Babylon 5 | S5E22 - Sleeping in Light | Reaction 

The main note on the script for Christopher Franke for the score was, "Break our hearts." And he did a fantastic job.

It's been 25 years and it still gets me

The most heartbreaking moment is the final elevator scene with everyone when B5 is decommissioned. Everyone in that elevator, with the exception of Claudia Christian, has gone beyond the Rim.

Medusa at the start "I hope this doesn't break my heart" ❤It's been nearly 25 years since this first aired and Sleeping In Light still reduces this 50-year-old man to tears every time. It's been a great experience being on this B5 journey with you, your reactions are amazing and you've done a fantastic job. So thank you 😊

It was fitting that Joe got to turn out the lights, ending the show on his terms. This episode was filmed at the end of season 4, when they didn’t know they got a season 5 which explains why Susan is there when Claudia had left. This reaction series was another dream given form, a chance for us to relive something we loved through the eyes of a true believer. Thank You 🙏

'I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.' - J.R.R. Tolkien

It didn't make the cut but I want to give a shout out to Vir showing his true colors yet again. He doesn't just take the letter from or even thank the ranger. Instead he pauses and says a heartfelt "I'm sorry", acknowledging the ranger's own humanity and deep feelings about what is happening with Sheridan, rather than treating the ranger as just a messenger. Between this ranger scene, and Vir's touching Londo story during the dinner, actor Stephen Furst really brought his A game to the series finale.

A proper ending! I remember watching this episode with a bunch of my friends back in high school. We genuinely all cried during this episode. I distinctly remember my mother walking in the room and not having a CLUE what was going on 😂 Beautiful ending to an incredible series. And Christopher Franke’s music during the decommissioning ceremony is perfection! Having Joe flip the switch for the last time, added a level of beauty and heartbreak imo.

I dare say this is the best series finale ever. I cannot think of any other shows finale that comes even close to it.

The bit where John walks away fom Delenn for the last time always gets me

Claudia being the only one left from the final station scene is just heart breaking.

In the end, the vision of the destruction of Babylon 5 that Sinclair was given in Season 1 came true... just not in the way he (or any of the fans) thought it would!

Your reviews of B5 have been a treat to watch. From the first episode I was thinking "Oh, wait till she gets to Sleeping in Light". Thank you for your care and attention in watching this show; it's one for the ages. Susan was in this because it was filmed at the end of season 4 as a possible series finale. When they got season 5 approved they put it away and made a new season 4 ending, saving this for the end of S5.

What's really sad about watching this episode is the realization of how many cast members are "out exploring beyond the rim," as JMS would say. Or, as he also says, "God must be a fan of B5; he keeps collecting the cast!"

The moment that broke me was when John puts his hand on Delenns shoulder as they say goodbye and all the poise evaporates in a moment of utter grief and resignation. Such a beautiful moment wonderfully acted by Bruce and Mira. 😢

"I'm doing this without tissues." [us] Oh, honey... Thank you for sharing with us your journey through the best sci-fi series ever made.

Well well.. you made it. Babylon 5 .. an criminally underrated masterpiece and one, if not the best SF Series ever made. Welcome to the Fandom! :)

Christopher Franke’s music is a huge part of what made B5 such a good show. Also, going into this episode without tissues? Brave.

I think Delenn and John is the best love story I've ever seen on TV.

Fun fact: the statue that you see VERY briefly on Ivanova's desk is one of the actual Hugo Award trophies, from when they won for both "The Coming Of Shadows" (S2) and "Severed Dreams" (S3). It was named for the man who originally sponsored the award in order to promote science fiction, Hugo Gernsbeck.

Re: John going back to Coriana 6 He went back there because he was given that message from Kosh "When the long night comes, return to the end of the beginning." via Lockley in the Day of the Dead episode, if you remember John gave a little nod of his head as he figured out what it meant. This episode was/is very poignant, perhaps too much so, I've found myself avoiding it when I watch the series again as it triggers my existential dread.

At a science fiction convention in 1987, during a fan Q&A session, Joe Straczynski was asked "So how does it all end?" With a straight face, he looked at the audience, smiled, and said, "It ends with me putting all the chairs up on the tables, turning out the lights, and walking out the door." And we all thought he was being poetic.

I like to think that Lorian & John waited just beyond the rim for Deleann's death so they could come & collect so that Deleann & John could be together forever. Love your reaction to to this amazing series which is still one of the best ever written.

I'm a crusty old man but this episode broke me back when it first aired and every time since.

