Delenn and John Sheridan are characters on the popular television
program Babylon 5, which originally aired in first-run syndication in most
markets, and now airing in first-run and in reruns on the North American
cable network TNT. The two characters are played by Mira Furlan and Bruce
Boxleitner, respectively.
John Sheridan was a human military commander, military governor of
Babylon 5, military leader of an alliance of worlds, and is now the first-
ever President of the newly formed Interstellar Alliance. He was a
Lieutenant who took command of a ship in the Earth-Minbari War, which took
place over a dozen years prior to the current time of the story. He is the
son a former diplomatic envoy, David Sheridan, and his wife (her name is
unknown at this time). He has a sister, Elizabeth, who is married and has
children. His first wife, Anna, is now dead. His second wife, Elizabeth
Lochley, is now the commander of the Babylon 5 station.
Delenn is a minbari who has undergone a genetic transformation
which has left her mostly human in appearance, except for remnants of
her minbari head bone, a lack of eyebrows, and a slightly larger than
human brow ridge. Delenn was a member of the Minbari ruling body known
as the Grey Council and played a significant role in the Earth-Minbari
War. She has been the Minbari ambassador to Babylon 5 since the start
of the story. She is now married to John Sheridan and serves on the
Interstellar Alliance Advisory Council, as well as serving as the
Minbari Ambassador to Babylon 5 and the Alliance. She is also the
sworn leader of the Anla’Shok (Rangers), the primary military force
of the Interstellar Alliance. In that role, she answers to the
Commander-in-chief of the Alliance, President John Sheridan.
When she decided to undergo the genetic transformation in a
chrysalis with the help of an ancient Minbari relic known as the Triluminary,
the Grey Council voted to remove her from office, but she stayed on Babylon 5
as her world’s ambassador.
John Sheridan met Delenn for the first time in her new form when
she emerged from her chrysalis, and they have become closer and closer ever
since. At first, they were just co-workers, then they became friends and
began to care for one another, until, finally, they became lovers. At this
point in the story, John and Delenn are married, and are the First Couple of
the new Alliance.
What is Babylon 5?
Babylon 5 is a television show produced by Babylonian Productions,
Inc., and distributed by Warner Brothers around the world.
For details on
where to view Babylon 5, check out the Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5 at:
http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/
The show follows the lives of several characters who work together
onboard a deep space station known as Babylon 5. Currently in the story,
the year is 2262.
From the start, Babylon 5 was intended to be a show with a definite
five year story with a beginning, middle and end. The entire overall story
arc has been planned well in advance by the show’s creator, producer and
chief writer, J. Michael Straczynski (JMS), and that planning shows itself
in every aspect of the show’s drama, consistency, character development and
pacing.
———————–
ALL ABOUT JOHN SHERIDAN
———————–
- HOW DID SHERIDAN GET HIS NAME?
From 1861-1864, John’s ancestor, Philip Henry Sheridan, fought in the
American Civil War, finishing his service at the rank of Major General.
- WHAT DOES THE “J.” STAND FOR IN “JOHN J. SHERIDAN”?
We don’t have a clue, although some sources claim it is “James.”
- IN WHAT EPISODE DID WE FIRST SEE JOHN?
The first second season episode, “Points of Departure.” Note that we also
see him in the prequel movie, “In the Beginning,” which was made between
the fourth and fifth seasons of the series, but takes place several years
before the series.
- WAS JOHN EVER MARRIED?
Yes, twice.
When he was in the Earthforce Academy, he met Elizabeth Lochley. The two
hit it off, and they married in the heat of passion. However, they soon
discovered that their lust was not love, and they quickly divorced.
They appear to have parted on good terms, each retaining respect for the
other.
He then married Anna, the best friend of his sister, Liz, several years
before the Babylon 5 story began. At around the time of the pilot, Anna
was presumed killed when the ship she was on was thought to have exploded.
