Season 3: Episode 22: "Goodbye to All That"

Written by Ken Horton & Chip Johannessen

Directed by Thomas J. Wright

Airdate: May 21, 1999

Guest Star: Jade Malle (Cheryl Kellough)

"Goodbye to All That" was the final episode of Millennium, although Frank Black would later appear on the X-Files episode "Millennium" as a coda of sorts. 

Unlike shows of the "prestige TV era" like The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Lost, or Mad Men, Millennium was canceled before it could tie up all the loose ends. But we do get a sense of closure and even a glimmer of hope. 

The episode picks up after the explosion of the previous episode "Via Dolorosa." Agent Baldwin survived the blast but is later killed in the ambulance by a paramedic. frank continues to pursue Lucas Barr, who is leaving clues behind connected to the stations of the cross. Later Frank is shown video footage Barr took of Jordan sleeping, putting him into a rage. He breaks into Watt's house as he's having a family dinner, demanding to know the connections between Barr and the Group. Watts pleads ignorance but later confides to Frank that Barr took part in brain enhancing experiments for the group.

Meanwhile, Watts convinces Hollis to join the group, so they help her father, who later regrets the procedure for mysterious reasons. Frank tracks Barr down, he's living with a blind woman named Jade as he plans more killings. Frank captures him, then Barr takes a drill to his own head but spares Jade. 

Frustrated with the FBI and Hollis's betrayal, Frank leaves the FBI. He drives off with Jordan, as they look towards an uncertain future. Jordan says, "We are All Shepherds," and Frank agrees.

Frank's place in the FBI was always tenuous, and pressures from the group compelled him to go into self-imposed exile. Hollis leaving Frank for the group was unfortunate, shattering the bond they built over the season. We see a dead body in Watt's home office, assuming he was killed by the Group, possibly for failing to win back Frank.

The third season brought Millennium back to its roots in another season of quality television.

This blog was written as an appreciation of Millennium, a retrospective look at an influential show that's now been off the air for 25 years. I hope whoever finds this blog finds value in these posts. I'd like to think Frank Black is still out there somewhere fighting the good fight. 

Sept 16, 2019 - Sept. 10, 2025

Season 3: Episode 21: "Via Dolorosa"

Written by Marjorie David & Patrick Harbinson

Directed by Paul Shapiro

Airdate: May 14, 1999

Guest Star: Jeff Parise (Lucas Francis Barr)

The first episode of a two-parter to bring the series to a close, "Via Dolorosa" (the way of pain) features Frank and the FBI on the trail of a copycat killer, while Peter Watts offers to find a cure Hollis's father suffering from Altheimer's. 

Frank attends the execution of serial killer Edward Cuffle who stares him down. Later, Frank calls the execution process "barbaric" just as crimes mimicking Cuffle's begin to occur. Affluent couples are being targeted at night during intimate moments by the killer. The killer holds resentment at wealthy men who used his mom who worked as a maid for sex. Footage of the execution reveals the killer was present. 

Meanwhile, Watts wants to Hollis to help him get Frank back in the group, he offers to help her father by utilizing medical technology being developed by the Group. After Hollis is physically attacked by her father, she considers taking up Peter's offer. 

The FBI connects the killer by going through military records and Agent Baldwin arranges a raid at his hideaway. Frank caution Baldwin to cancel, but once they storm the building a bomb ignites, ending the episode. 

The episode is well paced and suspenseful, allowing Frank to utilize his superior detective skills. I wish the season had served Watts better, who in the episode is reduced to a cagey lurker still obsessed with Frank. Everyone's fate hangs in the balance as we move on to the second part . . . 

Season 3: Episode 20: "Nostalgia"

Written by Michael R. Perry

Directed by Thomas J. Wright

Airdate: May 7, 1999

Guest Stars: David Barerra (Sheriff Tommy Briggs); Ted Marcoux (Jerry Neilson)

On the surface, "Nostalgia" seems like serial killer of the week episode Millennium became known for during its first season. But Michael R. Perry's script experimented with the conventional formula in some compelling ways. The killer is revealed early in the episode, and the focus is more on the cultural climate of the community that allowed a killer to hide in plain sight.

Agent Hollis is nostalgic about returning to South Mill, a town she recalls fondly from her childhood. She and Frank are investigating the murder of a young woman Jan McCall and discover connections to deaths of other young women from the area. The concept of the idyllic Norman Rockwell small town masking an awful darkness is a recurring trope throughout the series, but here it's fleshed out without the usual irony. Agent Hollis and Frank quickly amass evidence pointing to the local park ranger Jerry, but Frank must get a confession.

