#MLM-220 A Room With No View
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Episode Summary
When one gifted high school student dies of fear and his underachieving best friend disappears from the scene, Frank Black investigates and gets the intense feeling that his old nemesis, Lucy Butler, is behind the crimes. The investigation uncovers Lucy's new home, a prison of sorts where she uses conflicting stimuli of harsh violence and pure love to break down the wills of abducted youngsters.
Main Crew
Written by Ken Horton
Directed by Thomas J. Wright
Edited by George R. Potter
Main Cast
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Megan Gallagher as Catherine Black
Guest Stars
Chad Todhunter as Ben
Christopher Kennedy Masterson as Landon Bryce
Mariangelo Pina as Teresa
Sarah-Jane Redmond as Lucy Butler
Timothy Webber as Mr. Bryce
Supporting Cast
Henri Lubatti as Stuart Sheslow
Michael R. Coleman as Howard Gordon
Scott Heindl as Long-Haired Man
View full credits
Quotation/Proverb
None
Seasonal Episode Tagline
this is ... who we are ... the time is near
Synopsis
Please note that this is the original Fox synopsis and occasionally this may differ from the events that were actually filmed.
Please also view the A Room With No View episode transcript which has been painstakingly checked for accuracy against the actual episode.
In Oregon, a young man tunnels his way out of a farmhouse and escapes into the darkened countryside. He spots what appears to be an abandoned Chevy Impala parked alongside a road. As the young man attempts to jump start the car by opening the hood and hot-wiring the motor, it suddenly springs to life. The unseen driver runs over the young man's legs, halting his escape. A dark female form and a Long-Haired Man approach their victim. The Long-Haired Man tosses the screaming body into the trunk of the car.
Meanwhile, at James K. Polk High School in Seattle, two 18-year-old friends, Landon Bryce and Howard Gordon, meet guidance counselor Teresa Roe. During the discussion, Bryce urges Gordon to apply to college--this despite Roe's assessment that Gordon's grade point average is too mediocre to worth bothering. The conversation escalates into a loud argument until Landon accuses Roe of being a failure. That night, an intruder breaks into the Bryce home. Gordon dies, and Bryce is kidnapped.
As Frank and Giebelhouse observe, a pathologist rules that Gordon died as the result of a coronary. But further neurological evidence indicates the heart attack was triggered by fear. Frank travels to the Bryce home, where he observes Landon's bedroom. He is struck by internal visions of the Gehenna Devil and Lucy Butler, the woman who murdered Bletcher. Meanwhile, the Long-Haired Man drags a bound-and-gagged Bryce into the remote country farmhouse. The teenager is thrown into a room, where he is spoken to by the female form. The woman tells Bryce that she loves him. A short time later, Bryce realizes he has a cell mate--the Screwed-Up Guy who attempted to escape in the teaser.
Meanwhile, a concerned Frank attempts to contact Jordan by telephone, only to discover she is not at home. Frank tells Watts his concern stems from the fact that he sensed Lucy Butler's presence in Bryce's bedroom. Watts attempts to calm Frank's concerns by noting that a Millennium Group member, Olson, has been monitoring Butler's movements ever since she won release on suspicion of Detective Bletcher's murder. A short time later, Frank and Watts travel to Lucy's last known address--a rural farmhouse. But once inside, the pair discover Olson's rotting corpse. The men realize that Butler had gained access to Olson's Group files and then submitted her own surveillance reports.
Bryce, meanwhile, manages to rip loose a section of the door to his cell. But his escape is thwarted when the Gehenna Devil--which transforms into the Long-Haired Man--knocks him to the ground and then drags him back to the room. Lucy then cradles Bryce's head in her lap... and begins the first stages of brainwashing him.
Frank decides the best hope of locating Bryce is by interviewing Teresa Roe, as the argument between her and the two teenagers was so loud it attracted the attention of others outside her office. During the conversation, Frank takes note of Roe's use of the past tense whenever she mentions Bryce's name. Afterward, Giebelhouse, Watts and Frank research Roe's background. They realize that wherever she taught school, students disappeared. Frank concludes that all of the missing teenagers were just like Bryce--ordinary kids with average grades who exhibited signs of promise.
