The Polaroid Man

[Maxx Blackwell]

I would have liked for there to have been an expansion on just how the PM  "tested"  Claire in Anamnesis. She says she was a chronicler like Catherine and believed, then she was tested by the PM and she didnt believe....what exactly happened in between?

I need to watch the episode again. Because I don't remember the conversation to be quite like that. I was hoping the transcript for this one might be up already but I see it's not. (No pressure Libby! I know you're doing a great job. Take your time and keep up the great work! )

If someone has the DVD set and the time and patience can they transcribe that conversation or perhaps verify the synopsis the Fourth Horseman gives. I'll try and do it on Sunday but maybe one of you will beat me to it.) When I watched the episode the couple times I played it I didn't get the impression that the Polaroid Man tested Clare. But I do seem to remember getting the impression someone else did.

So I'll reserve further comment on this until I have more to go on and offer up.

Lets look at Polaroids for a second. Discounting Polaroids taken by forensic investigators of the crime scenes...

- 100 Pilot - Frank tells Bletch that Ed Cuffle takes polaroids of his victims and send them to the police. He gets caught and finally is serving triple life sentences.

- 100 Pilot - A year after Cuffle's sent to prison Frank receives the first envelope with no return addresses containing polaroids of Catherine

- 100 Pilot - Frank receives his first envelope with no return address containing polaroids of Catherine & Jordan in Seattle

- 117 Lamentation - An unaddressed envelope arrives containing polaroids of the asian Judge Parks who's been murdered. It's not said but we would presume Judge Park presided over Fabricant's trial. Fabricant is originally fingered as the murderer but he was in no condition to do it. Suspicion falls on Lucy.

- 121 - Paper Dove - First appearance of the Polaroid Man known now to be driving the serial killer Henry Dion.

- 201 - Demise of the Polaroid man

In Lamentation Peter and Frank have a conversation about Fabricant's knowledge of the polaroids he receives...

WATTS: What about the Polaroids? You think he knew the effect they would have on

you? That you'd been terrorized by someone sending them before?

FRANK: (shakes his head) I don't know. He might have. I'm not going to give it a

chance.

If Lucy is Legion then it's entirely likely she would know, but is it not also possible that Polaroid Man and Legion are not somehow connected?

104 The Judge ...

FRANK: Sit down. (They both do.) What should I call you?

JUDGE: `Judge' is fine. Or the name on the report. My name is `Legion.'

FRANK: `Legion?'

JUDGE: When Jesus of Nazareth expelled demons from a herd of enchanted hogs, story has it that the demons told him their name was `Legion.' How would you like to work for me?

FRANK: Work? You mean killing.

JUDGE: Every man finds his own path to justice. You needn't commit yourself now. The offer's open. A month, a year... Many benefits. I know you're sometimes scared for your family, your wife. There's a child now too, yes?

FRANK: When you spoke to Bardale, what did you say to him when he called you from the bar?

JUDGE: Bardale - who can speak to Bardale? A slave of echoes. I can talk to you. We're after the same thing.

FRANK: How's that?

JUDGE: I can show you an absolute justice, an unconstrained justice. You'd have freedom to act without fear. Bardale and his kindred - they fear me, they obey me. Your family would be safe from such threats.

118 Powers, Principalities, Thrones And Dominions ...

PEPPER: I have a very successful law firm. I'm looking to expand. I need an investigator - someone with your abilities.

FRANK: You remind me of someone. Have we met before?

PEPPER: I seem to be blessed with a familiar face.

FRANK: Oh.

PEPPER: I am offering you a partnership. Name your salary. Name your hours. Design your own benefits package.

[Frank stands up.]

FRANK: Not interested.

[Pepper rises too.]

PEPPER: I know that you are unhappy in your current circumstances, Mr. Black. That would all change. You and your loved ones would be safe - well out of harm's way. I can't make the legal advice I give to Martin contingent upon your accepting my offer. Unethical. But you think about it. I know you'll have many questions. I will be happy to answer all of them, anytime.

