Z'ha'dum (episode)

This article refers to the Season 3 episode 'Z'ha'dum'. For the homeworld of the Shadows, see: Z'ha'dum.

Z'HA'DUM
Series	Babylon 5
Season	Season 3
Episode	22
Production Number	322
First Aired	28th October 1996
Broadcast Order	66th
Production Credits
Written By	J. Michael Straczynski
Directed By	Adam Nimoy
Executive Producer	Douglas Netter & J. Michael Straczynski
Producer	John Copeland
Production Designer	John Iacovelli
Director of Photography	John C. Flinn, III A.S.C.
Editor	Suzanne Sternlicht
Music By	Christopher Franke
Chronology
Story Date	December 19th - 25th, 2260
Chronological Order
Preceded by	Shadow Dancing
Followed by	The Hour of the Wolf
Broadcast Order
Preceded by	Shadow Dancing
Followed by	The Hour of the Wolf

John Sheridan goes to Z'ha'dum with his wife Anna, who has apparently returned from the dead. While there he makes the ultimate sacrifice to hold back the threat of the Shadows.

Cast

Regular

• Bruce Boxleitner as Captain John Sheridan
• Claudia Christian as Commander Susan Ivanova
• Jerry Doyle as Sercurity Chief Michael Garibaldi
• Mira Furlan as Ambassador Delenn
• Richard Biggs as Dr. Stephen Franklin
• Bill Mumy as Lennier
• Jason Carter as Marcus Cole
• Stephen Furst as Vir Cotto
• Jeff Conaway as Zack Allan
• Andreas Katsulas as G'Kar
• Peter Jurasik as Ambassador Londo Mollari

Guest Starring

• Jeff Corey as Justin
• Ron Campbell as Messenger
• Ed Wasser as Morden

Special Guest Starring

• Melissa Gilbert as Anna Sheridan

Featuring

• Ardwight Chamberlain as Ambassador Kosh
• Joshua Cox as Lt. Corwin

Cast Notes

• Regular characters appearing in this episode are John Sheridan, Susan Ivanova, Michael Garibaldi, Delenn, Stephen Franklin, Lennier, Vir Cotto, Londo Mollari and G'Kar.
• Last onscreen appearance of Anna Sheridan as she dies, played by Melissa Gilbert.
• Lennier has no lines and is only seen briefly at the closing montage.

Summary

Introduction

Anna Sheridan arrives in the middle of the night while Delenn is watching John Sheridan sleep as per Minbari tradition. Sheridan cannot believe Anna is there, and Delenn leaves hastily. Anna apologizes to Sheridan for keeping him in the dark about her survival all these years, and offers to take any tests he wants to prove it is her. But she makes it clear – she wants to take him to Z'ha'dum.

Act I

G’kar shows Susan Ivanova a shipment of 500 megaton nuclear warheads donated by the Gaim that will not show up on scaners. Ivanova likes the idea of using them as a minefield to attack the Shadows.

Dr. Stephen Franklin examines Anna in Medlab and determines that to all intents and purposes, she is Anna Sheridan. Dental records and DNA are a perfect match. However, there is some scarring on the back of her neck. Sheridan tells him to investigate further.

Sheridan confront Delenn over Anna's survival, believing that she had willingly lied. Delenn denies this; they had assumed Anna had died on Z'ha'dum and would never have willingly served the Shadows. Sheridan doesn't know if he can trust Delenn again, and admits that he had begun to allow himself to love her.

Meanwhile, Londo Mollari reveals to Vir Cottothat he has been promoted to an advisor to Emperor Cartagia. He views it less of a promotion and more as a warning. His alliance with the Shadows has made him a powerful man, and they want to keep a closer eye on him. Londo is approached by an agent of the Shadows and told to leave the station if he values his life.

Franklin compares Anna's scarring to that of Carolyn Sanderson's Shadow implants and finds an exact match.

