Season 3, Episode 10 – ‘731’.

“The ruler of the world is no longer the country with the bravest soldiers, but the greatest scientists.” – First Elder.

---

731 [Mythology] Aired December 1, 1995

Episode: 3×10 / 59 Overall

Director: Rob Bowman • Writer: Frank Spotnitz

Mulder becomes trapped aboard a train rigged with an explosive device. Scully searches for the truth behind the government’s secret experiments.

Alternate tagline: Apology is Policy

I am a firm believer that The X-Files was at its best when it focused on standalone stories and I’m often in two minds about the series mythology episodes. I was reluctant at first to concede to the fact that the myth-arc was poorly planned. It’s of course possible for the more dedicated of fans to piece together the fragmented story lines throughout the series original nine season run and manufacture some semblance of coherence, though it’s admittedly hard work to maintain a consistent narrative thread. In 2005, FOX released four DVD volumes each focusing on an overarching theme from the series mythology. They are Abduction, Black Oil, Colonization and Super Soldiers,  the idea being that you could watch the whole story arc in succession. Every mythology episode throughout the series can be grouped under one of these four categories. In this sense the mythology is quite simple to follow, each episode always related back to a major thematic arc. However it’s in the details that things become less defined. Already by Season three the audience has learned to take any revelation with a grain of salt, is this really the truth or yet another lie to cover a bigger conspiracy? There’s no doubt the continuous cover ups and misdirection became tedious as the series progressed and in retrospect it’s hard to enjoy some of these shocking moments when we know that later on down the track this will all be rebuffed. This always made me feel rather cheated.

Viewing this episode for the first time though, it certainly seems to confirm, more or less, the theory of alien/human hybrids and the human involvement in supposed abductions. Compared to Nisei this is a much more action packed show, easily my preferred episode of the two. The sequences involving Mulder on the train with the unnamed NSA agent, Stephen McHattie, carry a lot of tension and inter-cut nicely with Scully’s first and only interaction with the First Elder of the Syndicate. The episode builds to a climax in which Mulder is so headstrong in his personal beliefs that he is willing to risk his own life. The evidence is once again destroyed and buried under lies, the agents unable to prove anything beyond their unsubstantiated personal experiences.

As is often the case with mythology episodes, I find myself constructing my own explanations in lieu of any concrete answers. In my opinion the First Elder was deceiving Scully, claiming that the experiments had nothing to do with aliens and instructing her to get Mulder to stop the train at the next station. This was his attempt to locate the train and capture the hybrid creature, Mulder suspects this however and reroutes the train to an area where the Syndicate are unable to find him in time. At the episodes conclusion we can see that Cancer Man is having Dr. Shiro Zama’s notes translated so that they may use his research. To me this clearly indicates that had they been able to, they would have saved the hybrid from being killed in the explosion, if not for Mulder’s interference. X saves Mulder and leaves the hybrid inside, presumably because he does not know of its significance and he himself has no involvement with the Syndicate. He claims earlier on to Scully that there are limits to his knowledge and to me this scene proves that assertion. As far as mythology episodes go I actually feel this one is fairly straightforward and much of what is revealed here by Mulder remains to be true through to the original series end. Disregarding future narratives, this is an enjoyable episode with a great action/suspense sequence that definitely makes up for the comparatively dull Nisei.

---

★★★☆☆

 

Season 3, Episode 9 – ‘Nisei’.

“They said that they know me. That they’ve seen me before. It was freaky. They know things about me, about my disappearance.” – Dana Scully.

---

NISEI [Mythology] Aired November 24, 1995

Episode: 3×09 / 58 Overall

Director: David Nutter • Writer: Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz & Howard Gordon

An “alien autopsy” videotape and a murder spark Mulder’s search for a strange creature. Scully looks for information about her disappearance.

Originally conceived as a single mythology episode and then extended to a two-parter due to an overly ambitious script which put a strain on the production schedule, this mythology entry furthers the plot arc involving alien/human hybrids. Whenever The X-Files produced two-part mythology episodes they generally followed a similar pattern. The first episode would open a proverbial ‘can of worms’ and spend a significant portion of its running time setting up events and posing questions, all of which will be left unresolved until the following episode. As such the overall success of a two-parter myth-arc story line can’t be fully judged without seeing the conclusion. 二世 (Nisei) is a second generation person born of Japanese immigrants. At first I couldn’t form a connection between the episode and its title, however I now believe it may refer to the alien/human hybrid creature which Japanese scientists in America are working to create. This hybrid creature being the Nisei, the child of these Japanese born men. This is only one of the story’s being told this week, the other more compelling plot-line involves Scully and a revelation about her abduction.

