I have just seen the director's cut of "Chrysalis," which will
be the
last episode of this season...and I think it has just displaced
"Sky" as the
most heavy-weight episode of the season. Even knowing what was
coming, I just
sat here, stunned, at the end of it. Seeing dailies, bits and
pieces, doesn't
really prepare you for the whole thing.

What I like most about it are two things: one, by about
halfway in, you
really begin to understand that anything can happen, to anyone, and
the rules
that normally carry you through a television episode no longer
apply. It's a
very dangerous, dislocating feeling. Two: you get the very real
feeling that,
after this episode, nothing is the same anymore. The show has
taken a very
profound and *irrevocable* turn that will have lasting effects on
all of our
characters. Of all the episodes so far, this one has the most
feeling of
being the chapter end in a novel.

The really hard part will not avoiding the temptation to show
this to
people...because it really can't be allowed to get out prior to
airing. There
are too many twists and turns and revelations that spin one off
into another.

One other thing's certain: after you've seen "Chrysalis,"
you're going to
want to go back and check out three prior episodes...because
something that
you will have read/interpreted one way, without question or
hesitation
accepting it as what it obviously appears to be, will suddenly be
turned on
its head, and a brand new interpretation will emerge. And it's
*real*
creepy....


jms