A serial killer in Portland, Oregon, cuts female victims in half after gaining their trust, duct taping them, while still in their various uniforms (such as a postal worker and nurse), using his "mobile slaughterhouse", an orange van, as his murder locale. Frank is called in to work with a Millennium Group hopeful, Jim "James" Horn, in figuring out the identity of the killer and what drives him. I think this episode works especially well at conveying to us a picture of Frank in the past, through the use of a tormented James who allows his cases to get inside his head, even "superimposing" his own son's face over the faces of victims. James is certainly on his way to the same kind of breakdown Frank endured in the past which allows a type of mentorship. Frank knows what James is going through, can relate, and tries to talk him out of and down from allowing each case to seep so deeply in he can't function without seeing the killer, his ride (an orange van in the current case), or elements of the case when out in public. The case is an important factor in the episode but James' own psychological damage is just as vital to the episode overall. And how both converge at the end, with James and the killer in a violent confrontation inside the van, does sort of seem to be a culmination of both stories within the episode. There is serious stylization involved when the episode takes us into the basement of the killer, shadowing his face in ways so that he's not altogether seen but sinister nonetheless. Ultimately, Frank determines, when discovering "strips" left with little written taunting phrases from known literary works (in the episode this is what Frank visualizes when at crimes scenes), and how faces are (with fecal matter from the killer also) covered that the killer doesn't necessarily enjoy killing but wants to be recognized as important. When at an optometry clinic, a female employee who encounters him tells Frank and James that he kept emphasizing that he "HAS A NAME!!!" this would appear to be their chance to catch him while trying to kidnap her next. Like the previous episodes, "Dead Letters" (Frank passes by this on a sign in the post office when called in to investigate another murder) remains a bleak, quite grim affair, once again directed with the same visual scheme, as emphasis on tone and mood remain close to the vest with the subject matter. Frank and Catherine having James and his son over at their house provides plenty of conversation on the topic of investigating horrible crimes and their effects on those responsible for catching killers. Frank and James are two sides of the same coin at different points in their life and career, so the parallels remain a constant the episode wants to always bring to the forefront...the case sort of serves as a means for James to determine if he can or cannot survive in the career he has chosen. Whether or not James can hack being a part of the Millennium Group appears obvious almost from the beginning...but if he could continue to even serve as a detective also comes under question thanks to the great performance from James Morrison. X-Files fans will see Morrison later in an episode titled "Theef". Morrison, here, shows you the rattled, barely-held-together detective who can go through a profile in this state of anxious and frenzied run-off, a lot of it in his configured layout moved through with little breath taken, even as he still has questions and problems in need of definition not yet determined. Frank listens intently and allows him to work it all out, waiting on James to seek a retort or reply. Frank has always been an observer who speaks when the words that leave him have merit, not over-elaborating or over-speaking, but on point most of the time and with tact. That's why I personally like Frank so much...and believe this is Henriksen's best part.
4 Reviews
Everybody wants to be Somebody
injury-6544730 May 2020
Very different in tone to the first two episodes. Moves away from the prophecies and the End of millennium Talk to offer up a serial killer of the week episode.
The details about the killer were interesting, although with the carpark abduction scene there was almost too much similarity to The Silence of the Lambs. An homage is ok but I really hope the show can keep ideas fresh and original. I don't want the serial killers to become indistinguishable from one another.
This episode is all about the character of Jim Horn and his inability to keep his emotions out of the case. I think he was played very well. I enjoyed watching his descent into madness. Ultimately it's the capable acting that made this a great watch. It was pretty predictable to know what was going to end up happening, but that's ok - it was executed well.
I enjoyed the dream imagery, especially the creepy clown. I'm wondering if that will come back at any point.
This episode definitely felt oppressively bleak, With the talk of defecation and whatnot. I can understand it wouldn't be everybody's cup of tea. You come out of the episode with a definite sense of melancholy that I didn't get from the first two episodes.
The details about the killer were interesting, although with the carpark abduction scene there was almost too much similarity to The Silence of the Lambs. An homage is ok but I really hope the show can keep ideas fresh and original. I don't want the serial killers to become indistinguishable from one another.
This episode is all about the character of Jim Horn and his inability to keep his emotions out of the case. I think he was played very well. I enjoyed watching his descent into madness. Ultimately it's the capable acting that made this a great watch. It was pretty predictable to know what was going to end up happening, but that's ok - it was executed well.
I enjoyed the dream imagery, especially the creepy clown. I'm wondering if that will come back at any point.
This episode definitely felt oppressively bleak, With the talk of defecation and whatnot. I can understand it wouldn't be everybody's cup of tea. You come out of the episode with a definite sense of melancholy that I didn't get from the first two episodes.
absorbing character study
quinoble9 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The main focus of this episode is not the criminal but a detective, James Horn, played by James Morrison (better known as CTU director Bill Buchanan on "24").
Horn is a highly gifted investigator like Frank Black, but his psyche is starting to fray under the strain of dealing with the worst of humanity while raising a young family. Black mentors Horn and evaluates him for membership in the Millennium Group while working with him to solve a rash of brutal murders.
The Horn character is the make-or-break factor of this episode, and fortunately Morrison and the writers deliver the goods. Agitated, sweaty, and tortured, Horn is a man coming apart at the seams, fearing that his family will end up victims of the killers he pursues. His marriage is collapsing, and he becomes obsessive and unable to separate his personal demons from the murder case, with completely expected results.
Horn is essentially a younger version of Black, confronting the same dilemma Black faced earlier in his career. Black has managed to find some measure of balance between his personal and professional lives, but Horn cannot. Seeing himself in Horn, Black tries to help Horn see the dark path the latter is headed down, but cannot reach him.
In telling Horn's story, the show is really telling Black's. The episode reminds us of the high price Black pays for his gift, and raises the possibility that Horn's fate might yet someday be his.
Horn is a highly gifted investigator like Frank Black, but his psyche is starting to fray under the strain of dealing with the worst of humanity while raising a young family. Black mentors Horn and evaluates him for membership in the Millennium Group while working with him to solve a rash of brutal murders.
The Horn character is the make-or-break factor of this episode, and fortunately Morrison and the writers deliver the goods. Agitated, sweaty, and tortured, Horn is a man coming apart at the seams, fearing that his family will end up victims of the killers he pursues. His marriage is collapsing, and he becomes obsessive and unable to separate his personal demons from the murder case, with completely expected results.
Horn is essentially a younger version of Black, confronting the same dilemma Black faced earlier in his career. Black has managed to find some measure of balance between his personal and professional lives, but Horn cannot. Seeing himself in Horn, Black tries to help Horn see the dark path the latter is headed down, but cannot reach him.
In telling Horn's story, the show is really telling Black's. The episode reminds us of the high price Black pays for his gift, and raises the possibility that Horn's fate might yet someday be his.
Weakish.
bombersflyup12 August 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Dead Letters doesn't have a lot going for it. Frank doesn't work with the group, but with a new candidate for the group Jim who's off the rails. Played by James Morrison who later appears in "The X-Files - Theef." The killer here's misspelling words as well, a coincidence, unlikely. The problem's the story focuses on Jim letting the killer into his head, than it being about the killer and he won't be in the group anyway, so it's unenthralling filler.
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