Directed by Thomas J. Wright. Written by Ken Horton.

EPISODE RATING: (1 to 4) **1/2

Teenager Landon Bryce (Christopher Kennedy Masterson, the elder sibling from Malcolm In The Middle) vanishes from his family house, while his best friend, Howard Gordon, is found there dead, seemingly of fear. Frank, Giebelhouse and Watts are on the investigation, and Black suddenly gets the feeling (and visions) that Lucy Butler (Sarah-Jane Redmond)  is involved. Watts says there is no apparent connection between this case and the woman who murdered Lt. Bob Bletcher, yet Frank is utterly convinced. Watts reveals that Millennium have been keeping tabs on Butler since she was released from police custody for lack of evidence, and she has had a quiet, law abiding existence. 

Elsewhere, Landon has found himself trapped in a cell-like room, held for no apparent reason by a woman, Butler, and a mysterious man he hasn't really seen. There are other young people locked up in the same building, including an odd guy sharing his room. 

'Lamentation' was one of the first season's highpoints, and the idea of bringing back the demonic Lucy Butler was a superb one. The death of Bletcher hit Frank (and maybe the audience) hard, and a sequel would allow our hero emotional, and legal, closure to the situation. But does 'A Room With No Room' stand as a worthy followup? Well, yes and no.

You'd be forgiven in thinking this episode would be a battle of wits between these two opponents. That would have been the most logical way to go. But this is, after all, Millennium, and so the practical and predictable really doesn't come into play. I think we lose out by not having a face to face confrontation between Frank and Butler here. Even a creepy phone call or something from Butler to Frank would have been great. Still, enough with what's not here.

The show has a lot of merits. Firstly, the idea that Butler is back automatically gives the proceedings an eerie mood. You just know there's gonna be some glimpses of her demonic guise (or her true self, if you will). It's easy to see why poor Howard Gordon is frightened to death early on. Again, Redmond does a spellbindingly creepy job of making Lucy unassuming and disturbing at the same time.

The scenes of Landon trapped inside Butler's home are fairly effective, if underwhelming. There is the expected claustrophobic feel, and the repeated playings of a certain "elevator music" song is a nice touch, like the use of the oldie "Wonderful" in the classic X-Files hour 'Home'. Here, Butler uses it as part of her brain washing techniques, and I know I'd be driven insane having to listen to it over and over again. Though, from an audience's point of view, a little goes a long way, even on a single episode. 

One of the best moments in the show comes from Peter and Frank's investigation of Butler's home. They don't find Lucy, but they do find out what happened to the Group member assigned to keep an eye on her. This is a chilling bit where, like the murder of Bletch last season, we see just how far she'll go. Not that anything she does at this point would surprise us. Then again, a revelation about her in one of the final scenes does provide a surprise about her past. 

Strangely, this episode lacks a real sense of urgency and drive considering we're dealing with a manhunt for a missing person (many persons after a while). This show's energy level is too low, and as a result the audience may find themselves attention waning at times. Millennium often uses slow pacing to tell it's story, but in this case it's somewhat misplaced. 

In the end, 'A Room With No View' is worth watching to see Butler's return (although we really can't figure out exactly what she's trying to do here), but sadly not what it could have been.