There hasn’t been a great deal of advancement regarding Scully’s abduction sub-plot. At the beginning of the Season we learned that the agent has some type of chip implanted in her neck and her personal and biological information is being stored in some type of secret government cataloguing system. Now, while investigating a member of the group MUFON, Mutual UFO Network, group she discovers that she is not alone. This episode will kick off an important arc for Scully involving her developing Cancer that is somehow linked to this chip that is implanted in abductees. Though this is only the ‘B’ story line in this episode and less time is devoted to exploring Scully’s predicament, I found myself more eager to continue with part two in order to see the follow up to her story, as opposed to Mulder’s. Perhaps this is because out of the two narratives, Scully’s is the more personal one. While Mulder is investigating a far reaching global conspiracy, Scully is about to face her mortality and experience a crisis of faith. A more intimate and emotional story that I simply find more engaging.

X makes an appearance, yet as is sometimes the case his inclusion is somewhat illogical. He insists that Scully contact Mulder to warn him not to board the train, intimating that there will be dire consequences if he does. However, if he truly felt this way one would think that a man with access to the deepest of government secrets could fairly easily find himself in possession of Mulder’s cell phone number and simply make the call himself. Though instead he chooses to risk being seen speaking to Scully in public. The agents finding themselves at the house of the video tape distributor at the same time as the Japanese diplomat is remarkably fortuitous when you consider that there is no reason why they should both be there at that precise time. It’s just a little bit too convenient and I would have appreciated even a small justification for them running in to each other. The pacing drags in spots throughout the episode and takes quite a long time to establish very little. I feel like the decision to extend this story across two episodes may have been unnecessary as there were certainly scenes in Nisei that could have been trimmed significantly. It’s exciting to see some development with Scully’s abduction but apart from that this is a fairly pedestrian effort on its own, despite setting up what is surely to be a superior episode to follow.

---

★★☆☆☆

Season 3, Episode 8 – ‘Oubliette’.

“I think finally it was the only way she could escape. The only way she could forget what happened 17 years ago.” – Fox Mulder.

---

OUBLIETTE [Standalone] Aired November 17, 1995

Episode: 3×08 / 57 Overall

Director: Kim Manners • Writer: Charles Grant Craig

A woman experiences a psychic connection with a teenager held captive by a deranged man.

Charles Grant Craig, in his one contribution to the show, has framed his script around the theme of child abductions, though at its heart this is an episode about Mulder and his personal reaction to the case. An oubliette is a secret dungeon with access only through a trapdoor in its ceiling. This is of course in reference to the area in which young Amy Jacobs is held captive, played by the actress Jewel Staite who years later would become known for the role of Kaylee in Joss Whedon’s Firefly. As the audience of The X-Files we’re predisposed to expect the supernatural and for the most part that’s what we get to some extent. During the opening of Oubliette we watch Carl Wade manipulating photographs of himself and Jacobs, placing their likenesses in a frame together and taking pictures of the result. Perhaps it’s just me but at this point I was expecting this to imbue Wade with some psychic power over Jacobs or to somehow alter reality by this photograph joining ritual. However as it turns out I was simply reading in to something that wasn’t there. Carl Wade is, for all intents and purposes, a ‘normal’ man, deeply disturbed but unremarkably average. We learn very little about him or his psychosis, as it turns out this is not his story. Aside from the opening sequence almost the whole episode unfolds from the perspectives of the victims, those being the abductee Amy Jacobs and Wade’s former prisoner, Lucy Householder.

