History Recap / BabylonFiveS05E22SleepingInLight

* ContinuitySnarl: A very minor one: no mention is made of Elizabeth Lochley, another old friend of Sheridan's who would logically care that he was about to pass away, as this episode was produced before her character was introduced to the show.

* CreatorCameo: The maintenance worker who appears at the end, looks around the station one last time before shutting it down is Creator/JMichaelStraczynski.

* ContinuitySnarl: A very minor one: No mention is made of Elizabeth Lochley, as this episode was produced before her character was introduced to the show (see OutOfOrder and BackForTheFinale).
** A slightly bigger one: Garibaldi's tension after receiving the letter makes little sense if you consider the events of Season 5.

* OutOfOrder: Originally filmed at the end of the fourth season when the show was due to be cancelled. When the show was picked up for another season, a new season finale was filmed and this one pushed back to the end of the fifth season.

* RunningGag: Throughout the series Zack frequently complained about his uniforms not fitting right. According to the WordOfGod, his limp here is caused by a prosthetic leg that likewise doesn't fit his body quite rightly.

* HarsherInHindsight: The "toast to absent friends", since as of 2021, four of the six actors sitting at that table are gone.[[note]]Richard Biggs in 2004, Jerry Doyle in 2016, Stephen Furst in 2017, and Mira Furlan in 2021. Not to mention Andreas Katsulas in 2006, Jeff Conaway in 2011, and Michael O'Hare in 2012[[/note]] Time has '''''not''''' been kind to the B5 cast.

* HarsherInHindsight: The "toast to absent friends", since as of 2017, four of the six actors sitting at that table are gone.[[note]]Richard Biggs in 2004, Jerry Doyle in 2016, Stephen Furst in 2017, and Mira Furlan in 2021. Not to mention Andreas Katsulas in 2006, Jeff Conaway in 2011, and Michael O'Hare in 2012[[/note]] Time has '''''not''''' been kind to the B5 cast.

* DistantFinale: Takes place nearly 20 years after the end of the show's plotline. Although the 4th season finale, ''[[Recap/BabylonFiveS04E22TheDeconstructionOfFallingStars The Deconstruction Of Falling Stars]]'', took place much farther into the future.

* NeverFoundTheBody: Sheridan's body was never found, leading some Minbari to believe [[KingInTheMountain he will return again, someday]].
* NoodleIncident: A story that Garibaldi seems to find a lot funnier than Sheridan does. It was something about finding an important data crystal that had been hidden inside a dead cat, only for the cat to be eaten by a pak'ma'ra, who then vomited all over Sheridan, which began eating through his uniform.

* BackForTheFinale: Creator/ClaudiaChristian, who left the show after the fourth season, returns as General Susan Ivanova. This episode would have originally been the fourth season finale as well. When the show was picked up for a fifth season, ''Deconstruction of Falling Stars'' was produced and this one pushed to the back of the broadcast queue, meaning that Claudia Christian didn't even have to come back to work to make this one work.

* ContinuitySnarl: A minor one: No mention is made of Elizabeth Lochley, as this episode was produced before her character was introduced to the show (see OutOfOrder and BackForTheFinale).

* HarsherInHindsight: The "toast to absent friends", since as of 2017, three of the six actors sitting at that table are gone.[[note]]Richard Biggs in 2004, Jerry Doyle in 2016, and Stephen Furst in 2017. Not to mention Andreas Katsulas in 2006, Jeff Conaway in 2011, Michael O'Hare in 2012, and Mira Furlan in 2021.[[/note]] Time has '''''not''''' been kind to the B5 cast.

** Zack Allen returned as head of Security to the station, mainly out of a sense of duty to the place than for any need for someone of his experience there. A later scene implies that Vir gave him a new job after Babylon Five was scuttled.

* HarsherInHindsight: The "toast to absent friends", since as of 2017, three of the six actors sitting at that table are gone.[[note]]Richard Biggs in 2004, Jerry Doyle in 2016, and Stephen Furst in 2017. Not to mention Andreas Katsulas in 2006, Jeff Conaway in 2011, and Michael O'Hare in 2012.[[/note]] Time has '''''not''''' been kind to the B5 cast.

* ShowWithinAShow: The very end of the episode indicates that this was an [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis ISN Special Documentary]], with the implication that the entire show might have been as well.

** Most of the production crew gets featured in a series of rapid-fire shots at the very end, as the people who made this "[[LiteraryAgentHypothesis ISN Special Documentary]]."

* BackForTheFinale: Claudia Christian, who left the show after the fourth season, returns as General Susan Ivanova.
** This episode would have originally been the fourth season finale as well. When the show was picked up for a fifth season, ''Deconstruction of Falling Stars'' was produced and this one pushed to the back of the broadcast queue, meaning that Claudia Christian didn't even have to come back to work to make this one work.

* CallBack: Sheridan begins with dreams of Lorien's prediction.

** General Ivanova suspects that she is seen as an old warhorse, only to be brought out in public for ceremonies. She ends up retiring from Earthforcer and becoming the new head of the Rangers.

* ContinuitySnarl: A minor one: No mention is made of Elizabeth Lochley, as this episode was produced before her character was introduced to the show (see OutOfOrder and BackForTheFinale)

** General Ivanova suspects that she is seen as an old war horse, only to be brought out in public for parades. She ends up retiring from the Earth military and becoming the new head of the Rangers.
** Zack Allen still works as head of Security on the station, mainly out of a sense of duty to the place than for any need for someone of his experience there. A later scene implies that Vir gave him a new job after Babylon Five was scuttled.

** [[Recap/BabylonFiveS01E13SignsAndPortents Lady Ladira]] had a vision of Babylon 5 exploding as a single shuttle left. While some details are different (such as the series of ships acting as distance markers), the essence of the vision has come true: Babylon 5 ends in fire.

Sheridan's eyes close and the light goes out.