PEPPER: Frank! I wasn't expecting you but I'm glad you stopped by. Would you like to take a look at the

offices that I've set aside for you?

FRANK: I've just seen your show of good faith.

PEPPER: Really?

FRANK: Your client's dead, but you know that.

PEPPER: Yeah. The, uh, department notified me last night.

FRANK: What I want to know is how you did it.

PEPPER: Fortuitous and timely, hmmm? Our minor conflict of interest has been resolved.

FRANK: I don't think so.

PEPPER: As I've said to you before, you needn't make up your mind now. My offer remains open for as long as is necessary.

FRANK: You've come to me before.

PEPPER: So you've said.

FRANK: You killed that kid and I'm going to connect you to it.

PEPPER: Frank, you understand that life for you and your wonderful family can only become more difficult, more dangerous.

FRANK: (angry) Don't threaten me!

PEPPER: (softly) Join me.

[Frank turns and begins to leave.]

PEPPER: I can wait, Frank. Your situation may not allow you that luxury.

[Frank doesn't respond, he just leaves Pepper's office.]

Now as I seem to recall someone has mentioned on the board that Legion is somehow involved in the Millennium Group too. If this is true and The Polaroid Man was in the Millennium Group it's possible that Legion got to TPM before he left the Group. If Legion did get to TPM, then there would be no difficulty in calling off the dog and removing the threat.

201 The Beginning and The End ...

WATTS: Frank, you're a good man, and you're an exceptional candidate, but the

Millennium Group is involved in an unprecedented arena and we're gonna make

mistakes for which we will not apologize. However, the Group feels you should know that his interest in you is because of our interest in you. That's all I can tell you right now. But we'll be out there pulling out the stops to find him. You have this

information now. Set aside your anger, forget your helplessness and point us in the

right direction by getting deeper than you ever have before into a man's head. (pause) But not his soul. (pause) For your sake, not his soul.

Why would The Polaroid Man be interested in Frank because the Group is? The Group wants Frank to utilize his Gift and his experience.

POLAROID MAN: ... Would you, could you, in a house? Would you, could you,

with a mouse? Would you, could you, die for God?

If I told you, Cathy, that all that jazz you've been hearing so much about

-- the throne of God, a sea of glass, the seven veils, the seven seals, the seven plagues, the slain lamb with seven eyes and seven thorns, fear God and give glory to him for the hour of his kingdom has come, and the beast of the sea and the beast of the land cast into a lake of fire, and then, ah, to live and reign with Christ for a thousand years of peace and love... (By the way you'll note I've made some edits to this paragraph -mostly punctuation - when you compare it with the transcripts. I think it's one great big raving run-on sentence!)

If I told you, Cathy, that I know that Frank will know it is all true, would you die - be beheaded? For your witness to the word of God, so that your little daughter, your beautiful little daughter...? (shows the body of "Jordan") Would you die for God then? Would you, could you? Because I won't. No, they asked me to but I won't. (By the way you'll note I've made some edits to this paragraph too when you compare it with the transcripts)

They're gonna ask Frank and if he's willing to give his life for you, I know he's willing to give his life for God. Don't you think, Cathy? But I'm not gonna let him, okay? Because I am the end - the question that ends here. I am the first and I am the last, I am the alpha and I am the omega, I am the beginning and I am the end.

There's a lot of what seems to be insane, raving babbling here but I think the distilled summary message is this...

Cathy, would you die for God? If your daughter were dead, would you die for God then? Because I won't. The Millennium Group asked me to give my life for God and I wouldn't. They're going to ask the same of Frank and as sure as he loves you and would give his life for you, he'd give his life for God. But don't worry, because I won't let him. I'm going to end his life here and now. I started the chain of events that will lead him here to me so that I can kill him. I am the beginning and the end.

