The Beginning and the End

[Guest Polaroid Stalker]

As you could probably gather from my Avatar and my screen name, "The Beginning and the End" is one of my favorite episodes ever, falling only behind "The Curse of Frank Black" and "The Time is Now."

This episode, the first of Season Two and with Glen Morgan and James Wong at the helm as Executive Producers, brings an excellent conclusion to the Polaroid Stalker story that began even before the Pilot but stepped up a level in "Paper Dove," when Catherine was abducted by the stalker himself (beautifully acted by 1013 alum Doug Hutchison, who in my opinion is the greatest actor ever, tied only with Lance Henriksen!). The actor in "Paper Dove" was, in my opinion, too stiff, but Hutchison is the master!

The introduction of Brian Roedecker was also great. Allan Zinyk, best remembered as Blaine Faulkner in the XF episode "Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space,'" is a good actor in his own right, and I praise the one who got Zinyk to take this role.

The character development of Peter Watts was also good. He deserved something other than being Frank's sidekick, as he was throughout Season One.

Best scene: the whole episode is great! But there is a tie between two specific scenes: when the Polaroid Stalker tells "Cathy" about the Millennium Group and its intentions for Frank, and the climax where Frank murders the stalker. What a shocker!

My only complaint: why wasn't this a two-parter?!?

My rating: Five "Soylent Green is people!"'s out of five!

Quote: "Is this the beginning of the journey... or the end?" -- Frank Black

-- Stephen Davis

[The Old Man]

Hi,

A Big Welcome to the Board! Hope you are enjoying it as much as I do!

You may be interested in the almost 2 minute version of "Life of a Comet", a Sound Byte available in my Millennium Downloads section at MDUK

Regards,

Graham.  

[Guest Polaroid Stalker]

Graham,

Thanks a lot for the tip on the "Life of a Comet" sound byte. I listened to it, but unfortunately I could not download it onto a floppy disk (too big a file). But still, I enjoyed it. Now, if only they posted the episode on the site...

Think about it

The Stalker

[Guest Cookyman]

Yeah the life of a comet segment at the begining of the episode was excellent.  A refreshing start to a very refreshing season.  :D

[The Old Man]

Agreed Cookyman!

I remember when I first saw that episode and it blew me away, thinking Millennium had reached a whole new level and wondering what would come next in the Season...

It was a excellent opener, possibly the best?

Gra.

[The Old Man]

Graham,

Thanks a lot for the tip on the "Life of a Comet" sound byte. I listened to it, but unfortunately I could not download it onto a floppy disk (too big a file). But still, I enjoyed it. Now, if only they posted the episode on the site...

Think about it

The Stalker

Glad you enjoyed it, it was a pleasure to make.

Floppy disk? Wos that then?

Gra.

[Guest Omega]

I have a problem. I can't understand why, after killing the man who has drugged, abducted and tortured her, who has convinced her that her child is lying nearby, drugged or dead, and threatened to kill her, stabbed her husband......

Katherine wants a break from Frank.

I think that under these circumstances, I would be capable of doing the same to protect my wife or daughters, and I admit there would be an element of revenge included, but to be faced with "I think we need some time apart"...?

[Guest]

......i agree! in an otherwise outstanding epsiode the very end was VERY out of place and forced. it did NOT jibe with what had taken place earlier in the story and with the relationship as previously shown in the superior S1.-(couples therepy anyone???)  ... yeah,both would be expected to be emotionaly shattered with what happened to katherine and frank killing "TPS",but is what he did so unthinkable? we already knew from S1 that frank was obsessed with keeping his family safe,as evidenced by his complete breakdown before they moved to seattle when TPS first came into his life. and the way M&W set it up near the end i "almost" would have been shocked had he NOT killed him.   ....but of course this was a plot device to get frank more immersed into the group and it's,ahem,true nature. but i have always found that ending to be very awkward and unconvincing and,for me-(and i know lots of others)-kept it from being "truly" great. .....sadly this sloppy unfocused plotting/direction would come back 20-fold after the fantastic-(albeit with flaws)- owls/roosters 2-parter.

                      ~peace,

                              se7en

[Guest Peckinpah]

Personally I've never had a problem with the ending of this episode (even though it was somewhat necessitated by Gallagher's break from the show). Frank and Catherine's relationship was put under huge strain during season one: Jordan's illness, Frank's secrecy about his work, Helen's abduction, Bletcher's murder etc. Catherine's own experience was the final straw; having someone you love lie to you and then to see them acting in a fit of violent rage is shocking no matter what their reason for doing it. Sure we all like to think that we'd do anything to protect our families but in reality violence destroys previously strong relationships. Only last year a friend of mine split from his wife despite their apparently happy marriage. The reason? He'd come clean to her about his military background, she then decided that (despite her feelings toward him) she couldn't live with someone who'd killed. Sad but true.

[Adam Chamberlain]

For me, the conclusion of The Beggining & The End was upsetting and uncomfortable but made perfect sense in the context of the Black family as we had come to know them. Throughout Season One Frank had indeed sought to keep their Yellow House as a sanctuary for his family, clearly with a degree of failure. Frank's actions with regards to the Polaroid Stalker make perfect sense, but it's also quite clear to me that Catherine would see him as having crossed a line and the separation seemed all but inevitable.

It was also a bold move by Morgan & Wong to take Frank out of the Yellow House and chart his journey as he seeks to get back there, a central theme of Season Two. The separation set a captivating plot thread in motion and of course only heightened the tensions between the Black family and The Group, not to mention the emotional impact of The Time Is Now's devastating conclusion.