Season 3: Episode 2: "Exegesis"

Directed by Ralph Hemecker

Written by Chip Johannessen

Air Date: October 9, 1998

Guest Stars: Terry O'Quinn (Peter Watts) Doris Chicott (Elderly Woman)

"Exegesis" was the second part of Millennium's two-part premiere, offering an increasing number of plot twists and retcons to clear up lingering questions from the previous season. In saying that, "Exegesis" establishes the Millennium Group as the new villains, reintroducing Peter Watts, a former mentor, and confidante to Frank Black who's know his nemesis.

The plot machinations continue with the women who are indeed being targeted by the Group. Frank and Emma discover a connection linking the women to a "remote viewing" program from the 1970s, the government believing these women had the ability to project their consciousness to locations thousands of miles away. There is a history of the U.S. Government exploring such phenomena. Frank and Emma manage to track the "Elderly Woman" they observed remote viewing on an old tape to an abandoned silo, where they get into a shootout with group members and Frank almost gets crushed by an elevator. The woman reveals the end of the Cold War has led to an existential crisis, no longer having the power of the button has made the powers that be restless, hungry for more power. Frank decides to cover up the involvement of the Group in connection to the plane crash and the murders in his final report to protect himself.  

If anything, "Exegesis" induces a reevaluation of Peter Watts who was actually grooming Frank all along: providing emotional support, earning Frank's trust, preparing him to join the group. Frank is now in the position of having been deceived by a friend and colleague and will face consequences for going against the group. 

In a rarity, the episode ends with Frank's narration after he's purchased a birthday present for Jordan, "We can see the future in tantalizing glimpses that vanish as quickly as they appear . . Not that the future is, but that it is. Waiting for us. A reassuring thought."

Frank's notion reminds us why Millennium remains one of the great shows focused on existential and spiritual crisis, resonating even more this deep into the 21st Century.