Is it possible that he's given his life to Legion? Is this why Peter doesn't wantFrank to get into his soul and why he says, "... the Group feels you should know that his interest in you is because of our interest in you. That's all I can tell you right now. ... Set aside your anger, forget your helplessness and point us in the right direction by getting deeper than you ever have before into a man's head. (pause) But not his soul. (pause) For your sake, not his soul. "

OK. I've spent almost 3.5 hours on this - someone else's turn to give an opinion! And with that I think it's time for bed. Heck, it's 5:07am!

Night all!

[ethsnafu]

But his Thought had been detained by the angelic powers which had been sent forth from her, and had been subjected by them to every indignity, so that she might not return on high to her own father, insomuch that she was even enclosed in a human body, and for age after age transmigrated into different female forms, as though from one vessel into another. For she had been also in that Helen who was the cause of the Trojan War. But while she passed from body to body, and consequently suffered perpetual indignity, she had at the last been prostituted in a brothel; she was the lost sheep. Wherefore he himself had come to free her from her bonds, and to confer salvation upon men through knowledge of himself.

The above text appears, in edited form, at the end of Anamnesis. It is an account of the life of Simon Magus, a disciple of John the Baptist, the reason for it's inclusion will become clear - he hopes lol.

Hi Maxx,

The conversation in question, as referenced by 4th Horseman, is:

CLARE I used to be a chronicler like you. Only I believed. Then I got tested... like you. And I didn't believe.

CATHERINE Tested?

CLARE By the man who took all the pictures of you -- the one who told you the truth.

I believe the truth of this enigma to be in the fact that although Clare clearly draws an analogy between herself and Catherine, albeit in only two words of the whole conversation, she is talking about herself before and after. I have wrestled with the dual interpretation of this utterance since Arcanmundi first pointed out the obscurity of it and, if we are completely honest, there will never be a definitive answer but I have concluded that Clare McKenna is referring to an incident, actual, etheric, historical or otherwise, in which she was tested by the Polaroid Man.

There are links, subtle and abstract, between the story in 'The Beginning....' and 'Anamnesis'. In 'The Beginning...' The Polaroid Man enquires of Catherine "If I told you, Cathy, that I know that Frank will know, it is all true, would you die, be beheaded, for your witness to the word of...God?" This line, this poignant threat of beheading, immediately made me think of John the Baptist who was executed by the ruler Herod when Herod granted the demand of Salome to "give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter." There are links here between John The Baptist as Christ's witness, Mary Magdalene (Clare McKenna) who the Gnostics believed was the Christ's true witness and Catherine as 'John the Baptist' to the word of the Polaroid Man. Anamnesis is, in one interpretation, a study of the process of spiritual incarnation..."And thus, from age to age, she passed from body to body, into one female body after the other. Thus, she became the lost sheep." Which is either a commentary on the anamnesis of the Magdalene or more likely (considering that passage) that Clare McKenna is Miryai-Noorah - the Gnostic principle who incarnated many times and in many places both before and after her incarnation with Christ two thousand years ago. In her Christ incarnation Miryai d Magdala (Mary of Magdala, or Mary Magdalene) was born among the Jews and raised in the High Priest's home in the wealthy town of Magdala on the western shores of the Sea of Galilee. Compare that with the fact that, according to Gnostic theology, John the Baptist was a prophet who did not know the True God, and thus had to be reincarnated, could go someway to explain why Clare McKenna says "I used to be a chronicler like you. Only I believed. Then I got tested... like you. And I didn't believe" - it would, in part, go a long way to explain the curious recipe of Clare, Catherine and the Polaroid Man and the seeming reference to them having had[/ul] a shared experience in some incarnation. It could also explain the use of term 'chronicler' which was suggested by Arcanamundi to denote that Catherine may have been a member of the 'Knights Chroniclers' a medieval incarnation of the Millennium Group. This jumping of souls from body to body may also be hinted at in 'A Room with no View' when we are treated to an image of Lucy Butler bearing another name from another time.