Sheridan and Anna talk. Before he agrees to go to Z'ha'dum, he wants to know what happened to the crew of the Icarus. Anna tells him how the Icarus found Z'ha'dum after they got the coordinate from a tracking device installed on the Shadow Vessel that was found on Mars. After finding the Shadows, she says the Icarus was destroyed in an accident. They were stranded, and the Shadows were vulnerable from hibernation so they agreed to keep their secret in exchange for studying their technology. Sheridan agrees to go to Z'ha'dum, but is aware of Franklin's findings.

Act II

Sheridan meets with Garibaldi in his office and asks him to arrange for the Minbari crew of the White Star to be brought to the station and processed with identicards. He also gives him a list of instructions on a datapad and one of the directions pulls Garibaldi up. Sheridan asks him to trust him, and when it is done and they meet next, they will talk about the weather.

The White Star crew is ferried off the ship and Sheridan prepares himself for the journey. He arms himself with a PPG, and then straps a second weapon to his left leg. As he prepares, he see Kosh in the mirror who tells him "If you go to Z’ha’dum you will die." Before leaving, he records a message for Delenn.

With Anna, Sheridan heads for a shuttle. Garibaldi meets him at the docking bay and gives him a weather report from Earth. Sheridan and Anna board the White Star and head for Z'ha'dum.

Act III

During the voyage, Anna examines and White Star and realises it is partially based on Vorlon technology. She explains that the Shadows believe that if anything Vorlon touches their homeworld, then they will die. Sheridan promises to use the shuttle to reach the surface.

On the surface, Sheridan is relieve of his weapon and meets other agents of the Shadows including Morden and a man named Justin who presents himself as a "middle man."

Delenn receives the message from Sheridan informing her that he has gone to Z'ha'dum. He tells her about his experience in the future during the time rift that he encountered on their mission to Babylon 4. He also tells her that he know Z'ha'dum is almost certainly a trap.

On Z'ha'dum, Justin reveals the history of the Vorlons and Shadows, and how they use conflict to help guider the younger races to be stronger and better and to evolve and grow. Sheridan wonders if they plan to kill him, but that would make him a martyr.

Around Babylon 5, Shadow Vessels appear and surround the station.

Act IV

Babylon 5 launches its fighters, while Justin continues talking with Sheridan to try and convince him to work with the Shadows. They reveal the Vorlons have been manipulating the younger races for centuries and are responsible for the appearance of Human telepaths.

At Babylon 5, the command crew wonder why the Shadows haven't attacked. All efforts to contact Draal fail. Garibaldi joins the fighter defence outside the station.

Eventually Sheridan reveals that he knows what they did to Anna – that she was a control unit for a Shadow ship. Justin says Anna made the wrong choice years ago and was placed in the ship, but they removed her once they knew who she was. As Sheridan appears not to be cooperating, a Shadow enters the room behind them. Sheridan uses his secondary weapon and opens fire on it.

On Babylon 5, G'Kar informs Ivanova about the nuclear weapons, telling her two are missing.

Sheridan, wounded and bloody, finds himself on a balcony overlooking a city with a glass dome above the. He sends a signal to the White Star, activating the nukes and programming it to crash into the planet. Behind him, Anna pleads for him to join them, promising to be a woman he can love. On Babylon 5, Sheridan's message to Delenn ends with him telling her he loves her.

As the White Star prepares to hit the city, Sheridan hears Kosh's voice telling him to jump. He jumps off the balcony and into a deep chasm as the combined explosion of the nukes and the White Star rip the city apart.

At Babylon 5, the Shadows retreat. Ivanova knows this means one thing. Sheridan is gone.

Act V

Delenn mourns Sheridan, while Lt. David Corwin informs Ivanova that they can find no trace of the White Star. He also tells her that one of the fighters did not return to the cobra bay – the one piloted by Mr. Garibaldi.

DVD Release

This episode, along with the other 21 from Season 3 have been released on DVD with extensive Special Features.

External Link

Episode guide page for Z'ha'dum (episode) at the Lurker's Guide