Sacrements Secret

[4th Horseman]

Before i start..i wish to say thanks to my very dear to the heart friends Libby, RavenWolf, Ethsnafu, and Selfosophy Psycho for their support thru this dark time of downbeatness...Yes Selfosophy Psycho, i am summoning you again..."post it, and he will come"...

I figure that to overcome my current position and return to the light that is "upbeatness", i must post with a fervor not known or ever seen on this board..LOL..actually i am beginning to feel better, and now "VENGENCE IS MINE" sayeth The Fourth Horseman....

It appears that the end of Sacrament was changed at the last minute, for reasons that will probably remain unanswered. I have the actual script from the show in my hand:

Written by Frank Spotnitz

Directed by Michael Watkins

Episode #4C14

Story no. 4723

as we all know in the show, the final scene is where Tom pulls up with his wife, Bletch, Frank are there, and Catherine gives her the child she has not seen since her abduction...then we see with Jordan clinging to Catherine in apparent fright, Frank takes her hand and the episode fades as they walk side by side down the sidewalk, a great contrast between father and daughter...

Here is the ending from the actual script...(hope i am not plagerizing anyone here)

Catherine: Here's the little man you've been waiting to see.

Catherine holds out the baby for Helen to take it. Helen looks at it for a moment, then hesitantly takes the infant into her arms.

The expressions on the faces of the other adults show how bittersweet a reunion this is. Helen looks at her baby, too overwhelmed to speak.

Frank exchanges a concerned look with Catherine as:

Jordan

Suddenly turns and runs back up to the porch. Frank motions to Catherine that he'll see whats wrong. As he moves to follow:

ANGLE - THE PORCH

Frank steps into view, CAMERA LOWERING TO FIND

JORDAN

Cradeled in a ball on the floor, clutching herself like she did at the church in the teaser. Frank leans down to her.

FRANK:

Jordan?

Jordan remains huddled.

JORDAN

It's ok daddy. I'm Ok..

CAMERA

On Frank, fearing that his daughter is not...

FADE OUT:

THE END...

Well...how 'bout them biscuits....it seems the writers/directors intent was to show that Jordan was still distressed about something, but why would they take the more subtle approach of almost "hiding" Jordan against Catherine's side? She most certainly is cowering, her head down and seemingly clinging for life to Catherine's dress. It is such a quick shot that one could easily miss it. I would have preferred the script ending, seeing Jordan actually having a negative reaction would have lent to the story an "unsettled" nature..

But yet, i am left to ponder...if all was ok, so to speak, the kid arrested, Tom and Helen reunited with their infant, why then did Jordan STILL have the exact same reaction she had in the church? Was it really over? Was it really OK as she responded to Frank?

This wasn't about Frank or Catherine, but about his brother and his family. Could it be that Jordan was "seeing" another future event that involved them? Was there some talk of bringing back Tom in a future episode maybe where Frank would have had to make a choice between saving him or joining Legion?

How delicious that would have been. We saw how devestated Frank was at the death of Atkins at the hands of Pepper. (i still say it should have been Andrews, good riddance)...how much more intense would it have been for say, Lucy Butler to have involved herself within the parameters of their brotherly ties....

Sacrament (Part 2)

on a sidebar issue...please recall when Tom is talking to Frank after going over to the kids house with a gun (giving a miserable performance by the way), and they wind up talking about what Frank does...In the actual script Tom says the following..

"You dont even see it Frank, but you bring it upon yourself..

your work brings it upon your family,

It's a sickness, you just cant lock it away in the basement"

This statement reappears almost verbatim in "Siren" wherer Frank is telling Laura that he had to know if his work was bringing the evil to his family, or whether it was keeping it at bay. Did that line spoken by Tom stick with Frank? Is it just coincidence or is was that line used as a guide for "Siren" several episodes later?

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

This is Who We Are..

The Fourth Horseman...

[The Old Man]

Thanks for the insight and peek into what was really planned!

[Bardo Thodol]

Before i start..i wish to say thanks to my very dear to the heart friends Libby,  RavenWolf, Ethsnafu, and Selfosophy Psycho for their support thru this dark time of downbeatness...Yes Selfosophy Psycho, i am summoning you again..."post it, and he will come"...