It is also my conclusion that the Polaroid Man may serve a function not unlike that of Satan. In the Old Testament, Satan is clearly a member of God's court and plays the role of the Accuser. Such a view is found in the prologue to the Book of Job, where Satan appears, together with other celestial beings, before God, replying to the inquiry of God as to whence he had come, with the words: "From going to and fro on the earth and from walking in it" (Job 1:7). Both question and answer, as well as the dialogue which follows, characterise Satan as that member of the divine council who watches over human activity with the purpose of searching out men's sins and appearing as their accuser. He is, therefore, the celestial prosecutor, who sees only iniquity. For example, in Job 2:3-5, after Job passes Satan's first test, Satan requests that Job be tested even further.

It is evident from the prologue in Job that Satan has no power of independent action, but requires the permission of God, which he may not transgress. Satan works in opposition to God, though not entirely able to take action without consent. This may the concept behind the Millennium Group's tolerance of the Polaroid Man, even unto the point of providing him a haven, as he is a functionary who, over the Millennia, has appeared to many members in many guises as the ultimate test of their convictions. His death at the end of 'The Beginning' inconsequential as he, like the lost sheep, will appear again to serve the function ad infinitum.

Would love to hear your opinions on the enigmatic conversation between Clare and Catherine.

Till then,

eth.snafu

[Maxx Blackwell]

I think we're starting to get into bigger concepts than my little brain can contain! Ack! I think maybe I can start to understand why Lara Means went a little bonko at the end of the second season!

If this form of reincarnation keeps happening to Magdalene as Clare, to Catherine and presumably to the Polaroid Man, does it not follow then that this applies to Frank and Peter Watts, etc? And if so, who are they?

This is starting to bear shades of "The Field Where I Died" from the X-Files.

Do you think the cast and crew sat around talking about the implication of the episodes they were doing?

"Come on! You're 1013 for Christ's sake! You're the ones who come up with this s***! Why I bet you have a bunch of guys sitting around somewhere right now just thinking s*** up, and somebody backing them up." - OK, so it's a bit of a b*******ization of another quote...

Maxx

[Raven Wolf]

Maxx & ethsnafu.... I wish I could get you two in on the fan's guide with me. You've "profiled" this so well it's simply awe-inspiring!

[4th Horseman]

I think we're starting to get into bigger concepts than my little brain can contain!    Ack! I think maybe I can start to understand why Lara Means went a little bonko at the end of the second season!

If this form of reincarnation keeps happening to Magdalene as Clare, to Catherine and presumably to the Polaroid Man, does it not follow then that this applies to Frank and Peter Watts, etc? And if so, who are they?

This is starting to bear shades of "The Field Where I Died" from the X-Files.

Do you think the cast and crew sat around talking about the implication of the episodes they were doing?

"Come on! You're 1013 for Christ's sake! You're the ones who come up with this s***! Why I bet you have a bunch of guys sitting around somewhere right now just thinking s*** up, and somebody backing them up." - OK, so it's a bit of a b*******ization of another quote...

Maxx

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Maxx....your previous post on the Pilot and Ed Cuffle stirred some possiblilities up that we may have overlooked...just to what extent the relavency is to the overall outlook i dont know, but here goes...

Facts..

1. Ed Cuffle took polaroids of his victims and mailed them to the police..

2. There was a 1 year hiatus between Cuffle's capture and the first envelope containing photos of Catherine delived to Frank..

3. We know that the Polaroid Man at some time earlier chronologically than Frank was involved in the Group, to what extent, remains unknown..

If we take each of these known facts, and then process them, i can only, for myself, conclude that at some time in the past, perhaps as he was working as a member of the group, that PM and Cuffle's paths crossed. The coincidence of the polaroids is too great. Did PM's involvement in the group deal with forensic profiling, such as Frank? He sure seemed to know what procedures someone of that stature would have to go thru to get a profile of critical offender characteristics (see script for The Beginning and The End)..that and his final words "You think you know me Frank"...He KNEW what procedures Frank would be going thru to profile him, thus it seems that at one time he had also possibly been recruited the same way Frank was...perhaps his "gift" was not as spectacular? or desired?...

