MILLENNIUM Virtual Season Four Episode review
by 4Q2
Submitted 3/05/00

"In Adventu Dominae" #419
Original "Air" date: 12/03/99
Writers: Jason Walsh with thanks to Bunny Williams


In Brief: 
The murder of a family friend puts Assistant Director Emma Hollis on the
case and forces her to re-team with her old partner: Frank Black.
Meanwhile, the Millennium Group prepares to bring Emma deeper into their
ranks, much to the agony of her father.


Overall Impression:
The Further Adventures of Emma Hollis (begun in "The Third Eye) continue
here, and the story fits better than OJ's glove.  The inclusion (and
explanation) of James Hollis's role is also a welcome and convincing
component to the mytharc.  Things are coming togther quite nicely indeed.


Details: 
Something that I notice to be happening here (albeit a bit late) is the
subtle development of Emma, which began pretty much in earnest with "The
Thrid Eye."  In my last review, I made certain to cite my concerns with
the sudden surge of "Emma Episodes"; a concern which, much to my delight,
is being very much soothed by the caliber of storytelling and the ways in
which Emma is being fleshed out.  She is no longer second (or third)
fiddle.  Indeed, she has become a key player in the mytharc and the
interest being focused on her by the MM Group will make just a tad more
sense by the time one finishes the teaser of "In Adventu Dominae."  Back
on the subject of 'subtle development,' one scene that stood out for me
was right after the opening quote.

I have always appreciated the use of alcohol consumption as a character
gauging device.  As Emma gazes on an old family photo, nursing a glass of
scotch in her hand, one gets the impression of a woman up to her armpits
in T-R-O-U-B-L-E.  She knows what's going on now, and she knows that the
worst if yet to come.  You can really feel her self-doubt, her anxiety,
and the realization that she's not just window-dressing here by any
stretch of the imagination.

My kudos to Walsh and Williams just for tackling this job alone, something
that FOX never tried hard enough to explore in Season Three.

Now then...

The VS never ceases to amaze me.  Some very bold literary moves are being
made here as the final chapters approach.  We lost yet another player for
the Good Guys last time in "The Third Eye" as Ken KcGreevey boldly (but
quite foolishly) challenged the Group's control over the Quantico CIRT.
Now, we have the shock of James Hollis killing himself.  Well, maybe not a
shock, but definitely a world-class bummer.

After seeing this poor man babbling hysterically about DOD files in "Via
Dolorosa" (and we now get to find out what all that meant! - yay!), his
heart-wrenching confession to Frank about his involvment with Project
Aounabara (See "Akuma Odori"), and the truth about the murder of Emma's
sister, it was a real jab to the ticker when Emma found that he had taken
his own life.  Things are-a looking bleak indeed, but this was yet another
example why Millennium is superior storytelling.  No chance is too big to
take.  What suprised me most about this though was that the Group *wasn't*
responsible for Hollis's death.  Now, Mabius on the other hand...

"In Adventu Dominae," quite simply was the episode I was waiting for most
when it came to the mytharc and the mysteries left unanswered by 1013
Productions.  The "palm trees" that were a key part of the
Well-done-but-confusing-as-hell "Darwin's Eye," are explained somewhat
here, as is the connection between James Hollis and the homicidal Cass
Doyle.  There was more than one instance here in "Adventu" where my eyes
lit up in an "Ohhhh, I see now" fashion.  And what was even more rewarding
was that it wasn't convoluted nor predictable.  Nice job, folks. 

Clearing up the "Aounabara" mystery...
 
"Akuma Odori" was (probably inaccurately) heralded as a soft-of sequel to
Season Three's "Bardo Thodol."  True, it did share some elements, but
"Akuma" certainly seemed to begin a tale of its very own, and only using
some bits from "Thodol" to simply link it all together for the sake of
neatness.  The Project Aounabara that was at the center of "Akuma" was
very cool and believable concept for the MM Group to be concocting (while
sounding a wee-bit "X-files-ish").  I was on board for the way James
Hollis was connected to the scheme to re-engineer humans to survive a
nuclear holocaust (and it made for a great teaser here), but I still asked
myself the same question...  "But what about them pesky disembodied hands
in the beer cooler?" 