Lucy Householder is played by Tracey Ellis who will return to play the title character in Season Nine’s Audrey Pauley, which to this date is still Ellis’s last credited acting role in film or television. Her time as Wade’s captive has left her emotionally scarred and she has never fully recovered from the experience. It’s in this character that the supernatural element weaves its way in to the show. Lucy suffers both for and with Jacobs, eventually sacrificing herself to save Jacob’s life. Though whether this was willingly or not is uncertain. Lucy seems more than hesitant to help with the abduction and shows no conscious influence over what happens to her physically when Jacobs is hurt. Although Mulder seems to suggest that Lucy intentionally saved Jacob’s life, my impression was that these sympathetic manifestations of pain were forcibly drawn out of her unwanted yet binding connection to her abductor. A tragic story of a woman who couldn’t escape her torturous past. Her physical symptoms and eventual demise can be seen as a literal metaphor for the life-long emotional suffering which a kidnap victim would endure throughout their lifetime, long after the event had passed. Ellis has a very wispy voice which grated on me at times throughout the episode though she certainly conveyed the broken vulnerability of a victim.

Although he professes to Scully that not everything he does and thinks has to do with his sister, this case in particular resonates with him precisely because of Samantha’s abduction. He is sympathetic towards Lucy and is convinced right from the beginning that she is a victim in this story. Duchovny delivers one of his most emotional performances so far in the series and was praised by critics and fans for this, many of whom cited his acting as the element which brought the necessary weight to the story. It’s a side we haven’t seen of the character since Scully’s abduction and it’s a highlight of the show. Thankfully, Scully doesn’t attempt to provide a scientific explanation as to how Lucy drowned on dry land, seeming to agree with Mulder’s reasoning which is rare, and an element I appreciated. Although Jacobs survives her ordeal there is nothing optimistic about the closing scenes. A bleak, though moving story about living with emotional abuse and the scars we cannot see.

---

★★★★☆

Season 3, Episode 7 – ‘The Walk’.

“It was war that destroyed Trimble’s body, but the wounds went deeper than the loss of his limbs.” – Fox Mulder.

---

THE WALK [Standalone] Aired November 10, 1995

Episode: 3×07 / 56 Overall

Director: Rob Bowman • Writer: Chris Carter & John Shiban

A quadruple amputee becomes the prime suspect in a series of bizarre deaths.

John Shiban joins the rank of The X-Files as a writer, penning the first of many episodes to come and beginning in season five he will act as an executive producer until the series end in 2002. His first episode is a standalone MOTW which looks at the lives of soldiers, disabled by injuries sustained during the Gulf War. This is both a dramatic thriller and social commentary on the massive emotional and mental trauma that veterans endure, sometimes manifesting itself as Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, or Gulf War Syndrome. Gulf War Syndrome is the name given to describe a medically unexplained condition of Gulf War soldiers who have suffered such intense periods of stress, both physically and mentally, that their mental state is irreparably damaged, sometimes leaving them unable to function in society and thus they remain institutionalized for life. Shiban creates the character of Leonard ‘Rappo’ Trimble, played by Ian Tracey, so that he may embody the voice of these type of soldiers and is the lead antagonist in this story who seeks revenge on his military superiors by inflicting upon them the same emotional anguish which he and his buddies suffered under their command.

Rappo is a quadruple amputee, an effect that was achieved very successfully by the special effects department. We’re clearly positioned to rule him out as a suspect due to his condition, though it’s immediately obvious that he has some involvement in the unexplained phenomena that is occurring throughout the hospital. Willie Garson plays Rappo’s co-conspirator, Roach, his first of two guest appearances on the show, the second being in the season seven episode The Goldberg Variation. At first we are to assume that Roach is the party responsible for the attacks though it seems unlikely due to his timid, subservient nature. There’s not a whole lot of mystery here but it doesn’t detract in my opinion. They story moves along at a steady pace highlighted by some memorable action sequences involving impressive special effects for the mid-90’s. While Rappo is using astral projection his spectral form is unseen by the naked eye so the special effects department cleverly utilized a number of ways to frame the character using water, sand and finally steam during the episodes climax. This effect was achieved very well and added greatly to both the enjoyment of the show and spookiness of Rappo’s character. I was reminded of the 2000 film Hollow Man during these sequences which utilised the same effect on a larger scale. There are apparently many errors regarding military protocol throughout the episode, though having little to no knowledge in this area I have to say this did not present as an issue for me.

