Hey, everyone. It’s been too long. I mean that literally. I truly underestimated how much time would slip away from me, and also how difficult life could get. Since my last review, I have graduated college, but that’s unfortunately about the only positive life change I can really think of. The past year and a half has been one that was extremely difficult in many ways. I won’t go into too much detail, but basically I’ve been dealing with a variety of health issues, both mental and physical. Chronic illness is tough, especially when you’re a student with a part-time job. The nature of my chronic illness makes me exhausted to the point where even writing a review seems next to impossible. Put mental health struggles into the mix, and you’ve got a lovely mess on your hands. Suffice to say, writing X-Files reviews wasn’t my top priority.
Another reason I stayed away was because I became engrossed in the revival seasons, and after watching the very, very problematic contemporary X-Files, going back to the original run was very difficult for me. It made me sad about all the things in the revival I felt were completely messed up, and I realized that the problems I had with the revival were starting to infect my love for the original run. I’m still working on that, honestly, but seeing younger Mulder and Scully just kills me when I think about where they ended up. This is bound to influence the rest of my reviews, I’m sure, and until I find a way to fairly deal with that, I don’t want to post anything I’m not satisfied with.
I toyed with the idea of deleting my original site, Knife Ink Reviews, since the only reviews I posted were on this site. Now I’m thinking I’d rather revamp the old site, start afresh, and maybe turn to reviewing things that aren’t related to The X-Files. I’m still playing around with several ideas, but I’ll let you all know when I’ve settled on one.
Lastly, I want to say thank you to all who have continued to read my little reviews and interact with me on Twitter. As we say in Texas, y’all rock. I truly appreciate everyone’s support, and I hope to be back to writing soon.
SCULLY: Mulder? What are you doing sitting here in the dark?
MULDER: Thinking.
SCULLY: Thinking about what?
MULDER: Oh, the usual. Destiny, fate, how to throw a curve ball. The inextricable relationships in our lives that are neither accidental nor somehow in our control, either.
I know that was an incredibly sweet thing to say since it’s obviously about Scully, but given the scene that just took place between Mulder and Krycek, I’ve always wondered if Mulder wasn’t maybe rethinking his sexuality just a little bit. In any case, it gives slash fanfiction tons of material.
Season 5, Episode 14: “The Red and the Black”
When we last left our characters in “Patient X,” shit was getting real. Scully was standing on a bridge surrounded by rebel aliens ready to burn everyone to death, Mulder’s continued on his crisis of faith and trust we saw in “Gethsemane.” Not only is this particular mythology duo jam-packed with new developments, it’s got lots and lots of heavy emotional drama as well.
At this point, the mythology episodes are all leading to the upcoming movie, Fight the Future, so everything is a bit epic-ified. Mark Snow even gives us a sneak peek of the movie’s score. The alien virus in particular will become a very important plot point – more so than the alien rebels, which we’ll get to later. But, in keeping with most of the good mythology episodes, the main issues in “The Red and the Black” have more to do with the journeys of the characters than the alien business.
And boy are there a lot of characters in this one, so let’s get started.
Let’s start with our poor little blueberry muffin boy, Jeffrey Spender. This is the first time we see Jeffrey get angry at Mulder, but (spoiler alert) it won’t be the last. Jeffrey Spender, like Krycek (well, to some extent), is a character thrown into uncomfortable situations that are frequently out of his control. He can come off as sour, unlikable, and even kind of a dick, but I think that makes perfect sense. Similarly to Bill Scully Jr., Jeffrey has no idea what’s going on. He is desperately trying to find his mother, and the closest thing he can get to a real explanation for her disappearance is aliens. Wouldn’t you be a bit frustrated too?
If it sounds like I’m sticking up for Jeffrey Spender, that may be because I think he gets a semi-bad rap. He’s not a perfect human by any means, but he’s more realistic and relatable than most. Besides, do I even have to mention Chris Owens again?
Ironically, Jeffrey’s getting angry at the wrong person. Were it any other point in Mulder’s life, he might very well have been closely involved with Cassandra Spender. But, since he doesn’t believe her story about aliens and abductions, he has nothing to do with her disappearance. Jeffrey asking Mulder to stay out of the matter doesn’t make a lot of sense, since, crisis or no crisis, Mulder’s got the best avenue for finding out what happened to Cassandra (aka Scully). But we’ll cut them both some slack. Mulder’s having a spiritual crisis, and Jeffrey’s a newbie agent whose first case is searching for his missing, wheelchair-bound mother. Eek.
Jeffrey Spender isn’t the only one tied up with Cassandra Spender, however. It seems that Scully has some sort of connection to Cassandra – or, better put, that Scully and Cassandra share a connection with a group of people, all of whom ended up on a bridge with UFOs and alien rebels all over the place. Scully survives, but she can’t remember a thing. This time, however, neither Scully nor Mulder is going to deal with the convenient memory slip again. They have to dig into Scully’s brain to try and find out what happened.
Now, you might remember the last time Scully underwent regression hypnosis, it didn’t go too well. Quite frankly, I’m not entirely sure what’s so different about this time that it works, except that Mulder’s there. Maybe Mulder’s presence is so powerful that it jogs Scully’s memory, I don’t know. In any case, Scully starts to remember what happened on the bridge, and/or has a very powerful orgasm (oh, you were thinking it, you know you were thinking it). She describes the scary scenario on the bridge, reaches for Mulder’s hand without looking (!!!) and mentions that she saw Cassandra Spender float up into a spaceship, right out of her wheelchair.
Mulder doesn’t buy it (or he says he doesn’t, at least). But even putting that aside, Scully turns to Mulder after the hypnosis is over and says one of the most telling things I’ve ever heard a character say:
“Have you been here the whole time?”
Yes, Scully. Yes, he has.
“The Red and the Black” is not one of the series’s most well-remembered mythology episodes, but it’s really quite good. True, it can be bogged down by the 3.5 million different characters and plot lines, but the heart of the episode remains true to the same issues explored in “Redux II” and even episodes like “Paper Hearts” and “Memento Mori.” Specifically, that no matter what Mulder and Scully might believe, their only true belief is in each other. Just look how Scully responds to Mulder’s insistence that his own memories are false, even though she’s never bought that his sister was abducted by aliens:
SCULLY: Mulder, when I met you five years ago, you told me that your sister had been abducted … by aliens. That that event had marked you so deeply, that nothing else mattered. I didn’t believe you, but I followed you, on nothing more than your faith that the truth was out there, based not on facts, not on science, but on your memories that your sister had been taken from you. Your memories were all that you had.
