This is "typical 'Millennium'": serial killer of the week with apocalyptic/religious aspects. It revisits themes previously treated in the pilot, "Gehenna", and "The Judge," albeit with a new twist.
The crimes take place in a gated community, wealthy, exclusive, and extremely homogeneous (a forensic scientist, played by black actress C.C.H. Pounder, remarks dryly that the security is so good they stopped her twice after she entered the gate), and the victims have comically bland surnames like "Comstock" and "Birkenbuehl."
The visuals are great, particularly of the warped quasi-religious ritual the killer inflicts on his victims. There are also some great images from the killer's POV, where he sees the people around him as rotting and decaying due to their moral corruption.
In "Millennium" Chris Carter explores the fears and anxieties of '90s suburbia, which he sees not as a refuge, but a place menaced by dark forces. In this episode, evil comes not from the outsiders, as the residents initially believe, but from within, from the most respected members of the community. Not only that, the murderer's driven by righteous outrage at the hidden corruption and criminality festering beneath the surface of this seemingly idyllic community (there's plenty of both, it turns out). Interestingly, his goal is not primarily to kill but to expose this corruption. It's suggested that in many ways, the only real difference between Frank Black and the killer is means, not ends.
An excellent episode, if not quite up to the level of the pilot.
The crimes take place in a gated community, wealthy, exclusive, and extremely homogeneous (a forensic scientist, played by black actress C.C.H. Pounder, remarks dryly that the security is so good they stopped her twice after she entered the gate), and the victims have comically bland surnames like "Comstock" and "Birkenbuehl."
The visuals are great, particularly of the warped quasi-religious ritual the killer inflicts on his victims. There are also some great images from the killer's POV, where he sees the people around him as rotting and decaying due to their moral corruption.
In "Millennium" Chris Carter explores the fears and anxieties of '90s suburbia, which he sees not as a refuge, but a place menaced by dark forces. In this episode, evil comes not from the outsiders, as the residents initially believe, but from within, from the most respected members of the community. Not only that, the murderer's driven by righteous outrage at the hidden corruption and criminality festering beneath the surface of this seemingly idyllic community (there's plenty of both, it turns out). Interestingly, his goal is not primarily to kill but to expose this corruption. It's suggested that in many ways, the only real difference between Frank Black and the killer is means, not ends.
An excellent episode, if not quite up to the level of the pilot.