Frank's top jacket button...

It has been pointed out by several sharp-eyed 2K'ers that, in the TV
series, Frank often buttons his trademark green jacket all the way up to
the top when setting foot onto a crime scene.  Whether this was
intentional or not, it certainly has become a very interesting character
trait for Frank that has been given new life in the VS, and the usage
continues here as he is about to enter James Hollis's apartment.  *Is*
this Frank's way of preparing himself, shielding himself, from the evil he
is about to confront? It's an interesting point to consider, and even more
intriguing to wonder if this was something that Lance Henriksen decided to
implement himself, or whether it was Chris Carter's idea.


4Q2's Nitpick Corner: 
With emphasis on *NITPICK*...

The forensics agent at the Smith Mountain Lake murder scene tells Emma of
*sea* life scavenging activity on the body of Steven Ball.  I'm no
university professor, but I'm thinking that sea life can't thrive in a
fresh-water lake in Virginia.

And speaking of which...

Why is James Hollis under the impression that the death of Ball was a
*drowning*?  The TV report he was watching even stated that head trauma
resulting from a firearm was found.

And lastly...

There was a forum message posted soon after the 'airing' of "Adventu" that
pertained to the final length of the episode.  It seems that in the haste
to get this thing cleaned up and "postable" that some rather quick editing
was done.  The final result was a second act that was over way, way, way
too quickly and a FIRST act that was loooooong.  It was a jarring
experience.  However, I chose not to subtract points for no reason other
than this was a *very* gripping story as it stood.  Just don't let it
happen again, or I shall have the VS server hacked by Roedecker and a
Celine Dion MIDI file will play incessantly upon loading the home page.


4Q2's Inside Joke Watch: 

Tell me if I'm right on this one...

FRANK: (discussing James Hollis's suicide note with Emma) "Never Again."
Does it mean anything to you?

"Never Again" was the title of an X-Files episode in which we saw Dana
Scully get a tattoo.  And what exactly was it?  An Ouroboros...


Did The Opening Quote Seem Relevant To The Story?  (Did 4Q2 get it?):
Well, we had four quotes this time around.  One for each act.  Lemme prep
my fingers for this one... 

Act One: "On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book; And out of
gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see."  I am probably wrong
about this, but the first act certainly revealed a WHOLE lot of answers.
Project Aounabara, Melissa Hollis's murder, James Hollis's connection to
the parents of Cass Doyle (from "Darwin's Eye").  Just whose eyes are
seeing, Emma's, Frank's, or James's (or maybe all of the above), is the
question. 

Act Two: "Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that
are weak, Say to those whose hearts are frightened."  Well, it seems that
after her father's suicide in this all-too-short act...  Emma is now ready
to start kicking some ass; strengthening her feeble hands, so to speak. 

Act Three: "He will be gracious to you when you cry out, as soon as he
hears he will answer you."  This seemed to reflect Frank's willingness to
at last help Emma see the Group for what it truly is... when she is ready. 

Act Four: 
"All who are alert to do evil will be cut off, those whose mere word
condemns a man, Who ensnare his defender at the gate, and leave the just
man with an empty claim."  This one confused me.  Sounds like those who
would 'play God,' or cause intentional harm or evil, will answer for it,
but nothing happened in this act to reflect this.  We saw only Emma's
"first election" with members of the Group.


TV Episode(s) that it most reminded me of:
"Closure," "Goodbye to All That," "Via Dolorosa," "Darwin's Eye,"
"Matryoshka"


Score: 10 (out of 10)
Some very expertly written explanations that were long needed.  Threads
that were abandoned by 1013 Productions were lovingly repaired and
presented here in a believable and respectful way.  Bravo!

NEXT IN THE PIPELINE: Three to go, ready to roll.  David Klein's "Diabolus
Ex Machina" is put under 4Q2's microscope.  Onward!

-4Q2, Founder of the "Stop playing that bloody 'Mambo No. 5' crap!"
Coalition