1X06 SHADOWS

"There are incalculable resources in the human spirit, once it has been set free."
Hubert H. Humphrey

"Can vengeance be pursued further than death?"
Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

"One To-day is worth two To-morrows."
Benjamin Franklin

"I'm giving us a chance to solve a case that's tangible instead of chasing after shadows."
Scully

SYNOPSIS

PHILADELPHIA
A young woman is protected by the ghost of her boss, who committed suicide. Or did he?

SCULLYVISION

We follow Mulder and Scully to the Bethesda Hospital in Maryland to meet up with two FBI agents who stand around looking like a new age American Gothic couple, and about as boisterous. When they won't let our agents in on any information, Mulder lies to them about never seeing anything like the case, men dying by their throats crushed, with no marks left on the skin. Scully doesn't say anything, because they're jerks. In the hall though, she asks him about it, that she knows he had seen it before. Yes, indeedy, in a previous X File.

Gotta hand it to Mulder. He not only uses his eyeglasses for vision correction, he also uses them as an investigative tool, getting a fingerprint of the corpse on the lens.

Mulder tells her that the men's deaths could be from Pyscho-kinesis, to which Scully slightly smiles, is getting used to her partner, and jokes, "Like how Carrie got even at the prom?" Seems as if nothing would surprise her anymore, but doesn't dismiss him outright, as had been her pattern. She's gotten to the point of watching and recording what Mulder comes up with.

Mulder introduces Scully to Lauren when they go to her home. When Lauren tries to tell them she's busy, Mulder just steps in and says that it won't take long, looking the place over, not at her. Scully, on the other hand, politely smiles and cautiously enters her house.

Since Mulder complained of dizziness during a previous case that involved researching microfiche, Scully does it.

Hidden talent of Mulder's: Develops photographs. Didn't need a manual or anything.

Damn seatbelts! Our Ms. Scully didn't get to see the good stuff in Lauren's house with the thugs dying by Howard's ghost, because that darn seatbelt wouldn't unlatch! So once again, she didn't see the strangeness in action, just the aftermath, after the thug had fallen dead after being levitated, and Lauren crying in the corner.

At the FBI building in Philly, Scully is the one who begins the interrogation of Lauren. It's calm once again, as is her pattern, like we saw her interrogate Tessa in Conduit. Mulder is ready to take over, wanting answers to what he was able to witness at her house, because he could unfasten his seatbelt. As he begins, the Bobsy Twins butt in, telling them that they'll take over the investigation. Scully tells them in her polite manner, to blow it out their asses with "tell us what you find out" and leaves with Mulder, knowing they aren't going to get anywhere with the woman.

Of course, the Charismatic Couple couldn't get answers from Lauren, so they welcome Mulder and Scully to try once more.

Good cop - bad cop with a twist. When Lauren adamantly won't speak to them, Mulder tells her she's free to leave. Scully's look of indecision of Mulder's decision is good. She doesn't know if its for the best, but goes with it, probably knowing Mulder isn't going to let up so quickly. He goes the way of, I believe you, and talks of Howard, to get her to spill her guts. If you'd paid attention to Mulder's tactics to gain information over the course of the series so far, we know he pretends to be a skeptic to get answers from believers, something that he's not. Scully uses the same method of getting answers on Lauren, she acts like she believes what Lauren is saying, and tells her that she has to stop Dorland, Howard Graves' partner, and who could very well be the one who killed him. Scully tells Lauren that she has to help them solve the case or Howard will never rest in peace. Know what? It worked. Lauren just needs to freshen up, then she's ready and willing to help. When Mulder and Scully are alone, Mulder is confused and tells Scully it wasn't fair to use what Lauren believes against her, Scully isn't a believer, why did she do that? Scully so eloquently replied that she believes that Lauren believes, and only wants justice and to solve the case. That's all that matters. Once again, Scully's mind and heart are with the victims.

Scully is the one who runs down what's going to happen with the FBI agents who are to search Dorland's offices to find evidence of supporting the Isfahan, who attacked Lauren in the teaser. Mulder is the coddler of the guest stars as he touches Lauren's arm, makes sure she's all right before going to the office. Scully, puts her in the back seat.

When they get to the offices, Scully again takes charge as she's the one who flashes the badge and announces to everyone what's going down.

Again, in the same episode, Scully misses the good stuff in Dorland's office, and only gets to see the aftermath of the office is torn apart with Mulder, Lauren and Dorland inside.

And does anyone see the resemblance of Dorland with The Cigarette Smoking Man? He could easily play his little brother.

OH COME ON!

If an employee is giving her 2-weeks' notice to her employer, maybe it's not a good idea to grab her face and tell her that he's not going to lose her. To top it all off, call her a bitch when she comes with FBI carrying a search warrant. Yeah, that's a wonderful idea.

Lauren not only lets her cat on the velvet couch, but actually places it there?

Scully shows a picture of a white streak, ghost, from the ATM machine security camera and actually asks, "Have you seen this person before?"

