“Between the Darkness and the Light” is episode nineteen of season four of Babylon 5.
The episode opens with Sheridan talking to Dr Franklin on the station. Franklin is saying it’s great to have the captain back. Sheridan replies that he was afraid he’d never get out. The doctor wants to know how Sheridan managed to escape. Sheridan states he got word to the Mars resistance and Franklin asks the name of his contact. Only Sheridan hasn’t actually escaped, he’s still being held captive and is in a chair with an IV attached to him.
Sheridan tells his interrogator that they don’t use names, just numbers. Franklin should know that; he was there. The interrogator continues, saying that they – Earth – think the whole campaign against Earth was the idea of Sheridan and the others, when it was really the alien governments that influenced them. Sheridan denies this. The interrogator says to a woman sitting next to him that Sheridan is still uncooperative despite his distorted sense of reality and the drugs. The woman suggests bringing in Sheridan’s father and threatening to shoot him. The interrogator doesn’t think that will work. If Sheridan holds out and they shoot his father, Sheridan’s resolve will be strengthened. If they don’t kill him, it weakens their position. Besides, they don’t want Sheridan’s cooperation. They want his conversion, to admit the alien governments are behind the campaign against Earth and to ask forgiveness. That will break the resistance at its heart. A dissonance of the scene between what Sheridan is seeing and what is actually going on.
In “The Face of the Enemy”, Bester revealed what had happened to Garibaldi after he disappeared at the end of “Z’ha’dum”. He had been taken by the Psi Corps, but from the Shadows, who had determined that Garibaldi was one of the potential leaders and had planned to kill the others. Garibaldi was then tampered with, so that his natural inclination to distrust authority became stronger, and programmed to report to the Psi Corps if he found a treat. Which Garibaldi did, after discovering Edgars’ virus designed to affect telepaths. So Edgars got killed. Bester then removed the programming. So, Garibaldi has betrayed Sheridan, who is now a captive of Clark, and betrayed Edgars, who is now dead. Ivanova won’t take messages from him and has given orders to shoot Garibaldi on sight. So he has no allies and probably important information that nobody is willing to listen to.
Garibaldi is now meeting a contact, who has acted as an intermediary to the Mars resistance. Garibaldi asks his contact if he told the resistance that what happened to Sheridan wasn’t his fault. He did. They didn’t believe it. Men jump Garibaldi and cart him off.
Garibaldi is brought before Number One who gives her PPG to Franklin for him to shoot. Franklin wants to hear Garibaldi’s side first. Garibaldi explains what happened with Bester. Number One isn’t convinced. Of course Garibaldi doesn’t have any proof. He says he knows where they are holding Sheridan but they only have a limited amount of time before he is shipped out. He asks Lyta, who is also there, to scan him. She says that the locals don’t like or trust telepaths and her word won’t count for much.
Franklin still wants to know, but Number One is about to shoot Garibaldi anyway. Which results in Franklin and Lyta grabbing weapons to allow the scan. Lyta discovers that there are blocks all over Garibaldi’s mind and she can’t get in – surely that means something. Garibaldi wants a deep scan. Sure, that could damage him – but not as much as being killed will. Lyta continues and says that the blocks are level 12 – only a Psi Cop could put them in or break them. Her eyes turn black and she confirms everything. Number One is still not convinced and asks why she should believe anything Lyta says. When Lyta turns around, her eyes are still black and she offers to show Number One. And transfers Garibaldi’s memories. Now Number One believes it’s the truth.
Ivanova and the fleet are hailing two Earth ships, the Damocles and Orion. They tell the destroyers to stand down to face trial for war crimes. They don’t and get shot to bits. Marcus thinks they are being slowed down by this. Ivanova doesn’t want them going to ground when Clark is removed, plus they always get more defectors. So, on to the rendezvous.
On Mars, Garibaldi thinks he knows where the captain is. He has no plan, but can get them out after they free Sheridan. Most of Number 1’s people who know the area are out on patrol and won’t be back for 2 days. Which is two days too long. So she can only give them a skeleton crew. During the infiltration, Franklin complains that they never get to go anywhere nice and Lyta doesn’t quite know how to take Garibaldi’s ‘compliment’ that she is a great liar.
On Babylon 5, Lennier approaches Delenn. Londo has called a meeting of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds, and it’s already started. Londo is saying that the situation is intolerable. They need to take swift and firm action. The Centauri will lead the way and mobilise every ship. He calls for a vote. Delenn arrives at this point and says they can’t have a vote without a Minbari or an Earth representative. Seeing as Delenn is here, Londo says they can vote. It is unanimous.
Londo states that Sheridan has been captured by his own people. During the Shadow War, Sheridan risked his life and that of every human to help save their worlds. No other race would have done the same. They wish to reward his sacrifice. Humans are the glue that holds everything together. Delenn would like them to start making sense. The vote was for the League to send warships to Ivanova’s fleet. It is right that humans lead the way, as it is their world, but the others will support and fight beside. Delenn was left out and not informed so that everyone would see that this was done for the right reasons, not because of Delenn’s relationship with Sheridan.
One of the crewmen from the Damocles is escorted to see Ivanova. He tells her that Clark knows about the rendezvous, as not every defector is a defector. It’s a trap. Clark has sent ships, and not Earthforce regulars. New, advanced destroyers, with crews totally loyal to Clark. Ivanova tells Marcus that they can’t get word to the other ships. They can’t take the Earth ships they have to the rendezvous, because if they are wiped out by the new destroyers, Clark will be able to convince everyone that it’s just aliens. They have to go forward anyway, so the White Stars will confront the advanced destroyers by themselves. In the process they discover just what the new ships are.