History Characters / BabylonFiveTheShadows

* ImmortalApathy ties into their {{Hypocrite}} trope: The Shadows [[spoiler:and the Vorlons]], manipulate the younger races but don't seem to care for their fates. They have sold themselves to their human [[LesCollaborateurs collaborators]] and the younger races as providing strength or "releasing their potential". In reality it's a DealWithTheDevil and the Shadows will do as they please without regard to the fates of the younger races as long as they fight the Vorlons.

* ActingForTwo: Creator/WayneAlexander also portrayed Sebastian (aka Jack the Ripper), G'Dan of the Narn Resistance, Lorien, and the Drazi prisoner in "Intersections in Real Time".

* MouthOfSauron: To the Drakh government.

* CastTheRunnerUp: In a sense. According to JMS on his Patreon commentaries, Wasser wasn't originally intended to be Morden's actor. He was a script reader who read as Morden for auditions during Season One. However, JMS liked Wasser's readings as Morden more than the actual actors who were auditioning for Morden. So Wasser got the role.

* DidNotSeeThatComing: He was clearly shocked when [[spoiler: Londo had him surrounded with his personal guards and blasted the Shadow bodyguards to atoms before taking him away to be executed, and presented as "a gift" to Vir, in revenge for killing his LoveInterest.]]

* RedFilterOfDoom: The lights and surrounding ambience would darken and redden around him during some of his more adversarial encounters with characters (such as with Londo when their relations were strained, in "Interludes and Examinations").
** FridgeHorror: [[spoiler: That's the Shadows getting agitated.]]

* SmugSnake: WordOfGod is that Morden is completely secure in the knowledge that he can say whatever he wants to anyone he wants, because he has "an 800-pound gorilla" (at least two actual Shadows) standing right behind him.

[[folder: Mr Morden (Creator/EdWasser)]]

[[folder:Justin (Creator/JeffCorrey)]]

[[folder: Anna Sheridan (Creator/BethToussant, Creator/MelissaGilbert)]]

[[folder: Shiv'kala (Creator/WayneAlexander)]]

* ActingForTwo: Wayne Alexander also portrayed Sebastian (aka Jack the Ripper), G'Dan of the Narn Resistance, Lorien, and the Drazi prisoner in "Intersections in Real Time".

[[folder: Mr Morden (Ed Wasser)]]

[[folder:Justin (Jeff Correy)]]

[[folder: Anna Sheridan (Beth Toussant, Melissa Gilbert)]]

[[folder: Shiv'kala (Wayne Alexander)]]

* RealLifeRelative: When Beth Toussant was unavailable to return as Sheridan's wife, they decided to hire Bruce Boxleitner's real life wife to play the part. Their real wedding photo was even used in one scene.

[[folder: Shiv'khala (Wayne Alexander)]]

* ActingForTwo: Wayne Alexander also portrayed Sebastian, G'Dan of the Narn Resistance, Lorien, and the Drazi prisoner in "Intersections in Real Time"

* TheManBehindTheMan: Ruled the Centauri Republic via Regent Milo Virini [[spoiler:and later through Emperor Londo himself]]

* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Possibly. [[spoiler:When he talks about Anna Sheridan having been forcibly put into a Shadow ship and how one is never quite the same after that, his own voice nearly breaks, perhaps indicating a similar experience.]]

* MysteriousPast: Justin's background is unknown. According to WordOfGod he was not part of the IPX expedition in which Morden and Anna arrived to Z'ha'dum at a later time.

* MysteriousPast: Justin's background is unknown. According to WordOfGod he was not part of the IPX expedition in which Morden and Anna arrived to Z'ha'dum but at another time.

* BigBad: [[spoiler:Subverted, at least insofar as the Vorlons turn out to be at least just as bad.]]

* EldritchStarship: [[DarkIsEvil Jet black]], [[HumanResources powered by living beings]], leaves you a [[GoMadFromTheRevelation broken]] [[MindRape wreck]] if you're ever pulled out of one? Definitely qualifies. The fact that they're shaped like a nightmare [[SpidersAreScary spider from hell]] and let out an [[HellIsThatNoise ungodly shriek]] as they fly by is just icing on the evil cake.

* CastTheRunnerUp: In a sense. According to JMS on his Patreon commentaries, Wasser wasn't originally intended to be Morden's actor. He was a script reader who reads as Morden for auditions during Season One. However, JMS liked Wasser's readings as Morden more than the actual actors who were auditioning for Morden. So Wasser got the role.

* CastTheRunnerUp: In a sense. According to JMS on his Patreon commentaries, Wasser wasn't Morden's original actor; he was a script reader for auditions during Season One. However, JMS liked Wasser's readings as Morden more than the original actor and so Wasser got the role.

* ArmourPiercingQuestion: "Who are you?" At best you'll get an evasive non-answer to this question. At worst...

** The Shadows' Question is "What Do You Want?". Sheridan eventually points out that they have no answer to this question. They do not know what they want for themselves anymore.

* {{Hypocrite}}: [[spoiler:Despite terming themselves "liberators" (per the novels) and claiming to represent Chaos, they take it poorly when people decide they want to be free themselves and don't want their "help". They also created the Keeper, a PuppeteerParasite, and subjected those who resisted collaborating with them to DeathOfPersonality to get them to comply]].
** The Shadows' Question is "What Do You Want?". Sheridan eventually points out that they have no answer to this question. They do not know what they want for themselves anymore.

* SocialDarwinist: In contrast to the Vorlons, who believe that strength lies in lawfulness, structure and obedience, the Shadows believe that the younger races can only become stronger through conflict, so the Shadows promote conflict to "help" the younger races grow. If some of the younger races are wiped in the conflict, then they consider it an acceptable loss.

%%[[folder: The Drakh in general]]
%%* BodyHorror
%%* TheChessmaster
%%* DragonAscendant
%%* FantasticCasteSystem
%%* PuppeteerParasite: The Keeper
%%* TheRemnant: [[spoiler: They were servants of the Shadows.]]
%%[[/folder]]

* MysteriousPast: Relatively little is known about Morden other than he was aboard the ''Icarus''.

* BigNo: He screams one of these when Londo [[spoiler:nukes Selini and destroys the entire island, including the Shadow base (and all the Shadows in it).]]

* EnigmaticMinion: Whether its shared belief in their ideology, self-interest or self-preservation, his exact reasons for joining the Shadows is never revealed in the show.

* EnergyBeing: According to the ''Technomage Trilogy'' (which JMS has stated is canon), the Shadows evolved into "beings of light", like the Vorlons. However, they usually prefer to assume material form.

** The Shadows and the Vorlons are having this entire conflict over whose way to groom the younger races is the best. Ultimately it's closer to the Vorlons' method that triumphs - races working together for advancements, with the Interstellar Alliance born out of the Rangers guiding the galaxies for millennia to come. The Rangers even infiltrate a more primitive world to uplift them and slowly manipulate them to join the greater cosmic unity (as they do to a post-apocalyptic Earth that regressed to medieval technology out of fear of science), mirroring how the Vorlons shaped the younger races. This was only possible because of the Shadows' actions bringing all those races together to form the Alliance. The Shadows' own plans led to the Vorlons' way actually working.