Zack Allan (Jeff Conaway), now Chief of Station Security, is being fitted with an Army of Light uniform, much to his discomfort and Lennier’s (Bill Mumy) amusement. Zack hates the uniform because it reminds him that Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle) has quit. A Minbari cruiser arrives at Babylon Five and Callenn (Brian Carpenter), representing Delenn’s clan, the Tenth Fane of Elleya, shuttles in. She has been summoned to Minbar. Commander Ivanova (Claudia Christian) needs to meet with Maintenance about equipment shortages, then has to attend a Drazi religious festival.
In Medlab, Doctor Franklin (Richard Biggs) is putting in G’Kar’s prosthetic eye. It burns a bit, has to be recharged every night, and must be turned off when not in place to prevent disorientation. Also, it is a human eye-color. Sheridan contacts Franklin and asks him and Marcus Cole (Jason Carter) to his office. Sheridan sees a transport tube door open, and Ivanova shoves out an unconscious Drazi. She is walking with a cane and says, “Don’t ask.” Sheridan rings Delenn’s doorbell and she appears in a slinky black dress. She needs to spend the third pre-marriage night watching him sleep before she leaves for Minbar.
Sheridan meets with Franklin and Marcus. He wants them to sneak past Earth’s blockade, go to Mars, and meet with the Resistance. Franklin suggests he find out about Sheridan’s father, but Sheridan thinks it’s too dangerous. Delenn watches Sheridan sleep. Delenn and Lennier travel to Minbar and she appears before her clan. No Minbari, of course, has ever married a human. She has to enter the Whisper Gallery for The Dreaming.
It is cold inside the Whisper Gallery. Lennier realizes that Delenn has done this before. She once entered with Minbari founder Dukhat, and she was terrified. In a trance, she sees the attack on the Valen’Tha and Dukhat’s tragic death. Then she remembers being an acolyte aboard the ship, part of a debate with Dukhat and the Grey Council about the humans. The Worker Caste fears being weakened by human trade, the Religious Caste fears being weakened by human ideas, and the Warrior Caste hates the primitive human ways. Asked for her opinion by Dukhat, she says the greatest threat is the unknown, and the way to end that threat is to understand. Dukhat agrees, but the Council has lost its native curiosity. He puts off contacting the humans because there is so much resistance but chooses Delenn to be his aide and pupil.
She dreams of the day she became Satai and a member of the Council. Human ships approach, having initiated first contact themselves. The Valen’Tha approaches with gunports open as a sign of respect, but Delenn notes the presence of soul-hunters, a sign of impending death. Earthforce ships fire upon the Minbari ship, killing Dukhat, and it is the enraged Delenn who casts the deciding vote—to retaliate, essentially beginning the Earth-Minbari War.
She has spent ten years atoning for that error. She goes back into the Whisper Gallery to remember Dukhat’s last words, which are, “You are a child of Valen.” Later, Lennier shows her a genealogical record that shows she is indeed a descendant of Valen, who was in fact Jeffrey Sinclair gone back in time. She has always been part human, as are many other Minbari, but this is a big secret. Callenn figures out a way for her to marry Sheridan and call it a post-war bride-exchange. She returns to Babylon Five with her business completed. On the way to Mars, Franklin is forced to listen to Marcus Cole singing the Major General’s Song.
The song replaces the closing credits Babylon Five theme, ending with Franklin’s scream and the director saying, “Cut!” This was the first time Mira Furlan reappeared in the original Delenn makeup, which proved to be less uncomfortable than she remembered. The Minbari ceremonial bells are very much like the Vulcan ceremonial bells. I never liked the Grey Council much. The fact that their founder is of mixed race would be unacceptable, as is mixed marriage unless Delenn is considered a spoil of war. I’m thinking Straczynski can’t resist making the Religious Class hidebound and bigoted.