What the Killer Sees: Chris Carmody

In the previous edition of What the Killer Sees, school shooting spree killer Brant Carmody came under the psychological spotlight. Whilst his death seemed initially to be the suicide of a guilt-ridden killer, soon the sinister motives and misguided beliefs of those close to him revealed a yet more disturbing truth. In this instalment we delve back into the same gripping episode--as scripted by upcoming interviewees Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz--in order to profile none other than the teenager’s father…

Killer: Chris Carmody (Robert Wisden)

Episode: “TEOTWAWKI” (16 October 1998)

Writers: Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz

Director: Thomas J. Wright

Quote: “Is that what it takes to save the world? Killing your own flesh and blood? Saving the strong and letting the weak die?” --Frank Black

Profile: Few of Millennium’s antagonists quite fulfil the “End is Nigh” billboard-wearing, underground bunker-dwelling profile like Chris Carmody and his associates. It is a character we all know well enough: those fearing the end of days to such a deep extent that they would secretly hoard tinned food, weaponry, generators and the like to ensure that they and their loved ones survive the inevitable apocalypse to come. But what is the psychological profile of such a person?

Certainly Carmody cannot be equated with a full-scale cultist such as Ricardo Clement, but nevertheless his actions are founded within an unshakeable certainty in his beliefs. These beliefs are not based upon some religious faith in the End Times, however, but rather are cemented in a seemingly much more tangible threat that failures in technology on the turn of the millennium will trigger society’s collapse. What lies behind such an obsessional fear of the anarchy that would rise in its wake? An isolationist viewpoint and an inherent lack of trust in others for certain. But maybe there is something yet more fundamentally human that lies beneath such fears. Fear of the apocalypse can be seen to mirror the fear of our own mortality, with even the more outlandish doomsday scenarios standing as reminders of our own inescapable death. All things must die, everyone and everything is ultimately destined to be lost to us. It seems more than feasible that fears over “The End Of The World As We Know It” are a dramatic projection of those thoughts regarding our own mortality onto the world we live in. Carmody’s is a mind broken, lost to such thoughts.

The depth of Carmody’s convictions are surely most apparent in his willingness to murder his own son, seemingly in a misguided attempt to protect the rest of his family. On his capture, he openly states this as his over-riding motive in the knowledge that the shooting spree that Brant undertook at his school was motivated by his inability to deal with the looming threat of such a chaotic world. It seems Carmody is likely being truthful in this regard.

A variety of psychological states are known to cause parents to commit filicide. These range from mood disorders through to delusional thoughts and disorganised behavioural patterns. Superficially, Carmody appears to be much more calculated and conscious in the actions he takes, however given his underlying beliefs as outlined here we cannot rule out such thought patterns leading to the resolve that it is the right thing to do under the circumstances to take the life of his son. As Frank Black narrates in the closing scene of this episode, Carmody is an example of “the radical few, who obey no disciplines. Unencumbered by conscience, they prepare ruthlessly, pursuing their own preservation. If they survive, the rest of us perish.”


Kills: 1

Investigation: Having intuited that Brant Carmody was unlikely to have taken his own life, Frank Black leads the investigation down a new avenue of inquiry: to find his killer. A study of Brant’s computer identifies a threatening e-mail from someone identified only as “Skylark”, an alias that the FBI track back to Carlton King, the son of Gary King, one of Chris Carmody’s associates.

Ultimately this finding leads Emma Hollis and Frank Black to discover the group’s secret compound. After a tense stand-off, Gary King surrenders and Chris Carmody is taken into custody at his home, his family destroyed rather than protected by his actions.

What the Killer Sees: Brant Carmody

In the early days of a New Year in which the news has been characterised by the unexplained mass deaths of not one, not even two but three flocks of birds as well as no fewer than two million fish, I feel as if I should be writing about “The Fourth Horseman” / “The Time Is Now”. Instead and over two instalments I shall be exploring the events of another episode concerned with potentially apocalyptic events at the turn of a year, one expertly crafted by none other than Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz.


