History Recap / BabylonFiveS02E22TheFallOfNight

* AngerBornOfWorry: When Sheridan is venting to Garibaldi about his frustrations with Londo, he asks for Garibaldi's input as he's the closest thing Londo has to a real friend on B5. Garibaldi cites this Trope what's actually driving Londo nowadays. Londo's newfound aggressiveness is really just a mask to hide how scared he is of his people's current warmongering and the deteriorating situation. And as long as Londo remains terrified and trying to hold on for dear life, there's no way they'll be able to get through to him.

The Centauri attempt to stp the cruiser and eventually open fire. When one of the station's cargo pylons is blown off, Sheridan orders a full out attack which severely damages the battlecruiser. Meanwhile, the ''G'Dok'' reaches the jumpgate and escapes, but the Centauri ship succumbs to its damage.

--->'''Londo/Peter Jurasik''': [[WesternAnimation/SylvesterTheCatAndTweetyBird I taut I taw a puddy tat. I did, I did taw a puddy tat.]]

--->'''Ivanova:''' It was the end of the Earth year 2259, and the war was upon us. As anticipated, a few days after the Earth-Centauri treaty was announced, the Centauri widened their war to include many of the Non-Aligned Worlds. And there was [[CivilWar another war brewing closer to home]], a personal one whose cost would be higher than any of us could imagine. We came to this place because Babylon 5 was our last, best hope for peace. By the end of 2259, we knew that it had failed. But in so doing, it became something greater. As the war expanded, it became our last best hope... for victory. Because sometimes, peace is another word for surrender. And because secrets have a way of getting out.

* SignatureStyle: A minor plot point. After a year of being on the station, Sheridan's had enough experience by now dealing with Londo and the Centauri ambassadorial/political style. So after Londo confronts him about the Narn ship, Sheridan quickly and grimly realizes Londo ''wouldn't'' have come out in the open like this unless he'd already notified Centauri Prime -- which means the station's about to have 'company'.

* NotHyperbole: General Franklin promised that the new defense grid could fight off a warship. He wasn't kidding. Now if only someone had told the Centauri.

* CommonalityConnection: It turns out Vir and Lennier have bonded meet up regularly to commiserate with each other over being taken for granted, ignored and LockedOutOfTheLoop by their respective ambassadors.

* CommonalityConnection: It turns out Vir and Lennier have bonded meet up regularly to commiserate with each other over being taken for granted, ignored and LockOutOfTheLoop by their respective ambassadors.

* HollywoodTactics: Played [[RealityEnsues to their logical conclusion]]: The Centauri cruiser opens fire on the Narn cruiser, the escorting Starfuries, and Babylon 5, [[ILikeThoseOdds all at once]], and without launching her own fighters first. She is quickly overwhelmed by by a swarm of fighters and heavy weapons fire from the station. Other major space battles in the show typically feature capital ships launching fighters to serve as a defensive screen or to harass the enemy.

-->"I apologize. I'm... sorry. [[BackhandedApology I'm sorry we had to defend ourselves against an unwarranted attack]]. I'm sorry that your crew was [[WhatAnIdiot stupid enough]] to fire on a station filled with a quarter million civilians, including your own people. And [[IRegretNothing I'm sorry I waited as long as I did]] before I blew them all straight to hell. ...'[[IronicEcho As with everything else, it's the thought that counts]].'"

* ExactWords: Sheridan's orders about to apologize for the Centauri fiasco. He ''does'' apologize...in the most sarcastic, insincere way possible (or at least he's ''prepared'' to 'apologize' as such before the bombing renders it moot).

* IncrediblyObviousBomb: A ''very'' obvious example. A Centauri assassin plants one on the carriage that Sheridan is travelling in, hiding it behind his body until he gets off -- and deliberately making eye contact with Sheridan to distract him until it's too late to escape. He doesn't expect Sheridan's split-second calculation that ''almost'' certain death trumps certain death... and he ''definitely'' doesn't expect Kosh to turn out to be an angel.

* WhamEpisode: Earth decides to appease the Centauri, Kosh finally reveals himself to the others, and things on Earth are starting to take an increasingly fascist tone.

--->Londo/Peter Jurasik: [[WesternAnimation/SylvesterTheCatAndTweetyBird I taut I taw a puddy tat. I did, I did taw a puddy tat.]]

* Hilarious Outtakes: The scene in the bar where a Drazi asks Londo what he saw in the garden when Angel-form Kosh saved Sheridan.

** The signal for the Centauri weapons lock on to Babylon 5 sounded like that of a submarine sonar. It represents an active weapons lock (ship sending out signals to locate its target) rather than a passive lock (ship detecting emmissions from its target). It brings a tension to the situation inherited from the submarine warfare genre of films.

* ExactWords: Sheridan's orders about to apologize for the Centauri fiasco. He ''does'' apologize...in the most sarcastic, insincere way possible.

* AngerBornOfWorry: When Sheridan is venting to Garibaldi about his frustrations with Londo, Garibaldi reveals this is what's actually going on with the Ambassador. Londo's new aggressiveness is really just a mask to hide how scared he is of his people's current warmongering and the deteriorating situation. And as long as he remains terrified, there's no way they'll be able to get through to Londo.

* NeverMyFault: Wells scapegoating Sheridan for the Centauri attack fiasco and forcing him to issue a public apology, even though it was his tipping off Londo about the Narn ship that triggered the entire mess.

* SignatureStyle: A minor plot point. After a year, Sheridan's enough experience dealing with Londo and the Centauri ambassadorial style. So after Londo confronts him about the Narn ship, Sheridan quickly and grimly realizes Londo ''wouldn't'' have come out in the open like this unless he'd already notified Centauri Prime -- which means the station's about to have 'company'.

* SpannerInTheWorks: Sheridan's plan for sheltering the Narn cruiser falls apart because they didn't anticipate one of the Command Deck personnel has Nightwatch sympathies and reports it to Wells once she learned of the impending Earth-Centauri non-aggression pact. Justified in-story as Sheridan and Ivanova had just learned of the Pact and didn't have time to consider security implications and compartmentalization before Londo blew everything up.

* FauxAffablyEvil: Mr. Welles, particularly in his interactions with Zach Allan and Sheridan.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Keffer's film.