I cry every single time I watch this episode. I'm so glad you shared this journey with us. It's wonderful to see new fans and to freshen my own appreciation and love of the show. My mother is the one who introduced me to this show. She even kept a book of quotes that she collected, many of which came from B5, which I still have and read from time to time. She died of cancer in 2008, and I will always associate B5 with her, especially Sleeping With Light.

You should have brought the tissues. This is, hands down, THE most beautiful series finale that I've ever seen. A perfect send off to a truly wonderful series, the sort of which we've yet to see the like again. A heartfelt farewell, and ending that gives us a wonderful send off that wraps things up beautifully. It is truly heartbreaking.

That moment after Jon and Delenns final embrace. The look in Delenns eyes gets me every time.

"To absent friends, in memory still bright." That's one of the phrases you'll recognize a B5 fan from. If you're going to watch a video from one of the younger conventions - say the last ten years or so - you'll hear the cast use that phrase frequently, too. For their friends who have gone beyond the rim. So much from this episode bled into reality. And every time another goes, it becomes a little harder to watch.

That final scene with Delenn and the sunrise gets me every time. Without fail.

It's been a real honour to see you discovering this show and becoming as emotionally involved with the characters as I was 25+ years ago. No other show I have watched has had as much impact as Babylon 5 did. Thank you again for allowing me along on your journey of discovery and to enjoy seeing this show again like it was the first time. Be seeing you!

The ONLY Cure For The "Babylon Blues"..... Is To Watch The Series Again; See Things You Probably Missed The First Time Around..... And So It Begins! . To See Once Again All Those Who We Have Missed...

That technician shutting down the station at the end... that was JMS. And now we know who was on that shuttle that left Babylon 5 right before it exploded, fulfilling Lady Ladira's prophecy from all the way back in season 1's "Signs and Portents.".

Thank you so much for the B5 reaction journey. And as a babylon 5 fan who has watched the series so many times, i am glad to see this series still has the ability to touch our soul in a sense. Babylon 5 is after all those years my favourite TV series.

Thank you so much for this watch-through! It's been a treat.

When this episode first aired 25 years ago I said this was the greatest Series Final ever. Before that my fav was Star Trek TNG's All Good Things. But Sleeping in Light broke me. 25 years later it still breaks me everytime. 25 years later, even as TV production quality has improved and increased in budget, Sleeping in Light is still the best.

Even for people like us. The line that gets me the most in this -- cause a bunch of things can make me cry a bit in this finale -- but the thing that ALWAYS gets me is right at the end in the final speech by Susan: it gave us hope, even for people like us. Even for people like us.

Babylon 5 has major JRR Tolkien inspiration/tribute, John is Beren/Aragorn and Delenn is Luthien/Arwen. So when John calls Delenn his Silmaril and Delenn tell's John he's her Telperion and Laurelin... can't help but cry every time. And Lorien literally named after a Valar, and going into the West... hot damn.

In the DVD commentary, JMS said the line he was most proud of writing was when Sheridan tells Delenn she is 'the brightest star in my sky"

I stole the words of Sheridan when he proposed to Delenn for my proposal. My wife didn't let me finish before she cried yes - glad I watched B5

So many tear-jerk moments in this episode but the one that gets me EVERY time is when Straczynski himself takes a long, last look at the station, and then pulls the power.

Yes, that last scene with Delenn gets to me too - every time I see it.

I lost count how many times i've rewatched this series, and seeing it from the perspective of a RU-vidr made me relive these amazing moments in the show. truly one of the finest written story in modern television. this show never had an easy going, it had a production difficulties like any other show but it never wavered thanks to the show runner.

Emperor Turhan: "How will it end?" Kosh: "In fire." Almost literally the last scene in the show is B5 blowing up.

"Look at that, the sun's coming up." Gets me every time. Always will. This has been a wonderful journey, thank you for sharing this with us.

Your reaction, intelligence with emotion, is surely the most fitting for this peerless series. The only snag I've found with having become a Babylon 5 fan is that it is REALLY difficult to find any other sci-fi series that hits as many buttons.

14 times through this series.. 14 times I ugly cry at 'Sleeping in Light'. The writing, the performances, the scoring... the best end of a series, ever! Medusa, it's been an honor joining you as you watch my favorite sci fi series. Wether you know it or not, we've cried together, laughed together, wtf'ed together and enjoyed this series together. And the score...OMG! Now, watch it again ...❤😢

B5 was the main reason I subscribed to your channel. I agree with you that it is simply the finest Sci Fi show ever. Sleeping in Light broke me the first time I watched it years ago, and broke me again tonight. Thank you so very much for allowing me to re-live it through your eyes.