MULDER: I don’t trust those memories now.
SCULLY: Well, whether you trust them or not, they’ve led you here. And me. But I have no memories to either trust nor distrust, and if you ask me now to follow you again, to stand behind you in what you now believe, without knowing what happened to me out there, without those memories, I can’t. I won’t.
Stop it, Chris. My eyes are getting wet.
Scully may not believe in aliens, but she believes Mulder. She may not trust anyone, but she trusts Mulder. Regardless of whether or not she believes, she needs Mulder to believe. She needs to follow the Mulder she’s always followed, not because he believes in aliens or the paranormal, but simply because he’s Mulder.
The end of this episode reminds me of the scene in Season 2’s “End Game” when Mulder was having a similar crisis of faith. Scully asks, “Did you find what you were looking for?” and Mulder says, “No. But I found something I thought I’d lost. Faith to keep looking.” Now, three years later, they’re having the exact same conversation, but they don’t need to say anything. They speak it without words.
Sigh. ❤
Final Score
Final score for “The Red and the Black” is 8/10. While it gets somewhat bogged down with all the characters and plot lines, it’s an episode with tremendous heart.
Notable Nuggets (And Nitpicks)
The score for this episode is really wonderful, especially in the beginning and end.
Even Skinner is like, “Mulder, get yoself together.”
The alien rebels. Like, what? Where did they come from? I’ve never particularly cared for that development in the mytharc. Not that it doesn’t go anywhere. But it’s a detail that I tend to forget about and once I encounter it again it only makes it more confusing for me. Oh, well.
MISSY: We worked it out so that our vacations overlapped. We were going to Palm Beach. Both of us were trying to lose weight so we could buy new bathing suits.
My deepest sympathies, but this line is in contention for the most useless line of dialogue in an episode so far. Did that really need to take up valuable screen time?
Season 4, Episode 21: “Zero Sum”
“Zero Sum” is an interesting episode. There’s no Scully, limited Mulder, and Skinner is the star of the show. It’s funny, even though “Zero Sum” is an oft-forgotten episode, it’s kind of amazing how much sense its existence makes. When you watch it for the first time you think to yourself, well, what has Skinner been doing all this time with CSM and the Syndicate? Where does Skinner stand?
By giving us a Skinner-centric episode that’s much more connected with the mythology, I think we have a more successful attempt to give Skinner his time to shine – much more successful than Season 3’s “Avatar,” that is. But, even beyond giving Skinner much-deserved time in the spotlight, this episode is something else that, truth be told, kind of annoyed me when I watched it again just now: it’s…good.
Like, unfairly, sneakily good. Which probably indicates how often I watch it. And also makes me feel like an idiot. I, like many of you, used to give this episode the “well, I like Skinner, but Scully’s not in this one” treatment and go from “Small Potatoes” to “Elegy.” But, upon this rewatch, I found an episode that was more than worth watching. Darn it, Season 4. Stop being so good!
Of course, “Zero Sum” has flaws. I can’t let those slip by, especially the painfully terrible opening. This is one of the worst X-Files opening teasers of the season. Poorly written, poorly acted, and completely unbelievable. Jane the cigarette smoking mail worker doesn’t even see the bees until they’ve literally gathered in swarms on the inside of the bathroom stall’s door? Either those are the quietest bees in the world or Jane is both deaf and blind. In any case, the whole opening scene feels like a cheesy anti-smoking PSA gone wrong – with bees thrown in for good measure – rather than a usually gripping X-Files opening. It almost felt like watching a Season 1 dud.
After the terrible opening, though, the episode really picks up, and here we see Skinner in action. Now, Skinner’s always straddled the line, but up until now we’ve mostly seen him sticking up for Mulder and Scully in whatever way he can. We haven’t seen Skinner take a walk on the other side of the line, with CSM and his buddies. In fact, the last really memorable scene between Skinner and CSM was the highlight of the episode “Paper Clip,” when Skinner delivers one of the most in-your-face badass blows in television history. Skinner having the upper hand, however, seems to be short-lived. CSM’s got his Syndicate buddies and his sinister plans, and unfortunately Skinner’s just a piece of the puzzle.
I’m not exactly clear on which part it becomes obvious that Skinner is trying to help Mulder and Scully. I think it might be there from the beginning. You can see it in his actions that Skinner has someone’s best interests at heart. And we know, even if Mulder doesn’t, that Skinner’s not a killer. A common interpretation of Skinner’s character is that of the father figure that wants to keep his kids (Mulder and Scully) from getting into trouble, but I see him more as a big brother who tries to quietly clean up the mess before the parents find out in order to protect his younger siblings. He’s not the authority, but he’ll mess with the authority in the most discreet way possible. Skinner will take a bullet for you, even if it doesn’t endorse you all the way.
Looking at it from the outside, though, it seems like Skinner was merely hoping that Mulder wouldn’t figure him out eventually, rather than taking more steps to ensure it. I remember thinking while watching the episode, “Come on, Skinner, Mulder’s not an idiot. He’s going to figure it out.” And Mulder does, almost like clockwork. It’s one of the times I’ve actually appreciated and admired Mulder’s ultra intelligence, because it’s shown to us instead of being shoved down our throats.
Ah, and Marita Covarrubias. Every time I write about her, the sorrier for her I feel. She’s just not that interesting, unfortunately. However, in “Zero Sum” she actually did hold my attention a bit. I suppose it should come as no surprise to anyone that she’s involved with the Syndicate. Hint: practically every female character on this show (besides Scully) is. I think it works for her character, because it gives her another layer. And you’ve got to hand it to someone who can walk into a room filled with dying, smallpox infected children and look no more flustered as if a bird pooped on her car.
