Emma

[ethsnafu]

Ever had the experience of watching an episode only to find that what you thought had happened had not?

*

I THOUGHT Emma had joined the Millennium Group in a Faustian pact to save her father from the ravages of Alzheimers, I thought Peter had offered her group membership in an onscreen dialogue....

Then, of course, I watched the episodes again.

*

Peter Watts offered Emma a cure for her father in exchange for using her newly acquired influence to oust Frank from the FBI and into the loving arms of the MM Group. Sod's ineffable law strikes, she declines, they brain tinker anyway and Frank leaves without any real meddling from Emma. My question is: At what point did group membership become a dangling carrot? In the absence of Emma's usefulness for plan A was group membership a way for the MM Group to recoup their losses? If Emma was only ever intended to be pawn in the groups re-recruitment of Frank, what possible purpose could she serve if Franks was outside her sphere of influence? When Frank becomes aware of Emma's overt dealings with the Group he doesn't seem to give a [rhesus] monkey's anyway....

*

As the group have been shown to covet the remarkable, the seasoned and the unusually gifted - Emma seems an odd choice - a competent FBI agent she may be but particularly adept she wasn't.

*

My musings are..

Did she join the group as part of the character's natural evolution? Did her growing curiosity, and to some degree: empathy, for elements of the Group prove too enticing for her to dismiss? [Did she not previously indicate that knowledge such as theirs should not be easily dismissed? Was she not shown to get flustered at Frank's reluctance to share some things with her? Was she tempted by Peter Watt's promises of revelations?]

*

Even if she did seek candidacy what could she bring to the group if the original reason for needing her was obsolete? Season Two depicted the candidacy period as harsh and its selection processes as impenetrable: even Lara and Frank were deemed to green for full membership. How could Emma hope to succeed where they had faltered?

*

If Emma joined the group willingly she doesn't appear to be too elated to be sat before the ouroborous on her pc. If she was cajoled into membership as payment for her father's cure what purpose could be served in opening the group's secrets and lies to a reluctant, militant and untrusting member who had previously acted to expose them.

*

Oh just give us another season and answer this and many other conundrums.

Would love to hear your thoughts (not literally in a Frank way...)

Till then,

ethsnafu

[IHaveGoodInstincts]

For starters, I always wonder how much extra hindsight I am using in stringing the episodes together, in contrast with how much "string" the writers and producers used while they were bogged down in the middle of the season!

Given the wonderful gift of hindsight (much cheaper and basic than Frank's gift) I assume that the Millennium Group had interest in Emma based on what appeared to be her potential fast track to an Assistant director position, which could give the Group at least as much influence as they had with Andy M (not to be confused with Andrew M (me) in the recent "seven and one" posting on BTFB.com!). Andy also described Emma as having and "IQ through the moon" so I would take her as being a first round draft pick so to speak, assuming that with training and influence, she would work out in years to come. Virtual season Four fit her in nicely with these issues in mind. And maybe the Group can see more potential than we can...

I view the healing of her father as being similar to giving Frank the anti-toxin for the Marburg virus in that it was given with strings attached. Though Emma was shown pretty clearly by Frank the negativity of the Group througout season three...

[Earthnut]

And maybe the Group can see more potential than we can...

I think the group planned way ahead of time to have her replace Andy McClaren as Assistant Director, and maybe eventually have her become Director, giving them a lot of control.

Emma wanted her father well, and knew exactly what she was doing, and yet dreaded the decision at the same time, fearing what she had gotten herself into by becoming of member of the group. I think we all are like that when it involves someone we love. We will go to any lengths for them.

[IHaveGoodInstincts]

Yep, that aspect is common "cult" propaganda, as far as preying on people's emotions.

[Who Am I?]

*digs up a slightly dead thread*

I really think that if MillenniuM was going to be extended to a fourth season, this would have been addressed, where the focus instead of being on Frank would have been on Emma. However, due to cancelling the show, they were unable to expand further on the hows, the whys and the rest of the rather annoying loose ends I felt were left. But that's just me.

[ethsnafu]

*digs up a slightly dead thread*I really think that if MillenniuM was going to be extended to a fourth season, this would have been addressed, where the focus instead of being on Frank would have been on Emma.

had that happened myself and dear old Millennium would have parted company quite amicably.

