a great move. Without the help of the Narn, though, it would not have succeeded. When authoritarianism and fascism take hold, and one side continues to play by “the rules,” you get nowhere. Sheridan managed to retain authority for the station’s central command by following the letter of the law here. There was also no one nearby to remove him. With the Narn on their side, this will keep anyone from using force against them. I was glad to see this character arc for Zak come to an end. He always looked uneasy with the situation. Initially, it appeared he got involved with Nightwatch for the extra credits each month. At what point he began informing on them is never shown, but he managed to stay their man on the inside without giving anything away. He wouldn’t have been believable if he had acted gung-ho for what they were doing. The fact that he seemed to be unsure that this was the right thing to do only added to the situation.

Finally, there is the foreshadowing of the future of Vir and Londo. Knowing what happens really doesn’t take away from this prophecy. Vir seems able to believe Londo would one day be Emperor. Londo wants to climb the political ladder. Throughout the show, he’s been working to redeem himself in the eyes of his fellow Centauri. He sold his soul to Mr. Morden, although in reality, it was one step in what became a slippery slope. That’s how he was lured in. When Morden asked, “What do you want?” he was at a low point. Morden and the Shadows didn’t go out and blow up Narn. It started with small victories over the Narn and slowly became more and more. Long ago, Londo was at his “point of no return” and chose poorly. Now he asks Lady Morella to do a reading since he’s worried about the consequences of what he’s done. He’s looking for reassurance that the universe will not judge him for what he’s done. Does becoming Emperor mean that’s not the case? Or is it just desserts?

Vir, on the other hand, has zero political ambitions. The thought of having anything near the responsibility of an Emperor would probably make him break out in hives. This is the more outrageous prophecy to both men. Vir believes it is a joke at first, but Lady Morella doesn’t seem to have a sense of humor. They don’t know in what order they are to be Emperor, and the fact that the other one has to die for the next one to ascend causes them to wonder what role the other man might play in their deaths.

It was a brilliant bit of casting to have Majel Barrett portray Lady Morella. She’s been mainly seen on Star Trek, and here she dons some heavy makeup to portray a Centauri. This keeps it from feeling like it’s just Nurse Chapel or Lwaxana Troi on Babylon 5. As the wife of a former emperor, she captures the regalness of Lady Morella, while also being approachable. I wish they had more scenes between her and the regular cast, but it worked well for her to experience the chaos of the United Nations in space.

There’s not a bad bit of acting from any of the regular cast, either. I’ve already complimented Jeff Conaway for the excellent way he’s portrayed Zak throughout this storyline. Likewise, Jerry Doyle feels it here as he’s being overruled after spending all this time trying to build an effective security force. He’s frustrated and angry and has to reflect that, while not being over the top. It would be easy for him to overreact and end up regretting it later on. Bruce Boxleitner conveys the fact that he’s struggling with some terrific body language and expressions. When he has an idea, he obsesses over what General Smits said to him and replays it over and over. He feels the burden of command but won’t crack. One line shows how he has come to rely on Delenn, and it’s expressed quite well. The first time through, I admit I didn’t quite understand why the order was illegal. Unfortunately, over the past few years, I’ve learned a lot about illegal orders.

If you make it to this point, you will understand from Point of No Return why this series is so highly regarded among many in the science-fiction community, and that was before life was mirroring art. This is a near-perfect episode, and there weren’t any other series doing ongoing stories yet, except for the soap operas. There was no model for what Babylon 5 was as a series. The story is great, the pacing is great, the acting is great. There aren’t any space battles, but the political intrigue is enough.

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