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Season 1 Ep 1 Ending felt really weak

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Guest Bad Boy Dazza

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Guest Bad Boy Dazza

Hi first post here.

Loved the series on TV and just now rewatching it. Sorry for my first post being negative, but what the heck....

The ending, where he finds the killer works with the police in the very same office, was really weak IMO.

I mean it didn't feel like any mystery was solved. It just felt like the killer was placed in his lap.

What do youi all think?

D.

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In some ways it was weak and in some ways good.

Millennium wasn't exactly CSI or Law & Order, you know. And they didn't have any clues since he knew how to cover his tracks and he was calm under strain, but obviously he was caught red handed with the blood testing. Of course they did it to wrap it up quickly, but it's still chilling to think of people like him working with the police.

In a way, it's like Se7en, and Millennium was pitched as Se7en in Seattle...the killer placed himself in the lap of the police....now it's different....but you get my drift.

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Welcome Mr. D!

Bletcher seemed like more of a significant character in the beginning than what the entire run of the show eventually painted for us. With that in mind, it may have made a little more sense in having him help Frank at the end the way he did. It's an ending that's not too dissimilar from The Thin White Line, at least as far as gunshots are concerned. I still felt the ending had quite a bit of a surprise, which added to the intensity. Granted, Frank did not have a Captain Kirk style fight and victory at the end. It showed that Frank was overpowered and almost killed, which in being retrospective now, could be a bit of a precursor for the rest of the show in showing how strong the evil is that Frank chooses to fight.

True, it's not the best episode ending of the series, but definitely far from the worst, at least for me!

Keep up the comments!

:rock2:

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Hi folks,

Welcome Bad Boy D and here's hoping you enjoy your stay here. I seem to have overlooked this somehow but better late then never. I think the whole point season one endeavours to make is that evil isn't to be found 'out there' but living, working and existing beside us in our neighbours, our colleagues, our lovers - it isn't the monster under the bed we should be worrying about but the possibility that we are sharing a bed with one. I completely agree with Josef that Pilot is influenced by Se7en. It's certainly a film that CC cited as a source of inspiration and Pilot is very similar in tone and mandate. It isn't a great episode ending but it's a decent episode ending and all in all Pilot is simply one of the best episodes despite that fact.

Eth

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Guest rubicondecisionday

It felt rushed. They wanted to set up the cliff hanger, but the way they had one serial killer apprehended by Frank, and then allow the Polaroid Man capture Catherine, just didn't work.

Odd little cameo by Judy Norton Taylor (from the Waltons) too.

If the Woodsman serial killer was instead duped by the Polaroid Man, and set up as a patsy to be captured by Frank, that would have made more thematic sense, versus merely killing his Mom, and blundering. It doesn't make sense. The Woodsman changes his MO from killing women in the kitchen (re his first killing and being caught) then kills his mother in the kitchen and is caught. Weird.

The soundtrack seemed off too.

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The soundtrack is unusual I have to confess. I wonder if it was simply a case of Mark finding his feet and establishing his new sound after working for so long on the X-Files. As we get into the season proper he is certainly on the ball in terms of producing some of the finest music of his career IMHO. Maybe it was simply a case of it being new to him.

Eth

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It felt rushed. They wanted to set up the cliff hanger, but the way they had one serial killer apprehended by Frank, and then allow the Polaroid Man capture Catherine, just didn't work.

Odd little cameo by Judy Norton Taylor (from the Waltons) too.

If the Woodsman serial killer was instead duped by the Polaroid Man, and set up as a patsy to be captured by Frank, that would have made more thematic sense, versus merely killing his Mom, and blundering. It doesn't make sense. The Woodsman changes his MO from killing women in the kitchen (re his first killing and being caught) then kills his mother in the kitchen and is caught. Weird.

The soundtrack seemed off too.

Ehmm...this thread was just talking about the first episode of season 1, not the last episode of season 1.

I must admit I was not a big fan of this cliffhanger, but the season 2 opener did wonders for it, and made it work.

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  • 1 month later...

I liked it, because I wasn't really expecting it to end the way it did. Frank Black isn't dramatic, and I feel like the ending mirrors that. Bletcher shot him; nice, simple ending to a horrific story.

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Guest WaveCrest

It's very subtle Millennium. The extra layers in the stories you discover after rewatching episodes once or twice. Sometimes it takes several re-viewings to fully understand what is being brought across by the writers, actors and camerawork.

And that was one of my favourite moments from the pilot, when Bletcher shot the villain.

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And that was one of my favourite moments from the pilot, when Bletcher shot the villain.

Me too! It's so simple and right, and with all the the cliche drama on TV, it was sort of unexpected for me. CC was saying on the commentary how that was supposed to represent Bletcher coming more over to Frank's side of things, because he was orginally stuck between his men and Frank. I think that's also reflected in the scene where they're crossing the river. Phew... I seriously enjoy the Pilot!

That said, I also agree that the show can be subtle at times. I think the first time I saw the Pilot, I had similar feelings to Dazza in regards to the ending. But that's part of the beauty of Millennium: it's a show that keeps giving!

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