It turned out that Anna and the crew of her ship, the Icarus, were captured
by the Shadows, a race of First Ones, who offered her a choice: Serve them
or else. She chose “else,” and was “processed” and made a pilot of one of
the Shadows’ warships. When the Shadows realized who she was, they removed
her, but her personality had been completely destroyed and she was, in
essence, a different person. They tried to use her to come between John and
Delenn in late 2260, but John tricked the Shadows, killed many of them, and
cemented his love for Delenn.
- ARE JOHN’S PARENTS STILL ALIVE?
Yes. Both his father, David, and his mother (name unknown) are alive.
- DOES JOHN HAVE ANY SIBLINGS?
Yes. John has at least one sister, Elizabeth, who visited him in the second
second season episode, “Revelations.”
- DOES JOHN SPEAK MINBARI?
No, not currently.
- WILL JOHN EVER SPEAK MINBARI?
Probably. JMS says that John may well learn the language in the future.
- WHAT WAS JOHN DOING JUST PRIOR TO HIS ASSIGNMENT TO BABYLON 5?
He was on deep space patrol missions in his ship, the EAS Agamemnon.
- WHY WAS JOHN ASSIGNED TO BABYLON 5?
In early 2259, newly sworn-in President Clark transferred Commander Sinclair,
Babylon 5’s first commander back to Earth (and later to serve as ambassador
to Minbar) and ordered Captain Sheridan to take command of Babylon 5.
Clark and his people believed that Sheridan, as a hero of the Earth-Minbari
War, would side with them in the coming changes of Clark’s administration.
They were wrong.
- NOW THAT THE WAR IS WON, WHAT IS JOHN’S ROLE?
John is currently serving his term as the first President of the newly
formed Interstellar Alliance.
- DID JOHN ALWAYS WEAR THAT BLACK AND GRAY UNIFORM?
No. Before he declared Babylon 5 independent, he was a member of Earthforce,
which is the military branch of the Earth Alliance. His uniform, therefore,
used to be the blue and brown of the EA “naval” and “air force” branches.
After the break from Earth, he gave up his uniform — as did the other
members of the command staff — and Delenn had the new black and gray
“Army of Light” uniforms made to symbolize the union of human and minbari
cultures. A small “Ranger pin” patch is located on one shoulder of the
uniform, to symbolize Babylon 5’s alliance with the Rangers. Once his war
to overthrow Clark had been completed, John wore his dress Earthforce uniform
one last time, at his resignation press conference. He returned to Babylon 5
in his Army of Light uniform, but he has worn civilian suits in his role as
IA President.
- WHY DO SOME OF THE MINBARI NOT LIKE JOHN?
- WHY DO SOME MINBARI CALL JOHN “STARKILLER?”
During the Earth-Minbari War, John carried off the only real victory of the
war for Earth: He mined an asteroid field with nuclear warheads and lured
the Minbari flagship, the Black Star, and her escorts into a trap. The
Black Star and some other ships were destroyed. Because of this, the
Minbari warrior caste, for the most part, does not like John and many
Minbari refer to him as “Starkiller.” Note that he used this same tactic
to get the attention of the Vorlon and Shadow fleets in “Into the Fire.”
- WHY IS JOHN CALLED “THE ONE WHO WILL BE”?
According to Zathras, a maintainer of the Great Machine located on the
planet beneath Babylon 5, John is The One Who Will Be, because he will
finish the current story of the galaxy and create the next great story.
“The One” is a figure in Minbari belief that actually consists of three
people: Jeffrey Sinclair (who transformed into Valen to become The One Who
Was), Delenn (The One Who Is) and John (The One Who Will Be). It is
believed that John will become Entil’Zha at some point in his life (as
seen in Londo’s dream in “The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari”), at
which point he will likely officially become “The One” to the Minbari.
—————-
ALL ABOUT DELENN
—————-
- HOW DID DELENN GET HER NAME?
Delenn comes from the Middle English word “delen,” which means “divided.”
The root can be seen in the word “delineate,” which means “to divide.”
While not offered as a source by the show’s creator, “delen” in Latin means
“something soothing or charming,” which we like to think fits Delenn as well.
- IN WHAT EPISODE DID WE FIRST SEE DELENN?
The pilot movie, “The Gathering.”
