"Soul Hunter" is the second episode of the first season of the science fiction television series, Babylon 5.
The episode concerns the arrival of a member of an ancient order, the Soul Hunters, on the Babylon 5 station; and reveals a mystery surrounding Commander Sinclair's missing 24 hours during the Earth-Minbari War.
An unknown damaged ship appears through the jump gate and hurtles towards the Babylon 5 station.
They had been prevented from "preserving" the soul of the Minbari leader Dukhat at the beginning of the Earth-Minbari War.
Sinclair gets up and turns the soul-draining machine away from Delenn and trains the beam onto the Soul Hunter.
In that case, wouldn't it be significantly greater if we could preserve that knowledge somehow, in order to gain from their experiences ...?
[3]In relation to the question of the existence of souls, Straczynski writes, "I carefully don't address that issue in the course of the script.
My job as a storyteller is to ask questions and provoke discussions and start bar fights.
[3] This episode discusses the question of souls, which will become central to the story arc, linking with Sinclair's missing twenty-four hours during the Earth-Minbari War, and the Minbari insisting on his appointment as commander of Babylon 5.
The episode also gives some background regarding the death of Dukhat, the Minbari leader, and the beginning of the Earth-Minbari War.
He worked together with Morgan Sheppard to create an alien feel to the character of the Soul Hunter.
The positioning of the four engine pods at the extremities of the craft was inspired by Ron Cobb's design for the Gunstar fighter from The Last Starfighter.
[8][9] The Soul Hunter ships were designed by Foundation Imaging co-founder Ron Thornton.
"[10] The scene where Sinclair's Starfury grapples the spinning soul hunter ship attempts to show the fighter using thrusters to manoeuvre using realistic physics.
[11] The Babylon 5 makeup department involved in this episode – consisting of Everett Burrell, Greg Funk, Mary Kay Morse, Ron Pipes and John Vulich – won the 1994 Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Makeup for a Series for episode 5 of the season, "The Parliament of Dreams"[13] Music for the title sequence and the episode was provided by the series' composer, Christopher Franke.
Author Jane Killick writes that "Soul Hunter" was the episode where Babylon 5 started to meet the expectations of many people.
"[1]: 43 She notes that "Soul Hunter" was a strong episode for Delenn, exploring the character in greater depth than previously: showing her gentleness, strength and the mystery of her plans on Babylon 5.
Kaiser writes, "'Soul Hunter' may be an average episode, saddled by a bit too much ambition and a few too many flaws, but that's why, as a critic, I find myself drawn to it.
[15] He notes that the unanswered questions raised in the episode – concerning the Grey Council, Delenn's membership of it, the secrecy surrounding this, and how they are using Sinclair – give us reason to watch Delenn closely in subsequent episodes to try to discover what her game is.