10 Ways Babylon 5 & Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Are Basically The Same Show
4. Ancient Aliens
Various aliens play big roles in both Deep Space Nine and Babylon 5. But the strange thing is that each series has ancient aliens behind the scenes, pulling the strings of the younger races.
The core story of Babylon 5 is the build up to, and execution of, the Second Shadow War. In reality, it was the end of a proxy battle between the Shadows and the Vorlons, two species that respectively represent the forces of chaos and order. It was a battle that had been going on since long before any of the other races in the show even existed.
Similarly, the Prophets and the Pah Wraiths, the names the Bajorans gave the good and evil wormhole aliens they see as their gods, also used younger species in their battles. The Pah Wraiths attempted to fulfill their dark designs through Gul Dukat, one of their avatars. Captain Sisko eventually discovered that the Prophets engineered his birth to ensure he would be there to defeat Dukat.
Vorlons and Shadows. Prophets and Pah Wraiths. Both Babylon 5 and Deep Space Nine had these ancient aliens who were manipulating everything around them to continue their war, some in more subtle ways than others.