Over five seasons, Babylon 5 weaved an intricate story about the last, best hope for peace in the galaxy. Several different alien species crossed paths on the Earth-built space station, the fifth in the project and the focus of the TV show. The series brilliantly played out an ongoing narrative over its run that kept fans guessing about what would happen next.
Even more importantly, it kept them wondering about how it would all end. But in five seasons, you build up a surprising number of plot threads that don't necessarily get wrapped up by the end of the show. With that being said, here are Babylon 5's 10 biggest unresolved storylines that the show never got a chance to tie up.
Sinclair Gets Inceptioned
The first captain of Babylon 5 was Jeffery Sinclair. He was a man of prophecies as the Minbari who was not born of Minbari. Sinclair was also the reason Babylon 4 went missing. He was a man of many talents and a lot of strange things happen to him. One of those things happened in season one when he was captured by a couple of army types who strapped him into a virtual reality chair to interrogate him.
When he was finally released, one of his interrogators suggested that he might still be in the virtual reality simulation. Sinclair probably wasn't still in the simulation, but it would explain how he stole a space station, traveled back in time, and changed species.
The Telepath War
Telepaths play a huge role in Babylon 5, for both the sides of good and evil. The unrest in their ranks leads to an important conflict called the Telepath War. It is frequently referenced during the series but does not come to fruition by the end of it, leaving quite a large plot thread dangling.
That being said, the results are somewhat chronicled in the follow up series, Crusade. But considering the importance the Telepath War seems to play in the mythology of Babylon 5, it seems strange that it never played out in a more tangible, detailed fashion. Not seeing it left a lot to fan's imaginations.
Zathras's Story
Zathras was a caretaker of the appropriately named Great Machine. He grew up alongside his nine brothers, all of whom were also named Zathras with slightly different pronunciations. The oldest living caretaker of The Great Machine, Zathras chose to travel back in time with Sinclair on board Babylon 4.
But despite the importance he played in the series, little is known about Zathras. A big missing detail was his species or how he, and some of his brothers, ended up filling the roles they filled in the grand scheme. What it comes down to was Zathras was a key player with a backstory that was never really expanded on.
The Great Machine's Mysterious Existence
Speaking of The Great Machine, this was another key component of Babylon 5 that never really got much explanation. It was massive planetary device of incredible power, and a surprising range of capabilities, though it did require someone to bond with it to function. The Great Machine could boost communications over light years, create and manipulate temporal rifts, and had the ability to create highly advanced technologies.
But who built the machine and why was never discussed. Those kind of details don't impact that importance it played in the Second Shadow War though they do flesh out the story a bit more.
The Drakh Plague
When the First Ones left the galaxy after the end of the Second Shadow War, the Drakh remained behind. The former servants of the Shadows were bitter about their loss to the forces who allied against them so they unleashed an ancient plague on Earth.
These events were supposed to play out on Crusade, but never got the chance to. The Drakh Plague was inflicted on Earth but it was not cured before the series came to an end. Reputedly, it would have been cured had the series lasted longer.
Narn's Extinct Telepaths
One of the few species in the series that did not have access to telepaths were the Narn, reputedly because the Shadows destroyed them a millennia earlier during the first war. But this brings up the question of why the Shadows did that in the first place. It's never explicitly stated but it does make a certain amount of sense to wipe out one of the main weapons that could harm them.
Why the Shadows only targeted the Narn's telepaths doesn't make sense as other species also had access to telepaths and were not attacked in the same way. Viewers could make assumptions based on context, but nothing official ever really cleared this up.
Sheridan's Body
After Sinclair left to live out his incredibly strange, time traveling life, John Sheridan took over on Babylon 5. Like Sinclair, he had more than a few prophecies related to him and his role on the space station. Specifically, he was a key player in the Second Shadow War and married the Minbari Ambassador Delenn. But the future glimpses fans were given show that upon Sheridan's death, the mysterious Lorien appeared and spirited Sheridan's body away.
He presumably did the same thing to Sinclair's body though that was never explicitly stated. What he did with Sheridan's remains was never stated, either, and left fans wondering what Lorien wanted with Sheridan.
Centauri Prime's Final Fate
Many Centauri seemed to have low grade telepathic abilities, and were frequently able to see their own deaths. Unfortunately, those premonitions appeared as an out of context series of images and moments that weren't particularly actionable. Londo, the Centauri Ambassador, frequently saw himself in the distant future, dying at the hands of Narn Ambassador G'Kar. Around them, Centauri Prime was burning.
Why it was burning is unclear. At the end of season five, Centauri Prime had been demolished by war and was rebuilding but Londo's vision happened much further down the road. The final fate of Centauri Prime was never really addressed.
The Last Of The Babylon Stations
The Babylon Project was started after the end of the Earth-Minbari War. The point of the project was to create a safe, neutral space for humans and other species to peacefully deal with their problems. Naturally, the first three stations were destroyed by sabotage. The fourth station just disappeared, though it was eventually revealed that Sinclair stole it and took it back in time. When Babylon 5 came online, it was dubbed "the last of the Babylon stations."
No one ever really said why it's the last of the Babylon stations, though. You could infer that it's because of the cost and the effort that went into the overall project, but it seems like something worth continuing down the line.
Lennier's Fate
This fan favorite character took a weird turn towards the end of the series, when he attempted to kill Sheridan due to his crush on Delenn. Then to make up for his actions, he disappeared on a journey of self discovery and self improvement. If you only watch Babylon 5, that's where his story pretty much ends.
Crusade seemed to indicate that he died in the Telepath War but that's offscreen and in between the two series. How he ended up there and in that situation is not clear at all. When you consider how popular Lennier was with fans, he probably deserved more closure.