Millennium 3ABC21: “Via Dolorosa”
The Millennial Abyss | Episodes | Season Three
“Via Dolorosa” (3ABC21)
Written by Marjorie David & Patrick Harbinson
Directed by Paul Shapiro
Edited by Casey O. Rohrs
Aired May 14, 1999
Summary
On the trail of a copycat killer, Frank Black is haunted by his memories of the original while Emma Hollis is distracted by the deterioration of her father, an Alzheimer’s patient.
Synopsis
A frantic Frank Black rushes inside Jordan’s classroom and tells his daughter that they are leaving at once. Jordan calmly retrieves her backpack and, acting as though the summons has been long expected, leaves the room. Frank and Jordan run to the car and eventually begin a journey into the mountains.
Three weeks earlier, Frank and a group of onlookers observe as convicted serial killer Edward Cuffle is strapped into an electric chair. Moments before a black leather mask is placed over Cuffle’s face, his eyes lock with someone sitting in the group. He mouths the word, "Yes." The executioner then flips the fatal switch, electrocuting Cuffle.
An intruder wearing a night vision device enters the home of John and Cyndie Dryden. As the man, who we will come to know as Lucas Wayne Barr, makes his way through the living room, he carves the Roman numeral "II" into a wall. He makes his way upstairs, as the sounds of the couple making love filter through the house. Barr enters the bedroom, his night vision apparatus recording the proceedings. The following day, a cleaning lady finds John and Cyndie’s bodies lashed to dining room chairs with barbed wire.
Frank and other investigators comb through the Dryden household, looking for clues. Frank notices a small-bore hole in John’s temple. Though Baldwin concludes the injury was the result of a bullet, Frank later explains that the couple died when holes were drilled into their skulls. He tells Baldwin he knows this because the killer is Ed Cuffle, a man who died in the electric chair three days earlier.
Frank tells Baldwin and Emma that Cuffle, the son of a cleaning woman, resented the upper class. As a young boy, Cuffle overheard his mother — who "turned tricks" for extra income — having sex with the men who owned the houses she cleaned. Frank believes that someone is copying Cuffle’s modus operandi for reasons unknown.
Watts tells Emma that the Millennium Group is involved in biomedical research. He hints that they have discovered a way to reverse the affects of Alzheimer’s disease.
Frank reviews surveillance footage of the execution chamber. He realizes that when Cuffle mouthed the word "yes," he was communicating with a man sitting in the gallery. Unfortunately, the image is so blurry it cannot be electronically enhanced.
Wearing the night vision apparatus, Barr invades another home as the occupants have sex. This time, however, as he enters the bedroom, he spies is own reflection in a mirror. He freezes. The man having sex, Tommy Marcetti, chases Barr from the house. Marcetti and his girlfriend, Maria, contact the police. Frank retraces the intruder’s steps. He realizes Barr saw his reflection in the mirror.
Frank returns to the Dryden house, where he encounters Baldwin. He notices the Roman numerals "II," "IX" and "XII" carved into the walls. Frank realizes that the killer is following Jesus Christ’s path, the fourteen stations of the cross. The killer, Frank believes, feels as though he is suffering, much in the same way Christ suffered.
As Emma sleeps on her father’s couch one night, a figure, gun in hand, approaches her form. Emma’s eyes open. She sees her father pointing a gun at her. Emma slams the gun away, causing it to discharge. She then wrestles away the weapon.
Emma places her father inside a nursing home. Watts again approaches her and offers a Faustian deal: the Group will cure her father if she agrees to help force Frank out of the FBI. Emma insists she has no control over her colleague’s future plans.
Using a process of elimination, FBI agents pour over military records, hoping to find their suspect. Eventually, Emma is able to match the image of the man in the execution gallery to a military photo of Lucas Barr. Despite Frank’s misgivings, Baldwin organizes a raid on Barr’s apartment. As Frank watches from afar, Baldwin, Emma and a group of FBI agents prepare to storm the apartment. Moments before the agents break down the door, Emma is distracted by her pager. Baldwin and his team move inside, finding an empty apartment. But Frank is overcome with a sudden premonition. He races towards the building, and as he does so, yells into his radio. He tells everyone inside to evacuate at once. Moments later, Baldwin notices a metal case connected to blinking lights and a counter. He orders his men out of the apartment, but it is too late. The device explodes. Meanwhile, Barr moves through yet another darkened house.
Starring
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Brittany Tiplady as Jordan Black
Terry O'Quinn as Peter Watts
Klea Scott as Emma Hollis
Peter Outerbridge as Barry Baldwin
Stephen E. Miller as Andy McClaren
Guest Starring
John Beasley as James Edward Hollis
Matthew Glave as Edward Cuffle
Jeff Parise as Lucas Wayne Barr
Trevor White as Doug Scaife
John Mann as Detective Krebbs
Mark Humphrey as Tommy Marcetti
Khaira Le as Suzie
Andrew Wheeler as Father Murray
Sarah Macaulay as Maria Jones
Kevin McNulty as Dr. Arnett
Ken Roberts as the Warden
Paul Kane as John Dryden
Frida Betrani as the Art Teacher
Production Credits
Production #3ABC22
Music by Mark Snow
Production Designer Mark Freeborn
Director of Photography Robert McLachlan
Associate Producer Jon-Michael Preece
Co-Producer Robert Moresco
Co-Producer Paul Rabwin
Producer Thomas J. Wright
Co-Executive Producer Ken Horton
Co-Executive Producer John Peter Kousakis
Executive Producer Chip Johannessen
Executive Producer Chris Carter
Location
Book Excerpt
“In ‘Via Dolorosa,’ with Frank steadfast in his conviction to move forward with Jordan, Peter makes his Machiavellian play to tap Frank’s partner, Emma Hollis, on behalf of the Group through the instrument of her greatest affection—her father... Love for family informs our decisions. Emma concedes to her interest in the Group. The circle of the ouroboros continues.”
—Gordon Roberts
Back to Frank Black
REVIEWS
"'Via Dolorosa' and 'Goodbye To All That' are some of the best in the series. While it's good to know that Millennium ended strongly, it's equally disappointing when we realize that they're the last two outings in the series. Could the show have regained its footing in a fourth season, or should the creative team have called it quits after the second? The decision, fortunately, is up to the viewer while watching this final batch of episodes."
—Randy Miller III
DVD Talk
“Via Dolorosa” print ad.