The opening scene is quite shocking. I can’t even imagine wanted to die so badly that you would plunge yourself in to boiling hot water. Then to be revived and forced to live with these horrific burns, suffice to say the character of Lt. Col. Victor Sans suffered a terrible fate. My immediate thought once Sans suffocates Rappo was that he is now free to end his own life, though he inexplicably chooses not to. I found it confusing during the final scenes that Sans has apparently accepted his pain and has stopped attempting to kill himself. Perhaps we are to assume that he, along with General Thomas Callahan, has accepted responsibility for his actions which in some way gave Rappo due cause. For a man so desperate to end his suffering however this seems a stretch. Regardless of the fact that we have seen this type of story before in episodes like Excelsis Dei and Roland, in which a person is committing murder despite appearing to be physically unable to do so, I still enjoyed The Walk a lot. This is a grim story about deep pain with no reprieve of lightness coupled with some impressive action sequences and decent performances from the guest stars.

---

★★★★☆

Season 3, Episode 6 – ‘2Shy’.

“He’s some kind of a fat-sucking vampire? ” – Dana Scully.

---

2SHY [Standalone] Aired November 3, 1995

Episode: 3×06 / 55 Overall

Director: David Nutter • Writer: Chris Carter & Jeff Vlaming

Shy, overweight women are being pursued online by a suitor who courts them with Italian poetry. The women are being found dead, their corpses stripped of flesh.

One of two episodes to be written by Jeff Vlaming, a series writer on Weird Science and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, among others. 2Shy has been compared to earlier episodes Squeeze and Irresistible in that their lead antagonists are all very unassuming, normal-looking men. Donnie PFaster from Irresistible in particular shares many similarities with Virgil Incanto (Timothy Carhart), both are seemingly shy, withdrawn men who proposition unsuspecting women by luring them in to a false sense of security. On the surface neither appear to pose any threat, concealing their true nature by hiding in plain sight. The obvious parallels notwithstanding, Valming’s script still manages to hold its own as an original story thanks to Carhart’s performance and the perfectly disgusting concept of a man compelled to feed on human body fat.

In 1995 the Internet was still in its infancy, having been launched at a consumer level in 1991. This episode came out the same year as Sandra Bullock’s action thriller, The Net, a film that played on the public’s lack of understanding about the Internet that inevitably lead to fear regarding the free sharing of public information. The online world has developed at an exponential rate in the last 20 years and as such the concept of meeting people online is accepted as common practice, though not so much in 1995. Like The Net this story draws on peoples fear about the ambiguity of online interaction and whether you can ever really know who you’re talking to. Most of the characters don’t openly question the concept of online dating though there is clearly an underlying suggestion of threat. The writer is implying that online interaction may not always be as safe as we’d like to think. This is  very gooey episode for the special effects department, which succeeded in its attempt to gross out the audience. The substance Incanto covers his victims in is created well, as aspect that could easily have been comical if done poorly, and I found the extreme decomposition of the almost liquefied bodies to be a gruesome sight.

I like that Incanto isn’t really a villain, or even a monster. Arguably the acts that he perpetrates are ‘monstrous’ in their nature, however he is simply driven by the universal need to survive. There is no pleasure derived from this fat sucking ritual, nor any true malice behind the act, he is feeding on an unwilling living being in much the same way a human feeds on animal flesh. Fundamentally these two acts are the same thing, the latter is simply condoned by society while the former is not. The fate of the women Incanto targets is quite tragic, they are all insecure, lonely women daring to take a chance with an online date, only to end up being quite literally used by a man they trusted. It’s this aspect that Scully confronts him about in the episode’s conclusion, she remarks how Incanto preyed not only on their bodies but their minds as well, abusing their trust. Though he simply sees it as a matter of quid pro quo, he gives them what they want and in return he takes what he needs. Parallels could be drawn between the episode and the reality of men who use women for their body, satiating a base desire that they see as need rather than a want. However I didn’t feel that the writing was attempting to form a correlation as much as draw inspiration from real life.

---

★★★☆☆

Season 3, Episode 5 – ‘The List’.

“I will return to avenge the petty tyranny and the cruelty I have suffered. I will be recast. Reincarnated. Reunion of Spirit and Flesh. Mark my words: Five men will die.” – Napolean “Neech” Manley.

---

THE LIST [Standalone] Aired October 20, 1995

Episode: 3×05 / 54 Overall

Director: Chris Carter • Writer: Chris Carter

Enemies of a prison inmate who was executed in the electric chair begin dying one by one.