Was Cuffle once PM's assigned case? Since PM did NOT have a criminal record, the only logical way he could have known about the polaroids was to be directly involved in the case. Did PM see the value of taking/sending the photos as a means of terrorizing as he worked the case, and thus was the driving reason that he duplicated the exact same method one year later. Did Frank, at the time of the case seem to be more of a viable candidate for the Group than PM, thus promoted to take over, his statement that it "took months, but we caught him". "Took months" could mean anywhere from a couple to nearly a year, which could possibly tie into the hiatus between the capture of Cuffle and the first package of polaroids that Frank received in the mail. During that period, he was obviously the one providing the Woodsman with an innumerable amount of polaroids showing possible victims, seemingly taken over a considerable period of time? Then deciding it was time to deal with his rejection to the group and Franks obvious recruitment, and with his statement to the Woodsman that he wanted the murder done while he was in the area? referring to Frank?, was this the external trigger that drove him to kidnap Catherine, knowing that it would be the ultimate lure that Frank could not resist???

Just another branch of the tree that is MillenniuM....possibilities? i believe that somewhere, benign as some may seem to think, that there is a tie-in between Cuffle and PM....i have given you what i thought the extent was, now its your guys/gals turn....

Till the Last Change...Be Done....

The Fourth Horseman..

[Maxx Blackwell]

I think we're starting to get into bigger concepts than my little brain can contain!    Ack! I think maybe I can start to understand why Lara Means went a little bonko at the end of the second season!

If this form of reincarnation keeps happening to Magdalene as Clare, to Catherine and presumably to the Polaroid Man, does it not follow then that this applies to Frank and Peter Watts, etc? And if so, who are they?

This is starting to bear shades of "The Field Where I Died" from the X-Files.

Do you think the cast and crew sat around talking about the implication of the episodes they were doing?

"Come on! You're 1013 for Christ's sake! You're the ones who come up with this s***! Why I bet you have a bunch of guys sitting around somewhere right now just thinking s*** up, and somebody backing them up." - OK, so it's a bit of a b*******ization of another quote...

Maxx

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Who is Frank Black?

The Millennium Group wants him.

Legion in the guise of The Judge & Al Pepper wants him.

It's possible The Polaroid Man wants him.

Odessa wants him.

So who is he and why do they want him??

Maxx

[ethsnafu]

...likening himself to the Principalities and Powers through whom he passed, so that among men he appeared as a man, though he was not a man..." Simon Magus

Maxx! Nooooooo! Don't stop it now we're on a roll lol, attention has to be paid as 4th has reminded us to Ed Cuffle's role in this enigma as he is the next, possible, step in this equation and the point at which it all appears to end but before I get to the goods I have got to bridge the gap between Anamnesis and Seven and One etc. so bare with me and I hope all will become lucid.

Anamnesis is the key to the enigma in my humble opinion. It is the most convoluted, florid and as knotted an episode as ever there was but the conclusions that can be drawn from it do seem to offer a feasible explanation to some of the impossibilities of the Polaroid Man continuity. If you conclude that Anamnesis depicts nothing more ostentatious than the literal bloodline of Mary Magdalene then the episode is quite an isolated experience but to do so you have to wrestle a few enigmas that this explanation engenders. How is Clare McKenna able to see the Magdalene, be the Magdalene and have descended from the Magdalene without the final two factors causing a paradox? The only resolution to this is to accept The Family's, and Simon Magus', account of Mary Magdalene as an incarnation of 'Divine Thought' who moved from "...body to body, and consequently suffered perpetual indignity..." this account of Mary and Clare sharing an 'element' that descends through them would explain the three given interpretations stated above.