However, I don't agree that the Group's interest in Emma was due to her potential to rise to the rank of Assistant Director. The group already had a sympathetic AD in position in the form of Andy McClaren, the difference being that he was supportive of the group as he was unaware of the true extent of its corruption whereas she would always be a reluctant aide and one who would no doubt seek to bring down the group from the inside which I believe was the intention for S4 had it gone ahead. If the Millennium Group thought they were in safer hands with Hollis than McLaren then I'm not sure I understand their thinking.

Eth

[Guest Laurent.]

Didn't have time to read the whole thread (sorry), but:

My take on it was that Emma's fate was settled in Bardo Thodol. Frank, under the "gun" of the group (Mabius), understood what really mattered and that all the mysteries and secrets were just a mean to an end for the group (i.e. he chose to support a dying man, rather than pursue the lacquer bowl mystery). He thus left their influence.

On the other end, Emma felt right in the trap when she confronted Watts at the end of the episode. That's when the group knew they would eventually get to her. This is the biggest thematic link (motif?) between season two and three. Emma's following the path that Frank and Lara went through.

The group got them emotionally involved (Catherine's kidnapping, Lara's problem in dealing with her gift, James Hollis' disease) while tangling a bunch of answers in their face. The question is: which path will she follow? Frank's or Lara's (or her own)?

edit: I read a bit more and realized I'm a bit off-topic. As far as the group's interest in Emma, my best guess is that it's for the assistant director job (with or without Frank under her control). Maclaren was going to retire one way or another. And Emma was the easiest prey for the group.

[Earthnut]

I think we don't understand the group's thinking because they were so divided and not a bit in agreement with themselves, and it reflected on the episodes. Maybe the writers weren't sure what direction to take for that reason.

However, I don't agree that the Group's interest in Emma was due to her potential to rise to the rank of Assistant Director. The group already had a sympathetic AD in position in the form of Andy McClaren, the difference being that he was supportive of the group as he was unaware of the true extent of its corruption whereas she would always be a reluctant aide and one who would no doubt seek to bring down the group from the inside which I believe was the intention for S4 had it gone ahead. If the Millennium Group thought they were in safer hands with Hollis than McLaren then I'm not sure I understand their thinking.

Eth

I so agree with this statement.

Good point Laurent, that McClaren was going to retire someday and "Emma was the easiest pray for the group." I wonder what direction the show would go if Emma's father had died instead.

[IHaveGoodInstincts]

I sometimes find myself looking to virtual season 4 for some of the answers here. (When in doubt, ask a fan!)

The end of season 3 seems to depict Emma as divided, in that in one episode she is yelling at Watts, and in another, she is using his information to save a baby and avoiding deadly expolsions. If a season 4 had come to fruition, Emma seems to have become another tortured soul for the show. It's only a short clip, but her father was clearly aware of what had happened and was against it, as well as pretty much blaming it on Emma.

Maybe this question should be the start of a new thread, but did James Hollis know something about the Millennium Group that made him seem so angry at Emma for "allowing" him to be healed? Was there really conspiracy stuff in "Darwin's Eye," that may have come to fruition in a season 4?

[ethsnafu]

I was always intrigued as to how James Hollis was so cognisant of what Emma had done. It seemed unlikely to me at the time that Peter would have divulged to him what they had done and why once the procedure was over but I always think of it in terms of how people have a tendency behave around those with dementia. Despite all of our best of intentions it is easy to behave around people with dementia as though they are not truly there. Whilst they may, at times, appear to retreat into a world of their own they are still aware of what is transpiring around them and yet after working with geriatric patients in the beginnings of my career I would often observe that individuals would talk about their family members as if they were not in the same room as them. My guess is that Emma was less guarded in hiding that she was up to something than she believed and given that she probably fell into the trap that most people do around dementia sufferers she may well have taken the odd phone call from Peter Watts and so on and not lowered her voice sufficiently.

My guess was simply that the procedure James Hollis underwent allowed him access the events that had been transpiring around him whilst he was unwell and given that the procedure advanced human brain functions beyond the norm he could well have deduced from those events that something was not quite right and his daughter was responsible for it.

Who knows though but Virtual Season Four does a great job of advancing Emma and James' stories.

Eth