Season 3: Episode 14: "Matryoshka"

Written by Erin Maher & Kay Reindl

Directed by Arthur Forney

Airdate: February 19, 1999

Guest Star: Barbara Bain (Lily Unser)

"Matryoshka" continues to explore the history of the Millennium Group, connecting them to the Manhattan Project and the birth of the military-industrial complex. 

A complicated historical mystery is at the center of the episode, starting with the suicide of retired FBI agent Lanyard who witnessed odd happenings at Los Alamos when the atomic bomb was being built. While investigating a scientist (Dr. Alexander) suspected of crimes, Lanyard learns that Alexander was experimenting with plutonium, and his own self was split, a Jekyll and Hyde situation. 

Frank and Agent Hollis follow a lead involving Peter Watts, who, as usual, knows more than he leads on about the case that caused Lanyard to shoot himself. They speak to the family's nanny Lily Unser who witnessed the strange events. In flashbacks, we J. Edgar Hoover and his Lieutenant Clyde Tolson discussing the Millennium Group, with Hoover drawing up the ouroboros symbol. 

There's a germ of a great idea in the script, once again tying the group to the Cold War and its implications, to quote one character, "they stole the apocalypse." Developing nuclear weapons gave humanity powers attributed to Gods, and the episode makes a gesture at the spiritual implications. But the idea feels too ambitious for the episode, at best a meditation on the legacy of the Manhattan Project, predating Oppenheimer by many years. 'Matryoshka" is more about the personal side of legacy, we learn the daughter of Dr. Alexander works on genetic engineering experiments, speaking to the anxiety about tech at the end of the 1990s.

There's an amusing line when Watts says, "Frank says everything is tied to the Millennium Group." Which, despite Peter's sarcasm, appears to be true! As for the episode, the structure seemed oddly opaque although it was never boring. especially the moments with Peter and Frank. TV veteran Barbara Bain brought poignancy to her scenes as well. But we're not left with much to ponder by the end, other than the Group was involved with the Manhattan Project and some scientists involved in dangerous side projects.