History BabylonFive / TropesIToP

** For a much less sad version, see N'Graath. He was a very large cockroach-like creature who was the head of Babylon 5's underworld, and a major antagonist throughout the first season... and then he just disappeared. Only when the fifth episode of ''season 5'' (Learning Curve) aired did we find out "He went down" when his replacement was talking about the gap in power he left. He didn't even warrant an explanation as to whether that means "killed" or "arrested".

* On ''Series/{{CSINY}}'', serial killer Shane Casey is introduced in episode 3.04, "Hung Out to Dry," and eludes capture for a while, but is caught and sent to a maximum security prison by the end of the season. He escapes late in season 6 and wreaks havoc again before being killed during a home invasion in the cliffhanger-finale / season 7 premiere.

** Among the human main characters: Sinclair is a Catholic, and was instructed by Jesuits as an adolescent. Ivanova is a former lapsed Jew, whose re-connection with her faith is a large part of her character arc in the first season. Franklin is a Foundationist, a syncretic future religion which holds that all the galaxy's existing faiths reflect some part of a greater truth. Garibaldi is agnostic but was RaisedCatholic. Zack Allen's religion is unknown, but he believes in Heaven. Sheridan doesn't follow an organised religion, describing his beliefs as "eclectic".

** In the first segment of ''The Deconstruction Of Falling Stars'', one of the ISA's detractors during the ISN discussion panel is an unapologetic speech-writer for the late President Clark. He gets a sound intellectual beat-down, but he's still a free man. Propaganda is normally considered a war crime (albeit one of the lesser ones), so it seems odd that he didn't serve any prison time for his part in the Clark regime.

** Similarly, Daniel, the instigator of the anti-Alliance rebellion in ''Deconstruction of the Falling Stars'' uses terms imitating Orwellian Newspeak, and wears a uniform with a nearly-unmodified SS logo. He obviously never read point 21 of the EvilOverlordList.

* OddFriendship: Londo and G'kar, representing two races which had long been bitter enemies, grew into an OddFriendship by the end of the series.

* TheNthDoctor: The Minbari Draal was played by Louis Turenne in the character's initial appearance in the episode ''A Voice in the Wilderness''. Due to health issues Tureene was unable to return the following season to play Draal in ''The Long, Twilight Struggle''. Creator/JohnSchuck was cast to play Draal in that episode and all subsequent appearances, with the difference in appearance being explained as the Great Machine of Epsilon III, which Draal had joined with in ''A Voice in the Wilderness'' restoring him to how he appeared 30 years earlier. When Schuck in turn was unavailable to play Draal in the fourth season episode ''Conflicts of Interest'' producers briefly considered recasting him with an even younger actor with the explanation that Draal had been further de-aged by the Machine before dropping the idea and instead explaining that Draal was very busy handling repairs and thus unavailable.

** Also, it seems that Ivanova and a smuggler did ''something'' that Ivanova is convinced lead to Garibaldi [[BaldOfAwesome losing all his hair]].

* ItIsPronouncedTroPAY: In the DocumentaryEpisode ''And Now For A Word'', Cynthia Torqueman consistently pronounces Commander Ivanova's name wrong. While Ivanova visibly reacts, she doesn't comment on it. Of course, Torqueman might have done it intentionally to try and get a rise out of her interviewee. Especially since in real life, reporters are usually careful to check the pronunciation of a person's name. She does the same thing with Kosh as well during their brief encounter. Torqueman seems to be [[SmallNameBigEgo so self-important]] she doesn't feel the ''need'' to verify her facts.

* PersonOfMassDestruction: [[spoiler: Lyta]]

* PiecesOfGod

* ThePlague: The Drafa ("Confessions and Lamentations")
* PlayingWithSyringes: The secret Psi-Corp project in "Mind War".

* NotSoDifferentRemark: Bester points out the similarities between himself and Garibaldi, though mainly just because it amused him to do so.

