“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.
★★★★☆
The X-Files Retrospective Project 