I figure that to overcome my current position and return to the light that is "upbeatness", i must post with a fervor not known or ever seen on this board..LOL..actually i am beginning to feel better, and now "VENGENCE IS MINE" sayeth The Fourth Horseman....

Ahhhh... it is a high compliment for a Selfosophist to be summoned through a referrence to one of Selfosophy's Top 10 Most Positive Films of All Time, approved for viewing by all Selfosophists. Self-Master General Robbinski of the Seattle HQ of the Selfosophy Institute recommends it to all members as required viewing.

4H, I have also made enthusiastic and prolific posting at TIWWA a part of my personal Selfosophical progam of overcoming dark periods in my life, as well as maintaining my neuro-spiritual condition on a daily basis.

It is good to see that my neuro-biological case is not unique!

Thank you for the revelations (get it) of the differences between the original script and the final cut.

Well...how 'bout them biscuits....it seems the writers/directors intent was to show that Jordan was still distressed about something, but why would they take the more subtle approach of almost "hiding" Jordan against Catherine's side? She most certainly is cowering, her head down and seemingly clinging for life to Catherine's dress. It is such a quick shot that one could easily miss it. I would have preferred the script ending, seeing Jordan actually having a negative reaction would have lent to the story an "unsettled" nature..

But yet, i am left to ponder...if all was ok, so to speak, the kid arrested, Tom and Helen reunited with their infant, why then did Jordan STILL have the exact same reaction she had in the church? Was it really over? Was it really OK as she responded to Frank?

This wasn't about Frank or Catherine, but about his brother and his family. Could it be that Jordan was "seeing" another future event that involved them?

Great questions and speculations. This is the kind of MLM discussion I love having. Okay, now, my personal take on why they went with the more subtle approach is that this is generally preferred mode of expression of the 1013 team. They liked to try to keep things more subtle, indirect, and not completely resolved (especially in MLM episodes for the unresolved part). And, I have often speculated if the writers had planned to bring Tom and family back into the picture in a later season, had the show continued. And, from the looks the original script, it definitely looks like this was a distinct possibility.

My other comment on the final scene, as we actually saw it is this or as it was originally written: perhaps it Jordan was not sensing a future event, perhaps she was just sensing the general presense of evil/Legion around the whole thing, and in the life of her family. I mean, in my estimation, this whole situation was subtley arranged by Legion to taunt and torment Frank. Frank was told that the suspect believed he was being persued and tormented by the Devil. We see the suspects halucinations/visions (through Frank's flash-visions) of him being tormented, presumably in the "lake of fire"/Gehenna. In the end, there is a subtle hint that the father of the perpetrator is a manifestion of Legion. Toward the end of the ep, the father of the perp is standing at the top of the stairwell looming over Frank smoking a cigarette - almost gloating over what he has accomplished and gotten away with through his son (the stairwell with evil/Legion/whoever standing at the top is a repeated theme/symbol of domination and control throughout the entire series... including the X-Files MLM episode). [And, then in Powers, Principalities, Thrones, and Dominions, the Al Pepper manifestation refers to his family's "situation" and to it getting worse, if Frank doesn't come aboard.]

I think that perhaps Jordan's reaction in either the original script or final cut, was just an indication that she sensed this evil/Legion in their lives, and that it would continue.

.... pausing to say.... this is a fantastic topic!

Was there some talk of bringing back Tom in a future episode maybe where Frank would have had to make a choice between saving him or joining Legion?

How delicious that would have been. We saw how devestated Frank was at the death of Atkins at the hands of Pepper. (i still say it should have been Andrews, good riddance)...how much more intense would it have been for say, Lucy Butler to have involved herself within the parameters of their brotherly ties....

That would have been perfect! And fit perfectly with the ending of Sacrament. Frank having to make choice: Join Legion (take the job Legion always tries to offer him, "sit it out" and stay out of the way of the coming Evil at the Millennium, etc), or let some other horror befall his brother's family! That is just a brilliant idea, 4h! Delicious, indeed!

Or, here's my idea, if it was Lucy doing the taunting this time... have Lucy give Frank the following ulimatum (in her twisted, roundabout, post-modern way): Frank, either have a baby with me so I may have my spawn to rule at the Millennium, or your brother's baby dies! How's that one!

Sacrament (Part 2)

on a sidebar issue...please recall when Tom is talking to Frank after going over to the kids house with a gun (giving a miserable performance by the way), and they wind up talking about what Frank does...In the actual script Tom says the following..