We learn about the toxic culture among the police officers who seem more interested in bedding all the young women who come their way, especially those women who hang out at the local dive and have a "reputation." These women mean nothing to them, or to people in the community, who attribute the murders to drugs or their immoral lifestyles. But as Jerry confesses to Frank, these women are easy marks for predators like himself. No one misses them. 

As Emma interrogates cops, including a childhood friend, she learns her old hometown was not as wholesome as she remembered. Meanwhile, Frank, through subtle methods, becomes Jerry's confessor, even leading him to the location of one of the murders. By the end, Emma and Frank lament the darkness that seems to follow them but nevertheless accept their lot. 

As a throwback episode, "Nostalgia" allowed Henriksen and Scott to deliver compelling performance and even allow for some charming banter, with subtle and timely social commentary on toxic male culture before the term widely entered the parlance. 

Season 3: Episode 19: "Seven and One"

Written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz

Directed by Peter Markle

Airdate: April 30, 1999

Guest Stars: Dean Norris (Del Boxer)

One would not expect a Millennium episode to begin with a Backstreets Boys song, but here we are (it was for Jordan's birthday party). And that's the lightest moment in another heavy episode with Frank once again enduring an agonizing spiritual journey. 

During the party, Frank is delivered a package with Polaroid photos of himself, recalling the times he was stalked in Seattle that led to Catherine being kidnapped. At the FBI, Frank and other agents consider the evidence, Agent Boxer (pre-Breaking Bad) senses Frank is hiding something and develops suspicions about Frank. Later, Frank confesses a childhood memory to Hollis about a drowning he witnessed. He visits a Priest and talks about his disturbing visions. 

A shapeshifter named Mavius appears to be manipulating the strange phenomena, even attempting to frame Frank for the murder of his therapist. There's an attempt to bury Hollis alive? Later she encounters the demon in the guise of herself. Frank hallucinates drowning inside his bathroom - talk about some bad plumbing. 

'Seven and One" is about coming to terms with childhood trauma and guilt over losing Catherine. He's put through a lot, with multiple dreams of his own death by stabbing and drowning. Hollis is also starting to have visions. There's a lot happening in the episode, not all of which makes perfect sense. Why is the demon pursuing Frank? Why is the FBI suspicious of him? The bureau's been antagonistic all season. 

Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz wrote an ambitious script, solely focused on Frank's character arc and where he might be going. There's a gesture towards spiritual renewal, but what does that even mean in this ever-darkening world? Frank is out through a lot throughout the season, but here we're given a faint glimmer of hope. Hasn't this man been through enough? 

Season 3: Episode 18: "Bardo Thodol"

Written by Virginia Stock and Chip Johannessen

Directed by Thomas J. Wright

Airdate: April 23, 1999

Guest Stars: James Hong (Monk); Tzi Ma (Dr. Takashi)

"Bardo Thodol" continues to explore the nefarious nature of the Millennium Group, while also marking a turning point in Frank's spiritual journey. 

The story follows Japanese scientist Dr. Takashi who worked for the group and is now undergoing a deadly disease decaying his body. On the run, he takes refuge in a Buddhist temple where he's slowly dying. James Hong guest stars as monk seeing to his care. Meanwhile Hollis leads a raid on a merchant ship where they discover frozen hands aboard. Watts also takes an interest in the case, offering guidance to Hollis, while FBI Director McClaren prefers Frank be left out of the loop. 

Frank tracks down Takashi to the temple, while Hollis connects his work to a health care company. While it's never explicitly spelled out, Takashi's work appears to deal with regenerating human tissue. A henchman for the group also finds the temple, but Takashi die before he can be killed. Frank and Hollis attend his burial on a snowy mountain. 

The narrative of the episode is elliptical, almost to a fault. We learn that the group is deeply involved in fringe science, but their motives remain ambiguous. Are they trying to bring on the apocalypse? Survive it? Prevent it? Frank is weary enough to longer care, while Hollis seems both intrigued and frightened at their ultimate goals. 

John Kenneth Muir, scholar of Millennium, sees "Bardo Thodol" as key moment in Frank's character arc through three seasons. During the first season he observed and encountered so much death, suffered many personal losses in the second season, while in the third he continues to seek purpose despite the darkness:

In this episode, Frank's journey finally shifts from one of "seeing" to one, essentially, of "starting over." The lead monk (James Hong) speaks of "listening without distraction" and "setting aside perceptions." He suggests everything you experience is a but a projection of the mind." (411)

Healing and rebirth are major themes in the third season; Frank's weariness has given him a seasoned purpose. He's no longer thinking in terms of good and evil and saving the world from demonic darkness, he's been through it and survived. His purpose is to be there for Jordan, the struggle against evil continues but it's more internal. 

