Millennium 5C20: “A Room with No View”
The Millennial Abyss | Episodes | Season Two
“A Room with No View” (5C20)
Written by Ken Horton
Directed by Thomas J. Wright
Edited by George R. Potter
Aired April 24, 1998
Summary
Clues in the disappearance of a bright and outgoing teenage boy point to Frank Black’s nemesis: the unearthly, seductive Lucy Butler.
Synopsis
In Oregon, a young man tunnels his way out of a farmhouse and escapes into the darkened countryside. He spots what appears to be an abandoned Chevy Impala parked alongside a road. As the young man attempts to jump start the car by opening the hood and hot-wiring the motor, it suddenly springs to life. The unseen driver runs over the young man's legs, halting his escape. A dark female form and a Long-Haired Man approach their victim. The Long-Haired Man tosses the screaming body into the trunk of the car.
Meanwhile, at James K. Polk High School in Seattle, two 18-year-old friends, Landon Bryce and Howard Gordon, meet guidance counselor Teresa Roe. During the discussion, Bryce urges Gordon to apply to college — this despite Roe's assessment that Gordon's grade point average is too mediocre to worth bothering. The conversation escalates into a loud argument until Landon accuses Roe of being a failure. That night, an intruder breaks into the Bryce home. Gordon dies, and Bryce is kidnapped.
As Frank and Giebelhouse observe, a pathologist rules that Gordon died as the result of a coronary. But further neurological evidence indicates the heart attack was triggered by fear. Frank travels to the Bryce home, where he observes Landon's bedroom. He is struck by internal visions of the Gehenna Devil and Lucy Butler, the woman who murdered Bletcher. Meanwhile, the Long-Haired Man drags a bound-and-gagged Bryce into the remote country farmhouse. The teenager is thrown into a room, where he is spoken to by the female form. The woman tells Bryce that she loves him. A short time later, Bryce realizes he has a cell mate — the Screwed-Up Guy who attempted to escape in the teaser.
Meanwhile, a concerned Frank attempts to contact Jordan by telephone, only to discover she is not at home. Frank tells Watts his concern stems from the fact that he sensed Lucy Butler's presence in Bryce's bedroom. Watts attempts to calm Frank's concerns by noting that a Millennium Group member, Olson, has been monitoring Butler's movements ever since she won release on suspicion of Detective Bletcher's murder. A short time later, Frank and Watts travel to Lucy's last known address — a rural farmhouse. But once inside, the pair discover Olson's rotting corpse. The men realize that Butler had gained access to Olson's Group files and then submitted her own surveillance reports.
Bryce, meanwhile, manages to rip loose a section of the door to his cell. But his escape is thwarted when the Gehenna Devil — which transforms into the Long-Haired Man — knocks him to the ground and then drags him back to the room. Lucy then cradles Bryce's head in her lap and begins the first stages of brainwashing him.
Frank decides the best hope of locating Bryce is by interviewing Teresa Roe, as the argument between her and the two teenagers was so loud it attracted the attention of others outside her office. During the conversation, Frank takes note of Roe's use of the past tense whenever she mentions Bryce's name. Afterward, Giebelhouse, Watts and Frank research Roe's background. They realize that wherever she taught school, students disappeared. Frank concludes that all of the missing teenagers were just like Bryce — ordinary kids with average grades who exhibited signs of promise.
Meanwhile, Bryce manages to gain the confidence of the Screwed-Up Guy, who is so confused mentally that he cannot remember his own name. Bryce discovers the existence of a tunnel that runs beneath the farm, the same tunnel the Screwed-Up Guy used for his escape earlier. He convinces his cell mate to join him for a break-out. The pair make their way through the tunnel, but when they emerge on the other side, they are confronted by Lucy and the Long-Haired Man. Back in the cell, a demonic Lucy tells Bryce that he is mediocre — an ordinary teenager — and the sooner he understands this concept, the better.
Meanwhile, while being interviewed by Frank, Watts and Geibelhouse, Roe espouses the same philosophy when discussing Bryce. The men surprise Roe by mentioning the name Kate Lynn. Roe claims not to recognize the name, though it soon becomes clear that she is Kate Lynn, a once-promising student. Frank accuses her of surrendering, of giving up on the hope of improving the numbers by which she and all other students are judged. Instead, she made a pact with the devil. A frightened Roe reveals the location of Lucy's farm. Shortly thereafter, police raid the location, setting free the many students kidnapped by Lucy, including Bryce and the Screwed-Up Guy. As the Screwed-Up Guy is escorted away by paramedics, he notices a photograph of himself, which is labeled with the name "Marshall Lee Lambert." But he does not recognize his own name. Frank instructs police to search everywhere for Lucy. Later, he once again phones Jordan, but upon discovering she is not at home, he leaves another message describing how much he loves her.
Starring
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Terry O'Quinn as Peter Watts
Stephen James Lang as Detective Giebelhouse
Guest Starring
Sarah-Jane Redmond as Lucy Butler
Christopher Masterson as Landon Bryce
Scott Heindl as the Long-Haired Man
Chad Todhunter as Ben
Timothy Weber as Mr. Bryce
Henri Lubatti as Dr. Stuart Sheslow
Maryangela Pino as Teresa Roe
Production Credits
Production #5C20
Music by Mark Snow
Production Designer Mark Freeborn
Director of Photography Robert McLachlan
Associate Producer Jon-Michael Preece
Consulting Producer Chip Johannessen
Consulting Producers Darin Morgan
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 Glen Morgan
Executive Producer James Wong
Executive Producer Chris Carter
Soundtrack
“Love is Blue” (1968) by Paul Mauriat
Location
Book Excerpt
“Lucy Butler’s appearance in Season Two’s stunning ‘A Room with No View’ offers the definitive depiction of the vicious immorality that defines her prominent role in that battle. Here, Butler’s allegiance to the state of chaos resonates throughout as she presides over a menagerie of teenage prisoners... This episode focuses on Butler’s effective use of her sexuality to elicit what she desires from her victims, drawing a clear parallel with the demonic mythology of Lilith and its close associations with sexuality.”
—Alexander Zelenyj
Back to Frank Black
REVIEWS
“Lucy Butler returned to vex Frank in what is certainly one of the best episodes of the series... This is just a brilliant show, featuring Malcolm in the Middle's Christopher Kennedy Masterson as one of the boys doomed to Lucy's tender, horrible ministrations. In horror movies, and horror TV shows, children always represent tomorrow or the future... If you kill or destroy the children, you are destroying the future, and this episode literalizes that metaphor. Since Millennium concerns the impending apocalypse, the end of the world by our own hands, this episode about leaders rendered 'ordinary' fits in just perfectly with the series tenets.”
—John Kenneth Muir
Reflections on Film and Television
“As played by Sarah-Jane Redmond, Butler is an enigma wrapped inside pure, unfettered evil and her plan this time around is so ambiguous and odd that it makes for a really compelling installment of the series... This is a great episode of the series, even if in retrospect it doesn’t appear to have very much to do with the mythology or monsters being explored.”
—Bill Gibron
DVD Talk
“A Room with No View” print ad.