Carter direct his second episode since season two’s Duane Barry which is brimming with visual flair though ultimately lacking in storytelling. The List is a claustrophobic prison thriller that has a captivating gloomy atmosphere. Carter himself has stated that he felt the episode was daring in the sense that there are essentially no likeable characters, no protagonists to root for, beyond the two agents themselves. The episodes weakest link is in its simplicity, we witness the execution of Neech Manly (Badja Djola), a self-proclaimed prophet of sorts who vows revenge from beyond the grave. “Five men will die,” Neech proclaims to his witnesses in the most powerful scene of the episode which sets a foreboding tone. However Carter’s story practical ends where it begins in the sense that there are no revelations beyond this point. What we see in the opening teaser is exactly what we get, Neech Manly returns from death and enacts his revenge. Much like season one’s Space, Mulder and Scully are relegated to spectators since although we follow them through the advancement of plot, they themselves have no real bearing on the events. They neither prevent any of the deaths from occurring nor do they solve the case. Never the less Carter proves himself an adept visual story teller as he captures the confined geography of the death row holding cells to create a sustained sense of tension throughout, which ends up being the episode’s saving grace.

I don’t entirely agree with Carter’s assertion that there are no protagonists. The story progression clearly positions the audience to dislike the Warden, played by the always sinister J.T. Walsh. The Warden fears for his life, believing himself to be on Neech’s list and is desperately trying to prevent his own demise. Throughout the episode he interrogates the prisoners, bashing two of them to death in a futile attempt to save his own life. And even though these are death row inmates who surely committed even worse atrocities to receive such a sentencing, the fact that we don’t get any insight in to these characters or their crimes causes us to feel sorry for them. As far as the audience is concerned, this is the story of a Warden abusing his power over helpless, shackled inmates. Without learning, even to some degree of these prisoners past, we can’t help but sympathise with them and given the corrupt nature of the prison system we’re shown we invariably side with Neech in his revenge. The way Carter positions the audience through the story telling invites us, perhaps unintentionally, to see the Warden as the antagonist and Neech and his fellow inmates as the good guys. It’s a natural desire to try and find a party to side with in a story so in this case we choose the lesser of two evils.

There are some gruesome practical effects in The List which are quite effective, such as the severed heads of the guards and the recurring theme of maggots feeding on the recently deceased. Apparently the maggots used on set were real and in several cases actors had to lie still while they had buckets of them poured on to their body. Needless to say this was an unpopular aspect of filming for the cast and crew, particularly Gillian Anderson who stated that the maggots were the hardest animal to work with on the show. Watching the episode again I wondered whether I had missed something about Neech’s resurrection in that it appeared to suggest to me that he had returned as a fly, which is present just before each murder. Although he was able to also materialise within his original body to enact the murder so perhaps the fly is simply an omen of death. The final scene, despite being somewhat cliché is still very effective and ends the episode on a dramatic high point. In fact I felt that the two most compelling scenes where the first and last, from Neech’s execution to his final act of revenge on his most deserving of victims.

---

★★☆☆☆

Season 3, Episode 4 – ‘Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose’.

“You know, there are worse ways to go, but I can’t think of a more undignified way than auto-erotic asphyxiation.” – Clyde Bruckman.

---

CLYDE BRUCKMAN’S FINAL REPOSE [Standalone] Aired October 13, 1995

Episode: 3×04 / 53 Overall

Director: David Nutter • Writer: Darin Morgan

A man with psychic powers assists the agents with the hunt for a killer.

Widely regarded as one of the best and certainly most popular standalone episodes, Darin Morgan’s Emmy Award winning script was selected as the fourth entry in the X-Files Essentials collection. Returning for the second time since penning the first true comedy episode Humbug, Morgan weaves his unique brand of comedy through a tale of murder and psychics. The genre switching nature of the The X-Files, from comedy to horror to dramatic thriller, was one of it’s selling points and likely contributed a great deal to the series staying power. Though it was never more effective than when utilised within a single episode. Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose is indeed an essential episode as it perfectly captures the series best efforts at seamlessly moving between genres and style to effectively present a show that is able to explore the nature of death in a way that is both playful and horrific. No doubt a great deal of the episodes success can be attributed to the performance of the late Peter Boyle, whose show stealing depiction of the troubled Clyde Bruckman won him an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.

