Second Sight: “Dead Letters”

“Dead Letters” (8 November 1996)

Writers: Glen Morgan & James Wong

Director: Thomas J. Wright

Editor: Chris Willingham, A.C.E.

Quote: “Do you know all about bad dreams?” –Jordan Black looks to her father for comfort

Overview: “Dead Letters” is a powerful and affecting story largely because of Jim Horn, the prospective profiler played with such tragic desperation by guest star James Morrison. Horn serves as a brilliantly effective foil for Frank Black; he is a flawed and wounded character who, by contrast, shows us what is so special about Millennium’s singular hero. Horn is utterly incapable of the sort of incredible insights that have been harnessed by Frank Black. In attempting to avoid problematic descriptors such as “paranormal” or “supernatural” in discussions regarding Frank Black’s gift, Chris Carter has often described the profiler’s abilities as “empathic” in nature. It is that uncommon empathy for his fellow man, that selfless willingness to become one with the thoughts and feelings of both victims and killers, which shows Frank to be such an exceptional hero. “Dead Letters” reveals just how essential empathy is to the equation by progressively eroding Horn’s own facility for emotional and intellectual identification. Without the empathetic connection, Horn is blinded and soon becomes a reckless and vengeful man who is only able to see the serial killer they seek as a dimensionless bogeyman. “These killers can’t be simply cases or psychological anomalies anymore,” Horn bemoans. “They’re just… monsters. Just monsters.”

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