Speaking of which, the bee attack in the children’s playground was kind of brutal. Brutal and sad. I wonder if that was really necessary, but I suppose they needed to show that the evil government is evil. Still, that plot point doesn’t really go anywhere, and it’s a horrible thing to have to depict on screen.
I don’t know, guys. I don’t like it when Scully’s missing, either, but “Zero Sum” is really quite good. It’s not outstanding or anything, but, like so many other episodes I’ve mentioned (especially at the end of Season 4, it seems), it doesn’t deserve to be forgotten completely. Or skipped, for that matter.
Oh, and we get to see Skinner in his underwear. So there’s that.
Final Score
Final score for “Zero Sum” is 7/10. Much, much better than I think it’s given credit for, atrocious opening scene aside. And, under the law of the X-Philes Fandom, I’m not allowed to give any episode featuring Mulder or Skinner wearing underwear-esque clothing less than a 7. So there you have it.
Notable Nuggets
I wonder how the underwear scene was written in the script. “And then Skinner removes his clothing, except for his cotton white Fruit-of-the-Looms.”
Why bees? Why not mosquitoes? Who on the writing team had such a huge problem with bees?
This episode is another great entry into the “The X-Files is actually just a giant anti-smoking PSA” line-up. Smoking kills, kids. Even if the cigarettes don’t, the bees will. No more smoke breaks.
MULDER: Jason Nichols. Although common sense may rule out the possibility of time travel, the laws of quantum physics certainly do not. In case you forgot, that’s from your graduate thesis. (smiling at her) You were a lot more open-minded when you were a youngster.
Mulder read and memorized Scully’s thesis.
Help.
Season 4, Episode 19: “Synchrony”
“Synchrony” might be the most nonchalant take on a time travel story that exists. Maybe “nonchalant” isn’t quite the right word, but for whatever reason, this episode is very, very underwhelming. Remembering it even exists is a task for me sometimes. It doesn’t help that it comes in the last half of Season 4, where emotions are already running high.
That’s not to say the episode is bad, but it might be a good example of a topic that maybe The X-Files isn’t quite equipped to handle. Don’t get me wrong, The X-Files is an extremely versatile show that can be about almost anything, but it still has to exist within the context of the world the show is set in. This isn’t Star Trek, and we aren’t on the Enterprise. Time travel is an enormous topic, and even if you want to approach it scientifically, as this episode does, it’s still, well, enormous.
The biggest problem with “Synchrony” is that it’s so self-contained the huge implications of the events that take place feel underwhelmingly small. The episode is actually quite enjoyable (which surprised the hell out of me when I rewatched it), but it’s so…well, little that, try as I might, I’ll probably forget about it once the end of the season rolls around. For an episode so self-contained, we’re facing big problems here like people freezing to death, burning to death, time travel, and oh yeah, the impending doom of the planet. There’s just an awkward mismatch there. It’s like if the state of Delaware started screaming that the world was going to end in the next five days. Big message, little voice.
Time travel stories are always extra susceptible to flaws in logic, and this episode is no exception. For example: if the creation of this rapid freezing agent is what enabled people to be able to travel back in time, then why on earth would Old Jason use that very agent to kill? Why not use arsenic or bleach or even a gun? We are also given about .5% details concerning the world Old Jason has come from, except that it’s chaotic, without history, etc. Wouldn’t Jason be the very worst person to send back in time, since he has personal feelings for Lisa and all that? Also, how does Old Jason know it wasn’t his intervention that actually caused the future?
I could actually go on with questions like these for another paragraph, but to do so would be unnecessary and, I admit, unfair. I don’t want to give the impression that I dislike this episode – because I don’t, not at all. It’s nothing special, but I’d watch it over “Teliko” or “The Field Where I Died” any day. Mulder and Scully play pretty typical roles here – Mulder is way ahead of everyone else, as usual, and Doctor Scully does doctor stuff. They’re not really the focus of the story at all in this episode (you’ll notice that Scully’s cancer is nowhere to be seen).
There’s no reason to dismiss this episode as bad or even mediocre. But it is almost aggressively underwhelming, which I realize is oxymoronic. But so, too, is the episode itself. Such a wee little episode about such an enormous topic.
Final Score
Final score for “Synchrony” is 6/10. Probably deserves a 6.5, but 6 is an underwhelming score for an underwhelming episode. Plus, I’m too lazy to make 6.5 stars.
Notable Nuggets
Mulder quotes Scully’s thesis from memory not once, but twice. He just needs to propose already.
Mark Snow’s score for this episode is hauntingly beautiful. Too much so.
Apparently, Scully thinks that phrases like “frozen fudgecicle” (from “Roland”) and “icicle” are appropriate medical terms.
This gift that you gave me for my birthday. You never got to tell me why you gave it to me or what it means… but I think I know. I think that you appreciate that there are extraordinary men and women and… extraordinary moments when history leaps forward on the backs of these individuals… that what can be imagined can be achieved… that you must dare to dream… but that there’s no substitute for perseverance and hard work… and teamwork… because no one gets there alone… and that, while we commemorate the… the greatness of these events and the individuals who achieve them, we cannot forget the sacrifice of those who make these achievements and leaps possible.
And you can bet that I’m printing out copies of this speech and distributing it among all my coworkers in retail before holiday season hits.
Season 4, Episode 18: “Max”
SCREW THIS EPISODE. SCREW IT AND THE ONE BEFORE IT. LET IT ROT AND DIE AND SUFFER WHILE ROTTING AND DYING.
UGHHHHHH.
Okay, okay, okay. For those of you that didn’t pick up on the ending of my last review, in which I said that there was absolutely nothing in this mythology duo that pissed me off, I hope you picked up on my sarcasm. If you didn’t, by the way, there was sarcasm.
I should also clarify. I don’t actually hate these two. I mean, they’re good. But they have one of the most soul-crushingly painful character deaths in the entire series, and it kills me every time I watch it.
Pendrell. 😦
Oh, you can laugh. You can sneer. You can roll your eyes and say, “Come on, Knife Ink, really?” Yes, really. Pendrell was a perfect little ginger gerbil and he didn’t deserve to die. Certainly not in this cruel, horrible, much-too-quick way.
