Jerry Doyle (Michael Garibaldi) does not appear in this episode. (edit) Richard Biggs (Dr. Stephen Franklin) does not appear in this episode. (edit) Jason Carter (Marcus Cole) does not appear in this episode. (edit) Each season of Babylon 5 has its own title. The title for season 4 is “No Surrender, No Retreat” (edit) Between the end of season 3 and the start of season 4, Stephen Furst (Vir) shed 100 lbs in the space of a few months and didn't tell anyone he was going to go on a diet. Upon his return, his costume could fit him and another person. Although unplanned, his new look befits his character's transition over the length of the show from a fool to a respected diplomat. If you look closely, you may notice that Vir never turns away from the camera. This is because his costume was extensively pinned in the back to cover for the actor's now-smaller frame; the costume department altered the costume after this episode. (edit)

Lennier: It was the year of fire,
Zack Allan: The year of destruction,
G'Kar: The year we took back what was ours.
Lyta Alexander: It was the year of rebirth,
Vir Cotto: The year of great sadness,
Marcus Cole: The year of pain,
Delenn: And a year of joy.
Londo Mollari: It was a new age.
Stephen Franklin: It was the end of history.
Susan Ivanova: It was the year everything changed.
Michael Garibaldi: The year is 2261.
John Sheridan: The place, Babylon 5. (edit) Sheridan: Who are you?
Lorien: Who are you?
Sheridan: How did I get here?
Lorien: You were born.
Sheridan: Why am I alive?
Lorien: Well, that is the question, isn't it? (edit) Ivanova: Commander's personal log. I wish it didn't have to be like this, but I can't keep on denying it. The Captain's dead, and I have to accept that. What matters now is finishing the work that he begun. I have some ideas how to do that, but I'm gonna need some help. I think I know where to go .. to find it. I have to let him go, and just get on with the work. I think .. I hope it's what he would've wanted. (edit) Londo: Vir, there is a terrible truth: As one accumulates power, one loses friends. One only has those who wish to use you, and those you wish to use. And yet, in all of this, you have somehow managed to walk through the corridors of power and not be touched. I can only assume you have not been paying attention. And still, the hideous truth is, you are the closest thing I have to a friend. I'm as shocked and dismayed by this as you are, but there it is. I need a friend, Vir, and I need a patriot, and you are both. Will you help me, please? (edit) Londo: Of course the others know, but they are afraid to move against him. Whoever does so will almost certainly be killed.
Vir: That would be a drawback.
Londo: These creatures must be driven away before it's too late. We must stop Cartagia no matter the cost.
Vir: The cost? That would be the dying thing, right? (edit) Ivanova: Lennier, get us the hell out of here.
Lennier: Initiating 'getting the hell out of here' maneuver. (edit) Lyta: They heard us. They know we are here. The eye .. is looking for us.
Ivanova: I've felt this before. I've been here before. (edit) Ivanova: Have you ever heard of the hour of the wolf?
Lyta: No.
Ivanova: My father told me about it. It's the time between 3:00 and 4:00 in the morning. You can't sleep, and all you can see is the troubles and the problems and the ways that your life should've gone but didn't. All you can hear is the sound of your own heart. (edit) Vir: Is there something wrong?
Londo: Something: no. Everything: yes. Conspiracies require more than one person. And there's no one here I trust. Come quickly, Vir, we have much to do. (edit) Vir: Londo?
Londo: Vir, I woke you. I'm sorry, I forgot the time difference there.
Vir: It's all right, I was just about to get up .. in about six hours. (edit) Lyta: Is there anywhere else you need me to carry you?
Kosh: No. Go.
Lyta: Doesn't feel the same as when I carried Kosh with me, it's darker somehow. Is everything all right?
Kosh: Yes.
Lyta: You're planning something, aren't you? Something that you aren't telling me.
Kosh: You are free for a time. Do not interfere. (edit) Cartagia: What are a few million lives compared to the glory of becoming a living god? (edit) Cartagia: Read the old books, Mollari. They speak of the ancient gods, they speak about them. Power, power beyond description.
Londo: If their power is so great, why do they need to hide behind us? They are using us as shields. When the war comes here, our people will die first!
Cartagia: Some are always sacrificed for the greater good.
