text: lamentation ( millennium ) " ' lamentation " is the eighteenth episode of the first season of the american crime - thriller television series millennium . it premiered on the fox network on april 18 , 1997 . the episode was written by series creator chris carter and directed by winrich kolbe . " lamentation " featured guest appearances by bill smitrovich and alex diakun , and introduced sarah - jane redmond as lucy butler . millennium group consultant frank black ( lance henriksen ) searches for an escaped convict he had helped to catch , believing that the criminal 's new wife lucy butler ( redmond ) may be helping him . however , butler may instead be a much greater threat to black and his family than he had anticipated . " lamentation " marked the death of recurring character bob bletcher , played by smitrovich . smitrovich had appeared intermittently since " pilot " . the episode has been well - received critically , described as a " pivotal point " in the series . it was viewed by approximately 6 . 5 million households in its original broadcast . plot millennium group consultant frank black ( lance henriksen ) and seattle police department detective bob bletcher ( bill smitrovich ) are hiking across the north cascades when black receives an urgent page from the federal bureau of investigation . travelling to the behavioral sciences unit , black learns that serial killer ephraim fabricant ( alex diakun ) has escaped from a hospital while donating a kidney to his sister . fabricant was arrested and convicted due to the profile constructed by black ; although he was spared execution when black asked for leniency in order to allow fabricant 's mind to be studied . fellow millennium group member peter watts ( terry o 'quinn ) informs black that , before his escape , fabricant had married a correspondent he met through a prison pen - pal service . watts and black interview the woman , lucy butler ( sarah - jane redmond ) , at her home . butler is adamant she has not seen or heard from fabricant since his escape . however , black finds information on butler 's computer which he believes is linked to his own home address ; and photographs of a judge who he recognizes as having been murdered . elsewhere , fabricant is being operated on by a nurse whose face is hidden ; she removes the staples from his surgical incision . black and watts return to butler 's home with a search warrant , having discovered that butler 's young son had been killed with cyanide , and she had been suspected of the murder ; the judge had also been poisoned with the same substance . fabricant is found in a hospital emergency room , collapsing from his injuries . a doctor examines him and discovers his second kidney has been removed — without anaesthesia . black 's home telephone number is found on fabricant 's hospital bracelet . back at black 's home , his wife catherine ( megan gallagher ) finds a human kidney in her refrigerator . a strange man appears at the top of her staircase , and she runs to find her husband 's gun , which is missing . bletcher arrives , letting catherine know that her daughter jordan is safe outside with a colleague of his . he searches the house for the intruder , finding butler instead . as a bolt of lightning illuminates the scene , her face has distorted into that of a demon . giebelhouse ( stephen j. lang ) later discovers bletcher 's body hanging from a ceiling post , with his throat cut . meanwhile , fabricant warns black that he was taken from the hospital and operated on by the " sum of all evil " ; fabricant also warns that this entity knows who black is and what he is capable of . returning home , black discovers that butler was arrested elsewhere for a motoring offence , but was released without charge . black takes his daughter jordan hiking over the same north cascades trail he and bletcher had visited earlier . production " lamentation " was the third of four episodes helmed by director winrich kolbe , who had previously worked on " force majeure " and " kingdom come " , and would return later in the first season for " broken world " . the episode was written by series creator chris carter . beyond creating the concept for millennium , carter would write a total of six other episodes for the series in addition to " lamentation " — three in the first season , and a further three in the third season . the character ephraim fabricant was named for real - life murderer valery , a mechanical engineering professor who shot dead four of his colleagues in what became known as the concordia university massacre . in addition , the character 's back - story and demise were both intended to echo the case of jack the ripper — both were believed to be medically trained , while the use of fabricant 's kidney to send a message is based on the from hell letter , sent to the police by the ripper along with one of his victims ' kidneys . the episode features the death of the character bob bletcher . smitrovich had first portrayed bletcher in " pilot " , appearing intermittently throughout the first season . smitrovich 's final appearance would be in the following episode , " powers , principalities , thrones and dominions " . " lamentation " also introduces the character lucy butler , who would return in " powers , principalities , thrones and dominions " , as well as in the second season episode " a room with no view " , and the third season episodes " antipas " and " saturn dreaming of mercury " . redmond , admittedly a fan of carter and recurring series director david nutter , had initially auditioned for another episode of the first season , set to be directed by nutter . redmond did not get the part she auditioned for but was instead contacted about portraying a minor recurring role instead , which led to her casting as butler . broadcast and reception " lamentation " was first broadcast on the fox network on april 18 , 1997 . the episode earned a nielsen rating of 6 . 7 during its original broadcast , meaning that 6 . 7 percent of households in the united states viewed the episode . this represented 6 . 5 million households , and left the episode the fifty - seventh most - viewed broadcast that week . the episode received positive reviews from critics . the a.v. club 's todd vanderwerff rated the episode an a , describing it as " an episode where the show crystallizes and clarifies its central mission " . vanderwerff felt that episode 's first half was " bland " and " fairly staid " , but that its second half compensated for this , becoming " one of the best episodes of horror tv i ’ ve ever seen " . bill gibron , writing for dvd talk , rated the episode 5 out of 5 , calling it " one of the scariest , creepiest installments of the entire first season " . gibron felt that " with the unexpected shock ending and a wonderfully suspenseful sequence in the black home , this is one of the best episodes of millennium " . robert shearman and lars pearson , in their book wanting to believe : a critical guide to the x - files , millennium & the lone gunmen , rated " lamentation " five stars out of five , finding its first act to be " a classic piece of misdirection " . shearman felt that " lamentation " was " an intentional jolt to the show " , describing it as " a pivotal point " in a series which had been " radically redefining itself " .