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Brief summary:
When Jordan begins claiming visitations from
her dead grandmother, Frank is forced to reconcile
with his estranged father and face uncomfortable
truths about where his daughter's gift may have
originated.
Rogue's Review:
"Too many angels this time of year,"
laments Lara Means, she of the terrible angel-heralded
premonitions, and in "Midnight of the Century,"
MILLENNIUM provides its own dark, hopeful variation
on the traditional Christmas episode with a
study of angels and a healing between a father
and son.
Frank's family takes center-stage again for
one of the few times this season as Jordan (Brittany
Tiplady, who is particularly winning in this
episode) begins speaking of her dead grandmother
and produces a drawing identical to one Frank
and his mother drew in 1946, when he was just
a boy. From there, we're plunged into a study
of the rift in the Black family; after his mother's
death that same year, Frank and his father grew
further and further apart, until now the two
of them can barely communicate.
Once more (as in "Powers, Principalities..."),
an angelic figure appears to indicate to us
that Frank's world is not solely haunted by
demonic adversaries. Powerful forces are at
work in his life, pushing him toward reconciliation
with his father (wonderfully played by Darren
McGavin of THE NIGHT STALKER) and toward an
understanding of the events leading to his mother's
early, untimely death. The way his own motherless
upbringing has begun to mirrors elements of
Jordan's life (growing up without both her parents)
is not lost on Frank... but unbeknownst to him
portends more tragedy to come. It also seems
to indicate pressure from those same otherworldly
benefactors to renew his devotion to Jordan
now, before the rift between them becomes irreparable.
The episode also provides wonderful insight
into MILLENNIUM's other heroes, Lara and Peter.
The pall cast over Watts by the Christmas season
is disturbing indeed, but we learn it has even
more unpleasant memories for Lara: her gift
first made itself known to her at Christmas,
warning her of the death of her father's business
associate, and the angels surrounding her every
holiday season only serve to drive home the
horror of her strange talent. When Frank tells
her about Jordan's blossoming gift, she promises,
"If there's anything I can do... ever..."
Again, a disturbing glimpse of a dreadful choice
to come.
Notable moments: Wonderful moments between
Roedecker and the Blacks, as he presents Frank
with an unexpected Christmas gift (copies of
BLACK CHRISTMAS and SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT
-- holiday horror classics!) and then examines
Jordan's new Gigapet with childlike delight...
Morgan and Wong used portions of Tchaikovsky's
"The Nutcracker" throughout "Midnight"
-- the same music was instrumental in "The
River of Stars," the holiday episode of
SPACE: ABOVE & BEYOND, their previous Fox
series... At one point, Frank glimpses the millennial
comet again, tying this episode neatly into
one of the season's more disturbing visual hooks...
During the Christmas party at his home, Peter
tells Frank and Lara "Possible futures
exist like branches on a tree. Most of us only
see the path we're on. But some people, the
gifted ones, see those branches." Once
more, some of the season's best, most disturbing
foreshadowing, leading up to the terrible choices
all three of them will be forced to make in
the two-part season finale...
Overall, a stellar outing from Erin Maher and
Kay Reindl, two of MILLENNIUM's finest writers.
[Rating: 8/10] |
