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» » Babylon 5 Secrets of the Soul (1994–1998)

Short summary

Lyta becomes closer to Byron and the colony of telepaths while Franklin investigates a terrible secret from the Hyach's distant past.

Only three of the eleven regular cast members appear in this episode: Richard Biggs (Dr. Stephen Franklin), Jeff Conaway (Zack Allan) and Patricia Tallman (Lyta Alexander).

This takes place from May 25 to May 28, 2262.

User reviews


  • comment
    • Author: Era
    Season five for Babylon 5 was, generally speaking, a disappointment. As the Shadows AND the Earth had been defeated, there were no enemies when the season began and the episodes just seemed to be in limbo--probably because originally there wasn't even supposed to be a fifth season.

    Once again, a major focus of the episode are the telepaths aboard B-5 and once again, they and their leader are an amazingly dull group. In addition, the doctor learns a shocking truth about a race called the Hyachs. The problem is that none of this really seemed very interesting and it seemed like the show was just spinning it's wheels, so to speak. A real snoozer.
  • comment
    • Author: Huston
    One of the plots of this episode involves discovering that the Vorlons actually made telepaths over 9000 million years ago or whatever.

    The main plot that receives more time involves Dr Franklin prying into a species called the Hyach, shocked that their modern historical records only go back a few hundred years, whereas they have been spacefaring for longer than that.

    So because Dr Franklin says he needs ALL possible information about the Hyach in order to help them with a disease and declining birth rates. Because the Hyach are too damn stupid to give him a good reason not to pry, and actively behave suspiciously, he breaks into their records, and discovers via a lone surviving transmission that there was a species on the Hyach planet called Hyach-doh.

    The Hyach then, rather than pressing charges against him for breaking and entering or espionage, just admit to him freely that there used to be a species called Hyach-doh on their planet thousands and thousands of years ago, and the Hyach annihilated the entire species, and it turns out OOPS the Hyach-doh were necessary for interbreeding with the Hyach, as the Hyach birth rates begin to rapidly decline over the years, threatening them with extinction.

    Leaving aside the incredibly flimsy explanation and shady pretexts and the typical run-of-the-mill sci-fi complete misunderstanding of evolution, they then tell Dr Franklin that this was a shameful period of their history, so much so that they've actually gone to great measures to suppress this part of their history... which begs the question of how exactly these two are so well-versed in it, unless they mean suppress it from outsiders learning of it, which would make sense.

    However, Dr Franklin says he CANNOT FORGIVE them... EVEN THOUGH these two Hyach weren't even alive back then and couldn't have done anything and are against genocide and everything else. He says he STILL cannot forgive them.

    And he's supposed to be a doctor? A saver and healer of lives? An educated man who learned not to hate the Dilgar after learning that a Dilgar doctor had saved the lives of his father and other Earth soldiers when all the other Dilgar that had captured them wanted to? The same Dilgar doctor then being executed by the other Dilgar for saving them? This coming from a man whose national ancestry (given his American accent) includes the genocide of millions of native tribal peoples, not even expanding upon his entire race, having committed countless vehement, vicious, genocidal acts in their history, including arguably rendering a whole sentient species (Homo neanderthalensis) extinct? You're a low, pitiful little man, Dr Franklin.
  • Episode cast overview, first billed only:
    Bruce Boxleitner Bruce Boxleitner - President John Sheridan (credit only)
    Jerry Doyle Jerry Doyle - Michael Garibaldi (credit only)
    Mira Furlan Mira Furlan - Delenn (credit only)
    Richard Biggs Richard Biggs - Dr. Stephen Franklin
    Bill Mumy Bill Mumy - Lennier (credit only)
    Tracy Scoggins Tracy Scoggins - Capt. Elizabeth Lochley (credit only)
    Stephen Furst Stephen Furst - Vir Cotto (credit only)
    Jeff Conaway Jeff Conaway - Zack Allan
    Patricia Tallman Patricia Tallman - Lyta Alexander
    Peter Jurasik Peter Jurasik - Londo Mollari (credit only)
    Andreas Katsulas Andreas Katsulas - G'Kar (credit only)
    Robin Atkin Downes Robin Atkin Downes - Byron
    Fiona Dwyer Fiona Dwyer - Kirrin
    Jack Hannibal Jack Hannibal - Peter
    Stuart McLean Stuart McLean - Carl
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