MILLENNIUM Virtual Season Four Episode review
by 4Q2
Submitted 2/21/00 (and soon to be Y3K compliant)

"The Third Eye" #418
Original "Air" date: 11/26/99
Writers: Kevin Patterson


In Brief: 
As the Millennium Group tightens its grip of influence over the Quantico
CIRT, Emma investigates a series of murders designed to defy an ancient
prophecy.


Overall Impression:
YOW! This was a doozy... and let me reiterate that when I say there are
spoilers ahoy... thar be spoilers.  This was a grand chapter in the MM
mytharc.  Patterson delivers here, with all the trimmings.


Details: 
Let me start by delivering a warning to ol' Walter Skinner there on "The
X-Files."  Watch your back.  Being an Assistant Director for the FBI isn't
what's cracked up to be.  First poor AD-to-be Barry Baldwin is signed up
for a dirt nap, then Ken "We hardly knew ye" McGreevey takes it nasty. 

Well, we'll get to all that.  Now then...

The opening moments of Kevin Patterson's "The Third Eye" (as well as
having seen the print ad for the following episode, "In Adventu Dominae")
had me convinced that it was time for Emma to shine for awhile in this,
the last days of the VS.  A *lot* more time had been devoted to the
development of Ryan Frost as well as the surfacing of Jordan's intuitive
senses, so it only made sense that Emma's time had come.  Only problem is,
"Emma Episodes" have a (perhaps undeserved) reputation of being kinda
ho-hum.  I cite Season Three episodes "Closure" and "Nostalgia" as
examples. Marginally good pieces of work in and of themselves, but devoid
of any shock value and certainly devoid of anyting linked to the mytharc.
Nice character studies both, but fall-down-flat boring as stand alone
tales.  Well, the unfortunate reality of such mistakes is that the rep
follows the character around in subsequent stories.  The character is
Emma, and the poor girl doesn't deserve it.  So I had my reservations
about the amount of time that seemed to be prepped mostly for her.  The
saving grace here is that a great deal of intriguing interplay has already
taken place between her and her MM Group patron, Carol Finley.  Okay, so
we can chalk up points to this new direction for Emma, but am I ready for
not one but TWO "Emma Episodes?"  Well, I wasn't... but this was something
different.  "The Third Eye" promises to make Emma Hollis a major
contributor to the mytharc (finally).  Sadly, this was an opportunity that
the television series ignored utterly.  Now we have some real substance,
some real meat to chew on for Emma.  This story nicely sets the stage for
things to come, and what was even more surprising is that it was done
while Frank took a back seat of sorts this time around. 

Okay, so with my "Emma Episode" fears allayed by what was shaping up to be
one pisser of a story for the coming end game.  And you better believe I
could smell the smoke from the proverbial fire once McGreevey, taking his
place as McClaren's replacement, started challenging Finley... and by
doing so, the MM Group (!).  I almost wish Peter Watts had survived.  The
idea of McGreevey challenging him make me visualize some *damn* chilling
scenes. 

And speaking of which...

The idea of having Peter Watts along, even in a flashback/vision was an
idea I had *no* trouble warming up to.  In fact, as I re-read "Third Eye"
for the purpose of my review, I could see the credit ("Special Guest Star
-- Terry O'Quinn) in me noggin over the opening act.  And the conjectural
fate of Peter fit in well with the entire scheme to boot.  Very cool,
indeed!

However, seeing what was to come wasn't all that hard.  Having McGreevey
starting to rock the boat could only result in disaster, but the fun here
was seeing what form the disaster would take.  It's just one of those
things you have to just sit back, enjoy, and see how close to the truth
you actually were.  Such is the appeal of Millennium.


4Q2's Goose-Bump Moment:
McGreevey takes the tape of Blaylock, locks it away, then we have a scene
where he's walking through a parking garage at night by himself.  Yep...
let the games begin. 


4Q2's Nitpick Corner: 
The two agents questioning Frank about Father Matthew's abduction seemed
awfully uninformed.  Frank has to be, without a doubt, one of the more
recognized investigators the Bureau has ever seen, aside from that
"Spooky" guy. 

And, while this isn't a nitpick, I just HAD to point this out: 

EMMA: "I still don't understand why you think that four murders could
cause the end of the world." 