More than that, Pendrell is me. And Pendrell is you. Send your judgment to the garbage disposal. There is not one person on the planet who is familiar with Scully and doesn’t have a crush on her. His fierce and adorable enthusiasm is something I have seen in every X-Phile I’ve ever met. His death was cruel and rotten and unfair. Shame on you, Chris Carter. SHAME.
Sigh. Now that we’re over that massively awful bridge, we have the rest of the episode to discuss.
Unlike some mythology episodes, this one picks up immediately where we left off, to the second. “Tempus Fugit” and “Max” are really the same episode, spliced into two. That sounds obvious, but there are some mythology two-parters where one half is definitely stronger than the other. I don’t really get that with these because it doesn’t feel like two halves, it feels like one long episode. I could probably use my crappy video editing software to take out the opening credits of “Max” and put the two together and it would work fine.
Now that I think about it, maybe the reason these two don’t have a tremendous impact on the mythology is because, well, the sinister force here is unclear. It’s either aliens or the military, something like that, but there’s no CSM, no Syndicate, and no informants. It’s just Mulder and Scully following the trail left behind by Max Fenig.
Oh – and Scully still has cancer. Just in case you forgot. I confess I really like the way they handle the cancer after “Memento Mori.” It isn’t this big emotional thing for Mulder and Scully every episode. We’re still allowed to have our typical X-Files investigations and even our major laughs, as we’ll soon see. But the cancer isn’t absent, either. It doesn’t show up at convenient dramatic moments – well, it does, but it’s always a little out of place and random. And I like that. In real life that’s exactly how it would be. You see the nosebleed, and your heart pangs with the painful reminder that your redheaded angel of science is dying. It comes when you don’t expect it to. I wish, though, that they’d been a little more creative with reminding us Scully has cancer than by just giving her the Random Nosebleed of Doom, which is basically the only symptom we’ll ever see Scully suffer. However, for the most part I like how it’s handled.
The mythology part of this episode returns to the early season formula of Mulder vs. the military. You know, I’ve just got to ask: with so many people in the military participating in this giant cover-up, zipping up little gray alien corpses in bags and everything, how is it possible that not a single person in the military has managed a big-time screw up? Like, how do they cover up everything so well? I know this episode is supposed to be about the one time the military actually did mess up, but I could never get my head around the fact that Mulder and Scully could turn up no better evidence than whatever they had at the end of this episode. There was no rambunctious little private who couldn’t keep his mouth shut about aliens to his girlfriend? Nobody’s dog found an alien body before the army came rushing in? These are nitpicks, but for what it’s worth I think Mulder and Scully would have wondered the same thing. Oh well. Let’s wrap this up.
We end with a very touching speech from Scully, which really is the highlight of these two episodes and gives them a much-needed quiet, contemplative moment. This speech is about hard work, sacrifice, and makes a nice motivational poster. I don’t mean that in a bad way necessarily.
I’m still a bit bitter.
Final Score
Final score for “Max” is 8/10, just like “Tempus Fugit.” Because they really are the same episode. Although I was majorly tempted to drop a star because of Pendrell. You jerks.
Notable Nuggets/Nitpicks
What even is Pendrell’s first name? *rushes to Google* Apparently, it’s Sean. Now we know.
Anybody catch that part where Scully turns around as Mulder’s undressing? I mean, really? He didn’t even take off his underwear. You already put him to bed in “Anasazi.”
Max’s videos are sweet, and reminded me of how much I liked him as a character. It reminded Mulder and Scully, too, which is even sweeter.
MIKE MILLAR: And if any of the capable men and women find… Doctor Spock’s phaser or some green alien goo, we’ll be sure to give youall the credit.
DOCTOR Spock? I can’t tell if the writers were trying to make this character sound stupid or if this was a legitimate mistake. I hope with all my being it’s the former, because every Trekkie cell in my brain is groaning right now.
Season 4, Episode 17: “Tempus Fugit”
The mythology strikes again! Our next two episodes, “Tempus Fugit” and “Max,” are more of the traditional mytharc episodes. We don’t have the deep character exploration of “Memento Mori” in these, it’s back to things flying through the night, Mulder sneaking into places he shouldn’t, shootings, Skinner, UFOs, etc. Let’s get this party started.
Literally. We start out with Mulder very sweetly celebrating Scully’s birthday, although for me this part always leaves me feeling a bit sour because, well, Mulder’s finally celebrating Scully’s birthday (at least on screen) but Scully also has cancer and is quite probably dying. So it’s a mixed bag of emotions. Sweet scene, but I do wish Mulder and Scully could be sweet without necessarily facing disaster all the time.
The birthday celebration is soon interrupted by the plot, which comes in the form of a woman claiming to be Max Fenig’s sister. Max Fenig – the name ring a bell? Yep, he was that wacky geek Mulder and Scully met back in Season 1’s “Fallen Angel.”
I can’t speak for everyone, but I love Max as a character, and on my first watch of this episode I knew who he was immediately even though I hadn’t seen him for over three seasons. I think that’s a testament to how great his character is. It also makes these two episodes a little more melancholy than we’re used to, because (spoiler alert) Max is dead. He’s not coming back.
I always thought this was a rather unfortunate way to handle Max’s character in these episodes. We do feel the pain of Max’s absence, to be sure, and he’s a strong enough character that his death is able to leave an impact on the viewer. But I wonder what watching these episodes was like when they first aired. At that point, the last time the audience would have seen Max Fenig (assuming they’d even watched from the beginning) would be four years before. It’s easy enough for someone watching now to remember Max, as viewers today have all the episodes and are likely binge-watching, so the time between seasons is condensed. I remembered Max, but I didn’t have to wait four years.
Because of this, the effectiveness of Max’s death will probably vary depending on whom you ask, and I personally would love to know everyone’s thoughts on this – so comment below if you have any input!
But, back to the episode. Yeah, this one’s really good, guys. I wasn’t sure until I rewatched it, but there are a lot of really touching little moments that make this episode (or this pair of episodes, I should say) pretty golden in my book. They’re not really very special or tremendously important as far as the mythology goes, but there’s a lot in them that’s very well done.