Killer: Brant Carmody (Jeremy Guilbaut)

Episode: “TEOTWAWKI” (16 October 1998)

Writers: Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz

Director: Thomas J. Wright

Quote: “I think that Brant Carmody did in fact kill those kids. I think that his rage was driven by his absolute conviction that the end of the world was coming and that nothing—not even the taking of his classmates’ lives—mattered any more. But his death was not a suicide.” --Frank Black

Profile: High school killing sprees are always particularly shocking. That a student such as Brant Carmody should take up arms and indiscriminately shoot his classmates betrays not just friends and peers but also the very roots of an institution based on growth and learning, robbing young adults of the future for which they are being so diligently prepared.

Such spree killings so often appear to come out of the blue, and frequently the perpetrator is soon characterised as an outcast or loner type. This can be the case, but often is merely a means by which to distance the killer from “normal” human behaviour, to try to separate their actions from what we know to be within the capability of our fellow man. Beneath the surface, however, there are of course often underlying tensions and motives that burst to the surface in dramatic fashion in these instances. Details that can, at least to some degree, deem to explain the seemingly inexplicable.

Spree killers are often desperately seeking to make a statement when they rampage in this fashion. Feeling disconnected from their environment or society as a whole, they are making a last ditch stand, externalising angry or violent thoughts that they can no longer restrain themselves from acting out. Whilst the spree is often premeditated there is nearly always a trigger to this shift. This is very much the case with Brant Carmody as he struggles to make sense of his new foreknowledge of a world his father reveals that, according to his beliefs, is set to go to hell at the turn of the upcoming millennium. As a result and as Frank notes in the selected quote, Carmody’s world is shattered and human life ceases to hold any value to him.

Brant Carmody’s apparent suicide is not wholly out of character with many spree killers, who would take their own lives rather than risk capture, and perhaps hence Barry Baldwin’s swift conclusion that this is what happened. Frank expresses his conviction from the outset, however, that this was not the case in this instance. Brant Carmody evades capture at the scene of the shootings in the chaos that follows and has resumed his regular routine, both signs of his intent to continue living his life. Thus his sudden death doesn’t quite fit the pattern and this leaves loose ends that hint at a whole other level to the mystery.


Kills: 3

Investigation: Emma Hollis is amongst the first investigators from the FBI to arrive at the scene of the school shooting, and her fledgling instincts soon pick out two disturbed youths amongst the crowds of children being reunited with frantic families. A conversation with Carmody’s girlfriend then reveals his preoccupation with the end of the world. It is Frank Black, however, who first calls out Barry Baldwin on his presumptuous conclusion that Brant Carmody killed himself without having taken the time to methodically rule out any other possibilities.

It turns out that Frank’s instincts are correct. Whilst Baldwin was quick to dismiss the police investigation, Giebelhouse also goes on to note certain aspects of the circumstances surrounding Brant’s death that do not fit with a suicide. But what could possibly drive a father to commit filicide? The beliefs and motives underlying Chris Carmody’s actions will be the subject of the next edition of What the Killer Sees, in a fortnight’s time…

Here's My Thing: TEOTWAWKI

It has been a while since we've heard from our resident episode reviewer, DiRT, but I am happy to announce that he is back and better than ever. Some say he was a victim of the Marburg virus, some say he sort of went the route of Lara Means, but nonetheless, he is back!

Today DiRT takes a look at the season three episode "TEOTWAWKI," offering his unique take on the episode. What sets this review apart from his other reviews is that this time, he has a special guest join him, so to speak.

Enjoy the video, and make sure you leave comments on the blog letting DiRT know your thoughts about the episode and his review of it! And don't forget to head over to the site where DiRT and the rest of his pop culture friends hang out and discuss toys, video games, comic books, and much, much more. They have revamped the site and it looks fantastic. Just follow this link