Millennium 5C22: “The Fourth Horseman”
The Millennial Abyss | Episodes | Season Two
“The Fourth Horseman” (5C22)
Written by Glen Morgan & James Wong
Directed by Dwight Little
Edited by Jim Thomson
Aired May 8, 1998
Summary
Frank Black takes a stand against the Millennium Group over its secrecy and its apparent involvement with a virulent contagion to which he and Peter Watts have been exposed.
Epigraphs
“So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given to them over the fourth of the Earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death... and by the beasts of the earth.”
“How long, Lord—how long will the wicked triumph?”
Synopsis
In Wisconsin, in 1986, a farmer discovers thousands of dead birds inside his chicken coup warehouse, pools of blood encircling each cage. The farmer races for a phone, but collapses on his hands and knees, black papules having grown over his lymph nodes.
In the current day, Frank receives a visit from Richard Gilbert, an ex-FBI agent. Richard offers Frank the opportunity to join his "security dream team," which is nicknamed the Trust. Their conversation is interrupted by news that Frank's father has passed away. Frank, Catherine and Jordan attend the funeral, where Jordan asks questions about death. When Frank returns home, he attempts to contact Lara, but his messages go unanswered.
The body of a thirty-two year old man, Jason Molgilny, is discovered on the shore of a remote lake. Six pints of blood have spilled from the body, but there is no evidence of foul play. A pathologist, Dr. Schroeder, determines that the victim drowned in his own blood, possibly from a viral infection that overtook his body in a matter of minutes. The pathologist orders everyone who came in contact with the victim, including Frank and Watts, to be quarantined pending blood and cell sample analysis.
Sitting in his quarantine cell, Frank phones Watts and accuses him — and the Millennium Group — of knowing what caused the victim's death. During the conversation, Watts begins reciting passages from the Book of Revelation with an almost psychotic fervor. A short time later, a team of physicians wearing hazmat suits enters Frank's cell. Frank notices something peculiar about the men, but isn't quite able to pinpoint the cause for his concern. A physician wearing a plain lab coat enters the cell. He explains that both Frank and Watts appear to be normal, and no known infectious agent could be located in their blood. When Frank is released, he tells Richard he is prepared to accept his offer and join the Trust. But he explains that he cannot leave the Group without "rescuing" his friends.
As the Davis family enjoys a chicken barbecue, family members are suddenly overcome by seizures. One by one they drop to the ground, seemingly sweating blood.
Catherine tells Frank that Jordan has been experiencing recurring nightmares in which a group of "bad men" enter a jungle. Shortly thereafter, angry monkeys, covered with blood, emerge from the trees. Eventually, within the dream, Jordan sees no one else in the world other than her parents, who are in a cabin in the woods. Catherine is at a loss to explain how a six-year-old girl could concoct such imagery. Frank considers the dream... then asks Catherine to find a doctor she can trust, one willing to perform some secret tests. When Catherine protests that the tests would aid the Group, Frank agrees that the Group is, in all likelihood, a cult. Unwilling to allow Jordan to grow up without a father, Frank promises Catherine he will quit the Group and return to the yellow house, where they will live as a family as soon as he finishes one last task. Catherine arranges for Frank to meet with a doctor. He instructs the physician to perform some tests and keep the results a secret.
Richard performs some surveillance work, and learns that Watts has been in contact with Lara Means. Frank drives to a remote location where Lara is believed to be living. After overcoming a security man, Frank secretly makes his way through a wooded area, and observes a scene through binoculars. He discovers Watts presiding over a ceremony, one in which Lara is being inducted into the Millennium Group.
Frank buys Jordan a parakeet, believing it will help her deal with her feelings. He also asks her about the dreams. Jordan tells him, "we should leave the monkeys in the trees."
Eventually, Frank makes contact with Watts. He tells him that the mysterious team wearing the hazmat suits injected them both with a vaccine while they were in quarantine. He also tells Watts that the Group is an illusion, one not interested in the end of the world, but in controlling it. Watts admits the Group is not who he is but came to him at a moment in his life when he was most vulnerable (when he discovered the body of a decapitated boy floating in a cooler on a lake). Frank encourages Watts to help him investigate the Group. Watts responds by stating that if he should do so, and his motives are discovered, he will be killed. He also predicts the exact moment an earthquake will strike. He tells Frank that if his prediction should come true, he must accept the offering to become a full member of the Group, with "no more questions or doubts."
As the clock strikes 4:13 a.m., Frank receives a phone call from Lara. She tells him that there is no need to doubt the Group or its intentions. The connection suddenly goes dead and seconds later, as Watts had predicted, an earthquake rattles the city. As Frank moves through his house, he notices the parakeet, dead in its cage.
TO BE CONTINUED
Starring
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Megan Gallagher as Catherine Black
Brittany Tiplady as Jordan Black
Terry O'Quinn as Peter Watts
Guest Starring
Kristen Cloke as Lara Means
Glenn Morshower as Richard Gilbert
David Longworth as Farmer Duffy
Bill Dow as Dr. Schroeder
Leslie Hopps as Susan Davis
Boyan Vukelic as Greg Davis
Anna Hagan as Barbara Davis
Terence Kelly as Gordon Davis
Curtis Bechdholt as Tim Davis
Gerry MacKay as the Physician
Eileen Pedde as Dr. Mariam Greenwald
Max Wyman as the Group Member
Fred Henderson as Agent Russell
Production Credits
Production #5C22
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
“I'll Never Fall in Love Again” (1969) by Dionne Warwick
“In the Year 2525” (1969) by Zager & Evans
Location
Book Excerpt
“‘In the Year 2525’ serves as a sort of through-line between ‘The Fourth Horseman’ and ‘The Time is Now’... The song plays on radios during an autopsy and in the Blacks’ yellow house, nagging at the viewer with its hints of something awful on the way... the song embodies Frank’s helplessness to stop the outbreak or protect his wife from it as the music whisks along from verse to verse, changing keys as it leaps a thousand years in a few seconds with each new verse.”
—Joe Tangari
Back to Frank Black
REVIEWS
“Going out with a one-two punch that many dramatic series would die for, let alone ever imagine they could pull off, Millennium dives deep into the apocalyptic tone hinted at throughout the entire season when an Ebola-like plague erupts... In order to make all this work, in order to get us directly into the frame of fear of both the virus and the various obtuse Group attributes, we need a strong leader, and Henriksen is indeed that amazing man. Unlike previous episodes where he played a quasi-insider looking out, he is completely alone here and we, as the audience, take his scared, scarred side immediately.”
—Bill Gibron
DVD Talk
“Throughout both episodes, there’s a sense of things taking that turn, rounding that corner, then sliding inexorably toward the cliff... It’s there, as Catherine Black heads into the woods to die alone, as Jordan curls up next to her father as his mind slowly short circuits, as we hear the noises of a civilization utterly falling apart, that the full weight of these two episodes becomes apparent... This finale, honestly, may be one of the four or five best cinematic depictions of the end of the world ever filmed.”
—Emily St. James
The AV Club
“‘The Fourth Horseman’ and ‘The Time is Now’ combine to form one of the most interesting and compelling finalés ever produced. The two-parter is the perfect conclusion to the second season of Millennium... Closing out the second season of Millennium with the end of the world was a bold decision, but one that speaks highly of Morgan and Wong... It is damn fine television, and a testament to the skill of all of those involved.”
—Darren Mooney
The Movie Blog
“The Fourth Horseman” print ad.