For instance, I love the scene where Mulder looks at Max’s dead body. You can see how much it pains him that Max is gone. The camera then pans to a family standing around their dead family member and sobbing. This might be a bit of a stretch, but knowing how Mulder cared for Max, I like to think that this family is vocalizing the sadness Mulder feels. In a way, Mulder has lost a part of his family, a comrade that shared his beliefs about aliens, that lived his theories of aliens and abductions, that paid attention to his writing and had the same drive to find out the truth. Mulder hasn’t just lost a friend, he’s lost an ally.
And I also love Scully’s lack of energy. This is the first episode since “Memento Mori” that directly involves the cancer, and we find that it’s a thorn in our side. Scully’s tired, constantly hugging herself in the cold, and her entire demeanor seems fatigued. I like to think this was absolutely intentional, and it makes sense. It makes us sad and worried for her, as we should be.
So – I like this one, guys. And I like the following episode, “Max,” too. They are much better than I remembered and possibly the best mythology episodes of Season 4 besides “Memento Mori.” Solid, well written, well-acted. Good stuff. Nothing in here to make me mad, piss me off, or scream Chris Carter’s name in a violent fury. Absolutely nothing at all. Nope. Not one little thing.
Final Score
Final score for “Tempus Fugit” is 8/10. It’s a good episode – memorable, entertaining, and quite touching in some spots. And like I said, there’s absolutely nothing infuriating about it. Right?
Notable Nuggets (and Nitpicks)
There are actually a lot of notable nuggets in this one. I’d like to start off by pointing out that Mulder reaches illegal heights of adorable in this one, especially during the birthday scene, and David Duchovny needs to be arrested because of it.
Also Mulder SCUBA DIVES. This begs the question: do you think Mulder and Scully have ever gone snorkeling together?
I find it confusing that Scully feel she has to explain Mulder’s cryptic statements to the military officers with “We’ve been traveling a long way.” At this point does she still care if people are confused by Mulder’s many oddities? I don’t think so.
The part where Mulder pulls out his business card from Max’s body is so touching, it almost makes me choke up. And I know what you’re thinking: “Knife Ink, how do you almost choke up?” And I have no idea. But I’m trying not to admit emotions. 😉
MULDER: Well, don’t you think it’s odd, Scully, that she’d have a blind spot that she wouldn’t, uh, that she wouldn’t have noticed before? (to security guard) Thanks.
SCULLY: Well, not necessarily. Uh, the processes of the brain fill in and the visual cortex compensates conceptually.
MULDER: Well, that might account for Teager’s vanishing.
Okay, I’m not entirely sure I understand this, but if this is the case, shouldn’t Mulder and Scully’s eyes started bleeding too? I mean they encountered Teager in much the same way Renee Davenport did. How come their eyes made it out okay?
Season 4, Episode 16: “Unrequited”
If you’ve been keeping up with this blog for a while, you might have realized by now that I’m not fond of military episodes. They just don’t hold that much interest for me. They tend to be political but in a watered-down manner, because this is network television and they can’t make any grandiose political statements. Nearly all of the military-themed episodes are about the exact same thing: a former soldier takes revenge on either his fellow soldiers or superior officers for horrible crimes they committed, usually during the Vietnam War. Think “Sleepless,”“The Walk,” or, though it technically isn’t a military episode but has nearly identical themes, “The List.” Many of the ideas in these episodes are practically interchangeable and the only thing that really differs is the paranormal ability.
Even the paranormal ability isn’t all that different, actually. Is there really any fundamental difference between Nathaniel Teager’s invisibility in “Unrequited” and Rappo’s astral projection in “The Walk”? What is the character distinction between Augustus Cole in “Sleepless” and Neech in “The List”? I often have trouble distinguishing these episodes from one another in my mind, and although that’s partially because I don’t really watch them often, it’s also because they’re very much the same.
Luckily, “Unrequited” is the last of this type we’ll be seeing for a good while, if I’m not mistaken. But even with that in mind, the trope here has more than overstayed its welcome. Although “Unrequited” manages to break away from the usual X-Files mold by giving us an unusual beginning and rewinding the episode back, as well as have Mulder and Scully handle the case a little differently in a sort of FBI operation style, other than that, the episode is quite boring, and there’s not much for me to talk about. I’m sure all you dedicated Philes will go through every episode on your rewatch, but to the casual viewer, I’d say skip this one.
Final Score
Final score for “Unrequited” is 3/10. There’s really not much in this episode that’s very good, to be honest. Even the script is lackluster. I had a really hard time finding a quote for the quote box and it was tough deciding what to even talk about. Fortunately we’re done with this type of episode, to my knowledge.
Notable Nuggets (sort of)
Marita Covarrubias reappears to remind us that she, in fact, exists.
I do like how Skinner straddles the fence in this episode. As usual, it’s not clear how much he buys into Mulder’s theories, but he does a good job of not leaning heavily toward either side.
Um….what to say for a third one….nice job Mark Snow?
MULDER: Welcome back. You look a lot better than you did in the hospital. And congratulations for making an personal appearance in the X-Files for the second time.
Meanwhile, me:
Season 4, Episode 13: “Never Again”
Author’s note: My apologies for the length of the following review.
I think I’ve been reviewing “Never Again” from the moment I started this blog. Not consciously, but in a way, my own brain kept preparing me for it. There’s something about this episode that bothers me on such a deep and visceral level that I have been so far unable to express it in words. When I finished “Leonard Betts” and it finally came time to write the “Never Again” review, I wondered if I wasn’t operating on old feelings. After all, I hadn’t seen this one in a while.
So I gave “Never Again” another watch, and felt that old familiar feeling rising in the pit of my stomach. I squirmed uncomfortably in my chair. I glared at the screen. I cringed at certain lines of dialogue. At the same time, I felt my brain searching desperately for an answer to the question that’s plagued me since I first watched this episode: Why do I hate “Never Again” so much?
I’ve read review after review and seen endless comments on this episode from fans, Shippers and Noromos alike. From what I’ve been able to gather, there is no general consensus on this episode, except that no one seems to hate it quite as much as I do. Oh, some people hate it, but they hate it for reasons that I find trivial at best: Mulder and Scully fight, Scully almost has sex with another man, etc. None of those things, at least on the surface, are problems for me.