- IS IT TRUE THAT DELENN WAS GOING TO BE MALE AT FIRST?
Yes. The plan was to digitally process Mira Furlan’s voice to give it a
masculine quality. The makeup in the pilot movie was designed to give
Delenn a male appearance as well. When tests were performed on the
digital processing, the producers determined that the effect wasn’t as
good as it could be, so the male idea was scrapped. The original plan
was for Delenn to emerge from the Chrysalis not only as a half-human,
but as a female (see next entry).
- WAS DELENN ALWAYS HALF-HUMAN AND HALF-MINBARI?
- DID DELENN ALWAYS HAVE HAIR?
No. She entered a chrysalis created by an ancient Minbari artifact called
the Triluminary in the final first season episode entitled “Chrysalis.” It
genetically altered her, giving her hair, human ears, and a more human nose
and forehead. She retained part of her minbari headbone, her lack of
eyebrow hair, and a little bit of her minbari nose ridge. Internally, it
is believed that Delenn is now mostly human, as that would be required if
she were to mate with a human.
- WAS DELENN ALWAYS SUPPOSED TO TRANSFORM?
Yes. It was planned by JMS from before the series ever started to air.
The effect would have been even more remarkable if the plan to make Delenn
male in the pilot and first season had worked.
- WAS DELENN EVER MARRIED?
We don’t know, but we believe not.
- WAS DELENN EVER IN LOVE BEFORE?
We don’t know, but we believe not. However, she certainly admired,
respected, and possibly desired the affections of her mentor, Dukhat.
- ARE DELENN’S PARENTS STILL ALIVE?
Her father died around the end of the Earth-Minbari War. Delenn believes
he died from a broken heart because of his people’s war against the humans.
Her mother is still alive, although Delenn has only seen her twice since
she was born. Her mother is a Sister of Valeria, a high honor among minbari.
- DOES DELENN HAVE ANY SIBLINGS?
We don’t know, but we believe not.
- WHY IS DELENN CALLED “THE ONE WHO IS”?
According to Zathras, a maintainer of the Great Machine located on the
planet beneath Babylon 5, Delenn is The One Who Is, because of what she
is doing currently in the story (bringing the humans and minbari together
to fight the ancient enemies). “The One” is a figure in minbari belief that
actually consists of three people: Jeffrey Sinclair (who transformed into
Valen to become The One Who Was), Delenn (The One Who Is) and John (The One
Who Will Be).
- WHY IS DELENN CALLED ENTIL’ZHA?
“Entil’Zha” is the title given to The One who is also “Ranger One,” the
head of the Rangers, a secret organization of warriors who follow The
One. Sinclair was the first and second Entil’Zha until he went back in
time to become Valen. There have been several other Ranger Ones, but no
others have also carried the title Entil’Zha. Delenn was then sworn in
to take his place. She has a set of brown robes and a special pin she
wears when she’s formally acting in that role.
- WHAT DID DELENN DO BEFORE COMING TO BABYLON 5?
From a young age, she knew that she had a special destiny. She entered
the religious order and was made a member of the Grey Council (the ruling
body of the Minbari) at a very young age. She served on the Council even
while she was still the ambassador to Babylon 5.
- DID DELENN PLAY A PART IN THE EARTH-MINBARI WAR?
Yes. Delenn served on the Grey Council and was present at the start of
hostilities. Delenn held the Minbari leader, Dukhat, when he died. Delenn
cast the deciding vote to start the Earth-Minbari War. But she was also
the one who stopped the war after she discovered that the Triluminary
recognized Sinclair, who had been taken aboard the Grey Council warship
for questioning (although she had wanted to stop the war almost from the
moment that she voted to start it).
- WHAT DOES “SATAI” MEAN AND WHY DID SOME PEOPLE REFER TO DELENN AS “SATAI”?
Satai is a title given to members of the Grey Council, the ruling body of
the Minbari people. Delenn was a member of the Grey Council and was
therefore sometimes referred to as “Satai Delenn.”
- WHY WAS A MEMBER OF THE GREY COUNCIL “PLAYING AMBASSADOR” ON BABYLON 5?
