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Brief summary:
Frank follows Peter Watts to Germany where the
Group coordinator seems obsessed with finding
an ancient holy relic. Meanwhile, other forces
seem intent on the destruction of them both.
Rogue's Review:
One of the more compelling and unique episodes
of MILLENNIUM to date, "The Hand of St.
Sebastian" turned everything we thought
we knew about the nature and purpose of the
Millennium Group upside down. Fresh, shocking
and providing more welcome insight into Peter
Watts than we'd seen thus far in Season Two,
"Hand" also showed us the smooth,
flawless veneer of the Group hides corruption...
and evil.
The Group has enemies -- that isn't surprising.
But previously, they've been limited to the
supernatural plane (Legion) and the hollow-eyed
vessels they occupy and manipulate on our own.
Apparently, men are still selling their souls
after all these centuries however -- as was
very well depicted in the comparison between
the two Group members in the past and Frank
and Cheryl's final moment together in the present.
A sharp, sharp story!
Unfortunately, in the all-too-brief 44-minute
format, "Hand" suffers from all sorts
of problems -- the worst easily being the trite
and unnecessary pop culture references of the
German cop, an American-cop-show obsessive,
evidently. Even worse, his thick accent rendered
roughly 60 percent of his dialogue unintelligible,
meaning he veered basically from insipid to
incoherent.
Upon my first viewing of "Hand,"
I called Roedecker a major problem as well --
he really got under my skin. But with the whole
season behind me, I can look at the character
more objectively. Roedecker IS a worm, but he's
a PURPOSEFUL worm. It's his JOB to get under
our skin -- he's an original character, and
must be applauded for that. And who can resist
his PLANET OF THE APES fetish?
Still... I'd be happier if he didn't say "Babe-alicious"
as often as he does. Yeesh!
So I'll forgive them Roedecker -- but not inconsistency
in characterization (the number-one problem
of the season, arm-in-arm with overall continuity).
At one point, Frank says "The dead can't
speak." As a former lawman, he knows full
well the dead DO speak -- they render up the
stories of their deaths in multiple ways. Even
more importantly, Frank has FACED the dead,
and personally spoken with them. He shouldn't
be this stubborn about his reality. The dead
speak all the time.
The sex website connection seemed a tad tiresome,
but it was a useful metaphor -- even the man
who stumbled across the legacy of St. Sebastian
had his vices, and in the end, the dark forces
used them against him: treacherous Cheryl Andrews
set up Peter and Frank and brought about the
scientist's demise using his online addiction.
A terrific -- if all too brief -- turn by CCH
Pounder, whose every move last season is now
suspect. Even inside the Group, they DON'T always
know who they are.
A couple questions to ponder. At the opening
of the episode, in 998 a.d. Italy, the turncoat
Group member says, "They know. They have
the blessing of the church." Who is "they"?
Is this the first splintering of the Group from
within -- the rift between the Owls and Roosters?
Or is he referring to some third party as yet
unexplored in MILLENNIUM (since Odessa, the
neo-Nazi faction brought down in "Owls/Roosters,"
surely wouldn't have existed at this point in
history)? And naturally following that question
is another: Who DOES Andrews work for now? Who
turned her? Was she an Owl, and can we infer
that this attempt to wrest a holy relic from
Peter (and thereby from the Roosters) is the
first rumblings of the civil war that explodes
in "Owls/Roosters"?
An overall winner. I truly enjoyed this glimpse
into the workings of Peter Watts' mind -- and
the enigmatic and more and more engaging inner
workings of the Millennium Group. Given a choice,
I would have chosen "The Hand of St. Sebastian"
as the second outing of the season, instead
of "Beware of the Dog." THIS is the
route into the Group's legacy that we deserved
following Frank's fall from grace. [Rating:
7/10] |
