While I certainly consider Mike Atkins (Robin Gammell) going into the warehouse/facility of the episode's killer at the end alone a questionable decision, it sure produces that horrifying feeling of dread, particularly when trapped in the "industrial microwave" that had been used to burn to ash victims determined too weak to be of a doomsday's cult's legion. While the doomsday's cult's leader, often only shown wearing night-vision goggles while spying on future victims, is of little note, Frank's mission to "catch the bad man" leaves us with a story arc focus, included in the continued sidebar concern of the photographer/stalker keeping tabs on his wife and daughter. Atkins, much like Frank, Peter Watts (returning Terry O'Quinn), and Jim Penseyres (Chris Evans, the sheriff in one of my favorite X-Files episodes, "Quagmire"), is a member of the Millennium Group, needing to identify the human monster responsible for spreading human ash across gardens and greenery in San Francisco. Finding an ear, Peter calls in Frank to help with the investigation in a peculiar case where a missing young man, Eedo Bolow (Stephen Holmes), might very well be who it belongs to. Eedo was part of a cult masquerading as a telemarketing firm for hair products (!), as a projection on white dictates a philosophy to follow (similar to what you might see through the particular shades in John Carpenter's "They Live") in their "work room". Frank, as established in the pilot, can see scattered, horrific images of what happened to Eedo, visualizing what looks like a scary LSD trip, including a wolf-like beast with snarling fangs. Frank's concerns for his family return as he speaks to Atkins who performed various tests on and studied the photographs, sharing "notes" on the predator's pathology and what might be the motive or rationale behind the letter directed for him specifically...the fear or terror is towards Frank, provoking worry that could eventually consume him. What I really liked about the episode's focus on this sidebar is how Catherine speaks to Bob Bletcher (sent over by Frank to her house just to see that she was okay) about Frank's barely escaping a previous episode regarding photographs threatening his family. Frank had talked about this in the pilot, but getting Catherine's side was also important. The show makes an effort to always return us to Frank and his family, never failing to remind us that their safety and importance to him is top priority...but the cases that often request his attention and participation are an engine that drives him to use his skills to remove those who are evil even as he never feels satisfied that doing so will ever stop its existence in the world. Yes, there is use of biblical and Hebrew within the focus on evil and how it functions as a force and presence in the world (the title of the episode describes a place of misery, torment, and horror; Frank researches scripture from the Holy Bible), but I think even if you aren't a believer, the show does question whether or not all the spiritual subtext can truly be considered or whether or not man is just simply driven by his own "cold heart and weakness". The style remains dark and foreboding, certainly a recurring visual direction that allows the show to apply how everything is seen according to its tone. This will be a turnoff and off-putting for those not always wanting to watch a show completely covered in darkness and horror. I'm an audience for the show, myself, but I could very well see why this wouldn't be every viewer's sort of content. Henriksen remains a captivating lead, very subtle and restrained in how his character takes in what he experiences and speaks to others about them.
Review of Gehenna