What startles me about this episode is actually how much people seem to like it. It would be one thing if it was an episode that generally got a “meh” from fans, but there are people who legitimately adore “Never Again” and critics have been more than kind to it. And so I, hanging my head in shame, came to the conclusion it must be me. Morgan & Wong had won, whatever game the three of us had been playing. They clearly had created something so great I was unable to see it. Any fault of theirs was a fault of mine.
Well, almost. I’m way too self-centered for that, apparently.
After reading and discussing and rewatching, I finally get why people like “Never Again.” I do. And upon this rewatch I also realized something else: lost in the discussion with myself of “why do I hate this episode” was the more important question: Is this episode any good? Is it necessary to the show as a whole? Could The X-Files have existed without it?
And…well, no. It couldn’t have.
Like it or not, “Never Again” is a type of episode we deseperately needed: an episode that separates Mulder and Scully and gives one of the agents (in this case, Scully) a close look. We’re used to thinking of The X-Files as “Mulder and Scully,” but Morgan & Wong – rightly so, I think – wanted to look at just Scully. Who is Scully without Mulder? That’s the question they dare to ask in this episode, and I’m glad they do.
Their answer to that question is what I find less-than-stellar. I wholeheartedly agree that Scully’s life has been so wrapped up in Mulder’s quest that it’s beyond acceptable for her to question her place, her life, her situation. I understand her temptation to be rebellious. Hell, I don’t think I would have minded that much if Scully actually did have sex with Ed Jerse—after all, Mulder had sex with a vampire in “3” and as much as I like to pretend “3” doesn’t exist, that scene didn’t affect much in the way of Mulder and Scully’s relationship. And, Shipper though I may be, I think it’s ridiculous that Scully has to be abstinent at this point. She’s a grown woman and she and Mulder are not a couple. Oh, they are, but not sexually. They don’t own each other.
What I can’t really get behind is this idea that Mulder is an all-controlling force in Scully’s life that she just can’t walk away from. For one thing, that implies that Mulder is doing most of the work on the X-Files, with Scully merely tagging along, which we know isn’t true. For another, it’s, well, just not Mulder. Mulder can be a self-righteous jerkface (just look at “Revelations,”) but I can’t watch the scene in “One Breath” where a broken Mulder breaks down crying in his apartment and think that this man is completely selfish and has no cares for his partner at all. He certainly went through an immense guilty stage in “One Breath.” Also, I reiterate, Scully is a grown woman and she’s very practical. If Mulder truly was an all-controlling force in her life, she’d leave, wouldn’t she?
What Mulder doesn’t guage well, at least in Morgan & Wong’s point of view, is what Scully wants to get out of her career and her position on the X-Files. But, at the same time, neither does Scully. She does not know what she wants. And, good for her as some rebellion might be, is getting a tattoo and demanding a desk really the way to find out?
The desk. The desk metaphor really bugs me. Actually, the non-metaphor bugs me even more. Fine, Scully should have a desk. Don’t you think she would have asked for one? Has anyone ever gotten the impression before this episode that Scully was too afraid to ask for one? The same Scully who bravely delivered an angry speech to Skinner in “Piper Maru,” the same Scully who tells Mulder to stop in “Conduit” on their fourth case together, the same Scully who stayed with Mulder even after her abduction and Melissa’s death, this same Scully—was too under the control of Mulder to ask for a desk? Isn’t it also possible that up until now she saw the desk as a functional tool that had no value other than a place where papers and files are stored? Try as I might to see otherwise, the desk has always represented a problem that was never there in the first place. I’m sorry, I can’t buy it.
Another argument I’ve seen in defense of this episode is that it allows Scully to have flaws. I don’t buy that one either. If having sex (or almost having sex) with a stranger and getting a tattoo is a flaw, then it is a flaw that would only be attributed to a woman. I mean, if we’re being honest. Maybe Scully being a bit reckless is a flaw. But how many times has Mulder been reckless and his recklessness is passed off as necessity, to futher his investigations into the paranormal or find his sister?
Speaking of which, oh, dear god, is Mulder absolutely insufferable in this episode. Ignoring the scenes in Memphis, which are funny, I wouldn’t have blamed Scully one bit if she had shot him in the shoulder again, like she did in “Anasazi.” And no, I don’t think that’s completely in character for him. In fact, I think that’s in great part Morgan & Wong. They don’t seem to be big fans of Mulder. Some of the things he says to Scully physically hurt me while watching, because I just had my wisdom teeth removed and opening my mouth wide in shock was painful. Do they really think Mulder would act like this? While I agree that yes, Mulder can at times be self-absorbed, we see very clearly in “Paper Hearts” that he’s also a very intuitive, sympathetic character with a lot of heart and integrity. Not this bodering on sardonic asshole that Morgan & Wong have presented. Where’s the all-controlling, authoritative butthead in other episodes?
The truth of the matter is, there’s always going to be this awkward circular dance around Mulder and Scully in this show. There has to be. Their relationship transcends friendship and romance and is in many ways completely undefinable. It’s the greatest aspect of the series by far but can also be confusing. We, the audience, are meant to take for granted what Mulder and Scully mean to one another. This episode tries to question that notion, to have Scully question that notion, but to me all it does is make Mulder out to be a complete jackass and turns Scully’s side of the relationship into the receiving end of something, I don’t know, almost toxic. Is everything between them perfect? No, of course not, and Scully should take some time alone to figure out who she is and what she wants. As should Mulder. But what do they learn by the end? Just like “The Field Where I Died,” Morgan & Wong seem determined to give us a different take on Mulder and Scully while never really saying what they need to say. They bring up the questions that need to be brought up, but not the answers. Why? Because the answers just don’t fit in with the rest of the show. “Never Again” is, whether by design or by fluke, a necessary anomaly.
The rest of this episode, while beautifully filmed, I’ve also found a tad mediocre. Ed Jerse isn’t interesting for me, and Jodie Foster as an evil tattoo sounds like it should be the greatest thing in the world but sadly isn’t. For what it’s worth, I do love the tension in that last scene, pulled off masterfully by Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny and some damn good cinematography.