Bruckman is such a well written character, it’s truly outstanding how fully developed he appears and how quickly we, as an audience, connect with him. Much like Brad Duorif in Beyond the Sea, Boyle commits to the truth of the character. He plays it with real honesty and despite being a gifted comedic actor he never pushes for a laugh, almost throwing away his humorous observations about death which are of course funny yet deeply poignant at the same time. We meet this man during the final days of his life, though we get a sense of the way this psychic ability has weighed him down over the decades to an apathetic acceptance at the futility of both his own and others existence. Unable to effect any real change or positively impact those around him he presents now as man worn down by the passing of time. However in his closing days he seems to form a connection with Scully and his death, though tragic in its nature is also cathartic for both himself and the agent. Morgan also started the notorious fan theory that Scully is immortal by having Bruckman remark that she does not die, when she inquires about her own death.

Morgan seems to have vented most of his more outlandish humour in to the character of The Stupendous Yappi which was written specifically for Jaap Broeker, David Duchovny’s stand-in. Broeker is undoubtedly chewing the scenery with his outrageously flamboyant portrayal of a TV psychic and if over used he could have easily become overbearing however Morgan has the good sense to use him sparingly, as the comic relief in a way, and to this end the character works quite well. Among every else that Morgan delivers with this memorable episode is the introduction of Scully’s dog, Queequeg, who will hang around for most of the season.

There is a great moment when Bruckman is forecasting Mulder’s death yet keeps getting distracted by which flavour pie is in the vision, Coconut or Banana cream? We can see that visions of murder have become so mundane to him that he’s more interested in what we would consider the trivialities of the circumstance. During the final act the killer queries Bruckman about why he does the things that he does and in a brilliantly simple explanation he states, “You do the things you do because you’re a homicidal maniac.” There is no further explanation required, some people just are the way they are, a revelation to both the killer and the audience.

---

★★★★★

Season 3, Episode 3 – ‘D.P.O’.

“So, what are we supposed to charge him with, ‘assaulting a cellular phone’?” – Dana Scully.

---

D.P.O [Standalone] Aired October 6, 1995

Episode: 3×03 / 52 Overall

Director: Kim Manners • Writer: Howard Gordon

The agents investigate the deaths of several young people who were apparently struck by lightning in the same small town.

D.P.O are the initials of Darin Peter Oswald, the shows lead antagonist who is played by a young Giovanni Ribisi. He is one of two budding Hollywood starts to feature in this tale of teenage angst, Jack Black  was cast as Ribisi’s best friend in the episode. Although this was prior to his breakout in film, Ribisi had actually done quite a lot television work at this point, Black was less known to the public though regardless it’s the pairs on screen chemistry that propels the episode forward and likely prevents it from ultimately becoming a parody of itself. There were apparently some concerns early on that conceptually the script was too juvenile for the show’s target adult audience and that the characters adolescent outbursts would fail to capture the interest of a more mature viewer. This was thankfully not the case as Ribisi’s sociopathic loner proved to be genuinely compelling, so much so that he’s arguably one of season 3’s more memorable characters.

Darin is really not a villain, and that’s why he’s an interesting character. His destructive power could easily be seen as the literal and physical manifestation of his post pubescent hormones raging through him. His misplaced affection for Miss Kiveat is a powerful emotion for him, as a teenager he is feeling perhaps for the first time, these lustful emotions and the logic of their age difference is irrelevant. This is of course a very normal young adult behavior, Howard Gordon then turns this on it’s head and asks the ‘what if’ question by externalizing Darin’s surging hormones with the primal and unpredictable force of lightning. There’s a lot of pressure riding on Ribisi’s performance in this episode, most of the story is told from his perspective and there was a risk that the character could become simply a bland teenage stereotype. Thankfully he owns the role and emanates on screen presence that it’s certainly no wonder he went on to bigger roles in film. Jack Black does a fine job also but he has less to work with and ultimately, as he tends to do, is playing a version of himself admittedly drastically toned down from his usual overblown comedic style. The pair work well in tandem, Zero is needed to bring some levity and energy to the heavy gravity of Darin’s moody and withdrawn nature. It’s a successful pairing that was expertly cast, had this dynamic not worked so well the episode would surely have fallen to the ranks of the forgettable.

