Babylon 5 (TV Series) Signs and Portents (1994) User Reviews

Yes!!! An episode that FINALLY shows where the series is headed!!!

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 3 January 2007]

Three cheers for Mr. Morden!!! Finally, one of the coldest and most evil recurring characters makes his appearance! Up until this episode, few of the previous episodes really addressed the upcoming plot lines of future seasons--in particular, the coming of the "Shadows". However, here we see the apparently harmless Morden addressing a single question of "what do you want?" individually to each of the ambassadors at B-5. And, seeing their responses tells a lot about the upcoming Shadow War. This entire plot line is excellent and very interesting--allowing much of the characters' true personalities to emerge.

In addition to this plot, there is a concurrent plot involving a holy Centauri artifact that is said to give the possessor great power and respect among the people--possibly even allowing the possessor to have enough power to become the emperor or be the figure behind him pulling all the strings! So, Londo and other power-hungry Centauri spend much of the show doing almost anything to steal it. How this is all resolved in the end and how the other plot element merges makes this one of the best episodes of Season 1--not to be missed.

And so it begins

[Tweekums · 10/10 · 27 June 2018]

As this episode opens Londo takes delivery of an artefact called 'The Eye'; this is possibly the most important symbol of the Centauri Republic which has been lost for the past hundred years. Soon afterwards Lord Kiro, whose family originally owned The Eye, arrives on the station with his family seer, Lady Ladira. She immediately seems disturbed and states that Babylon 5 will be destroyed. Meanwhile a mysterious character, known as Morden, arrives on the station and asks each of the ambassadors 'what do you want?' If that weren't enough raiders have been attacking shipping again; this time further from the jump gates than should be possible.

This is a top quality episode that sets up plot lines that will ultimately dominate the series. These are introduced in a fine way so that it isn't immediately obvious what will be important and what won't. We can assume Lady Ladira's prophecy's will be among the more important as we see one of them come true... we are told that on Kiro's first birthday he would be killed by 'the shadows'; a cryptic statement to say the least. Morden is a great new character, I certainly hope we see more of him as he is so intriguing. His 'What do you want?' question seems simple but is actually quite profound. Ed Wasser does a fine job in the role. The storyline involving the raiders was interesting and provided the episodes impressive action scenes. Overall I'd say this is a great episode; certainly not one to skip!

Signs and Portents

[Scarecrow-88 · 10/10 · 17 June 2012]

"Signs and Portents" is an episode integral to the future of the show. It contains important characters and moments that return time and again as it pertains to the future of the station and its people. Londo Mollari (Peter Jurasik) retrieves illegally "the eye", an important Centauri artifact that has been missing for quite some time, notable for its symbolism of power and nobility. Lord Kiro (Gerrit Graham; scene-stealer extraordinaire, known for being memorable in movies that don't necessarily deserve his talent) comes to Babylon 5 station to take the eye (a family heirloom) back to Centauri Homeworld to give it to the little-seen emperor. The Centauri Homeworld has lost some of its credibility as a major force to be reckoned with, so it is believed the eye will restore some of the missing prominence. A mysterious visitor to Babylon 5 station, Morden (Ed Wasser), asks a question to each ambassador, "What do you want?" Each ambassador reveals a real desire, whether it be G'Kar (Andreas Katsulas) wanting revenge against Centauri for their treatment of his world, or Londo wanting his world to reclaim their rightful place as a formidable alien species to be feared. But Delenn (Mira Furlan) can visualize what Morden is and who he represents…the sinister Shadows. We see in this scene a triangle appear on Delenn's forehead, perhaps a physiological tool granted to her race that can sense deception and see what really hides behind the mask. Raiders have been attacking ships set on a course directly for Babylon 5 station, seemingly able to escape from the area quicker than allotted time would permit, later determined to be associated with a ship capable of creating its own jumpgate. So Babylon station comes under attack from Raider ships (after a diversionary potential attack on a ship named Achilles (unique title for a ship, eh?) suckers Sinclair into sending his attack cruisers to intercept) as Lord Kiro is kidnapped carrying the eye in his possession, the cargo ship boarding onto the pirate ship equipped with the jumpgate function. Morden seems to have a fixation with Ambassador Kosh (we later hear that Kosh's protective suit was damaged, a development certain to have merit as the show continues), and after the Shadows decimate the pirate ship carrying Kiro, Morden has a surprise for Londo that officially establishes just who this man really is. Morden's motives, however, are still unclear. Also extremely important is a Centauri character who arrived with Kiro, a Seer named Lady Ladira (Fredi Olster) who has a vision that the station will be destroyed unless future events prevent this from happening. The episode actually has Ladira "showing" this vision to Sinclair who asks her how he can stop this from happening. So much happens in this episode, including Sinclair appealing to Garibaldi to investigate the "lost 24 hours" focused on during the episode, "And the Sky Full of Stars". Garibaldi learns that despite the many number of more suitable candidates (Sinclair was far down the list), it was determined that the Minbari insisted that he be chosen as Commander of the Babylon station. So the question is—why do the Minbari want Sinclair positioned so high and for what reasons was he so special to them in having such authority? Ed Wasser as Morden will make his presence known/felt on Babylon station…the Shadows are only getting started. We are starting to see a confident storyteller, J. Michael Straczynski, take what could have been a minor substitute for Star Trek and craft a series that has a solid footing in sci-fi television, building what would be a certified cult phenomenon.

Exciting

[VenVes · 22 July 2018]

Fascinating episode that portends of many things to come. Especially love the extra insight into Centauri culture with the Eye, and of course the incidents involving the two very interesting characters Morden and Ambassador Kosh. As a first time viewer, looking forward to what happens next!