I’ve been told by a few Philes that their opinion of this episode changed when they grew older. To that, I can only say: we’ll have to wait and see. I first watched this episode when I was either 16 or 17. I’m nearly 20 now and although I feel like a completely different person now than I was then, I understand I have a lot of growing up to do, both as a person and as a viewer. Consider this review a letter to my future self. Future self, you may end up adoring this episode.
Right now, you can’t stand it.
Final Score
Final score for “Never Again” is 5/10. I really, really wanted to give this episode a 4, and my gut told me to give it a 3. But the episode is too beautifully shot to be anything less than a 4 and there are enough legitimate reasons for its existence to give it more than a 4, which is a score I reserve for episodes we could have done without. So rest easy, Morgan & Wong. We could have done without “The Field Where I Died,” but not without “Never Again.”
Notable Nuggets
They worked really hard to make sure this episode was different. You can see it in the cinematography, tone, music, writing, etc. If there’s one thing Morgan & Wong have always excelled at, it’s tone and atmosphere. Kudos.
(WARNING: DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING IF YOU’RE AVOIDING SPOILERS) Another thing I’d like to point out is the before cancer/after cancer debate. As you all know, it’s revealed that Scully has cancer in “Leonard Betts.” This episode was written before “Leonard Betts” but aired after because the studio felt it wasn’t a good episode to show after the Super Bowl. There has been debate as to whether or not this episode should be chronologically placed at the time of its writing or of its airing. For me, personally, Scully doesn’t act like she has a terminal illness in “Never Again” and I certainly don’t think she’d be worrying about having a desk if she knew about the cancer. That one, though, is completely open for interpretation.
I don’t want to make it sound like Jodie Foster playing an evil tattoo isn’t awesome. It is. But for some reason I don’t find it as awesome as it could have been. Still, it’s really cool that they got Jodie Foster, whose character in The Silence of the Lambs was a direct influence for Scully.
I sincerely hope that Morgan & Wong don’t hate me. I love you guys. I promise. ❤
SCULLY: Salamanders ore one thing, but no mammal possesses that kind of regenerative power. I mean, there isn’t a creature walking this earth that can regrow its head.
MULDER: Worms. You cut a worm in half, you get two.
SCULLY: Mulder, they’re worms.
Um, Scully…does the word “Flukeman” ring a bell? Is what Mulder’s saying really that hard to swallow?
Season 4, Episode 12: “Leonard Betts”
It’s no surprise that Fox wanted “Leonard Betts” to air after the Super Bowl instead of the following episode, “Never Again.” I like to think that decision has more to do with the strengths of this episode rather than the weaknesses of the next. Really, though, it makes perfect sense. “Leonard Betts” is an episode so quintessentially X-Files that you could show it to any newcomer and they’d be able to easily grasp the show’s characters, look, and feel. “Never Again,” whether you like it or hate it, would be a weird episode to show to potential newcomers.
It’s hard to find something to criticize about “Leonard Betts” because, in many respects, it’s stone-perfect. This episode was penned by three writers – Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, and Frank Spotnitz – and for some reason, this trio just seems to work (“Leonard Betts” won’t be their only success, that’s for sure). At the same time, you won’t see “Leonard Betts” on a lot of favorites lists, nor do I see it mentioned particularly often. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s unknown, but it’s certainly not held to the high esteem or has even achieved the fame of episodes like “Squeeze” and “Home,” though it’s just as freaky and disgusting. The community grade on the A.V. Club review is actually an A-, and even though that’s only out of 18 users, you get the feeling that this practically perfect MOTW episode is fondly remembered in the eyes of critics and, well, not remembered in the eyes of viewers.
And honestly, I can’t really come up with an explanation for that. The only thing I can think of is that the last five minutes of the episode are so iconic and famous that they completely overshadowed the rest of the story, at least in the minds of fans. Somehow, though, I have a hard time wrestling with that notion. It would be one thing if the rest of this episode wasn’t memorable, but…it is. I, for one, have never forgotten the image of Leonard Betts regrowing his head. It’s easily one of the grossest, most original sequences in all MOTW-dom. Nor is it easy to forget Mulder and Scully digging through a hospital dumpster and pulling out a severed head.
What makes “Leonard Betts” compelling as a story – we’ll address the last five minutes later – is how much we feel that Leonard Betts is actually a really good guy. He’s obviously a mutant and a murderer, but he doesn’t feel like one on the same level as Eugene Victor Tooms or Virgil Incanto from “2Shy.” Leonard Betts apologizes to each of his victims before he kills them, and he genuinely sounds sorry. More so than any other MOTW, “Leonard Betts” really focuses on the idea that this particular monster has a basic need that can’t be fulfilled in any other capacity. He regrets doing what he does, but he has to in order to survive. It’s a theme we’ll see done again, but maybe not quite as well.
Even with all that, I think what I like about “Leonard Betts” the most is just how engaging and entertaining it is (like I said, it’s no wonder the studio chose to air this one after the Super Bowl). It’s fun. It’s smart. It’s suspenseful. I can watch knowing full well what’s going to happen and I’m still on the edge of my seat when those last five minutes come around. Speaking of which, let’s talk about those.
I dare you to find a scene of any X-Files episode that is so perfectly paced. Everything – everything – is perfectly executed at just the right time. It’s kind of amazing, actually. It’s a testament not only to how strong The X-Files has become in its storytelling but also in its own atmosphere and production. Everybody involved with the making of this episode deserves a high ten.
As for the story, well, they drop a shocker on us that is so perfect in both its explosiveness and subtlety that I’m going to take you all on a journey through this scene.
First, we have Scully doing some kick-ass action, which is unbelievably cool, sexy, different, amazing, come up with your own adjective. Suddenly the action pauses. The episode holds its breath. Leonard Betts says his famous line – “I’m sorry, but you’ve got something I need,” and Gillian Anderson delivers another perfect performance with this one facial expression:
Look at the shock, confusion, realization, fear. All the emotions are there within a matter of seconds. It’s interesting because Scully’s moment of realization means that she fears what Leonard Betts is and she isn’t so dismissive of Mulder’s crazy theories after all. Scully realizes she might have cancer here, not when she has the nosebleed. It’s a wonderfully layered scene and I have watched it on repeat so many times. Even looking at that gif while I’m writing this is driving me crazy.
