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Babylon 5 S01E09: "Deathwalker" - Episode Discussion
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- Title
- Babylon 5 | Full Episode | Deathwalker: Season 1, Episode 9 | Beyond Infinity
- Authors
- ClipZone: Beyond Infinity
- Duration
- 44:35
- Published
- Apr 30 2026
Understanding is a Three Edged Sword
Deathwalker is great for its ethical quandry and how bare it strips our delusions of being "better than that" when it comes to atrocities.
(We know from at least 1945 that the US was not better than recruiting Nazis for science and tech. While covering up Japanese war crimes. But we certainly tried to pretend we were "better than that.")
And why are the Vorlons "better than"? Or are they? Do they not need such an advancement? Are they trying to keep it out of everyone else's hands? Or are they just capable of resisting the temptation - maybe their government is such that Kosh can act solo with no repercussions. Or maybe we just don't get to see the outcome because they're so closed off.
And WTF ARE THE MINBARI UP TO WITH SINCLAIR
I like the slow drip of the first season. For folks new to it, it's genuinely worth the pay off!
"Deathwalker" episode for non-Americans:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8h1hfn
Nice to see ambassador Kosh get some more spotlight. But hey, was that a civilian ship the Vorlons destroyed? Can they do that?
I really like the main plot. There are some good moral dilemmas in there, as well as the usual political intrigue. Lots of people want to see the war criminal hang, but that means giving up on her magnificent scientific breakthroughs. But those breakthroughs also come with a steep price, a price that will be her monument. She's one of those villains it feels good to root against.
The Vorlons can kind of do whatever they want. Like, they shouldn't... But who's gonna stop them
I appreciate how the temptation affects everyone and how even the Minbari who sort of show up via Delenn and Lennier - both religious caste - as more enlightened than humans even despite the war. (Presumably led by the warrior caste.)
Yeah it hasn't been said outright that the Vorlons are so far ahead of the other races that nobody can stop them, but the attitudes of everyone involved imply it pretty heavily. I guess the concept of an 'elder race' that's both incredibly powerful and equally inscrutable is ingrained in plenty of space opera settings such that you only need to gesture in the direction of the concept.
Yeah despite the assassination attempt the Vorlons ships look very different, they wear these suits, they don't participate in a lot of the politics of the council, they speak mysteriously... Obviously there's some space left open for possibilities so far, but the fact that they can do what they want seems to make it clear that no one else has the ability to stop them.
Kosh and the Vicar's (VCR's) conversation and whatever this sets up for Talia (or would have set up) is more along these lines.