"You dont even see it Frank, but you bring it upon yourself..

  your work brings it upon your family,

  It's a sickness, you just cant lock it away in the basement"

This statement reappears almost verbatim in "Siren" wherer Frank is telling Laura that he had to know if his work was bringing the evil to his family, or whether it was keeping it at bay. Did that line spoken by Tom stick with Frank? Is it just coincidence or is was that line used as a guide for "Siren" several episodes later?

Spot on. I don't think this was a coincidence at all. Again, the writers where very careful to keep this subtle theme of Franks choice to fight evil/take on the mind of evil to fight it, and the consequence upon his family and life.

Brilliant topic, 4H!!!

Upbeat Regards,

Selfo

:2hands:

[4th Horseman]

Ahhhh... it is a high compliment for a Selfosophist to be summoned through a referrence to one of Selfosophy's Top 10 Most Positive Films of All Time, approved for viewing by all Selfosophists.  Self-Master General Robbinski of the Seattle HQ of the Selfosophy Institute recommends it to all members as required viewing.

4H, I have also made enthusiastic and prolific posting at TIWWA a part of my personal Selfosophical progam of overcoming dark periods in my life, as well as maintaining my neuro-spiritual condition on a daily basis.

It is good to see that my neuro-biological case is not unique!

Thank you for the revelations (get it) of the differences between the original script and the final cut.

Great questions and speculations.  This is the kind of MLM discussion I love having.  Okay, now, my personal take on why they went with the more subtle approach is that this is generally preferred mode of expression of the 1013 team.  They liked to try to keep things more subtle, indirect, and not completely resolved (especially in MLM episodes for the unresolved part).  And, I have often speculated if the writers had planned to bring Tom and family back into the picture in a later season, had the show continued.  And, from the looks the original script, it definitely looks like this was a distinct possibility.

My other comment on the final scene, as we actually saw it is this or as it was originally written:  perhaps it Jordan was not sensing a future event, perhaps she was just sensing the general presense of evil/Legion around the whole thing, and in the life of her family.  I mean, in my estimation, this whole situation was subtley arranged by Legion to taunt and torment Frank.  Frank was told that the suspect believed he was being persued and tormented by the Devil.  We see the suspects halucinations/visions (through Frank's flash-visions) of him being tormented, presumably in the "lake of fire"/Gehenna.  In the end, there is a subtle hint that the father of the perpetrator is a manifestion of Legion.  Toward the end of the ep, the father of the perp is standing at the top of the stairwell looming over Frank smoking a cigarette - almost gloating over what he has accomplished and gotten away with through his son (the stairwell with evil/Legion/whoever standing at the top is a repeated theme/symbol of domination and control throughout the entire series... including the X-Files MLM episode).  [And, then in Powers, Principalities, Thrones, and Dominions, the Al Pepper manifestation refers to his family's "situation" and to it getting worse, if Frank doesn't come aboard.]

I think that perhaps Jordan's reaction in either the original script or final cut, was just an indication that she sensed this evil/Legion in their lives, and that it would continue.

.... pausing to say.... this is a fantastic topic!

That would have been perfect!  And fit perfectly with the ending of Sacrament.  Frank having to make choice: Join Legion (take the job Legion always tries to offer him, "sit it out" and stay out of the way of the coming Evil at the Millennium, etc), or let some other horror befall his brother's family!  That is just a brilliant idea, 4h!  Delicious, indeed!

Or, here's my idea, if it was Lucy doing the taunting this time...  have Lucy give Frank the following ulimatum (in her twisted, roundabout, post-modern way):  Frank, either have a baby with me so I may have my spawn to rule at the Millennium, or your brother's baby dies!  How's that one!

Spot on.  I don't think this was a coincidence at all.  Again, the writers where very careful to keep this subtle theme of Franks choice to fight evil/take on the mind of evil to fight it, and the consequence upon his family and life.

Brilliant topic, 4H!!!

Upbeat Regards,

Selfo

:2hands: 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Selfo...in hindsight, which of course, is 100% correct, you have most eloquently finished the thoughts i had at the time of my post, but somehow left out. Jordan was most likely responding, as you say, to the concept that evil never sleeps, stiking out whenever and whereever it intends, and most certainly an indication that at some later date, it would touch their lives again.