* OneFederationLimit: The Earth Alliance, the Minbari Federation, the Centauri Republic ([[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny which is actually a monarchy like the late Roman republic]]), the Narn Regime and the Vorlon [[AllThereInTheManual Empire]]. Some races (like the Dilgar, Shadows, and Drakh) have no stated governmental body, while the others have ones only stated offhand or in the background material (Drazi Freehold, Brakiri Syndicracy, Abbai Matriarchate, Grome Autocracy, etc)

* NotSoDifferent:
** Londo and G'Kar realize this about halfway through the fourth season. Everyone else figured it out in the first season.
** Sheridan and Delenn.
** As is revealed to the characters and audience in the third and fourth seasons, [[spoiler:the Vorlons and the Shadows really aren't all that different]].
** The meeting between Delenn and "King Arthur" in "A Late Delivery from Avalon". Both had idealistic/mystical personalities. But their real similarity as that both [[TheAtoner bore heavily]] the knowledge that they had helped to start the Earth-Minbari war. Indeed "King Arthur" might actually have fired the shot that killed Delenn's beloved mentor. A very well done reconciliation scene. (Sadly, Delenn's side wasn't fully explained when the episode first aired; it wasn't until "Atonement" that her part in starting the war was made clear.)
** Bester points out the similarities between himself and Garibaldi, though mainly just because it amused him to do so.
** When Lochley is trying to help Garibaldi over his drinking problem, he snaps at her that she hardly ever drinks herself so how would she know what it's like? [[RecoveredAddict Turns out there's a very simple reason she hardly ever drinks.]]

** [[spoiler:Warren Keffer]]'s FamousLastWords.

* PuppetKing: Cartagia (at first...)

* NapoleonDelusion: In "A Late Delivery from Avalon", we meet a nutty swordsman who is convinced that he is KingArthur. It turns out that he is in fact [[spoiler:the Earthforce Gunnery Sergeant who fired the first shot of the Earth-Minbari War]] and is suffering from a serious case of SurvivorsGuilt. He is healed when "The Lady of the Lake" (Delenn) retrieves his "Excalibur" (an antique sword), symbolizing that [[spoiler:she, along with the Minbari race, forgives him]].

** The crew finds a man suffering severe delusions, thinking he's KingArthur. Seems [[ThereAreNoTherapists there's no shrinks]] on B5 as Dr Franklin then decides to immediately break the man's delusion by reminding him who he is ([[spoiler:and the terrible guilt he carries for what he did]]). Of course it does not go rather well, [[NotQuiteTheRightThing as the man has a breakdown and goes catatonic]]. Thankfully he gets better.

** A major plot point in [[Recap/BabylonFiveS03E13ALateDeliveryFromAvalon "A Late Delivery from Avalon"]]. The man who arrives on the station convinced he's KingArthur returned in Britain's hour of need is really [[spoiler: David [=McIntyre=], a retired [=EarthForce=] gunnery sergeant wracked with guilt over firing the shots that triggered the Minbaris' RoaringRampageOfRevenge.]]

** William Edgars, the face of Big Pharma, unveils a designer pathogen which will specifically target and kill anyone carrying the telepathic gene. This, he gently hints, will solve "the telepath problem". Unlike Lantz, Edgars is a student of history, and is [[HeelRealization momentarily shaken he hears himself say this]].

** William Edgars, the face of Big Pharma, unveils a designer pathogen which will specifically target and kill anyone carrying the telepathic gene. This, he gently hints, will solve "the telepath problem". Unlike Lantz, Edgars is a student of history, and is [[HeelRealizatiom momentarily shaken he hears himself say this]].

* TheJester: {{Subverted}}: One episode shows a jester in Cartagia's court mocking him behind his back. Cartagia turns around to see this, and laughs it off. [[KickTheDog He then has the jester killed.]]

** G'kar becomes this ''to the entire Narn race'' in season 5. Although he soon becomes frustrated that most of the Narn who come to the station to listen to him end up CompletelyMissingThePoint.

* {{Irony}}: Delenn gives Garibaldi the "Blind and Toothless" speech when he espouses the death penalty ("Eye for an Eye"), despite she herself having ordered a genocide over the death of one man in particular. Trust Garibaldi to come up with the perfect answer; 'No, only the bad guys.'