I always cry when I watch this. In the years since I've originally watched Babylon 5, you reactions fueled the spark that I had from back then. Watching you feel, and laugh, and cry, get excited, get emotional, is the nearest thing to getting to watch it for the first time. Thank you for that.

Oh no, I forgot that this was coming out today. I didn't buy enough tissues... Damn it, oh well, I guess it's time... The end of Babylon 5 :( I do not know how many times I've rewatched this episode, but I cry every time. Even now, seeing B5 blowing up, I can't hold back my tears.

Pre-episode. I rewatch this episode every time another cast member passes beyond the rim. If you don't cry during this episode i'll be very much surprised. There are at least 6 points i can think of that will break you. Post-episode. Glad you recognized JMS, him turning off the lights makes it so mean much more than if it had been anybody else. Even after watching this finale many times over the decades it still gets me every single time. There has never been a better final episode to a show ever made.

The bit that got me the most way back on first run was watching JMS turn off the power and start the destruct sequence! that brought the tears.

This is the B5 episode I've seen the most often. I was terrible at avoiding spoilers and knew much of what would happen, but on my first watch I was still in tears a minute into it. I watched it on the last Saturday evening of my summer break that year... and then, for the entire following academic year, I saw it every Saturday evening. Mildly obsessed, to put it lightly. At one point I could speak along with the entire episode. I mentioned last episode that B5 taught me to say goodbye. When I visited my dying grandma, I said good night to her in the end, not goodbye. (Of course, this is a callback to Minbari not having a word for goodbye.) And the evening of the day she passed, I turned on this episode because it helped me process. B5 taught me to grieve, too.

It was a privilege to see someone cry like I did when I saw the series for the first time decades ago. Decades ago...

For those of us who either experienced Babylon 5 before and knew what was coming to those on the journey discovering it with you now it was just pure beauty. So you are aware the reason why this episode has Susan Ivanova in it was because this was actually filmed at the end of season 4 where the fear was that B5 wasn't going to get a 5th season but when it was renewed, JMS saved it for the finale of Season 5. I call this the Epilogue to the series. It ties in so much together. I also love the tribute they did at the end for both the cast as they entered the show and their last known status as well as thanking those behind the scenes. I really wish more faith had been put on B5 to have given us everything we would have wanted (the Telepath War). If you can track down the digital copy, i'd recommend getting a copy of the 3 issue series comic for B5 called "In Valen's Name" as well as a short story titled "Space, Time, and the Incurable Romantic" all written by JMS. I think you will like them.

"I hope I don't cry a lot, because I don't have any tissues anymore." *episode starts* *cries immediately* The feeling is mutual.

Thanks again for keeping Babylon 5 alive for another generation to enjoy. I can't believe that we've reached the final episode. A spectacular ending for an awesome series. I just can't understand why Babylon 5 didn't get the recognition it really, truly deserved. Again, thanks for sharing your journey and B5 experience with us.

"The One is a fan of the post." I love this quote! 😂 Put it on a tee-shirt and see if it sells. 😊 On a more serious note, I think it was JMS who said that John and Delenn were the Arthur and Guinevere of Babylon 5. I loved that final, medieval imagery of them as Delenn watched the sun come up. Truly moving. Thank you for your reaction. It was a joy and delight to experience this show with you. Beautiful and thoughtful and deeply moving.

I'm sitting here on a Sunday morning crying with you. That ending was a gut punch. What a wonderful journey this has been with you. I would have liked a 3-parter with this to get more reaction from the finale. If you post that, I for one would be there. *Edit in rewatching the destruction of B5 scene a few times, you can really see your heart breaking on camera. It is very touching.

"It [Sleeping In Light] was everything it needed to be." --- J. Michael Straczynski

Thank you for the amazing watching of this series. This finale hits like a ton of bricks and was done just perfectly.

I still gets emotional thinking of this episode... Best show ever despite its flaws. Thank you for reacting to the show, nowadays you could almost call it a hidden gem in TV.

I have loved your reactions from start to finish. That this story can provoke such emotions from someone 25 years after it was made is a testament to the great writing, great performances and dedicated production team. Awesome to see you commit to it so wholeheartedly ❤

The whole series is just a masterclass in writing, story telling, acting and the perfectly scored music.

