The episode opens with images from outer space, the life of a comet. The same comet appears in the night sky Frank Black is staring into, causing him to contemplate his own destiny and the relevance of the celestial body. In his monologue Frank is considering the "life" of a comet and it's analogous relationship to our own existence. Referring to his immediate state, Frank asks, "is this the beginning or the end?"
As seen in the previous season's cliffhanger... At the Seattle airport, Frank carries a sleeping Jordan out to the car as Catherine waits near the baggage carousel to retrieve their luggage. Posing as a solicitor, the Polaroid Man approaches Catherine. Using a hypodermic needle, he drugs her and escorts (drags) her to the airport parking lot and then secures her inside a hidden compartment beneath his automobile. As a frantic Frank alerts airport security about his wife's disappearance, the Polaroid Man gets away. He makes his way to a high bluff, where he gazes upon the same two-tailed comet seen in the Teaser. A sheriff on routine patrol questions the stranger about his activities. The Polaroid man explains that the comet is an omen pertaining to the Millennial outcome.
Meanwhile, key Millennium Group members arrive at the airport having never been contacted by Frank... After an unsuccessful visit to a roadblock in search of Catherine's kidnapper, Frank returns home to Jordan. As he sits by her bedside Jordan assures her father that Angels are in her room. In an intimate conversation Frank tells Watts and powerlessness. He wonders out loud what he must sacrifice to have Catherine back safely. Watts relates a story about a time when he and his wife were attempting to have another child (Watts had always wanted a boy). One day, Watts was assigned a case involving a murdered baby boy whose dismembered body was found inside a cooler. Watts came to believe that if he could find the child's killer, he would be rewarded with a son. Wanting to uphold his end of his pact with God, he would not allow his wife to get pregnant. Today, he has three daughters but still no son. He tells Frank that he doubts it is possible to sacrifice one thing to get another. Meanwhile, the Polaroid Man ties Catherine to a support beam inside his dark cellar.
Watts instructs two Millennium Group members, computer aficianados Brian Roedecker and Dicky Bird Perkins, to install a special security system on Frank's computer. Watts explains that Frank is now ready to receive more sensitive information. This comes as a surprise to Frank, who thought that he had been privy to all of the group's files. Watts then tells Frank that the Polaroid Man's interest in him is due to the Millennium Group's interest in him -- but he stops short of a full explanation.
After exhausting all of his usual resources and hypotheses in tracking down Catherine's abductor, Frank realizes that answers to the profile lie within himself. As he turns from the information about the Polaroid Man to his own personal history he begins to find clues to Catherine's whereabouts. A series of numbers flash within Frank's mind. They are the address of a house his and Catherine's former home. On his insistence, police raid the house, but find it abandoned. Frank remains there and eventually discovers a clue, another Polaroid of another house. Using his computer, Frank pinpoints the house's location. Unable to organize a second police raid, Frank sets out to rescue his wife alone, and armed.
As Frank descends into the dark basement he finds Catherine hanging from the low ceiling, her hands tied above her. Before he can do anything to help her he is blinded by the flash from a Polaroid camera. He opens fire. The Polaroid Man lunges from the darkness and stabs Frank in the shoulder. A struggle ensues, the camera is activated and flashes over and over, documenting the fight. Frank seizes the knife and drives it into the Polaroid Man again and again, killing him. Catherine must turn away, as if she does not recognize her own husband. Later, as she packs her husband's belongings into a suitcase she tells Frank it seemed as if he had sacrificed something for the safety of Jordan and herself. She asks for time and distance to see if it can ever be returned. Frank leaves the house, bags in hand, and drives off into the night.
Credits
Title meaning: Quite simply, refers to the verses that the Polaroid Man repeat to Catherine: "I am the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."
Original airdate: 09/19/97
Cast:
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Megan Gallagher as Catherine Black
Brittany Tiplady as Jordan Black
Guest Cast:
Terry O'Quinn as Peter Watts
Doug Hutchison as Polaroid Man
Allan Zinyk as Roedecker
Drew Reichelt as Dicky Bird Perkins
Judith Maxie as Finley
Alexander Ruurs as German Kid
Martin Comtois as Hare Krishna
Francis Boyle as Airport Security
Mitch Kosterman as Viewpoint Cop
Alan Robertson as Elderly Man
Norman Armour as Suited Man
Sheri Kowall as Female Officer
John Dadey as State Trooper
Jake T. Roberts as Police Officer
Patricia Mayen-Salazar as Lady from Washroom
Klodyne Rodney as Airport Parking Attendant
Marek Wiedman as the FBI Special Agent
Music By Mark Snow
Written By the illustrious Glen Morgan and the magnanimous James Wong
Directed By Thomas Wright
Song Credits
"Life During Wartime" - The Talking Heads
