Monster (Millennium)

The episode has been well received by critics, and earned guest star Lauren Diewold a nomination at the 1998 Young Artist Awards.

Millennium Group consultant Frank Black (Lance Henriksen) travels to Springdale, Arkansas, to investigate allegations of child abuse brought against a daycare owner, Penny Plott (Mary Gillis).

Before he leaves Seattle, he takes his daughter Jordan (Brittany Tiplady) shopping for shoes but chastises her when she begins acting out for attention.

In Arkansas, sheriff's deputy Bill Sherman (Chris Owens) discovers bite marks on his son's skin after he returns home from the daycare.

Meanwhile, in Seattle, Black's wife Catherine (Megan Gallagher) takes Jordan to the dentist after she spits blood while brushing her teeth.

As they speak, Barkabow begins screaming and accuses Black of harming her; after he leaves the room she hits herself in the face and breaks her jaw.

The episode was the sixth to have been written by Morgan and Wong, after the duo had penned "Dead Letters", "522666" and "The Thin White Line" in the first season,[1] and "The Beginning and the End" and "Beware of the Dog" in the second.

Darin's music has been noted by Millennium's resident composer Mark Snow as a hallmark of the works of Morgan and Wong, and would also appear in the episodes "Beware of the Dog" and "Sense and Antisense".

Gibron also felt positively about the increasingly plot-driven nature of the series, describing Morgan and Wong's developments as a "complex, completely innovative mythology".

[14] Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, rated "Monster" four stars out of five, describing it as "a brave story well told".

Shearman praised Diewold's guest appearance, and felt that the introduction of Lara Means was a positive addition, although it caused the character of Catherine to seem increasingly needless.