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Summary:
The Black family becomes personally
involved in a police search as Frank's sister-in-law, Helen, is kidnapped
from
her child's baptism. Frank's younger brother, Tom, is unable to come
to terms with the situation and
foolishly chooses to take desperate measures. At home, Jordan
exhibits extraordinary concern over the specifics of the crime
despite the fact that she was never
present to witness them.
Season One on DVD
Full Transcript Available
Quote:
"He said to me in a dreadful voice that I had indeed escaped
his clutches, but he would capture me still." —St. Teresa
of Avila
Synopsis:
Frank's brother, Tom, and his wife, Helen, travel to Seattle
where they hold their newborn son's baptism. After the
ceremony, Frank checks up on Jordan, who is off playing with
a friend inside the church. He finds his daughter huddled in
a ball on the pew, clutching herself. She speaks of a man
she saw hurting her Aunt Helen. Frank rushes outside the
church. He finds his baby nephew unharmed in the back seat
of Tom's rental car, but notes a blood droplet on the
infant's face. Frank and Tom realize Helen was abducted.
Frank,
who saw the back of the kidnapper's head during the baptismal, pours through
police mug shots. But he is unable to identify the perpetrator. Bletcher
warns Frank he cannot interfere with the police investigation, noting a
prosecutor cannot achieve a conviction using evidence gathered by the victim's
brother-in-law. But Frank insists he can help find Helen.
Frank
notices a baggage tag is missing from one of his brother's suitcases. He
and Tom review video footage recorded by a surveillance camera at the airport.
They see the kidnapper approach Helen at the baggage carousel. Later, Bletcher
tells Frank police located a stolen car. Helen's blood was discovered inside.
Watts
gives Frank a manila envelope containing photos of sex offenders living
in the area. Frank recognizes the kidnapper, Richard Green, in one of the
photographs. Bletcher assures Frank that Green, who lives at home with
his parents, is already under surveillance. However, Frank decides not
to tell his brother about the discovery.
Tom
searches through his brother's files and discovers the truth about Green.
Gun in hand, Tom confronts the kidnapper, demanding to know his wife's
whereabouts. Green, however, claims he doesn't know anything about Helen.
Giebelhouse and Teeple, who were surveying the Green residence, calm Tom.
He lowers his weapon. Later, Frank tells his brother he deliberately kept
him in the dark because "there are some truths no one should know."
Watts
searches the abandoned vehicle and discovers the presence of several pine
needles from trees which only grow in Peninsula National Park. Watts, Frank
and Tom drive to the park, where they discover an abandoned cabin. Inside
they find more blood — along with Helen's wedding ring. Later, police make
casts of tire tracks outside the cabin. They match the abandoned car. Lab
tests reveal the presence of Green's blood inside the cabin as well.
Meanwhile,
Jordan continues running a fever. But doctors are unable to pinpoint the
cause. Jordan asks her mother why the man who took her Aunt Helen is making
her cry. Catherine is taken completely off-guard by her daughter's remarks.
Green
is taken into custody, but Helen's whereabouts remain a mystery. Police
begin digging up the lawn behind the Green residence. They discover a woman's
decomposed body buried inside a plastic garment bag. Watts tells Frank
the wrapping around the body slowed decomposition considerably. He guesses
the woman was killed at least nine years earlier.
Frank
realizes Green did not murder Helen at the cabin (as he was under surveillance
since Sunday night). He also realizes that some tools found in Green's
possession were not part of his torture kit. They were, in fact, used to
hide Helen's body in the basement of the Green home. Helen is found entombed
behind drywall. But her body is still warm, and she is revived. Afterward,
Frank realizes Green's father forced his son to procure his victims.
Later,
Frank finds Jordan cradled in a ball on the front porch. Jordan claims
she is fine, but her father fears otherwise.
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Photographs:
- Peter examines newly installed drywall
- Bletcher dismisses Frank from the case
- The unstable Richard Green
- Thomas Black attends to his brutalized wife
- Frank Black examines computer records
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Abyss Rating:
(5/5)
Media Review:
"One
of the more intriguing aspects of Millennium is Frank’s
daughter, Jordan. Jordan, right from the pilot, seems like a very a
very normal, happy child; with one exception
— she seems more aware of what her
father does than one would expect. In the pilot, when she asks
Catherine if daddy is 'going to catch the bad man,' it’s a subtle
foreshadowing of developments that become even more marked in
'Sacrament.' After she witnesses her aunt being kidnapped, Frank
begins to suspect that she shares his ability to see into the mind of
'the bad man.' The role wouldn’t work with a typical Hollywood child
actor, but Vancouverite Brittany Tiplady makes it look easy
— she looks, and more importantly,
feels like a real kid." —Sheldon
A. Wiebe, Eclipse Magazine
"While
it may seem unfair to blame Frank for how his brother’s family falls
into the horrors of the criminal world (it’s inferred all over the
episode) this is still a taut, well-executed thriller. Our potential
bad guy is sufficiently chilling, the events unfold with logic and
authenticity and the final few minutes are real nail biters. Though we
never really see any sadistic behavior, the suggestive snippets used
(images of tools, screaming faces, bloody remnants) really sell the
sinister qualities. With great acting all around (as well as a nice
bit of back story on Frank) this is Millennium at its best." —Bill Gibron, DVD Talk
Trivia:
Actor Philip Anglim appears in
"Sacrament" as Frank Black's brother, Thomas. While there are
occasional references throughout the series to the fact that Frank
Black has a brother or brothers — most notably in "Midnight of the
Century" and "Seven and One" — this episode marks the only appearance
of one of these blood relations.
While there is foreshadowing throughout
the first season, "Sacrament" grants viewers the first clear
indications that Jordan Black has inherited her father's unusual
powers of insight. This theme, and its potential ramifications,
would be explored throughout the series.
Death Toll:
0
Title:
Believed
to be a means of sanctifying grace,
a sacrament is literally
enacted in the episode's teaser — the sacrament of baptism. The
baptism of Charles provides suitable symbolic accompaniment for the
sudden emergence of Jordan's visionary powers.
Starring:
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Megan Gallagher as Catherine Black
Brittany Tiplady as Jordan Black
Terry O'Quinn as Peter Watts
Bill Smitrovich as Lt. Bob Bletcher
Stephen James Lang as Detective Giebelhouse
Guest Starring:
Philip Anglim as Tom Black
Dylan Haggerty as Richard Green
Brian Markinson as Detective Teeple
Lorena Gale as Dr. Patricia Moss
Daphne Goldrick as Green's Mother
French Tickner as Store Clerk
Ken Roberts as Green's Father
Liz Bryson as Helen Black
Production
Credits:
Production #4C14
Music by Mark Snow
Production Designer Mark Freeborn
Director of Photography Robert McLachlan
Associate Producer Jon-Michael Preece
Consulting Producer Ted Mann
Consulting Producer James Wong
Consulting Producer Glen Morgan
Co-Producer Ken Dennis
Co-Producer Chip Johannessen
Co-Producer Frank Spotnitz
Co-Executive Producer Jorge Zamacona
Co-Executive Producer Ken Horton
Co-Executive Producer John Peter Kousakis
Executive Producer Chris Carter
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