MILLENNIUM Virtual Season Four Episode review
by 4Q2
Submitted 11/26/99

"Where Shadows Fall" #417
Original "Air" date: 11/19/99
Writers: Matt Asendorf and David Klein

In Brief: 
A young woman, instiutionalized for murdering her parents as a child,
faces a parole hearing as Frank tries desperately to understand her
reasoning behind the killings, and her lack of remorse.


Overall Impression:
I had a major inner conflict about whether or not this episode was truly
"Millennium."  The story was great, the characters believable, the dialog
top-notch.  However it felt more like an attempt to link an original story
to the Millennium universe by adding Frank Black into the mix.  


Details: 
"Millenium," the TV series, took *chances*.  BIG ones.  Many critics said
it took too many, but one of the things that bring great success is great
risk.  Now while the ratings did decline, and it was eventually taken from
us, that show still has US, the fans pulling for it.  WE are still here,
hoping for its triumphant return, the reasoning behind that being that MM
always kept us guessing, kept shocking us, and left us begging for more.
It took great risks to entertain an otherwise skeptical and discerning
audience.

"Where Shadows Fall" is a step in the right direction, preserving the
spirit of MM by heading in an unexpected direction - taking yet another
chance.  Now, whether that step was truly successful is still open to
debate in my mind.  Matt Asendorf and David Klein have created a truly
compelling tale of fear, acting on that fear, and whether that act can
ever truly be justified.

Problem is... it was meant to be a "Millennium" story.  This was a MM
story that had no connection to the mytharc, no danger to the world, no
apocalyptic threat, no danger to Frank or Jordan, and had in fact *no
villain*.  Are these bad qualities?  Not necessarily.  

After all, MM takes risks.  The risk here being a DRAMATIC departure from
what we have come to know from the stories previously told.  I hadn't seen
a story quite like this since "The Well-Worn Lock" from the First Season.
And while that tale also had no apocalyptic overtones, it did have the
evil presence needed in the form of the sexually abusive father, Joe
Bangs.  A figure we feared and hated by the end of that hour's teaser.  

In "Shadows," we have no unmistakably identifiable evil figure.  One could
argue that the evil presence may have been Eve's overbearingly devout
Catholic parents, putting her through the harrowing experience of an
exorcism ritual, and believing that a demon could be the only explanation
for her unruliness.

Or one could say that Eve is the evil, killing her mother and father in
cold blood.  The subject leaves us debating, and this is something that
does the story an immense credit.  No clear-cut answer, just the facts and
questions posed to the reader.  Did Eve deserve to be released?  Did she
get what she deserved by ultimately being denied parole?

Can the parents truly be the villains when they were bound to their faith
so strongly it scarred Eve for life?  Can Eve be the demon they suspected
when it seemed her only course of action was to kill them, thereby saving
herself?

"Where Shadows Fall" would make quite the impressive stand alone story,
and I get the feeling it may have been intended as that at one point, with
Frank's involvement carefully worked in to complete the episode.  Now this
is not to say that the folks at the VS are running out of story ideas, but
one does wonder, with all the machinations, betrayal, and the impending
advance of evil on the playing field, if there truly room for a story like
this so late in the game.  Will the mytharc suffer by the time we get to
the end because room was made for this episode?

I am an optimist, so I'll have faith and believe that things will all work
out.

Now, while this didn't completely immerse me in the MM universe, I do
appreciate the mechanics used to let us know that this *was*, other than
Eve's struggle with her past, Frank's battle to understand what makes a
human succumb to the evil impulses that live in us all.  The "flashback"
scenes with Catherine were a nice, and moving, touch.  Also a good move
was the look back at a mirror situation, the parole hearing of Max
Brunelli from Season Three's "Through a Glass Darkly."  Interesting and
disturbing parallels were drawn by revisiting this episode, and brought
into full focus Frank's desire to understand the darkness of the human
soul even more than he does already.  It felt like a nice follow-up to the
bouts of denial he felt while investigating Timothy Alden (also guilty of
killing his parents) alongside Ryan in the earlier "Our Own Flesh and
Blood."  

In addition, I must point out that the final few pages, at least for me,
were gripping beyond words. I made it a point to read the dialog
concerning the parole board's decision line by line, tapping the "down
arrow" key each time so that my eyes wouldn't dart ahead and spoil it. 

I can't even describe the heartbreak I felt as the decision was read. Very
moving.

Ultimately however, "Where Shadows Fall" amounts to a well-done story that
fits a tad awkwardly into the Millenium universe.  Only during Frank's
speech (EXCELLENT, BTW) to the parole board did I feel "at home."  


4Q2's Nitpick Corner: 
Frank is introduced by the Bailiff at the parole hearing as being
affiliated with the FBI *and* the Millennium Group (!)

Now, is the Millenium Group something the parole board *needs* to know (or
even care about)?

And even if they are, is this something that Frank Black, the Group's
biggest opponent, *wants* them to know?  I would think that in a case that
so deeply affected Frank, any mention of MM would be shut out utterly by
him, considering his extraordinary hostility toward them.  

It felt like yet another reminder that we are in the MM universe, but very
forced.


4Q2's Casting Choice:  
Eve was a very compelling and real character to me.  The sometimes distant
peronality of this scarred woman was presented quite well, and as I read,
the robotic performance of Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Voyager) came to mind.
Her most notable features (read: breasts) aside, I think she'd be the
perfect candidate to play a woman hiding behind a thick wall built up
around her humanity over the course of 25 years.  Watch an episode of her
show to see further proof.


Did The Opening Quote Seem Relevant To The Story?  (Did 4Q2 get it?):
The Percy Shelley quote was dead on.  We all have the seeds of evil born
within us, and while the majority of us keep these seeds from blooming for
the most part, they do eventually sprout... sometimes with disastrous
results.


TV Episode(s) that it most reminded me of:
"The Well-Worn Lock," "Wild and Innocent," "Through a Glass Darkly"


Score: 8.5 (out of 10)
Matt Asendorf and David Klein took a chance with this one, and it was a
great effort.  But having no sense of danger and no identified source of
evil, no villain, took some getting used to.  The MM feel wasn't
completely there.  Still entertaining and moving by the time all was said
and done.  Nice damn job.

NEXT IN THE PIPELINE: Back to my "Sala Del La Morto" review.  Should be up
before Monday.  In addition, I will be also be moving on to
"Shophetim," and posting (as will others) my take on "The X-Files:
Millennium" hopefully during the last days of November.  Onward!

-4Q2, denture-wearer