I just want to give you the biggest thank you I can, Medusa. I cannot put into words who wonderful it was watching (and suffering through) the whole of Babylon 5 with you. I agree with you. I have watched countless SciFi series before and since but none has effected me like B5 has. I have never watched any other SciFi series (and few TV series in total) which have made me cry so much but that's because I loved the characters so much and (like you) I never wanted the series to end. It's worth reviewing "Legend of the Rangers". Such a shame it was never made into a full TV series. It took a couple of episodes for me to get used to"Crusade" but it's an excellent series. I will watch all your reviews avidly but miss watching B5 with you.

t=4:25 that moment when Garibaldi says the simple words "20 years ago", and the full weight of those words dawns on us.

John went to Coriana because in "Day of the Dead" Zoe gave Lochley a message from Kosh for John..."When the long night comes, return to the end of the beginning." There is nothing that I can say that has not been said by all the other comments, so I will say 'See you on the other side of the Gate!'

Thank you for letting us join you in your journey. I was a wreck for two days after SiL was broadcast because they blew up my station.

In case you're curious, Ivanova returned because this episode was originally intended to end Season 4. Back then, B5 was told by Warner Brothers that they were not getting a Season 5, so the series finale was filmed using the Season 4 cast. They got a last-minute renewal, so they put the finale on a shelf and used it after Season 5.

Been waiting for this! It totally broke me ... does every time I watch it 😢

This is episode was one of the few times I've watched anything and cried. Even watching your reaction the tears were flowing. This is how a show should be ended. The respect the showrunners have for the characters; is something you simply don't get these days. 😭😭😭

If it is any kind of consolation to you, the short clips you were showing, were not short enough for me to keep dry eyes. For me it starts reliably like clockwork at the words to absent friends, in memory still bright”. It got me on first airing, and on any rewatch. Your reaction to thus could not have been a surprise to anybody joining your journey here, and knowing the show. The score also killed everybody. I would also like to express my deep felt gratitude, to be able to see my favorite show, fresh through your eyes, even making me appreciate how much better than I remembered season 5 was. This was a beautiful journey, and thank you for sharing it with me.

"I don't know if anything will ever really top this to be honest... it's going to be really hard for anything I watch from here on in to get anywhere close to this." So true. I can say right now, nothing ever will. For me, in over twenty years, nothing ever has. This is the single finest finale ever made for any television series, and one of the best resolutions for any story I've ever experienced, on top of the fact that the series as a whole is the best fiction I've ever consumed. This episode nowadays, even more than when I first watched it, reduces me to tears through its entire runtime, specifically considering almost everyone we see on screen has died now. That shot with Claudia Christian in the elevator, standing in the center and flanked by actors who are all now passed on, is just crushing. I love seeing people still coming to this series after decades, and getting to experience the masterful storytelling that it gave us all those years ago.

If you watch the whole series and don't cry when the station blows up at the end....there's something wrong with you.

So glad I got to enjoy Babylon 5 again through these reactions. It's absolutely my favourite scifi and especially the ending has always stuck with me.

Your reaction videos are a joy to all of us old fans from so many years ago. You notice the same things we noticed and experience the same mix of feelings, with awe and wonder and gut-wrenching sorrow and joy and hope. B5 will always have a special place in our hearts. Did you know that JMS wrote a short story about Susan and Marcus? "Space, Time, and the Incurable Romantic," published in the magazine Amazing Stories, Issue 602, Summer 2000. Find it if you can - a wonderful story, almost like a "post-credits" scene!

At the end, when they are leaving B5 right before decommissioning it, the group steps into the lift. It hit me in the gut when I realized that, out of that entire lift, Claudia is the ONLY one who is still alive. =(

It has been a pleasure and a privilege watching you go on n this journey through the greatest television story ever created…it was like watching it again for the first time, with you going through the same emotional journey and connection to the story and characters as I did years ago when it first aired…you are an absolute treasure and now a key part of the B5 community…from all of us, I just wanted to say thank you x x x

This episode ripped out my heart now just as much as it did then. It's been a genuine pleasure watching you discover the series after all these years. Babylon 5 was one of the best series ever put to screen. Everything about it was exceptional.

If you’ve watched all of Babylon 5 and you don’t ugly cry during this episode, you’re not human. No television show has ever brought me to genuine tears. Except that one. Damn. Even just watching your edited viewing here, not even having rewatched the series, it still got real damn dusty in the living room and had me reaching for my shirt sleeves to dry my eyes.

