“I want to believe…” – Fox Mulder.
CONDUIT [Mythology] Aired October 1, 1993
Episode: 1×03 / 4 Overall
Director: Daniel Sackheim • Writer: Alex Gansa & Howard Gordon
Mulder becomes obsessed with solving a case that closely parallels an “encounter” he experienced as a child.
While Conduit may contain a standalone story which concludes by the episodes close it is however considered as part of the mythology, in this reviewers opinion at least, due to it’s overarching theme which explores Mulder’s obsession with finding his missing sister. While we learned briefly of Samantha’s disappearance in the pilot, Gansa and Gordon have chosen to use their X-Files writing debut to further explore how this event has deeply affected Mulder. Sackheim, who directed episode 2, Deep Throat delivers a few hits and mostly misses in what is largely a disappointing addition to the series. It almost feels like a step back from the previous show.
Scully is seen in a meeting with Section Chief Scott Blevins, a character who will slowly begin to fade in to obscurity as the series progresses. We assume that Scully is meeting regularly with Blevins to discuss cases before commencing investigations with Mulder. She is briefed as to Mulder’s intentions to pursue a rather unwarranted case and is warned of his personal attachment which may impede upon his professionalism. Although as a first time viewer this scene would not seem out of place, in retrospect it is distinctively different to how Mulder and Scully will begin cases in the future. Mulder and Scully are still not equals in the X-Files unit. As always Mulder is more than willing to accept the extraordinary and pushes Scully, who remains unwavering, throughout the episode to concede that Alien involvement is the most logical explanation. In short we learn that the daughter has most likely been abducted and is returned to earth with no memory of her whereabouts. There are more than a few odd scenes in this rather poorly paced episode. It seems as if Gansa and Gordon have focused their energy on the exploration of Mulder’s inner fears and obsessions regarding his sister. This element of the episode is enjoyable to watch in terms of character development. However the standalone story which is the impetus for this self reflection could have been told with greater skill.
Several scenes and plot points stand out as detracting from the logic of the plot. In particular, Tessa, a friend of the missing girl, contacts Mulder and Scully seemingly with the intention to provide information. However when they converse she only offers vague, short answers to their questions and appears less than helpful. Mulder and Scully then discover that she was in fact carrying the child of the man she claimed was the missing girl’s boyfriend. This lands her in deep water with the police as a prime suspect for her disappearance. It’s a wonder then why she bothered to contact Mulder and Scully in the first place, surely she knew it would lead to this series of events. Overall the story feels immature. The plot point regarding the younger brother receiving messages through the television and scribing them in binary at first seems intriguing, however it is underdeveloped and ultimately leads to an unsatisfying conclusion to the character. How a grown woman can’t keep up with a young boy who seems to be meandering through the forest or why you would be attempting to resuscitate a girl who Scully clearly states is alive but unconscious are just a couple of tidbits that beseech plausible answers.
Conduits flaws notwithstanding, the episode does give us a meaningful insight in to Mulder’s motivations and deepest fears. The young girls abduction clearly mirrors Mulder’s personal experience and his desperation to find this missing girl shows us how much he yearns for answers to his own mystery. The conclusion of this episode serves to give Mulder hope in the search for Samantha, if this girl can reappear or be returned to her family after a seemingly unexplained absence then the prospect of finding Samantha alive after a similar occurrence may not seem so far fetched. He presses the mother to allow the daughter the chance to tell her story, to no avail. Perhaps Mulder is hoping to find some clues to his sisters abduction through talking with this girl. Mulder weeps for his lost kin while kneeling in a church, a rare sight for such a man to be seen in a house of religion. This may be used to convey the extent to which Mulder is willing to go to get his sister back, turning to God for assistance. After all Mulder is anything if not amenable when it comes to extreme possibilities, as his now famous final line for this episode iterates, “I want to believe.”
★★☆☆☆
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