The visual effects are surprisingly convincing for the time period. There’s a lot of lighting strikes, electrical interference and destruction of property and once again this could have been a major detraction if not done well but it’s all very convincing and effective. The final climax with Darin letting loose his rage works well, the lightning effects in conjunction with Ribisi’s fierce energy make for a satisfying finale. There’s not a lot to say about Mulder and Scully in this episode, not due to any failing on their part as actors but simply because the focus is so heavily placed upon Darin’s character and to telling his story. On paper this might have seemed a very silly premise: moody teenager commands lightning to win over his high school teacher, but somehow it works. A great example of the right casting, a competent director and excellent characterization that makes for a memorable early season standalone.

---

★★★☆☆

Season 3, Episode 2 – ‘Paper Clip’.

“This is where you pucker up and kiss my ass.” – Assistant Director Skinner.

---

PAPER CLIP [Mythology] Aired September 29, 1995

Episode: 3×02 / 51 Overall

Director: Rob Bowman • Writer: Chris Carter

As a government hit squad closes in on the agents, Mulder searches for clues about his father’s involvement in a top secret project.

The conclusion to the three part story arc that began with Anasazi is possibly the most significant mythology episode to date, in that it reveals key information that lays the groundwork for the stories that will span across several seasons. The more noteworthy components of this story are the revelation that Mulder’s father not only played a role in the abduction of his sister but also worked alongside Nazi scientists in the 1970’s who were performing secret genetic experiments in an attempt to create human-alien hybrids. This is in preparation for a post apocalyptic landscape following some unknown world changing event. Skinner’s allegiance is firmly settled once and for all and we learn that Cancer Man has superiors that he must answer to who have concerns about his capacity to carry out the responsibilities of his position. He himself appears to exaggerate his own importance within the group, flaunting his power over people like A.D. Skinner yet seemingly unable to handle the situation effectively in regards to the retrieval of the DAT tape.

Mulder’s discovery of Scully’s file, originally meant for him, is a significant plot point that is explored further in later episodes. In retrospect we can see that this episode infers much of what is later confirmed throughout the series. At this point it’s a good idea to try and clarify what is being set up in this story. As we know, it will be revealed in subsequent episodes that when the Syndicate was formed in 1973 each of them offered a family member in exchange for an alien fetus, seen in The Erlenmeyer Flask, whose genetic material would be used in the hybrid experiments. Bill Mulder chose his son first and that decision was then changed to Samantha. It is revealed later that Cancer Man offered up his wife, Cassandra Spender, whom we have yet to meet. These family members were eventually returned, some of which were abducted many more times. Samantha went to live under the care of Cancer Man with his son Jeffrey Spender and was subject to cloning experiments. It is one of these clones that Mulder met in the season 2 episode, Colony. In the previous episode, Scully discovered a computer chip that had been embedded in to her neck. We find out that this is a tracking chip that is inserted in to abductees, the removal of which can have fatal effects, like causing terminal cancer, which we will later learn over a story arc involving Scully and other female abductees.

Cancer Man is being pressured by the Syndicate to produce results. He claims to have retrieved the DAT tape, though this in in fact a lie since Skinner is shown to have it at the beginning of the episode. It’s interesting to see Cancer Man having to answer to someone, he’s not quite the all powerful figure we believed him to be. His methods and approach to handling situations is evidently at odds with the other group members who are beginning to distrust him and lose confidence in his abilities. He is desperate to get the tape back from Skinner as he screams at him, almost pleading, while at the same making sure that it’s known that he does not bargain with anyone. He is really a rogue figure, despite belonging to this group he appears to act on his own, without their authorization and with no loyalty to anyone. We know this because he attempts to have Krycek killed and blatantly lies to the Syndicate. This can also be seen as the catalyst for Krycek venturing out on his own. The character will become very much a lone wolf, simultaneously forging new alliances while cutting ties with others, basically aligning himself with whomever or whatever will benefit him the most. We could argue that this occurrence has caused him to trust no one and look out only for himself.

