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Summary:
A heavily armed spree killer and his tag-along friends are on the
loose, killing for pure amusement, and the case leads Emma Hollis to
relive the violent death of her own sister. Frank Black, who had
previously been keeping a distance between himself and his new
partner, takes Emma under his wing to bring some closure to both their
current case and her own troubling past.
Season Three on DVD
Synopsis:
Emma drives along a highway, speaking a few tense words to
her passenger, a long-haired man named Rick Van Horn.
Suddenly, Emma jerks the wheel. The car swerves out of
control, heading towards a large object. All goes black.
In flashback, three days earlier
Rick and another man, Peter, rent a room in a hotel. The walls are so
thin, however, that someone's snoring filters into the pair's room.
Rick straps on body armor, then picks up a gun and a hunting knife. As
Peter listens, Rick kicks in the door of the offending sleeper's room
and fires off a shot. Rick returns and climbs back into bed.
Emma joins Detective Jay Cooper
as police search the hotel room for possible evidence. The victim
turns out to be a man named Daryl Norcott, a baker who was passing
through town. Emma interviews a transient staying in Rick and Peter's
old room. The transient explains that two men handed him the key,
explaining that the room was paid for.
Aided by descriptions from the
transient, police sketch artists are able to create composites of Rick
and Peter. Frank, however, is somewhat perplexed by Emma's interest in
the case, as it seemingly does not warrant FBI involvement.
Nonetheless, he and Emma travel to the crime scene. While standing in
the hotel room, the pair cannot help but notice squeaking coming from
bed springs in a nearby room. Frank is struck by several internal
visions, including a smiling face. He finds a Smiley Face carved into
the wooden bed where Rick slept. Frank comes to believe that the
killer did not act with any particular motive.
Meanwhile, Rick and Peter
rendezvous with an amorous barmaid named Joni. The threesome, dressed
in bullet proof vests, lay siege on a grocery store, killing three
people in the process. Emma and Frank review security videotape of the
incident. The pair notices Rick picking up Smiley Face jawbreakers
from a hard candy display. Emma retrieves a candy wrapper, hoping it
will yield fingerprints. Before the pair leaves the store, Frank asks
Emma why she has taken an interest in the case. She answers the
question with a question: why?
Using a fingerprint found on the
candy wrapper, Emma identifies Rick Van Horn as the shooter. To her
surprise, Van Horn has no history of previous violence. Frank,
meanwhile, studies Emma's FBI file, probing her background for
possible clues as to her interest in the case. He discovers that,
twenty years earlier, Emma witnessed a man named Michael Wynter kill
her sister. Wynter later committed suicide in prison. Every year on
the anniversary of her sister's death, Emma requests a murder case
hoping to discover why Wynter committed such an unfathomable act.
Meanwhile, Rick, Peter and Joni
trick a mountain biker, Kyle, into getting high with them. Rick then
offers Kyle three thousand dollars to shoot an apple from his head.
Kyle accepts the challenge and fires the gun. Rick comes through
unscathed. Rick then takes the apple from this head and removes the
gun from Kyle's hand. He points the weapon at Kyle and insists that he
place the apple upon his own head. When Kyle resists, Rick threatens
to kill him on the spot. With little choice, Kyle places the apple on
his head. Rick takes aim then lowers the gun slightly, shooting Kyle
between the eyes.
Rick, Peter and Joni enter a
pawn shop. They see their photographs being broadcast on a local news
program. Panicking, Joni runs outside to retrieve the group's vehicle.
But she discovers it is being impounded by a tow truck driver. Joni
draws her gun, but is taken into custody when police gain the upper
hand. Peter and Rick, however, escape on foot. At the police station,
Emma attempts to get Joni to cooperate with the investigation. Joni
seemingly softens, but just when she seems on the verge of revealing
information, she suddenly demands a lawyer. Emma leaves Frank at the
police station and drives off in her car. Shortly thereafter, Rick and
Peter commandeer a city bus. They threaten to begin killing hostages
unless police release Joni.
As police stall for more time,
the city bus stops in front of the precinct's steps. Meanwhile, Emma
hears of the hijacking on her radio, turns around, and drives back to
the police station. The two gunmen eventually realize that their
effort is futile. Clad in body armor, they exit the bus and advance on
the police station. Police return fire, and during the gun battle,
Peter is struck in the neck by a bullet.
Emma pulls into the police parking lot,
only to see Rick advancing towards her. Rick commandeers the car,
taking Emma hostage. As Emma drives, Rick orders her to pull off the
road. Emma refuses to do so. Rick loads a bullet into his gun,
preparing to shoot. But before he does so, Emma asks him, "Why?" Rick
replies, "You tell me." Emma floors the accelerator and swerves the
vehicle towards an abutment on a bridge. The impact sends Rick
crashing through the windshield. Emma, who was wearing her seatbelt,
survives.
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Photographs:
- Frank places an emergency phone call
- Emma and Frank observe security footage
- Frank and Emma collect evidence
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Frank observes the hostage stand-off
- Frank and Emma examine a hotel room
- Frank Black stands at a crime scene
- Emma Hollis kneels at her sister's grave
Abyss Rating:
(3/5)
Trivia:
This episode was inspired in part by the
famous LAPD shootout that took place outside of North Hollywood's Bank
of America on February 28, 1997. In one of the fiercest shootouts in
American history, several heavily armed bank robbers wearing full body
armor attacked police after a failed robbery attempt.
Two of the suspects were killed and
fifteen people were injured, including ten of the two hundred police
officers on the scene. The entire
battle was televised in Los Angeles as it occurred.
Guest star Garret Dillahunt,
who portrays the sadistic Rick Van Horn, first appeared on television
as a regular on the long running soap opera One Life to Live.
He has also been seen guest starring in such shows as NYPD Blue,
Law & Order, CSI, and The X-Files.
"Closure" marks the third
Millennium appearance for guest star Michael Sunczyk, seen here as
Van Horn's cohort Peter. Sunczyk had a minor role in the first season
episode "Loin Like a Hunting Flame" and went on to play serial killing
record holder Johnnie Mack Potter in "Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me."
Death Toll:
7
Title:
While both Frank Black and
Emma Hollis have unresolved issues stemming from tragic pasts, it is Frank that helps to bring the
emotional closure promised in this episode's title to his new partner.
Starring:
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Klea Scott as Emma Hollis
Guest Starring:
Garret Dillahunt as Rick Van Horn
Michael Sunczyk as Peter
Shelley-Lynn Owens as Joni
Carol Alexander as Woman in Bar
Bob Dawson as Captain Kevin Mann
Jason Gray-Stanford as Kyle
Tim Henry as Sheriff Taylor
Dee Jay Jackson as Det. Jay Cooper
Robert Luft as FPD Officer
Don McWilliams as Connor
Howard Siegel as the Transient
Christopher R. Sumptom as the Tow Driver
Production
Credits:
Production #6C04
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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