Yes, it would have been nice to have seen Tom portrayed in future episodes, either as a positive or negative influence in Frank's life, preferrably, as you and i agree, as a protagonist of evil, however, we can only speculate on what could have been..

i would have liked to have seen more input on this concept by others, particularily ethsnafu, Maxx Blackwell, etc, but i have to deduce that it was a subject not considered worthy enough to respond to....

I thank you my good friend for the responses and support, both on the site and via PM's...i hope to see more of your presence on the board in the future....

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

The Fourth Horseman...

[Raven Wolf]

you have most eloquently finished the thoughts i had at the time of my post, but somehow left out.

(Yeah... he's good at that. )

[Guest ModernDayMoriarty]

I think they were probably right not to use Tom Black again after the end of that episode. Don't get me wrong - Phillip Anglim was very good as Tom; that isn't the reason at all. They were also right to change that ending.

'Sacrament' is an episode that like 'The Judge' in particular sets Frank up as the outsider. The episode starts with a story of how he took punishment for his brother and it develops with Frank trying at all costs to keep the evil from his brother like he does with his family. But it drives a wedge between them because it just isn't that easy. Frank can't take on this responsibility for everyone and by trying he is inviting evil to 'come and have a try'.

The last scene is a lonely one for Frank. He feels he has failed. He credits Bletch with saving his brother's wife and says nothing I believe, to either Tom or his wife when they arrive. They say nothing to him and barely look at him. It can be assumed that they blame Frank for what has happened and that they won't be back. Susan seems very distant from Frank if you look.

He has fought with Bletch, Tom and Susan are against him and for the same problems as he faces with Catherine - that he is trying too hard, trying to keep it away from them and bringing the darkness into their lives (Catherine later describes it as 'things that happen to us that don't happen to other people'). But through all this, there is always Jordan. She is always pleased to see him, she is always there when things get too bad wanting only his love and attention. She doesn't blame him, judge him, (Catherine herself explains 'She's such a good little girl - never complains).

The final scene shows Frank, utterly drained and alone, enjoying a quiet moment with the thing that matters most to him, his little girl. As he later says in Lamentation, 'It's the one thing in my life that never changes'. Here he is blatantly talking about Jordan, not the view. The world can go to hell, his brother can end up hating him, his wife may leave him but he will never lose Jordan's love - it just isn't possible.

The ending is sad but touching. The alternative ending would have been frightening and that wasn't what was needed. The possibility of something happening to Jordan has drawn them even closer together. He resolves to spend more time with her and seems to acknowledge that if she has the gift he has, it will only make them closer again as she will understand him in a way the others cannot.

[Guest bluestocking]

Well, I didn't see good things coming for Tom and Helen after this episode, but I think it was the more mundane emotional dangers that might have been bothering Jordan.

Helen is a rape victim who was held captive for three days in a hole by a sexual sadist; Tom is an academic who held a gun on a man, told his brother the whole thing was his fault, and was driven to emotional numbness. Tom now knows what he himself is capable of and hates himself for not being able to protect his wife and child. I doubt their marriage lasted more than two years after this episode. They both would have needed intensive counseling and even then Helen might not have been able to stand to be touched or Tom might have been afraid to touch her. Helen might not have what it takes to take care of the baby day after day.

Jordan felt all that emotional upset and cowered from it.

[Guest Pluto]

I prefer the ending seen on TV.

I love how Frank holds her hand and they walk away from the family moment of celebration.

Frank knows he is going to eventually talk to Jordan about some very dark things.

I think the ending is a great insight into how Frank's gift makes him feel like a bit of an outcast, which means that Jordan will feel these things too someday.

[Guest WaveCrest]

I watched "Sacrament" in full for the first time on Wednesday night (I'd seen bits of the episode before on ITV). The closing shot of Frank and Jordan walking up the pavement puzzled me. What was Frank doing? Was he telling Jordan everything was alright? It reminded me of one of the closing scenes in Season 3's "Goodbye to All That", where Frank and Jordan run along the corridor in the school. My feeling was that following the fact that the father of the killer had not been put behind bars, that he was still out there, despite the reunion outside Frank's house. I do remember reading something on or off the web a few years ago about the possibility of Tom returning in a future episode. It was certainly a good insight into Frank's family, as before this episode you didn't know a lot about Frank's family other than Catherine and Jordan.