Now this paradox is further confused by the account in Seven and One and Via Dolorosa. The group appears, in Season 3, to be capable of emulating this process of incarnations by neuro-surgical means, "switching on" the psychological process of learning in adults, giving rise to a new incarnation of Ed Cuffle but emphasis is given to Cuffle's modus operandi as the drilling of the victim's skull and the Polaroid terrorisation is left to Mabius episodes earlier. Now the Ed Cuffle/Polaroid Man connection is undeniable, as 4th has pointed out in such a detailed manner, that it perplexes me as to why Chris Carter chose to elaborate upon the mythos somewhere else. Can anyone, anyone offer an explanation as to why Ed Cuffle in Via Dolorosa has no Polaroid intimation at all (as far as I can see?)

Now, Mabius, who like the Polaroid Man is a Group Member and a shapeshifter like Lucy Butler, appears to terrorise Frank in the guise of Agent Boxer and Emma Hollis as herself (confused yet?) and he does seem to add corroboration to the assertions in Anamnesis that Clare and Catherine were both tested by the same man at seemingly incongruent points in time when he states "...I got nothing but time..." and further weight is given to the notion of the Polaroid Man being akin to a series of possessions as Frank searches those very avenues himself for answers. Emma Hollis, who is ultimately to view the death of herself/Mabius/The Polaroid man, also likens the events to someone having been 'inside her head' prior to the Polaroid/Mabius entity taking her form.

Now all this could elaborate upon the mystery of how the Polaroid Man could have been a group member only six months prior to the events of 'The Beginning...' when his terrorisation of the Black Family has perplexed both Frank and the Millennium Group for a much longer period of time - because the man whose details appear stored in Group's files was not under the thrall of the Polaroid Stalker until sometime after the discovery of P1997-Vanson-West. It could also, very less likely, explain the Polaroid Man's repeated interest in Frank as he does seem to hint that he too may be, or destined to be, an incarnation of him at some point in time - "He'll understand this is all about him. The profile will become about him, who he is, who he'll be, who he's been," which may also explain why Lara, when ravaged by the gift of prophecy, sees Frank in her visions as the Gehenna Demon but I guess that is another post.

Back to the story...at the end of Seven and One with Mabius' sacrifice, Frank's vision seems to indicate the end of the cycle but his thoughts betray his own fears whether this is "...the last year of this peace or the beginning..." which seems to be the point at which 'The Beginning and the End' and 'Seven and One' intersect, the inference that the cycle of incarnations seems to occur in perpetualness - like a serpent biting it's tail if you don't mind corny analogies. This element of sacrifice seems so implicit to the mythos of the Polaroid Man, all those involved in the Polaroid terrorisation ultimately die, Mabius actually killing himself, that this again takes the story right back to Anamanesis and the possibility that Ben Fisher is also an incarnation of the Polaroid Man. The most puzzling of all the threads of Anamnesis is Ben Fisher's, and the Group's, implicit belief that there HAS to be a sacrifice to set in motion a chain of events but absolutely nothing in the plot gives any hint that this has any baring upon the Magdalene mythology the episode deals with. Now consider this, if you will, when Lara arrives at the school she is already aware of Ben Fisher, of The Family and the whole kit-and-caboodle of mythology associated with the nature of the investigation: she confirms this incredibly early on when she informs Peter that "...having been informed that a member of The Family is here, Peter, I'm doubting my ability to merely stand by..." - so we can deduce that there is little to suprise Lara with regards to Ben Fisher. When the episode veers sharply from Grail mythology to incarnations she seems to undergo gnosis, or at least receive information, that Fisher is not what she was originally led to believe "...now that I'm sure about who he is, I can't just watch this happen..." to which Peter appears to confirm that she has uncovered his true nature by replying "...You have identified him, haven't you?" - odd considering she knew at the beginning of the case exactly what she was dealing, or did she? Now we move into more obscure territory when Clare McKenna makes the discombobulate statement that both she and Catherine have been tested by the Polaroid Man which could possibly imply that Fisher is his latest incarnation hence the seeming visionary experiences of Catherine and Clare's mysterious statement.