I know how you feel, Emma.  And four zombies in a basement didn't convince
me either. 

And so, with the forces of good and sweetness taking yet another hit
courtesy of Team Mabius, we're getting closer to a tasty battle in the
episodes ahead.  Great story, and a fine, heavily dramatic ending to Kevin
Patterson's second and final solo effort for the VS.


Did The Opening Quote Seem Relevant To The Story?  (Did 4Q2 get it?):
The more you know... the more you don't *want* to know.  Seemed to be the
MM Group's policy being stated here.


TV Episode(s) that it most reminded me of:
"Human Essence," "Collateral Damage," "Via Dolorosa," "Goodbye To All
That" (By the way, I kinda *LIKED* "Human Essence" so it wasn't intended
as a shot)


Score: 9 (out of 10)
Frank's involvement into such an important chapter of the mytharc came way
too late, but the story itself was good enough not to lose too many points
for the tardiness of our aging hero.  Good show!

NEXT IN THE PIPELINE: (read in gruff, Fox-style urgent voiceover) The
countdown to the series finale begins!  4Q2 reviews "In Adventu Dominae."

-4Q2

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Thoughts on the VS4 Part Four" review by Jon


Well, it's over. The last 5 episodes of the Virtual Season have now been
released, and the new millennium is safely here. 

Kudos to all the VS4 writers for getting to the end of their journey - it
would have been so easy to let the schedule slip into the New Year - Dan
and Matt especially deserve praise for their sterling work. 

So here is my last set of mini-reviews. I'll try to keep them brief and to
the point. Did the VS4 end with a bang or with a whimper? ... Let's see... 


(these reviews may contain SPOILERS - you have been warned)


VS18. The Third Eye 

This is an excellent Group mytharc episode which incorporates elements
from a lot of real and virtual episodes. It addresses themes from the
start of the VS4 (the 'faithful one', etc) and sets up events for the
finale. The characterisation is spot-on and the dialogue is excellent. The
scenes with the FBI are very good (the return of Andy McLaren!), and so is
the development of McGreevy's growing suspicion about the Group. It's a
brave move to have McGreevy killed, but it works very well indeed. The
flashback to Peter Watts' execution is long-awaited, and the scene in
which Frank kneels by his grave is excellent too! 

In summary: an excellent episode, one of my top 4. 

VS19. In Adventu Dominae 

This Group episode delves into James Hollis's past and his links with the
Group when an old friend is murdered. Meanwhile, Emma is getting drawn
deeper into the Group. We get a bit more detail on the history of the
Group's radiation experiments (a sort of counterpoint to 'Matryoshka'),
and we get to see Emma being questioned by the Group the same way that
Frank was, way back in 'Luminary'. This episode is interesting, but is
marred a little by sloppy editing and slightly clunky dialogue. James
Hollis's  suicide off-camera (apropos of nothing) seemed like a bit of a
cop-out to me. 

In summary: a good episode, but could do with a polish. 

VS20. Diabolus Ex Machina 

This Legion episode sees Frank go back to Seattle to consult on a case for
a former colleague while Jordan faces problems of her own at home. This
episode has a nice creepy feel, leading up to another fairly subtle offer
from Legion. It's a nice touch to have Frank visit Catherine's grave when
he's back in Seattle. Also notable is the scene where Frank screws up and
people die - excellent idea! This episode is all about Frank (no Emma! no
Group! no Ryan! no Lucy Butler!) and as a result, has in spades what a lot
of VS4 episodes lack: convincing character development! This is more like
it, guys! Frank seems genuinely tempted by the idea of making a change
after all that has happened to him. The dialogue in the scenes with Quien
is good, even if it could do with breaking up a little (10 or 15 sentences
in a row is almost a speech!). The appearance of Samael is unexpected and
effective, and the plot twist is good too. The links to 'Borrowed Time'
and 'Powers' are well-handled. The main plot is good enough to render the
rather shallow "Jordan / Jonah / the Janitor" subplot a little irritating.

In summary: an excellent episode, focused on Frank. 

