Millennium 4C20: “Maranatha”
The Millennial Abyss | Episodes | Season One
“Maranatha” (4C20)
Written by Chip Johannessen
Directed by Peter Markle
Edited by Chris Willingham, A.C.E.
Aired May 9, 1997
Summary
In Brighton Beach, Frank Black joins forces with a Moscow cop to investigate gruesome slayings linked to the Chernobyl disaster and a man the Russian people believe to be the antichrist.
Epigraph
“Behold ye scoffers, For I will work wonders in your days, which ye will not believe.”
Synopsis
In the Brighton Beach area of New York City, a man named Yaponchik kills a Russian Elder by shooting him in the face with a 12 gauge pistol. It becomes the third such killing in which the perpetrator mutilated the body to prevent positive identification. Frank assists N.Y.P.D. Lieutenant McCormick, Yura Surova, from the Moscow Police Department, and undercover officer Andrei Medikov with the investigation. While inspecting the Elder's corpse, Frank notices an odd mark in the shape of a inverted "V." But he is unable, at first, to determine its meaning.
Frank enters the Novgorod, a nightclub frequented by Russians, where Yura and Andrei are supposedly working undercover. Yura approaches Frank, and while they talk, a man known as Yaponchik sits down with Andrei and points a 12 gauge pistol at his face. One of the Russian clubgoers recognizes Yaponchik, and calls out his name. Suddenly, a stampede of screaming people rush for the exit. During the confusion, a shot rings out. Frank rushes to the table where Andrei was sitting, and discovers his faceless body on the ground.
Yura explains to Frank that the name 'Yaponchik' is synonymous with evil, a kind of Russian bogeyman. Later, Watts confirms that the symbol discovered on a victim's body is a portion of the monogram of Christ. He also states the Russian people believe Yaponchik was responsible for Chernobyl, a disaster some believe is predicted in the Bible. Frank examines a photograph of Yura and Andrei standing next to one another at Chernobyl. He realizes both men were at the power plant in 1986, and both believed in the Yaponchik prophesy. Later, he accuses Yura of staking out the night club for the sole purpose of assassinating their prey—the mythological Yaponchik.
A priest identifies one of the killer's victims as a woman who restores religious icons. Frank, Watts and the priest inspect the woman's loft, where they discover several parcels wrapped for shipment, addressed to the Russian Consulate. Frank realizes the dead woman had discovered Yaponchik's identity, and was sending him religious icons as an offering. Frank also concludes that the man known as Yaponchik killed his victims to fuel the myth of his existence—creating even more terror amongst those who believe in the prophesy.
Frank and Watts pay a visit to the Russian Embassy, where they deliver an icon to the man the parcels were addressed to: Sergei Stepanovich. They address him as Yaponchik, who tells them they are fools for believing Russian superstition. Later, Lieutenant McCormick warns Frank and Watts that Stepanovich is protected by diplomatic immunity and cannot be prosecuted even if he is the man responsible for the murders. Frank concludes that Yura, Andrei and the Priest were all stalking (who they believe is) the Antichrist.
Yaponchik kills two more men inside a Russian bath house, but this time Yura is there. Yura steps forward with a gun pointed at Yaponchik's head. Yaponchik tells him he can't kill him. Yura shoots Yaponchik in the head, mortally wounding him.
Near death, Yaponchik is rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. As Frank observes the carnage at the bath house, he realizes Yaponchik received the same mortal head wound as predicted in the Book of Revelation. Prophesy dictates that the Antichrist is man who will miraculously survive a fatal head wound. Fearing Yaponchik's wound might heal, Frank and Watts make their way to the hospital. Yura, however, arrives first. He approaches Yaponchik's bedside, pulls out his gun and prepares to shoot his enemy once again. But Yaponchik convinces him that he is "not the one." Accepting his words, Yura lowers the weapon and helps Yaponchik access the hospital's Medevac pad.
Frank, Watts and the Lieutenant rush to the rooftop, but the a barred security gate blocks their access. As a helicopter lands on the roof, Frank shouts to Yura through the security gate, urging him not to board the craft. Several broad-faced men step from the helicopter and usher Yaponchik on board. Several other men attempt to grab Yura and pull him away, but Yura grabs onto Frank and the gate. One of the Broad-Faced men starts to pull a gun from his belt, but the Lieutenant and two other officers draw their weapons in a stand-off. The Broad-Faced men retreat to the helicopter, which soars off into the sky.
Starring
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Terry O’Quinn as Peter Watts
Guest Starring
Bill Nunn as Lt. McCormick
Boris Krutonog as Yura Surova
Levani Outchaneichvili as Yaponchik
Michael Aniol as Priest
Dmitri Boudrine as Andrei Pietrovich Melnikov
Michael Cram as Paramedic
Bill Croft as Broadface
Brian Downey as Medical Examiner
Roger Haskett as E.R. Doctor
Beverly Pales as Torch Singer
Production Credits
Production #4C20
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
“Season One also gives us Yaponchik (Levani), the antagonist of ‘Maranatha,’ reputedly a Russian bogeyman and presented as an invulnerable Antichrist figure modeled upon real life Russian Mafia member Vyacheslav Ivankov, who was known by the same nickname.”
—Alexander Zelenyj
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REVIEWS
“The season comes to a satisfying thematic end in 'Maranatha,' which deals with the myth of the Russian antichrist Yaponchik in big, bold style. Frank’s final line of dialogue in the episode, 'He is coming soon,' foreshadows the tragic events of the season’s hasty coda, 'The Paper Dove.’”
—Keith Uhlich
Slant Magazine
“If one needs to be reminded of it, there is an even more epic canvas to Millennium than even The X-Files has ever managed to reach. Yes, the truth may be out there and the Syndicate’s plans to help alien colonists may be linked to the evolution of man and all that, but those plans and ideas are so tangible and easy to grasp... Evil? That’s more opaque, and while Millennium has been comfortable putting its evil into handcuffs, it’s now opened up the floodgates to having antagonists where to do so is ridiculous because, let’s face it, how can one put a demon or the devil into a jail cell? It’s meant that going into the end of its first season, Millennium has made its corner of the Ten Thirteen-verse even darker than it looked to be at first glimpse, and you have to admire the bravery of a series that promised to be dark with its very first episode and then proceeds to top that darkness before it reaches its final episode.”
—Eamon Hennedy
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