It may also answer a profound difficulty I have with the episode which is the clear indication that Lara has been despatched to kill Fisher when Peter reminds her that "After all we've been through, Lara, you're just going to have to trust we're doing the right thing," to which she replies "I can't, Peter. It would be murder." She seems to dump any doubts she may have as she is to confess to Catherine that she manipulated events that were to result in Ben's death. Consider also that Catherine seems to have realised a connection between Fisher and the Polaroid Man when, after suffering the constant Gnostic overtones of Lara's evasiveness, she is to argue that Lara has "...known what's going on all along. Why were you sent? Who is he? My own husband couldn't tell me that I was being stalked by a psychopath, I don't suppose that you could tell me why a similar psychopath is stalking a little girl." Of course it could all be very wrong but there is some key to the Polaroid Man in Anamnesis but understanding the episode is, for want of a better word, a nightmare.

I love the fact that 4th has included the Polaroid Man's closing epitaph "You think you know me Frank..." as it mirrors Fisher's last conflab' with Lara "you don't know anything about me." Nah, I guess we didn't.

More, more, let's have more!!

As for Raven's book, I would be honored to help as long as I can write the Lara chapter lol.

eth.snafu

[ethsnafu]

I know I'm HOGGING the thread...but...

I have been toying with the idea that the Polaroid Man may be an genus of the demon Legion, of course to accept this premise you have to accept my other premise that there is sufficient intimation to conclude that the Polaroid Man was a series of hosts rather than a number of men choosing to emulate the same tactic: of course to conclude the latter you have to believe that there is an inexhaustible supply of people desperate to terrorise Frank Black. The first thing that fired the synapses is the biblical account of Legion who, as all must know, was not one demon but many (according to numerous accounts this figure varies from between 1001 and 6000) and inhabited the body of a swineherd. For sake of ease I have included the relevant passage below.

Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, "Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them." He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

After I had read numerous versions of the same account it struck me that the Bible's description of the transmigration of the demonic entity that it occurred to me that there was a 'pig' thing in evidence during the first Millennium Legion incarnation and beyond. The first appearance of the swine element of the Legion myth is the choice of music that Calamity entertains the Frenchman to, namely Piggy by NIN..."Tell me what you want. Do you like me? Hey pig piggy pig pig pig ... " and this musical caveat is set to be repeated by, none other than, the Polaroid Man in 'The Beginning and the End'..."I smell bacon, I smell pork, run little piggy, I got a fork." The Judge, too it would seem, has a swine connection both professionally and in dialogue..."Once more... it could be Carl, a hired man who cared for my hogs. A drifter and an alcoholic. I never asked his last name, as I said," and later when Bletcher confronts the Judge with a photograph, Giebelhouse retorts, "Another pig guy you barely know?" If Danielle Barbakow, the pre-hurricane enigma, is destined to be a future incarnation of Legion it may be no accident that the scenes that depict her 'arrest' by the Millennium Group unfold beneath Penny Plott's recital of 'The Three Little Pigs' and if all of this may seem coincidence I shall get back to you as I know there are more references such as these, the ability to recall them ails me at present.

