“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.
★★★☆☆
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