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Brief summary:
Despondent over his estrangement from his family,
Frank spends Halloween alone... until he encounters
ghosts from his own past, and once again faces
the supernatural nemesis bent on removing him
from the struggle between good and evil.
Rogue's Review:
This episode was penned by Morgan and Wong,
and watching it, I found myself unable to escape
the comparisons to their most original X-FILES
outing, "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking
Man," and their best SPACE: A&B ep,
"Who Monitors the Birds?" Merge the
best metaphorical and allegorical elements of
those outstanding predecessors with the unrivaled
atmosphere of MILLENNIUM at its most eerie,
and you've got "The Curse of Frank Black."
Call it "Musings of a Wrinkle-Faced Man"
or "The Last Temptation of Frank"
-- it's a Halloween to remember on Ezekiel Drive!
The concept of Frank Black becoming the town
boogeyman is a touching one, and the execution
is smart and engaging enough to forgive some
of the whack-me-over-the-head visual metaphors
the Wongs seem to revel in. The story of crazy
Mr. Crocell is an outstanding flashback, providing
us with an excellent study of Frank's gradual
loss of connection with the world around him,
as his singular career and morose nature cut
him off from contact with family, friends, even
the home he so cherished -- shocking, wasn't
it, when he looks around, lost in a dark neighborhood,
only to realize with surprise that he's outside
his own home.
And then to add yet another twist -- the spirit
of Crocell returns as another emissary of Frank's
supernatural nemesis, Legion, and we can take
heart as our hero rediscovers his resolve, withstanding
the temptation to just give it all up and quit
fighting. No way. Frank's not just another crazy,
just another sad, struggling man throwing eggs
at his own house. He will not meet the same
fate as Crocell.
If I were to quibble, it would only be in regard
to the overtness of Legion's latest play for
Frank's allegiance. To date, the sinister figure
had moved subtlely, underplaying his hand --
a hit-and-run manner of influencing events.
To a degree, this ep overplayed that -- fortunately,
superb work from guest star Dean Winters (the
vicious con artist Ryan O'Reilly in HBO's OZ)
and Lance Henriksen's always masterful performance
makes the attempted seduction scene work. Winters
is an actor to watch, mark my word.
I had expected more of Jordan in this outing,
and it was disappointing that her involvement
was so brief, but the whole "The legends
say..." storytelling session in the Blacks'
basement was a treat that more than made up
for it -- there were even some unexpected belly
laughs to be had. Better still, "Curse"
included real allusions to Bob Bletcher, whose
memory has been all but nonexistent thus far
in Season Two.
"The Curse of Frank Black" masterfully
dances between fantasy and reality in a way
that all television strives to do, no matter
what the genre. But in the gritty, pre-apocalyptic
universe of MILLENNIUM, "Curse" attains
a level of surreality that the usual mood music
and murky lighting can't achieve. An excellent
piece of work. [Rating: 8/10] |
