“Mulder, I know what you did wasn’t by the book.” – Dana Scully.
“Tells you a lot about the book, doesn’t it?” – Fox Mulder.
YOUNG AT HEART [Standalone] Aired February 11, 1994
Episode: 1×15 / 16 Overall
Director: Michael Lange • Writer: Chris Carter & Scott Kaufer
A criminal believed to have died in a prison years earlier wages a vendetta against Mulder.
Carter’s episodes as lead writer have a tendency to focus on the character development of Mulder and Scully, Fire and Ice, and often contain broad themes about the nature of humanity, The Jersey Devil and Space. Young at Heart falls into the former category as it explores Mulder’s distinguished career as an agent and examines some of the motives behind his more recent departure from standard F.B.I practice. Easily Carter’s strongest effort to date, following on from the previous Scully centric instalment this episode compliments it’s predecessor by this time placing Mulder in the foreground. Mulder is nothing if not reckless with his position at the F.B.I, his audacious behaviour is excused only by his doggedly relentless search for truth and justice at any cost. His flagrant disregard for protocol is a defining feature of his personality and through the exploration of an early career choice that cost the life of a fellow agent, Carter provides some justification for his current mindset.
The scenes between Mulder and his former partner Reggie (Dick Anthony Williams) feel genuine. Reggie talks of Mulder’s competence and proficiency as an agent, his impressive work as criminal profiler and how with his work on the X-Files he feels that Mulder is jeopardising his promising career. During the flashbacks to Mulder’s previous altercation with Barnett we learn that he did not pull the trigger as it violated F.B.I. protocol to willingly endanger the life of a hostage. Carter uses this event to partly justify Mudler’s current disregard for the very same protocols. He feels that pulling the trigger, regardless of the technicalities, was the right move and this now eats away at him. He has taken from this experience the belief that going by the book is not always the right path. Scully, ever the stickler for rules, assures Mulder that he made the right move but he sees this as a weak consolation. This enables the audience to connect with Mulder and develop a deeper appreciation for his contempt for the puritanical attitude of his single-minded superiors.
David Peterson, who plays John Barnett has an enigmatic face for a villain and it’s a shame that he appears only briefly and is replaced by his younger version, played by Alan Boyce. The scenes between young Barnett and Mulder on the phone are probably the highlight of the episodes, Boyce has an alluring voice and the interactions between the pair play well as a deadly game of cat and mouse. The back and forth interactions between Agent Henderson (Desperate Housewives’ Christine Estabrook) and Mulder have good chemistry and it’s a shame the character wasn’t used again in the series. Once again Jerry Hardin makes an appearance as the elusive Deepthroat and unfortunately as is sometimes the case with his character’s inclusion in episodes, it feels unnecessary and ultimately a disappointing squandering of an interesting character skilfully portrayed by a seasoned actor.
While certainly not an unsuccessful entry to the series by any means, Young at Heart lacks the punch needed for it to rise above the pack. However, Carter helps to flesh out Mulder’s journey and to this extent the episode is enjoyable and relevant to the overall advancement of character motivation that helps the X-Files deliver a well rounded and realistic performance from it’s two lead actors.
★★★☆☆
The X-Files Retrospective Project 