Londo: What greater good?
Cartagia: Ah! Mine of course! (edit) G'Kar: It takes a rare kind of wisdom to accept change and redemption in another. Many would refuse, seeing only what was, not what is. Mr. Garibaldi gave me that chance. I must repay him. (edit) G'Kar: Our thoughts form the universe, they always matter. (edit) Delenn: The stories we've heard about what happened at Z'ha'dum. Are they true?
Kosh: Yes.
Delenn: What do you intend to do about them?
Kosh: Nothing.
Delenn: But if Sheridan is still alive, if there's even a chance.
Kosh: Irrelevant.
Delenn: Irrelevant? How can you say that? You know how much depends on him.
Kosh: He has opened an unexpected door. We do now what must be done now. His purpose has been fullfilled.
Delenn: You have the power to send a force to investigate. If he's alive, he can be rescued.
Kosh: No one returns from Z'ha'dum.
Delenn: That's what we thought about Anna Sheridan. You were wrong then, you could be wrong now. Are you afraid to admit that you are capable of another mistake? He pledged for you, worked for you, for me, for everyone here. If you turn away now, if you abandon him to die on Z'ha'dum, I will have no more respect left for you. Do you understand me?
Kosh: Respect is irrelevant. (edit) Londo: I don't care. I won't do it!
Morden: Of course you will, Mollari. Because you're drawn to power, because you are my friend. Because you are afraid of what someone else might do in your place. (edit) Morden: If there's a madman on the throne, it's because you and Refa put him there. He's your responsibility and you .. you are mine. Based on our warm relations of the past, my associates asked for you as our liaison to the Royal Court. (edit) Morden: The incident at Z'ha'dum has forced us to look for outside support sooner than we had intended. My associates are planning to move some of their forces off Z'ha'dum to insure their safety in case certain parties decide to take advantage of the situation. They did it before a thousand years ago. Planted their ships like seeds all around the galaxy in exchange for certain favors. (edit) Londo: He meant you?
Morden: What's left of me. I'm just a .. shadow of my former self. (edit) Morden: Flesh is transitory, flesh is a prison, flesh is .. an instrument. Flesh can be replaced. And flesh does as it's told. Or they will become most annoyed. (edit) Morden: Hello Mollari.
Londo: Mr. Morden?
Morden: In the flesh. What's left of it. Sit. We have much to discuss.
Londo: Mr. Morden, you are..
Morden: Unwell. My associates tell me I will be better soon. I wasn't as near the incident as others.
Londo: And Sheridan?
Morden: Which one? You know what they say: 'What goes up, must come down.' 'Seen one Sheridan, seen them all.' 'Ashes, ashes, and they all fall down.' (edit) Cartagia: I suppose there are those that might object, but they remain silent, because the emperor is always .. right. Is he not, Mollari?
Londo: That is our tradition. (edit) Cartagia: Ah, Mollari. It's wonderful to see you again.
Londo: And you, Majesty. I could swear you have not changed since the last few times I saw you.
Cartagia: Oh, you are of course too generous. What do you think, Mollari?
Londo: It is .. ahem .. short, Majesty. Shorter than is traditional for someone of your position. (edit) Londo: Minister, I have met Cartagia three times before, twice when he was an infant. He drooled most of the time, I wonder if he's continued the habit, and again when he was 15 trying to peek up the dresses of some young women. I promise you, I will be just as impressed by him now as I was then. Yes? (edit) Lennier: He did not come, again.
Delenn: Yes, and I intend to find out why. (edit) Drazi: You can not win this war, Commander. You can only survive it. And we intend to survive it. (edit) G'Kar: The Shadows have paused in their pursuit of war and everywhere there is a sense of imminent change. Whether it is a change for good or ill, no one can tell. As no one has yet answered two very important questions: where is Mr. Garibaldi and what happened to Captain Sheridan at Z'ha'dum. (edit)

Continuity: When Morden speaks to Londo as Londo is about to sit down, Morden picks at his right hand. After Londo has taken his seat, Morden drops a flake of skin that he has removed from his left hand. (edit)

Much of emperor Cartagia's behaviour in this episode and in future episodes is modelled after the Roman Emperor Caligula, who believed he was a living deity and perpetrated all kinds of horrors against the people around him before finally being killed by his own guards. (edit)