Black's search into millennial beliefs represents a terrifying journey into the soul. The motivation of others at the seat of fear accentuates every show. The supernatural features of the storyline only partially figure into the plot. Instead, the horrors of everyday living were more indelible through its complexities especially when Frank Black had to deal with his psychic and forensic abilities. Strange and disorienting things marked the breakdown of societal institutions that seemed to go to hell in a handbasket. Religion, marriage, social mores, cultural values and politics were not immune from the plot of the show. The occult and everyday life were the threads which made each season of the show into a long novel, revealing new facets in Black's character.

Let's face it. Black displays good and evil from a unique position. Because he is able "to see and feel" impressions from the objects within his grasp and sight, he knew that his talents could lead him to serve others or work against humanity. The FBI consultant knew that everything he did was placed on a balance. He dealt with this tug-of-war that was concerned with making the right decisions. This makes Black empathetic in many ways. Since he is so intimately entertwined with tragedy, you have to care about his character as he battles the forces of darkness. He clearly represents a man hanging on the edge. As a result, he begins to retreat within himself to deal with the horrifying atmosphere of his life and work. He tries to "find himself". However, this does not lead to a happy ending. Instead, he becomes disillusioned and bitter.

This feeling carries into the December 1999 episode of the X-files. This particular show (which I talked about in "Getting Millennial") was crossed over with Millennium and served to answer some of the questions that were left hanging in the series finale. This time, Black is in a psychiatric ward and battling with his dead wife's parents for the custody of his little girl. He further becomes bitter and haunted by not only the coming of the year 2000, but with the Millennium Group--an entity he still places blame upon. Although Mulder and Scully were not able to break his despondency at first, he does regain a sense of his old self at the end of this particular program. Yet, the message of this episode still seemed to say, "one step forward, two steps back". Black does not really provide any answers to the questions which haunt him. Instead, he reluctantly goes back to his own affiliations to at least get some good revenge for losing the people who mattered to him through the machinations of this "rogue FBI community". Even though Black does achieve some sense of calm, let's hope that this isn't the end of his character. There are still more avenues to stretch the subliminal levels of his inner psychology. It is these deeper aspects of his character that lead to some conclusions of how to picture this program as a whole.

No matter how things progresssed throughout the program, you find out in the end that everything has a reason: Emma Hollis selling out to the Millennial Group to save her father from Alzheimer's disease; Lara Means finally letting her psychic abilities send her into madness; Black losing his wife to the Ebola-like virus that the Millennium Group releases; the dark side of Petter Watts...