VS21/22. The Swords of Armageddon/Revelation

And so we come to the end of the road. The Big One. The wrap-up for the
events of three real seasons and one virtual. This was always going to be
a near-impossible task for Dan and Matt, given the radical change in
direction which occurred in the real season 3. In the end, the finale
dealt mainly with the themes from Season 3 and the VS4 and more or less
ignored the events of the first 2 seasons. 

There's so much in this two-part episode that it's hard to know where to
begin. Put simply, the main storyline is as follows : Mabius = Yaponchik =
the AntiChrist. He has been making the Group do all that bad stuff. He has
a plan which involves detonating nuclear devices in major US cities to
bring about WWIII. The Group will then be able to clean up by selling
defenses against nuclear devices and biological toxins (I kid you not).
Meanwhile, Le Saux is leading another Group faction called Ogmios which
opposes Mabius, while the Elder is in a daze. 

It's an achievement in itself that Dan and Matt managed to put this finale
together at all and keep it fairly consistent with what has gone before.
There are so many ideas in this script that they're fairly fighting for
space. 

Frank's presence is, alas, not central to the story and, as so often in
the VS4, he is pretty passive, reacting to events happening around him. It
transpires that he is of no importance to the coming of the millennium
after all. This is a shame, as I had always imagined Frank actually
*doing* something as the Time arrives. 

Mabius is a fairly obvious candidate for 'the evil within the Group' and
he is portrayed in much the same way as he was in Season 3 - as a
one-dimensional cipher for evil. At least he gets some dialogue this time
around. He is apparently Yaponchik (I don't buy this at all), as well as
the AntiChrist and presumably he is Legion too. 

Some parts of the story do feel a little contrived - it turns out that the
Board is really just a group of ex-Rotarin executives who fell out with
the Group after a hostile takeover; someone is beaming messages into
Frank's brain (what?); Frank gets epilepsy (why?); the Group employs an
elaborate scheme to kill a number of Board members on a subway train for
no obvious reason; and the Elder is really, really stupid. 

Additionally, the spelling leaves a lot to be desired. I know that this
point has come up before, but couldn't someone have made an effort for the
finale? 

One major disappointment for me was the lack of the supernatural in this
story. Mabius's plan to destabilise the world so that the Group can gain
money and influence is manifestly *not* the End of Days, and seems a
little bit mundane and uninspired for someone who is supposed to be Evil
incarnate. Samael and Lucy Butler do not put in an appearance, and as in
real life, the millennium turns out to be something of an anti-climax.
Despite the fact that this is the finale, the world ends up in exactly the
same state as it started, no-one has their assumptions challenged and
nothing has really changed. So it's back to the status quo again - this
could have all been an X-file, for goodness' sake! I suspect that if you
replaced Frank and Emma with Mulder and Scully, much of the story would
still work just as well. 

There are some nice touches, like the possibly-dying Frank at the end of
'Swords', the idea of the Walk (were there gas lamps in 999?), the return
of the Old Man (as he hot-wires a car!) and the inspired epilogue in which
we see the end of the solar system. It doesn't really matter that the sun
can't actually go supernova, this ending works very well. 

Writing this monster of an two-parter must have been a massive task for
Dan and Matt, and it shows a little. There is just so much happening in
this episode that it's easy to get slightly confused while reading it. The
way that the action jumps from scene to scene to scene reminds me a little
of a 1970's 'caper' movie or perhaps a 'hunt the McGuffin' feature (find
Mabius! find the bombs!) in which most of the time is taken up by the
heroes running from place to place. Mabius is certainly a villain in the
James Bond style, and the script has a little of that feel too. It's
possible that a shorter, less complex script with a tighter storyline
might have been more effective. 

So all in all, the finale is overflowing with ideas and events, but it
ultimately failed to hit the mark for me due to the relatively minor role
of Frank Black and the lack of the supernatural elements which have made
Millennium unique. 


And so, finally to my VS4 top 10: 

1. The First Prophet 
2= Hostile Elements 
2= Genesis 
2= The Third Eye 
5. Diabolus Ex Machina 
6. Akuma Odori 
7= Rapture 
7= Tribulation 
9. Dawn of Nothing 
10. Gestalt 

Lastly, I'd like to thank all the VS4 writers again for all their hard
work and all the enjoyment which I found in reading (and
reviewing/discussing) their episodes.