Millennium Season 3 Episode 19

Frank receives a series of Polaroid photographs showing the face of a drowning victim. The face is his own.

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WHEN FRANK CLAIMS THAT SOMEONE IS OUT TO KILL HIM, AUTHORITIES SUSPECT HE MAY BE HAVING A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN.

Children gather at Frank’s house to help celebrate Jordan’s birthday. As Jordan blows out the candles, Frank experiences a series of internal visions, including one in which he is trapped underwater, gasping for air. Moments later, a deliveryman brings a package to the house. Inside are Polaroid photographs.

FBI agents gather inside the conference room to hear about the case. Among them is Special Agent Del Boxer, who listens with suspicion as Frank recounts his past experiences with receiving Polaroid photographs. He tells the group that the technique was the m.o. of a killer who is now dead. Three years earlier, he began receiving the photos yet again, but the sender is believed to be deceased as well. In the past, the photos have been of his family. This time, he is the subject of the photographer’s lens. Boxer points out that the stills, which depict a drowned Frank floating in a body of water, have all been doctored with the aid of a computer. He also believes that Frank knows more than he is revealing.

Frank tells Emma that he is hiding something from his fellow agents. He describes how, as children, he and his brothers went swimming with some friends. One of the friends played a trick on Frank by yanking him under the water. One of Frank’s brothers retaliated by doing the same to one of the boys. Unfortunately, the boy didn’t resurface. The boy’s body was eventually dragged onto shore, but firemen were unable to revive him. Frank has never been able to put the incident out of his mind. That night, Frank experiences a nightmare in which the stalker attacks him with a knife. When Frank awakens, he moves towards Jordan’s bedroom to see if she is all right. Suddenly, an intruder appears. Using a Polaroid camera, the man blinds Frank with a flash. Frank then tumbles down the stairs.

Frank places Jordan in the care of her grandparents until the intruder is apprehended. However, he is unable to provide investigators a description of the intruder. This, coupled with a lack of physical evidence, leads Boxer to conclude that Frank concocted the entire story, perhaps as part of a nervous breakdown.

Frank pays Father Yahger a visit at St. Timothy’s (Yahger is familiar with Catherine through her dealings with the church). He tells the priest he feels the presence of evil. Frank confirms that he has reconciled Catherine’s passing. But when Yagher asks him if he has reconciled his own, Frank is again struck by the internal images. Frank is left speechless, as the thought had never occurred to him.

When Frank returns to his office, a mail clerk hands him an envelope. Frank immediately instructs everyone, with the exception of the clerk, to evacuate the building. He explains that anyone who came in contact with the envelope may have been exposed to a mass contagion. The incident turns out to be a false alarm, as the envelope contains a piece of mail that had been forwarded from Frank’s old address. A short time later, Frank announces that he is leaving the FBI.

Frank realizes that someone has had access to his therapist’s files. He pays the therapist a visit, and tells her that for the first time, he is experiencing how a victim feels (instead of how a killer thinks). The therapist encourages Frank to seek out those he trusts