Now I know the Legion story arc is well developed amongst Millennium fans, the succession of characters serving to tempt Frank into service, but there is no reason to believe that Legion had only one modus operandi and though other demonic characters permeate the stories and seasons there is no reason to conclude that they are 'not' Legion simply because they do not serve the same function. Something that has increasingly nagged at me is the possibility that Frank may, like Dani Barbakow, have been, or will be, an intended incarnation or host for the Legion demon. It seems highly plausible to me that Frank has the level of understanding he has because of an innate tendency to tread the same, dark path. This concept was elucidated wonderfully in another TV Show when a serial killer confronts an uncannily accurate profiler with the charge 'If you didn't do what you do, you would do what I do..." - which is pretty much what I am trying to say albeit not well. I am not suggesting that Frank is evil, he is far from it, but I believe he is someone who works intensely hard to be the good man he is, I believe his gift to be the result of the same quintessence that resides in the killers he seeks but with a strident and good man to channel it differently. This 'insight' may have been what Lara Means referred to when she gave hint that what Frank did was not a natural extension of himself..."He uses his ability and manipulates it to see evil... to feel it." This unique description of Frank's abilities is probably what led Frank to conclude that, "Lara... you're the only one - not my wife, not my family - who ever understood." It also seems to tie well into the Polaroid Man's cryptic line "He'll understand this is all about him. The profile will become about him, who he is, who he'll be, who he's been."...which is not dissimilar from the reason behind the Group's interest in Dani Barbakow "...Danielle Barbakow is a pre-storm, a breeze, of an

approaching hurricane." The most obvious link, to my mind, between Frank and the Polaroid Man is the nature of their 'work'. Frank terrorises evildoers by capturing images of their lives and the Polaroid/Legion entity does the same to Frank. It's a startling analogy when you think of it that way isn't it. Tit for tat.

I have also, as you can yawn at above, played with the idea that Mabius and the Polaroid Man are incarnations of the same entity but I only recalled last night the Nostradamus fueled myth of 'Mabus' which finds it's origins in Century 2, Number 62.

"Mabus soon dies and there is a terrible slaughter of people and animals. There is thirst, hunger, famine when the comet is seen." This single quantrain, which is believed to contain reference to the third incarnation of the antichrist, also appears to contain within three lines the whole of Season Two, beginning with the Polaroid Man's comet gazing to the slaughter of both man and beast in 'The Time is Now' - I wonder if Mabus was to inspire the naming of Mabius, the mysterious Polaroid stalker of Season 3.

Right that's me done, no more 'musings of a photograph taking man' *sighs of relief all round* - guess I gotta go away, sift through the whole lot and come to some sort of conclusion. Nah, it's never gonna happen is it?

Till then,

eth.snafu

[Maxx Blackwell]

eth.snafu - we're on the same wavelength. I too have come to the same conclusion about Polaroid Man being one of Legion's herd. For exactly the same tie-in of the pig poem.

If we were to extend this understanding of the pig clue to include all pig references would we include then the little girl in Monster? Is she a Legion herd member also?

Other things that might tie into the Polaroid Man's allied stance with Legion - if we look at the last episodes of Season 1...

117 Lamentation - Lucy is revealed as Legion

118 PPTD - Al Pepper revealed as Legion - the last warning is given to Frank

121 Paper Dove - Polaroid Man acts first though Henry and then himself

PEPPER: Frank, you understand that life for you and your wonderful family can only become more difficult, more dangerous.

FRANK: (angry) Don't threaten me!

PEPPER: (softly) Join me.

[Frank turns and begins to leave.]

PEPPER: I can wait, Frank. Your situation may not allow you that luxury.

And ultimatley it doesn't.

It's not that PM wasn't stopped from acting by Legion but rather that the plans were moved ahead - he was acting on behalf of Legion.

The Polaroid Man also promised that he will prevent Frank from giving his life for God and perhaps this was by killing Frank himself (thus a soul for the Devil) but he may also be correct in that Frank killed him and as such perhaps damned himself.

Now, we know that PM was in the employ of the Millennium Group and it is my understanding that there is a taint within the Group, an influence of Legion - do I have this correct? - and perhaps they are your foxes! After all if on Monster there are Pig references to tie it into the Legion arc then perhaps the Fox references are there for the same reason. And if in fact that is the case, does that mean when the little girl was taken from her family that she was then turned over to the Foxes in that home with all the children at the very end?

What do you think?

Maxx

[Raven Wolf]

and perhaps they are your foxes!

I like this theory. I've thought the same thing.