Meanwhile, Bryce manages to gain the confidence of the Screwed-Up Guy... who is so confused mentally that he cannot remember his own name. Bryce discovers the existence of a tunnel that runs beneath the farm, the same tunnel the Screwed-Up Guy used for his escape earlier. He convinces his cell mate to join him for a break-out. The pair make their way through the tunnel, but when they emerge on the other side, they are confronted by Lucy and the Long-Haired Man. Back in the cell, a demonic Lucy tells Bryce that he is mediocre--an ordinary teenager--and the sooner he understands this concept, the better.
Meanwhile, while being interviewed by Frank, Watts and Geibelhouse, Roe espouses the same philosophy when discussing Bryce. The men surprise Roe by mentioning the name Kate Lynn. Roe claims not to recognize the name... though it soon becomes clear that she is Kate Lynn, a once-promising student. Frank accuses her of surrendering, of giving up on the hope of improving the numbers by which she and all other students are judged. Instead, she made a pact with the devil. A frightened Roe reveals the location of Lucy's farm. Shortly thereafter, police raid the location, setting free the many students kidnapped by Lucy, including Bryce and the Screwed-Up Guy. Despite a search, Lucy isn't found.
Later, Frank once again phones Jordan, but upon discovering she is not at home, he leaves another message describing how much he loves her.
Background Information and References
At approx 0:20 minutes, Landon Bryce names his new cell mate "Ben Gunn". I knew I recognized it, and after rifling my book shelves came up with the answer: Ben Gunn is the name of a marooned pirate that Jim Hawkins encounters in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel 'Treasure Island'.
Credit: Theo Mistwein, June 20th 2010
One of the most frequently asked questions that viewers ask about this episode is "What was that never ending music that Lucy Butler forced her captives to endure over and over again?". Well the answer is of course Love is Blue (Instrumental version) by Paul Mauriat. You can find a profile with media clips in our Episode Music Guide.
Episode Trivia
This episode's title twists a familiar expression to accurately describe the prison cell that Lucy Butler confines Landon Bryce to. The play on words references the title of A Room with a View by E. M. Forster, another story that features a young protagonist struggling with questions of morality and societal expectations.
Credit: Brian Dixon, The Millennial Abyss
Warning - Potential Episode Spoiler!
Near the end of the episode, after it is clear that Lucy Butler has left the building, Frank Black examines an array of photos on the farmhouse wall. He notices the photos range from antique to modern and many have newspaper articles about missing children affixed to them (the same children in the photos). One photo in particular catches Frank's eye. It is a larger, framed photographic portrait of a young woman who bears a striking resemblance to Lucy Butler. Her hair is pinned back in an old-fashioned up-do. Frank turns the frame over and finds a yellowing newspaper article attached to the back. The photo in the frame is reproduced in the article, accompanied by the headline: "Local Girl Missing." The article reads: "Annie Martin, a senior at Winslow High School in Phoenix Arizona disappeared mysteriously on Friday afternoon after the meeting of the local sewing bee. Annie is a pretty young woman who is very popular among her school mates. She is described as a good student with average grades. Annie's disappearance has truly stunned our little community. If anyone has any information regarding ..." The camera pans up, we see the photo of Annie Martin again, the spitting image of Lucy Butler, and finally the date on the newspaper notice: "Monday, September 18th, 1911." This plot twist seems to suggest that almost 90 years earlier, Annie Martin, the girl in the photo, fell victim to Legion in the same fashion as the boys in the episode. Annie fit the victim profile: "an average student," "very popular among her school mates," etc.
It also seems to suggest that a) Legion assumed the appearance of Annie Martin when creating the Lucy Butler manifestation, or b) Annie Martin and Lucy Butler are the same person, perhaps the result of some infernal pact or possession.
Credit: 'they took it'
Original Fox Promotional Episode Stills
View the 6 available original 1996 Fox Millennium Episode Guide images for this episode of Millennium here.
Mortality Count:
2 Deaths
(Comprised of 2 murders + 0 kills in self defence + 0 justifiable homicides + 0 suicides.)
N.B. Where relevant, unquantifiable groups of victims (such as multiple casualties as a result of a plane crash) are represented by a group count of 1 due to the impracticalities with listing so many unidentified persons.
Violence Markers
- Lucy Butler was responsible for the murder of Howard Gordon during this episode of Millennium (A Room With No View).
- Lucy Butler was responsible for the murder of Group Member Olsen during this episode of Millennium (A Room With No View).
(View Millennium's Violence - Deaths, Killers, Victims and Criminality Analysis)