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Brief summary:
The discovery of human remains beneath a highway
prompts an investigation by the FBI and soon
reveals a sinister connection with The Millennium
Group. Despite confrontations with Peter Watts,
Emma uncovers the truth behind the death of
former Group member Cheryl Andrews.
Rogue's Review:
"Skull & Bones" is the best hour
of entertainment MILLENNIUM has delivered since
its Season Three premiere... mainly because
it spent 44 minutes teasing and tantalizing
us with cryptic observations on the nature of
the Millennium Group and the shocking (well,
not really - I'd anticipated this twist) realization
that Cheryl Andrews' betrayal last season was
not quite what it seemed.
That said, it's unfortunate the producers were
only able to accomplish this sharp rise in quality
via the creaking device of a sinister conspiracy
so reminiscent of THE X-FILES. From the quirky
nameless "Writer" who introduces Frank
Black to this new strain of the Group's menace
to the obligatory foot chases, rambling tales
of conspiracy (a halo effect before the Oklahoma
City bomb blast??), and the ep's-end helplessness
of our heroes to prevent yet another coverup,
"Skull & Bones" could have been
lifted whole and unchanged from the pages of
XF's mythology.
Still, masterfully shot and well-played by
its leads, the ep deserves a lot of credit for
putting the series back on track in regard to
its sinister apocalypse themes. Peter Watts
remains a source of deep disappointment, however,
as does the complete waste of one of the series'
most memorable supporting characters: Cheryl
Andrews. Can't help but applaud her final scene,
however - rarely does television get away with
such gruesomeness as the sequence in which Andrews
meets her fate. Jesus, how do these eps continue
to get away with TV-14 ratings?!
I know fans of both shows will scream about
XF comparisons. But the plotting of "Skull
& Bones" only beg them - Frank Black
is becoming more and more Mulderish each week.
Lance Henriksen's performance hasn't lost a
smidge of credibility, but now he's even spouting
arcane references to "the truth."
And why -- if the Group can kill anyone, anywhere,
anytime -- didn't they simply execute Frank
and his entire family in the woods? We don't
know WHY Cheryl Andrews was executed (I believe
the autopsy stuff was pure smokescreen; she
moved against them -- that was enough) but if
she was so quickly and efficiently snuffed,
why leave Frank alive to cast doubt on the Group?
Character thoughts: I miss Jordan, dammit!
Three weeks and no mention? CCH Pounder was
superb, if only briefly. Arye Gross was excellent
as The Writer, a character I hope we see again
(don't bet on it). Terry O'Quinn, on the other
hand, has never been so off his game. I don't
know whether Watts was just shallowly written
here or if O'Quinn is just fed up with the inconsistent
characterization... but could he have been any
more obvious in telegraphing "I AM BEING
SUSPICIOUS" throughout the hour? It was
priceless to watch him stroke Baldwin, but his
reactions to Emma were pure pulp. O'Quinn's
a better actor than that.
And I'm utterly sick of Andy McLaren, Frank's
boss. The character is so inconsistently written
he's becoming a joke. He spouts platitudes and
banters in a friendly way with Frank at the
start of every episode he's in, and 25 minutes
into the story, he's pissed purple because Frank
is out there doing his job. I'm about ready
to see McLaren suffer that stroke he always
looks on the verge of having. Get rid of him.
Most aggravating is the fact that now, more
than ever, I want a deluge of Group-driven episodes
that build upon the new framework "Skull
& Bones" has laid! Morgan & Wong
may have overdosed us on Group mythos, but the
complete dearth of it until this point in Season
Three has made me realize how absolutely starved
for Group stories I've been. We can only hope
the standalones see a sharp increase in quality
to sate us til the next time Watts and his cronies
poke their heads out.
"Skull & Bones" is the first
ep to get back on par with "The Innocents"
this season. The hour added a new layer to MM's
endlessly ponderable mythology, and for that,
I'll admit to being really grateful... and a
touch annoyed at feeling gratitude for an episode
that is mainly a carbon copy of an X-FILES mythology
ep. [RATING: 7/10] |