Work Cited:

John Kenneth Muir. "Bardo Thodol: The Third Season and a Unified Theory of Millennium." From Back to Frank Black: A Return to Chris Carter's Millennium. Edited by Adam Chamberlain and Brian A. Dixon. 

Season 3: Episode 17: "Darwin's Eye"

Written by Patrick Harbinson 

Directed by Ken Fink

Airdate: April 16, 1999

Guest Stars: Tracy Middendorf (Cass Doyle); John Beasley (James Hollis): Peter Simmons (Joe Doherty)

Frank Black and Emma Hollis investigate a young woman, Cass Doyle, who escaped from an asylum and then persuaded a cop to help her go on the run. The episode also introduces Hollis's father, James, who is struggling with Altheimer's Disease. 

Cass was institutionalized for killing her parents and murdered and beheaded an orderly at the asylum. She convinces Deputy Doherty of her innocence and muses on the machinations of Darwin's natural selection, specifically the mysteries of the human eye.

Hollis seems especially intrigued with the case, noticing images of wild palms in Cass's cell, noting they are symbols used by special forces in the military. Hollis's father worked for the defense industry and often creates haunting images connected to his time in the service, specifically palm trees enveloped by mushroom clouds. Evidence leads Frank to conclude Cass was sexually assaulted by father and the orderly at the asylum, who also served in the military. They track Cass down to a motel where she has apparently killed Doherty, found caressing his severed head.

In what appears as a standard case of tracking down a fugitive becomes a story about violence against women by men entrusted with being guardians of national security. Cass took revenge on the men who abused her and suffered for it, her own life was destroyed by the very men she was supposed to trust. The theme of national security and gender and the trauma passed down from generations is powerful one, which the script might've developed just a bit more.

"Darwin's Eye" tells a suspenseful and fast paced story Millennium did so well. Yet I sense a weariness creeping into the series as the third season entered its final stretch, the storylines are starting to feel stale, the series seemed to be struggling to find its identity after two seasons of powerful stories. Should the series simply focus on crime stories each week? Does the mythology of the Millennium group need more backstory? Or is the group now mostly irrelevant? Humor also seems to be lacking, which despite all the dark places Millennium went, seems mostly absent in the third season, the episode featuring Kiss being an exception. 

The streaming era allows TV shows to plot out their seasons and develop mythology. Millennium did not have that luxury, the late 90s was still ruled by the dictates of network television. One wonders if Millennium arrived too soon and whether such an ambitious series was better suited for a streaming format. We'll never know. 

Season 3: Episode 16: "Saturn Dreaming of Mercury"

Written by Chip Johannessen and Jordan Hawley

Directed by Paul Shapiro

Airdate: April 9, 1999

Guest Star: Michael Bofshever (Will Sanderson); Dillon Moen (Lucas Sanderson)

Demons, both literal and metaphorical, continue to haunt Frank Black despite everything he's been through. Throughout Millennium's third season Frank struggles with being a single father, realizing Jordan is not only getting older but also shares his gift. "Saturn Dreaming of Mercury" effectively plays upon those anxieties and features some truly frightening moments. 

The episode begins with Frank training Jordan how to ride her bicycle, a childhood rite of passage. When new neighbors move in next door, Jordan seems fixated on the boy Lucas. She has frightening visions of the new house and speaks of her imaginary friend Simon. At school. Jordan is accused of attacking Lucas. at one point biting him. While Frank is upset about Jordan acting out of character, he also discovers strange things about the new neighbors that may account for her behavior. 

Frank discovers Lucas was adopted by the Sandersons, as Jordan begins to see demonic faces. A connection is also made to the murder of a pregnant woman in Phoenix, the city the Sandersons moved from. When the Sandersons are visited by a Welcome committee, we discover a collection of eyes in their home. Upon leaving, the mother and son in the welcoming committee are in a car accident. Jordan is led to the Sanderson's basement and finds a terrifying boiler, shades of Nightmare on Elm Street, and supposedly attacks Will with scissors. Frank visits the basement and has a dreamlike vision of a demonic attack; he wakes up and escapes the house as its burning. As Frank and Jordan watch the engulfed house, they witness Lucas transform into Lucy Butler - she was manipulating everything. 

Johannessen and Hawley leaned into horror in their fever dream of a script - topped off with a terrifying basement! At the end of 'Antipas" Lucy threatened Jordan and this episode - and threat was not empty. The story also tapped into the loneliness Frank feels and the absence of Catherine, leaving him and Jordan more vulnerable than ever. Hollis plays a peripheral role in the plot, her frustration with Frank's mysterious methods boils over in the final scene. There's a melancholy atmosphere to the episode, even overriding all the horror elements, Frank's been trying to find refuge from his past and despite all his best efforts he cannot escape it. But they survive another day.