Millennium 4C17: “Lamentation”
The Millennial Abyss | Episodes | Season One
“Lamentation” (4C17)
Written by Chris Carter
Directed by Winrich Kolbe
Edited by Chris Willingham, A.C.E.
Aired April 18, 1997
Summary
The grisly fate of an infamous serial murderer introduces Frank Black to Lucy Butler, an infernal figure who initiates terrifying events at the Black household.
Epigraph
“Every man before he dies shall see the Devil.”
Synopsis
Frank and Bob Bletcher hike across a remote snow-covered mountaintop in the spectacular North Cascades region of Washington State. Their trip is cut short when Frank receives an important page from the FBI.
Frank travels to the Bureau's Behavioral Sciences Unit. There, Agent Babich reviews the facts behind the disappearance of convicted serial killer Dr. Ephraim Fabricant, who escaped—or was removed—from a hospital room while recovering from the affects of anesthesia (Fabricant had donated a kidney to his dying sister). Years earlier, Fabricant had brutally murdered five nurses in Cedar Falls. Thanks to Frank's profile, he was eventually convicted of his crimes. But Frank had argued against sending Fabricant to the gas chamber, as he felt it was more important for the FBI to study the inner workings of a serial killer's mind. A judge agreed with Frank and Fabricant's life was spared.
Peter Watts discovers that Fabricant had exchanged wedding vows with a female pen-pal he met during his prison stay. Watts and Frank interview the brunette woman, Lucy Butler, at her house in Virginia. Butler insists that neither she nor any of her friends has been in contact with Fabricant since his escape. She does reveal, however, that she and her husband plan on having a child. The men notice incoming e-mail on Lucy's computer. Frank realizes the e-mail message (a quote from the Bible) pertains to his own street address. He immediately telephones Catherine, and is relieved to hear that both she and Jordan are safe. Frank asks his wife to search through the mail. Catherine discovers an envelope containing Polaroid photographs of an Asian judge. Frank realizes the man, Judge Park, has been murdered. Meanwhile, inside a featureless room, the mysterious Brunette Nurse who helped engineer Fabricant's escape from the hospital (whose face we cannot see) removes the metal staples that bind Fabricant's kidney incision.
Armed with a search warrant, Watts and Frank return to Lucy Butler's home. Their research revealed that Lucy had been accused of killing her young son with strychnine (the same poison used to murder Judge Park). Lucy counters that she was found innocent of the charges. During the hunt for clues, a detective discovers that Lucy's home was rented to a tenant named Robert Davies. He disappeared shortly after allowing Lucy to move in with him. Fabricant stumbles into an emergency room, his hospital gown drenched in blood.
Doctors realize that someone removed his second kidney-and did so without anesthesia. Frank realizes that someone placed his home phone number on Fabricant's hospital bracelet. As a thunderstorm rages, Catherine discovers a human kidney inside the kitchen refrigerator. She then encounters a man with long brown hair, who bears a striking resemblance to Lucy, standing at the top of the stairs. A terrified Catherine searches for Frank's gun. Suddenly, Bletcher steps out of the shadows. He tells Catherine that Giebelhouse is with Jordan outside, then phones Frank with the news that his family is unharmed. Catherine warns Bletcher that an unidentified man is still in the house. As Bletcher searches for the intruder, he discovers Lucy standing at the top of the stairs. A flash of lightning illuminates her face-but it has transformed into the visage of a beast. Shortly thereafter, Giebelhouse discovers Bletcher's dead body hanging from a wall stud, his throat cut.
Fabricant tells Frank that the "base sum of all evil" removed his second kidney. He warns that the same unspeakable evil knows who Frank is. Later, Lucy Butler is arrested on a traffic violation. But without evidence, police are unable to detain her. Frank takes Jordan to the remote mountain top where he and Bletcher had gone hiking.
Starring
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Megan Gallagher as Catherine Black
Brittany Tiplady as Jordan Black
Terry O’Quinn as Peter Watts
Bill Smitrovich as Lt. Bob Bletcher
Stephen James Lang as Detective Giebelhouse
Guest Starring
Alex Diakun as Dr. Ephraim Fabricant
Sarah-Jane Redmond as Lucy Butler
Michael David Simms as Agent Tom Babich
Andrew Airlie as Dr. Willmore
David MacKay as Pathologist
Kurt Max Runte as Federal Marshal
Jane Perry as Agent Pierce
Nino Caratozzolo as Agent Cuevas
Lee Van Paassen as Sondra Fabricant
Production Credits
Production #4C17
Music by Mark Snow
Production Designer Mark Freeborn
Director of Photography Robert McLachlan
Associate Producer Jon-Michael Preece
Consulting Producer Ted Mann
Consulting Producer James Wong
Consulting Producer Glen Morgan
Co-Producer Ken Dennis
Co-Producer Chip Johannessen
Co-Producer Frank Spotnitz
Co-Executive Producer Jorge Zamacona
Co-Executive Producer Ken Horton
Co-Executive Producer John Peter Kousakis
Executive Producer Chris Carter
Location
Book Excerpt
“When in life do we have the opportunity to explore darkness, ‘evil,’ power? Most of us are kind, most of us operate from wanting to be good. I do believe that although we understand the instincts of wrongdoing, hatred, and spite, we rise above. Lucy Butler was the ultimate, the extreme, the furthest one could go into the dark. But she was not full of hatred, spite; she rejoiced in her rejection of ‘God.’ She rejoiced in her corruption of the mightiest. She rejoiced in her power over God’s goodness in the world.”
—Sarah-Jane Redmond
Back to Frank Black
REVIEWS
“Millennium abruptly redeemed itself with a Carter-penned episode that gave the series a welcome blast of novelty (Lucy, a Lucifer-ish female villain), clarity (the dialogue was hard-boiled to a crisp), and surprise (the killing of a major supporting player, Bill Smitrovich's Lieutenant Bletcher). More free-for-alls like this, please.”
—Ken Tucker
Entertainment Weekly
“‘Lamentation’ is a pivotal episode of Millennium because—after seventeen weeks of serial killers and odd crimes—the series makes its first (stunning) supernatural twist. Not only is Lucy Butler able to change form into a frightening, dark-haired man at will, but also, perhaps, a horrible demon straight from Hell. You know this episode means business not just for its terrifying set-piece in Frank Black’s house, wherein Jordan disappears and Catherine finds a bloody kidney on a plate in the refrigerator, but in the death of a main series character.”
—John Kenneth Muir
Reflections on Film and Television
“Chris Carter is back to script and he produces one of the scariest, creepiest installments of the entire first season. He also introduces an incredibly successful adversary for Frank and the Group—the heinous bitch witch Lucy Butler. Creating an archetypal villain is tough, but Carter finds the right combination of pragmatic and paranormal to turn Lucy into the stuff of nightmares... Along with the unexpected shock ending and a wonderfully suspenseful sequence in the Black home, this is one of the best episodes of Millennium ever.”
—Bill Gibron
DVD Talk