Reviewed: Collateral Damage

Contributor: TragicWhiteKnight

Rating: 7 out of 10

For an episode with so many flaws, it manages to be very enjoyable. While most shows this season have been led by a shadowy Group agenda (and thus been disastrous because they rely on the patented 1013 idea that telling the audience nothing about motivation creates drama), this is all about Peter.

I've been okay with the 'Peter is evil' idea, despite his jarring reintroduction in 'Exegesis'; I just hate him becoming 'random Millennium Group mouthpiece'. Here he at least manages to be something more -

Unlike a lot of the Millennium Group's dealings this season, at least their involvement in Gulf War weaponry makes some partial sense. If the hand of St Sebastian won't help them win Armageddon, nuclear warfare will. But this, like most evidence in the season (even the mass graves in 'Skull and Bones', still suggests that the group hopes to stop the end of the world.

What really bothers me is that Frank's crusade against the group makes him look an utter ass. They have consistently done good deeds and seem to have a positive goal - because the writers aren't willing to give any concrete evidence about what the Group does, Frank has no evidence and just bumbles about like a country hayseed. If they're such a threat, why haven't the Group appeared in his visions? But here his dislike of Peter makes sense on a personal level - by moving the issue from murky prophecy to practical childcare, Frank can clearly see himself as in the right.

While I enjoyed lots of the thriller elements of the episode: the canister, the hosing down, the call-in, other bits were totally ridiculous: the neck-breaking and the painful moment of the FBI finding the kidnapper's address on a newsgroup post. In Season 1-2 that might have been okay but these people are the FBI - they already know his name, looking up his address isn't difficult!

If the Chip & Carter bothered to develop the Peter/Frank relationship this could have been a classic. It remains merely a watchable show and at least Spike gets to be in a much better episode than Drusilla.