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Summary:
Frank Black and his new partner, Special Agent Emma Hollis, continue
to investigate a family of identical women that are being
systematically killed off. Are they the product of a Cold War
experiment in remote viewing? If so, what is the now-murderous
Millennium Group's interest in having them brutally eliminated?
Season Three on DVD
Synopsis:
As seen in the previous episode, Frank and Emma observe as
rescue workers extract the bodies of a woman and a little
girl from wreckage beneath a bridge. Meanwhile, at the
hospital, Mary lapses into a seizure. Doctors and interns
rush to her aid, and watch as an EEG machine fluctuates
wildly. The woman returns to a normal state, easing the
doctor's fears. But unknown to anyone inside the hospital
room, one of male nurses is actually a man named Mabius, one
of the men Frank observed on the bridge.
Back at Quantico, Baldwin briefs
his task force. He announces that the airliner was sabotaged by a
group of people, not by a lone flight attendant. He adds that the
group is connected to the viral outbreak that killed seventy people
(including Catherine). But Frank believes the group is not comprised
of terrorists. Rather, he believes that the women, and their
daughters, are being annihilated for reasons unknown. When Peter Watts
steps forward, Frank accuses the Millennium Group of orchestrating his
wife's death.
When Emma enters the hospital,
she discovers Mary's unconscious body on the floor of her room. Emma
tries resuscitation, but her efforts fail. Sensing foul play, Emma
reviews the hospital's security tapes. She discovers that Mabius
injected something into Mary's IV drip and then fled the building.
While searching the room for clues, Emma comes upon a digital clock
displaying the time "5:12." This piques her interest, as the
electrical power was cut a few minutes after four o'clock.
Emma discovers that document
cinders found inside the demolished house were pieces of Freedom of
Information requests made five years earlier. The documents made
mention of a government project called Grillflame. Frank recognizes
the name as a CIA project run through the Stanton Research Institute.
Emma travels to the university, where she meets with Dr. Coty. He
explains that Grillflame was a government project that employed
"psychic spies." The spies-who were identified by numbers instead of
names-possessed the ability to project themselves into other environs,
allowing them access to other nation's secrets. One of the psychics,
Coty recalls, possessed amazing powers that allowed her to see into
the future. Emma correctly guesses that the woman was known by the
number "512." Later, a forensics doctor confirms that all four of the
dead women, who all appear to be the same age, were half-sisters.
Emma and Frank review videotape
footage made in 1972 of "512" (who is actually the Elderly Woman) as
she projected herself psychically. When this footage is compared with
the security tape from the hospital, Frank realizes that Mary did not
lapse into a seizure shortly before her death. Rather, she had been in
the process of psychically projecting herself for reasons unknown.
Frank realizes that a little girl who had been listed on the downed
airliner's passenger manifest was not aboard the plane. The crash, he
concludes, was part of a smokescreen concocted by the women to save
the little girl from the Millennium Group.
By closely studying the hospital
security tape, and piecing together the words Mary uttered during her
psychic projection, Emma pinpoints the location where the Elderly
Woman is hiding. That location is a missile silo in Virginia. The pair
travel to the silo, where Frank locates the Elderly Woman, and Emma
locates another of the Sisters.
Frank and the Elderly Woman
board an elevator and make their way up the silo shaft. But their
progress is halted when Mabius sabotages the elevator's electrical
control box. Frank forces open the elevator doors and attempts to
climb out. But the elevator suddenly springs to life, pinning him
between the elevator and the floor above. Frank screams as he is
nearly severed in two. Suddenly, the elevator rises, releasing Frank.
The Eldery Woman tells him that the Millennium Group wants the world
to end. She then takes Frank's hand. He is suddenly struck by a series
of internal images, including one of Jordan standing on a staircase
holding a large paper butterfly.
Frank regroups with Emma and the
Sister. The Elderly Woman, however, is gone. Later, the Sister signs a
lengthy confession, admitting that she participated in a conspiracy to
down the airliner. After reading the confession, Emma tells Frank that
it is one very large lie, as no mention is made of Grillflame, the
Elderly Woman, or the Millennium Group.
Frank purchases a paper
butterfly for Jordan. Later, he sees his daughter standing on the
staircase, butterfly in hand, the future realized.
At an airport, the Elderly Woman and the
little girl pass through a security checkpoint. The Elderly Woman's
key ring sets off the metal detector a ring comprised of a metal
hieroglyph of an eye. The little girl takes the Elderly Woman's hand
and the pair embark on their journey.
