1x02 Gehenna
Millennium (1996)
1x02 Gehenna, written by Chris Carter and Charles Holland, directed by David Nutter.
quote
I smell blood and an era of prominent madmen.
-- W.H. Auden
It's supposed to be San Francisco but we recognize the serial killer land of Vancouver: dark, rainy, industrial wastelands. This time we have a murder cult and drug-induced visions of a demonic slayer with night-vision goggles.
The cult members are all young men working at a phone sales business, a dangerous gay vibe. Better keep your numbers up.
We learn:
Catherine is a "clinical social worker".
Peter Watts can read Russian.
It's 1996: Frank uses a dial-up modem and early Windows.
The Millennium Group people are good at what they do, but also intense.
I noticed one of the telemarketing cult motivation slides was "WORK WILL SET YOU FREE". Arbeit macht frei was posted at the gates of nazi concentration camps. More crematory ashes.
Frank's retirement from the FBI was a breakdown from when the stalker's polaroids first appeared. The Group recruited him and brought him back to work.
One Group member cites "a deliberate error in the Great Pyramid in Giza" which throws off our calendar and the calculation of the date of the Apocalypse, which is an odd bit of knowledge for a crime investigation. First time I noticed: Watts doesn't want to hear jokes about it.
Catherine is deliberately projecting an image of safety for herself and Jordan so Frank can believe in the perfect world he has tried to build for them. Else he risks another breakdown.
Security lights are scary when they turn on. We see someone watching the house, presumable the polaroid stalker. Frank has not told Catherine about the new photos.
A criticism: if you had to dispose of many pounds of cremation ashes would you hide them in public gardens, or rather just toss them anywhere in that industrial wasteland? How did a complete ear survive the heat? Quoting Blue Velvet (1986)?
We might suspect Evil is playing a long game and laying a trap for Frank, but I doubt the writers had gotten there yet.
Frank begins to suspect something uncanny at work. A good exchange when Catherine finds him reading the Bible (unironically, as they say):
quote
Frank: I'm just confused about something I thought I understood about evil. What it is, exactly.
Catherine: You mean, what causes it?
Frank: It seems that the old biblical concept of the devil's influence has lost any currency.
Catherine: I just think the language has changed. I think science and psychology have given us a clearer idea of why people commit evil acts. I see it everyday, abused kids become abusive adults.
Frank: So the true source of evil is us.
Catherine: You mean, are we all capable of it?
Frank: Or is there something out there - a force or a presence - waiting until it can create another murder, another rape, another holocaust.
Catherine: I think it's something that everyone who looks deeply at life wonders.
Frank: What would you tell a child? What would I tell Jordan?
Catherine: Maybe you should just tell her good-night.
It's Mulder vs Scully with belief vs skepticism, and Frank -- having seen the demon (real or not) -- starts to lean one way. Asked if he caught the bad man: "I'm not sure if the bad man can be caught".
Director David Nutter provides a commentary track on the DVD:
He talks about the transition from a pilot episode (more time and money) to the season (less).
They had to use a different yellow house. Neighbors of the original wanted them gone.
Like everyone involved he has a deep understanding of the purpose of the show. You can see it in the results.