This is the one Sc-Fi show whose finale has me in tears every time I watch it and I'm stunned that it doesn't get the attention it deserves. A perfect ending for such an amazing series

Babylon 5 is one of the few TV series that become part of your life. Even if you can't have a first reaction again, the journey is still there waiting for you to take it again. For me Vir Cotto is an unlikely hero, his integrity and honesty can't be stained. His scene with Morden when he answers Morden’s question, “What do you want” is one of the highlights for me. I haven't noticed any other person commenting this but if your viewers haven't heard, J Michael Straczinsky has tweeted that there's going to be an important announcement in June.

Thanks for reacting to this series. Really enjoyed it. If you ever did a rewatch series, I think you'd find it quite interesting how much of the story was seeded early without you realizing it the first time through. I'd certainly tune in for that.

Couldn't leave without a comment. Lots of thanks for this, it really brought me back 25 years to when I was recording each episode on VHS. Thanks again for the commentary, the wit and the sincerity.

"I'm going in .. without tissues". Bold of you. ;) It took me two weeks to watch this because I knew it was going to be a tear jerker for us both. I still remember the day I watched it when it aired. I wept. Openly. I still cry every time, and I've tried to make it a ritual that every time I moved to a new place, I had B5 on TV in the background while I unpacked, and of course, have to finish the series out later. I still cry, and I knew this would be no different, as I've cried along with you in your watching of the show. This remains one of the best sci fi shows ever, IMO, and I don't know if there will ever be anything to top it for a long, long while. Especially this finale. B5 touched my soul, and has influenced my writing and my life in general. Thank you for letting us watch it along with you. This was a fantastic journey.

I've seen the finale hundreds of times. I cry ever single time when the station explodes.

You reaction mirrored mine when I first saw this episode long ago. Am still watching your previous reactions but I skipped ahead to this one because of the intensity of your passion for B5. Your tears brought out mine. We live for the one, we die for the One, sister!

"I'm going in without tissues" - big mistake. BIG mistake.

I'm over 40 years old... I rewatch this series (or listen to it since its practically memorized) on average every 2 years... this finel episode gets me every time... I still get a bit teary eyed. It's been a joy to see someone go through the journey that was this show and to see them enjoy it as much as I did.

Babylon 5 was the most mature and masterful sci-fi series ever made. It truly was and still is ahead of its time.

I found your channel when I was looking up stuff due to the animated B5 movie coming out and thought I would watch a few reactions to big episodes but ended up watching your entire playlist. You've honestly got the best B5 reactions/commentaries out there.

Everything ends, and that's always sad. But everything begins again too and that's always happy. Be happy. I'll take care of the rest-The Twelfth Doctor

Coming with you on this journey has been an absolute pleasure. The amount of emotion in your videos made this entire experience an absolute blast to be a part of. You do get sucked into this universe, and it is difficult to say goodbye at the end of it all. As a big fan of Sinclair, the moments of this that will always stick with me are your reactions everytime he reappears...both the video to Garibaldi, and especially his appearance in War Without End. Like Delenn, I will not say goodbye...but will say until next time. Thank you.

Medusa, thank you so much for choosing to react to this series.Watching it again after so many years and seeing your love for the series along with the rest of us who hold this dear to our hearts is a gift without price. You have our eternal gratitude.

The whole final conversation is how the minbari say goodbye. Remember Delenn saying that all Minbari partings hold the possibility of meeting again in another life, that there is No word for goodbye in any of their 3 languages

And so it ends... I just wanted to say a massive thank you for your reactions to this entire series. I watched this show when it first came out & multiple times since. However, I have to say that watching it again through your eyes has been an absolute joy!! You've picked up on things, made connections that I'd missed - but are so obvious now!! I honestly don't know who has shed more tears you or me!! I knew (along with everyone else) that going into this last episode that it would be a tough watch for you, as the love you have for these characters comes across so powerfully. I hope that when you watched the end credits and the characters all came up, that you noticed what was written beside Marcus by Susan. If not go back and take a look... Thank you once again & look forward to your reaction video to the new animated B5 movie that comes out later this year!!

In 'Day of the Dead,' Zoe (Lochley's friend) had a message for Sheridan from Kosh: "When the long night comes, return to the end of the beginning." This was apparently Vorlon for "Go to Coriana when when your time is up." Also: "I'm going in without tissues." 5 seconds into the episode "Why didn't I bring the tissues?"

Every single episode reaction has been a genuine delight. Thank you so much for this.

That was definitely a long and pleasant journey to rediscover this show with you. Thanks for it and taka care.

It has been an absolute honour to watch you watching this show. Thank you, sincerely, for allowing us to share in your journey.

For me, nothing has topped B5. This episode is stunning but still kills me after so many rewatches. I thought you going tissue-less was very brave. Thanks for these reactions.