Delenn came to Babylon 5 because she wanted to be close to Sinclair to see
if he was really Valen. To see if he was really The One the prophecies
indicated would come. She kept her membership on the Council a secret.
- IS DELENN STILL A MEMBER OF THE GREY COUNCIL?
No. She was offered the leadership of the Minbari people in the first season
episode “Babylon Squared,” and turned it down. Because she turned it down,
she was warned that she may be asked to leave the Council entirely. After
she went through the chrysalis transformation, she was kicked off the Council
in the second season episode “All Alone in the Night.” Later, in the third
season episode “Severed Dreams,” she broke the Council and took five of its
members with her. The breaking of the Council was foretold by Valen and she
fulfilled that prophecy. She then restored the Grey Council in the episode
“Moments of Transition,” after nearly dying in the Starfire Wheel to prove
her worthiness to lead her people. This time, she appointed only two members
each from the Warrior and Religious Castes and five members from the Worker
Caste.
- CAN DELENN STILL HAVE CHILDREN WITH A MINBARI MALE?
No. Her reproductive system is now human-compatible. We do not know if she
could still make love to a minbari male, but she can’t have minbari children.
- DID DELENN ACQUIRE NEW EMOTIONS WHEN SHE TRANSFORMED?
Probably not. Our sample of minbari emotions is rather limited, but it
appears that they have all the same emotions and moods as humans. Delenn
is only experiencing some emotions she’s not yet felt because of her
feelings for John and the negative reaction of some of her people to her
transformation. She regained her composure and self-confidence in the
third season, partly because of the ordeal through which she suffered at
the hands of the Vorlon Inquisitor Sebastian, and partly due to her
relationship with John Sheridan.
- WHO WAS VALEN?
Valen was a “minbari not born of minbari” who lived some one thousand years
before the Babylon 5 story began. He was “the greatest” of minbari, uniting
the three castes and the various clans into a cohesive and efficient people.
It was later learned, by Delenn and others, that Valen was actually Jeffrey
Sinclair. Sinclair traveled back in time with the Babylon 4 station and
underwent a transformation, using the Triluminary, into a minbari.
- IS DELENN RELATED TO VALEN?
Yes. Delenn is a descendant of Valen and, thus, of Jeffrey Sinclair.
- WHY DOES DELENN ALWAYS SAY “IN VALEN’S NAME!”?
It’s an expression very similar to our Western “Oh, my God!” or “In God’s
Name!” Valen was nearly a god to Delenn and her people.
- WHAT PROPHECIES ARE DELENN AND LENNIER REFERRING TO?
Valen, late in his life, wrote down a number of prophecies based on his
knowledge as Sinclair. One of these is about himself, another is about
Delenn, and yet another is about John and John and Delenn’s relationship.
There are probably more, such as the breaking of the Grey Council, but we
do not have a complete list.
- IN WHAT KIND OF BED DO MINBARI SLEEP?
Most minbari sleep in a slanted bed with the head above their feet. They
believe that to sleep horizontally is to tempt death. The White Star class
ships, being of minbari construction, feature slanted beds much to the
chagrin of John Sheridan and Susan Ivanova. Delenn and her husband, John,
rotate nightly between a flat, human-style bed, and a slanted, minbari-
style bed.
————————-
ALL ABOUT JOHN AND DELENN
————————-
- WHEN DID JOHN AND DELENN FIRST MEET?
According to the TV Movie “In the Beginning,” John and Delenn first met
when Delenn was still on the Grey Council, during the Earth-Minbari War.
However, he first met her in her new form in the second second season
episode “Revelations,” as she was re-introduced to the Babylon 5 Council.
- DO JOHN AND DELENN LOVE EACH OTHER?
Yes. They have both expressed their love for one another numerous times.
- HAVE JOHN AND DELENN EVER KISSED?
Numerous times. See “The Kiss Count” later in this FAQ for details.
- HAVE JOHN AND DELENN EVER MADE LOVE?
