A Late Delivery from Avalon

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“A Late Delivery from Avalon”
Babylon 5 episode

Episode no.	Season 3 Episode 13
Guest stars	Michael York (Arthur) Michael Kagan (Emmett Farquaha)
Written by	J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by	Jesus Trevino
Production no.	312
Original airdate	22 April 1996
Episode chronology
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"Sic Transit Vir"	"Ship of Tears"
List of Babylon 5 episodes

A Late Delivery from Avalon is an episode from the third season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5.

1 Plot synopsis
2 Dr. Franklin
3 Delenn
4 Arc significance
5 Production details
6 Trivia
7 External link

[edit] Plot synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

A man arrives at the station, claiming to be King Arthur. Given that Jack the Ripper actually did show up on the station last year, the possibility that he is telling the truth cannot be dismissed out of hand ...

He helps out an old woman who had been robbed of everything, including her husband's picture. He finds the thieves beating up another man, confronts them and beats them all with skillful sword and fist combat. Then more of the gang turns up, but G'Kar, who had looked on the fight with admiration, jumps in and helps "Arthur" give the new malefactors a thorough beating. Then the pair drink together, and "Arthur" impresses G'Kar with talk of the round table and fight against injustice, then knights him as "Sir G'Kar, the Red Knight".

Meanwhile, Dr Franklin finds out that "Arthur" is the gunnery sergeant who had fired the fateful shots on the Minbari ship that started the Earth-Minbari War. Despite serving with valor on the Battle of the Line, he was deeply troubled. So his mind took on the new persona of Arthur, and replaced the misunderstanding of the Minbari's open gun ports with a knight who drew his sword to kill an adder, likewise misunderstood as an aggressive move.

The only way to heal his trouble was for "Arthur" to return Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake, a role Delenn willingly accepted. After "Arthur" recovered, he took off with some Narns, and G'Kar promised Dr Franklin that he would have a position of authority with the resistance, who needed men of his calibre and ideas.

[edit] Dr. Franklin

In this episode, Dr. Franklin is at its worst as a doctor of the soul (a job he is not specifically qualified for), and little he does as a doctor of the body. He feels the urge to "heal" the sergeant, and he eventually succeeds, thus making him lose the innocence of his new spirit.

[edit] Delenn

In one of the most moving moments of the series, Delenn accepts the sword of "Arthur", as a sign of reconcilliation between the Minbari and the human who fired first against them. The power of that moment could have been enough for the sergeant to heal his spirit, without any other intervention.