“Leonard Betts” may not be the episode you think of when you think The X-Files. Or maybe it is, I don’t know. But it is a perfect episode to show a newcomer. It’s one of the very best MOTWs, and it’s just a fantastic episode of television.
Final Score
Final score for “Leonard Betts” is 10/10. Strangely enough, I was actually looking for ways to give this episode a 9/10. That’s when I realized I was trying to make sure Season 4’s average score didn’t get too high – not because I don’t like this Season, but because I want the averages to reflect what I feel is the show’s rise in quality from Seasons 4 to 5. And that’s when I also realized that maybe averaging each season is a stupid thing to do. I’m considering getting rid of that altogether.
In any case, I couldn’t find any reason to not give this episode a perfect score. So, there you have it. 10/10.
Notable Nuggets (And Nitpicks)
Mulder and Scully stand in the snow holding umbrellas and I can barely handle it.
Mulder very inconsistently shows no fear of fire when the car explodes. “Fire” was a silly episode.
“John Gilnitz” is the combined name of this episode’s three writers, John Shiban, Vince Gilligan, and Frank Spotnitz. I completely forgot they actually gave a character this name. Hahaha. 🙂
SCULLY: Well, I’m a medical doctor. If you show me the body I can examine it myself.
CORONER: It’s in the fridge. (nods her head to the side)
SCULLY: (referring to the body being autopsied) I don’t think he’s going anywhere.
Season 4, Episode 11: “El Mundo Gira”
“El Mundo Gira” is another episode with a monster from a particular culture. This time, it’s the chupacabra, or the goatsucker, which, if you’re clueless as to what this thing does/looks like before this episode begins, you’ll find you’re pretty much in the same boat when it’s finished. If you grew up hearing stories about the chupacabra, well, this episode is probably really funny.
“El Mundo Gira’s” closest relative, at least in my mind, is Season 3’s “Hell Money.” Both episodes feature immigrants from another country having to go to extremes to survive in the US. Both focus on familial drama to up the tension and the stakes. And both, at least for me, aren’t that bad.
However, like “Hell Money” (and plenty of other X-Files episodes, for that matter), “El Mundo Gira” doesn’t exactly portray the culture featured very accurately. It’s meant to play out like a Mexican soap opera, which is exactly what John Shiban, the writer, was going for. I can see what they were trying to do, but the execution just doesn’t work that well because The X-Files and soap operas just don’t go together that well, and John Shiban clearly has never written a Mexican soap opera before.
Here’s the problem with culturally themed episodes: we live in a different world than we did in the 90’s. Had “El Mundo Gira” been made today, you can bet your bags of sunflower seeds it would have been picked apart endlessly by Twitter, Tumblr, and critics galore. Probably not without reason. After all, this episode was not written by someone who has firsthand knowledge of the experiences of Mexican immigrants. If I were a Mexican immigrant – and I’m definitely not – I might even find myself insulted by how this episode uses stereotypes and folk legends to mask real-world problems.
But does it really? I remembered “El Mundo Gira” before this rewatch, and it wasn’t because of the chupacabra or Scully muttering lyrics from West Side Story, it was because of this whole idea Shiban tries to drive home about nobody caring. This comes as an exchange of dialogue several times throughout the episode, and it serves as the episode’s closing line, the last thought Shiban wants to leave us with and what I can only assume was the major idea he wanted to get across. And, truth be told, I kind of like that. Even with the ridiculous plot and the crazier-than-I remembered ending, this episode, while it may not know what it’s talking about, does care what it’s talking about. “El Mundo Gira” is cheesy, over-the-top and inaccurate, but I truly feel it has its little misinformed heart in the right place. And, like “Hell Money,” I’d much rather defend this one than not.
Final Score
Final score for “El Mundo Gira” is 7/10. I’m starting to realize that scores are tricky things. Because I’ve been participating in the #XFRewatch hosted by X-Files News, I’ve been reposting a lot of my old reviews and cringing at some of the scores I gave. There are many instances in which I almost beat myself on the head for giving certain episodes a low score, like “Deep Throat” and “Little Green Men,” two episodes that deserve way more than what they got. I think it’s partially because I was new to reviewing, and partially because I wasn’t quite solid on what “6/10” means. At the time, I may have felt like the episode was a “6/10,” which as far as I’m concerned means good – not great, but not terrible. Others, though, might interpret “6/10” to be poor, or mediocre. So, giving “El Mundo Gira” a 7/10 might be more than it deserves, but it feels right. That’s the best way I know how to explain it.
Notable Nuggets, and News!
More Scully murmuring West Side Story lyrics, please.
The ending of this episode is waaaaaaay more insane than I remembered. I think it might have tipped the boat for me, actually. If it wasn’t for that last line which ties everything up so nicely, this episode might have sunk to a “Teliko” level.
Speaking of which, this episode is much, much better than “Teliko.”
And now – some exciting news!
If you follow me on Twitter, you might notice that I tweet about The X-Files a lot. In fact, that’s pretty much all I tweet about. But I don’t do it alone. Because of wonderful sites like X-Files News, many an X-Phile has been brought together to participate in the X-Files Global Rewatch, a truly noble undertaking by X-Files fans around the globe to watch every episode of the series, plus the two movies, before the revival in January.
Every day, X-Files News has livetweet sessions scheduled at certain times. These sessions are hosted by the X-Files News Twitter account or often by guest hosts, such as the ever-awesome TV Mouse and the host of #XFScienceSundays, @JossaDosBichos (PS – follow them!).
I am super beyond excited to announce that I will be hosting two upcoming livetweet sessions, for the Season 2 and 3 episodes “Duane Barry” and “The Walk.” You can either follow both my Twitter account and X-Files News, as well as enjoy some other tweets from all the beautiful and brilliant X-Philes that participate in all of these rewatches. The times, hashtags, and other important info are all on the X-Files News website, so please don’t hesitate to check it out!
Hope to see your awesome tweets! And really, how cool is it that this revival is bringing us even closer together as a fandom? Even if it turns out to be less-than-stellar, this whole thing will be worth it just because of that.
The Review is Out There 