Who says Mulder needs glasses? After leaving Lauren's house the first time, Mulder and Scully's rental shifts into reverse and had to have traveled four blocks before the accident, to which Mulder looks up and sees Lauren staring out the window?

The headlights on Mulder and Scully's car aren't on right after the car wreck, but came on after bringing it to the mechanics.

Why does Lauren shut her bathroom door at night? Oh, that's right. To make it spookier when she hears ghosts and has to push it open with a baseball bat. And of course, when you hear noises, running water, a voice yelling 'no', in the middle of the night, by all means, don't turn on any lights.

There wasn't a license plate on the thugs' car when they pulled up to Lauren's house.

Why did they need to bring Lauren with to the office to search it?

THINGS LEARNED
or All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned From the X Files

Don't ever go to ATM machines alone at night.

If you need to pack a lot of suits, take a class by Mulder and Scully on making it all fit in one small dufflebag. They're the best!

Grounds keepers for cemeteries are a font of information on 25 year old deaths.

Cats can tell you when there are ghosts around. They take off and hiss.

Don't get too rough with Lauren Kyte.

Pretend to believe to get results. But be prepared to hear about it from Mulder.

Jack's MonsterVision

The monster for this episode is the ghost of Howard Graves. He died from an appartant suicide, but it is later shown that he was murdered. His ghost comes back as a poltergeist to protect his secretary, Lauren Kyte, who he had treated like a daughter. Lauren just happened to be the same age as Howard's real daughter would be, but she drowned when she was three when Howard accidentally left the pool gate open.

His powers as a poltergeist seem to be based on electromagnetic power. He uses the powers to crush the necks of victims from the inside, pretty cool. He can also throw objects around in the classic poltergeist way. From cups (to distract stubborn secretaries) to furniture (to trap his victims) to cars (to try to keep nosy FBI agents away) which make their headlights glow for some hours after. It also seems that he can recreate situations to show people what actually happened in the past, which he used to show Lauren that he was killed by his business partner, not that he commited suicide.

He uses these powers to protect Lauren and to get revenge on his business partner who ordered some thugs to kill him. He kills everyone who is sent to kill her, and at the end of the episode, he reveals a incriminating disk to put his partner in jail. It is only then that he is at peace, and fades away.

Because he has real motives and was impossible to stop until he got what he wanted, I'm giving Howard Graves' ghost 5 out of 5 Crushed Vertebrae.

SFX

Dorland's bracelet tightening around his wrist and Howard's plaque sliding across his desk were probably easy to accomplish, but bolstered the mood of the scenes.

The death of the thugs was very well done with the morphing or whatever it's called of Howard's ghost, the moving furniture, the levitation.

Blood in the bathtub and it's draining, wonderful.

The effects of Dorland's office being put through a wind machine was pleasing.

WRITERS
Glen Morgan/James Wong

Not their best work, but some wrote some interesting scenes. Lauren awakes to spookiness and ghost stories are always good. Scully was able to be qualified, but really has to figure out seat belts. Mulder's way of gleaning evidence with his glasses was great.

DIRECTOR
Michael Katelman

Nice segue work. Mulder tells Scully that they have to prove Howard Graves is still alive, with a smash cut to the face of another unhelpful person who states "Howard Graves is very dead." Good direction of the ghostly scenes.

RUNNING TALLIES
Guns - Scully had hers out to see the dead thugs, after it was all over
Mulder wears glasses, and uses them as an investigative tool
Scully types out a report
Cell Phones - Lauren called Mulder
Microfiche scene

Side Note: Inside joke, the name being painted over Howard Graves' parking spot was none other than Tom Braidwood, who was an Assistant Director with the show, and will eventually play the great, sleazy Melvin Frohike.

QUOTES

MULDER (to the strong, silent type agents at the morgue) Hey, you called us down here. If you want some answers you have to give some.

AGENT If any inquiry into this meeting be made, we request full denial.
MULDER I'd say you people already suffer from full denial.

SCULLY You lied. You have seen this before, I can tell. You lied to them.
MULDER I would never lie. I willfully participated in a campaign of misinformation.

SCULLY Psycho-kinesis? Like how Carrie got even at the prom?

DORLAND I won't let you leave, Lauren.

SCULLY I have a waiting-in-line-at-the- DMV-sized headache.
MULDER Mine's more IRS sized.

SCULLY They're here... (imitation of Carol Ann in "Poltergeist")

MULDER You don't see too many people at their boss' grave who aren't dancing on it.

SCULLY That's Howard Graves. He's alive.
MULDER Not necessarily.

MULDER Do you know how difficult it is to fake your own death? Only one man has pulled it off, Elvis.

SCULLY Mulder, there's no such thing as ghosts or psycho-kinesis. I'm sure there's an explanation. But I believe that she believes, and my priority is to get to her help us stop Dorland.

MULDER Hey, Scully. Do you believe in the afterlife?
SCULLY I'd settle for a life in this one.