Ceremonies of Light and Dark

- Delenn and Marcus

Tonight's episode of Babylon 5 was one of my favorites - Ceremonies of Light and Dark. Delenn wants to put on a rebirth ceremony, which involves reflection and meditation on the past and the future in order to come together, to restore that which has been torn apart, and to heal wounds suffered. As part of the ceremony, one must tell someone a secret that they've never told anyone else before and must also give away something that is of great value to them.

Delenn expects Marcus to attend the ceremony but he refuses and eventually she corners him to find out why ...

M: You asked me to give something up, Delenn. I don't have anything left. It's all gone. My brother was the last of our family and he died because of my stupidity. He warned me of the Shadows. I didn't listen. And when they came, I lost him, our home, the colony where we'd grown up, and a woman I was quite fond of. I escaped with only the clothes on my back and went off in search of these Rangers he had been going on about, because he believed in them and in you. Everything I was, everything I had died that night. I don't have anything left to give.

D: Then that is exactly what you must give up. Yes, you have lost much, endured much, sacrificed greatly, but you cling to the memory of your sacrifices, of all the things you have lost or left behind. They drag behind you like chains of your own making. They can have a terrible power over you, Marcus. The power of grief, of loss, and regret. Yes, you have let go of the people, the places and the things, but you have not let go of the pain. You have not forgiven yourself.

M: For what?

D: Being alive.

By the end of the episode, Delenn is hurt and the ceremony is canceled so Marcus is off the hook, but the other characters do go through the parts of the ceremony of telling their secrets and giving up something they care about to Delenn.

It's hard to find specific video clips for B5, but here's a sort of trailer for the show ...