Yes. They engaged in premarital rituals that involved love making, although
they almost certainly did not engage in intercourse prior to their marriage
at the end of 2261 in the episode “Rising Star,” based on Delenn’s statement
in “Racing Mars” that they could not continue on to more advanced stages
of their relationship until all of the marriage rituals were complete.
- CAN JOHN AND DELENN HAVE CHILDREN?
- WILL JOHN AND DELENN HAVE ANY CHILDREN?
We believe so, yes. Delenn’s transformation has apparently also made her
reproductively human-compatible (”Soul Mates”, “Atonement”). In addition,
we have seen the two of them in 2278 when they have a son named David.
- ARE JOHN AND DELENN MARRIED?
Yes, they were married in late 2261, in the episode “Rising Star,” in
a small, private ceremony, believed to have been held aboard a White Star
ship en-route to Babylon 5.
- WHEN DID JOHN AND DELENN FALL IN LOVE?
- WHY DID THEIR RELATIONSHIP DEVELOP SO SLOWLY?
It’s hard to say. They started out as co-workers, became friends, and,
somewhere along the line, fell in love. Because of Valen’s prophecies,
Delenn may have forced the relationship at first, but it’s quite clear now
that she truly loves John and he truly loves her. Once of the reasons for
the slow development may be that John was still recovering from the loss
of his first wife, Anna.
- IF JOHN AND DELENN ARE MARRIED IN THE FUTURE WE SEE IN “WAR WITHOUT END,”
THEN WHY DON’T THEY HAVE WEDDING RINGS ON? WHY NOT EVEN AN ENGAGEMENT RING
ON DELENN?
We don’t know for certain, but common sense might indicate that two
people in prison and about to be executed might well have been stripped
of any valuables by their captors.
————–
THE KISS COUNT
————–
Total Number of On-screen Kisses: 11 (or so)
“Severed Dreams”
John kisses Delenn’s hand.
“Sic Transit Vir”
(half kiss) John and Delenn nearly kiss on the lips for the first time, but
are interrupted by Ivanova.
“War Without End”
In 2278, John and Delenn kiss passionately as they face certain death at the
hands of Emperor Mollari.
As they are being taken before Emperor Mollari, John takes Delenn’s hand and
she slides her mouth over his hand in a loving kiss.
“And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place”
They kiss as John is overcome with joy and gratitude after receiving a fleet
of White Star ships from Delenn. It is Delenn’s first kiss with John.
“Falling Toward Apotheosis”
Many believe that John kissed Delenn’s forehead as she hugged him after he
forgave her for keeping Anna a secret.
When Delenn cradles John’s head after the Vorlon battle, she kisses it
gently.
After John presents Delenn with an engagement ring and slides it onto her
finger, telling her that it is given to a woman as a down-payment on another
ring exchanged when two people are married, she is overcome with joy and they
kiss passionately.
“Into the Fire” (Honorable Mention)
While they don’t kiss, they do snuggle rather warmly at the front of the
White Star when they talk about the end of the Great War.
“Epiphanies”
On board the White Star, Delenn kids John about his puzzle solving nature.
In response to his question about how she could know him so well after such
a short period of time, she states that they are “old souls” (i.e. soul
mates) and that he should “deal with it.” She then kisses him.
(half kiss) In addition, there was another, shorter kiss filmed but cut
from the final aired version of the episode.
“Atonement” (Honorable Mention)
They embrace and come darn close to kissing, but their reunion in the
docking bay is too public, so they just stare into each other’s eyes
instead.
“Racing Mars” (Honorable Mention)
Given the purpose of the ritual in Delenn’s room, it’s a pretty safe bet
that a good number of kisses were exchanged, although we didn’t see a
single one of them (rats!).
“Between the Darkness and the Light”
When Delenn sees John at the end of the hallway onboard her cruiser, she
rushes to him, they embrace, and they kiss passionately, for the first
time in weeks or months.
“Rising Star” (Honorable Mention)
Since the end of this episode features their wedding night, it’s a safe
bet that they exchanged a number of kisses.
“Deconstruction of Falling Stars”
In their final bedroom scene, they kiss twice and then Delenn begins
kissing down the length of John’s neck.