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Photographs:
- Emma shares her findings with Frank
- Frank Black considers a stray butterfly
- Baldwin shows a slide presentation
- Frank Black and Emma Hollis, partners
- The Millennium Group's Peter Watts
- A solemn Agent Emma Hollis
- Frank and Emma check computer records
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Abyss Rating:
(1/5)
Media Review:
"New executive producers Michael
Duggan and Chip Johannessen have given Black and Hollis a fine new
institutional foe, the creepily supercilious Critical Incident
Response Unit Agent Baldwin, and there's a healthy effort being made
to connect Black — a character too often prone to drift into
serial-killer cuckoo land — to the real world."
—Ken Tucker, Entertainment Weekly
"The
executive producer of The X-Files created this maddeningly
enigmatic crime series, which has grown more pretentious and less
coherent with each new installment. What began in '96 as a dank,
depressing yet authentically atmospheric serial-killer-of-the week
thriller turned a lot murkier last season... This season, consulting
for the FBI and mentoring a young agent, Frank now looks as blank and
confused as the audience — when he's not raving like a lunatic about
the sinister Millennium Group. Quick, somebody get a butterfly net."
—Mike Lipton, People
Trivia:
The two-part third season
premiere introduced Peter Outerbridge in the supporting role of
Special Agent Barry Baldwin. Outerbridge had previously appeared in a
recurring role on the offbeat police drama The Commish, a
series that had also featured the work of Millennium writers
Glen Morgan and James Wong.
Stephen E. Miller also joined the show's
cast in "The Innocents" and "Exegesis," appearing
for the first time as Assistant
Director Andy McClaren. These episodes do not represent Miller's first
Millennium appearance, however. The actor appeared in the very
first episode of Millennium as Seattle
Detective Roger Kamm.
The actor had also appeared multiple
times in various guest roles on The X-Files. Both Baldwin and McClaren would appear
throughout the third season, growing to become integral to the show's
ongoing plot and mythology.
Writer and executive producer Chip
Johannessen commented that an attempt was being made in the show's third
season to depict the criminal investigations of the show's stories
with pride and realism, a
reaction to unfavorable media depictions of government and law enforcement at the
time. "While the news is filled
with stories about Clinton with his pants down around his ankles,
we're writing stories that show the government doing its job — getting
at truth and some amount of justice. There'll be a lot of personal
stories to tell, too. Jordan will be acting out over the death of her
mother. But, mostly, it'll be about Frank and Klea's characters
dealing with spectacular crimes."
"Exegesis,"
taking place eight months following the events that closed season two,
reveals that the character of Peter
Watts has undergone an unfortunate transformation. Watts and the
Millennium Group, previously serving as enigmatic allies for Frank
Black, would operate as villains throughout the third season. Many
fans of Millennium, forced to adjust to numerous changes in the
series, found it particularly difficult to accept the shift in this
beloved character.
Death Toll:
0
Title:
Exegesis is the act of
exposition or explanation, especially a critical interpretation of a
text or portion of Scripture. In this episode, Frank struggles to
explain or interpret the facts before him and the symbolic visions he
receives while talking with 512.
Starring:
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Brittany Tiplady as Jordan Black
Terry O'Quinn as Peter Watts
Klea Scott as Emma Hollis
Peter Outerbridge as Barry Baldwin
Stephen E. Miller as Andy McClaren
Guest Starring:
Maxine Miller as Justine Miller
Ken Pogue as Tom Miller
Katy Boyer as the Attendant Woman
Doris Chillcott as the Elderly Woman
Bob Wilde as Mabius
Ted Cole as Dr. Thomas
Tim Dixon as the Coroner
Frances Flanagan as the Nurse
Demetri Goritsas as Agent Dixon
Barry W. Levy as Millennium Group Member
William Richert as Tom Cody
Averie Maddox as Fair-Haired Deena
Production
Credits:
Production #6C02
Music by Mark Snow
Production Designer Mark Freeborn
Director of Photography Robert McLachlan
Associate Producer Jon-Michael Preece
Co-Producer Robert Moresco
Co-Producer Paul Rabwin
Producer Thomas J. Wright
Co-Executive Producer Ken Horton
Co-Executive Producer John Peter Kousakis
Executive Producer Chip Johannessen
Executive Producer Michael Duggan
Executive Producer Chris Carter
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