The conclusion of this story arc has achieved a number of things. It’s laid the groundwork for the continuing mythology that will be expanded upon in coming episodes and seasons. It’s also shown Mulder and Scully that their work is important, certainly important enough to kill for and therefore providing them with even more motivation to continue with their investigations. Both of them have now sacrificed too much to give up and have witnessed the global implications of this alien conspiracy. For Scully in particular whether she ‘believes’ or not, she can certainly see that there are a group of people, governmental or otherwise, who are depriving citizens of their civil liberties and they must be held accountable. For Mulder it’s the most information he’s ever had regarding his sisters disappearance and conformation that the X-Files investigations will provide him with the answers he seeks.

---

★★★☆☆

Season 3 Premiere – ‘The Blessing Way’.

“We predict the future. And the best way to predict it, is to invent it. “ – The Well-Manicured Man.

---

THE BLESSING WAY [Mythology] Aired September 22, 1995

Episode: 3×01 / 50 Overall

Director: R.W. Goodwin • Writer: Chris Carter

A furious pursuit of Agent Mulder is underway, and more importantly, the government wants the data tape he carried. Agent Scully, against all odds, searches to uncover his whereabouts, persisting that he is alive when all others deny it.

The third season begins with an episode that blends thoughtful sentimentality and mysticism  with tense drama. In contrast to the previous season’s closer, Scully pulls focus and drives much of the plot forward, while Mulder takes a back seat. A choice that Duchovny felt resulted in a wasted opportunity for himself as an actor, but rather Carter disagreed and felt, rightfully so in my opinion, that the dramatic weight had to be shifted from Mulder to Scully. This episode introduces us to one of my favorite syndicate members, The Well-Manicured Man, played by John Neville. Though this moniker is only used to credit the character in the cast list, thankfully it’s never used on the show as it is pretty silly as far as names go. While Anasazi saw the murder of Bill Mulder by Alex Krycek, this time around same trigger man dispatches Scully’s sister, Melissa, albeit by accident with Scully being the intended victim. Both agents have now lost someone close to them, paid the heavy price for their insubordination, their stubborn pursuit of the truth despite the deadly consequences. Deep Throat’s final words, “Trust no one”, have never been more pertinent as Scully questions Skinner’s allegiances and realises that Mulder may be her only true friend at the F.B.I.

For a mythology episode, this one is fairly straightforward. It doesn’t succumb to convoluted subplots but rather functions simply as a way to bring Mulder back in to the game and give Scully more stake in the X-Files. It does this in two ways, one is the death of her sister and the other is the discovery of a computer chip embedded in her neck. The chip is hard evidence of her abduction and something which she cannot deny. As Melissa says to her, she is shut off to any other possibilities than her ‘rigid scientific view’ and part of this episode is about Scully finally starting to accept that there are events occurring which defy logic, though she’ll still have a ways to go. Some viewers were critical of the mystical elements presented through the Navajo spiritual rituals used to effectively bring Mulder back to life. I, however felt this added a nice tonal shift between the two stories being told in this episode. The scenes with Mulder in New Mexico, once again the red paint covered Vancouver quarry, were slow moving but had his reemergence been rushed it would have felt cheap. Maybe it’s because I find the spirituality of the traditional Native American culture fascinating but I enjoyed these scenes. It was a far more interesting both visually and thematically to have him brought back in this fashion than to spend half an episode with him lying in a hospital bed.

The final scene is a highlight of the episode. Scully, fearing that Skinner has been sent to kill her, holds a gun to her head and demands answers. A figure approaches the door to Mulder’s apartment, where they are currently situated and Skinner takes this opportunity to draw his own gun. It’s a great moment because so far in the series Skinner’s loyalty to the agents has been called in to question on more than one occasion. His motives are unclear and though he appears to want to aid in the X-Files investigations we haven’t seen enough evidence to be certain one way or the other. Therefore when he reassures Scully he is on her side and then proceeds to draw his gun, with everything we’ve seen so far it feels like it could go in either direction. This is the first time we see the Syndicate, or as they’re called in this episode, the Consortium. It’s a brief glimpse in to Cancer Man’s world that has been only hinted at up until this point. We get the impression that this group of men wields a great deal of power, something the agents are all to aware of as Scully remarks to the Assistant Director of the F.B.I, “I think you overestimate your position in the chain of command.” A strong opening for season 3.

---

★★★☆☆