124 THE ERLENMEYER FLASK

"Increasingly I felt as if I were entering a struggle that might even be more than life and death.
It might be a struggle for my soul, my essence, or whatever part of me
might have reference to the eternal. There are worse things than death, I suspected."

Whitley Strieber
Transformation

SYNOPSIS

SUNDAY MAY 8, 1994 - TO ALMOST THREE WEEKS LATER
WASHINGTON, DC.
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
ARDIS, MARYLAND
FORT MARLENE, MARYLAND
Deep Throat alerts Mulder to the case of a police chase that started with a moving violation. Through their investigation, Mulder and Scully find that there have been scientists working on making a human-alien hybrid, Mulder gets kidnaped, Deep Throat is assassinated. Just your average, run of the mill episode...

SCULLYVISION

This episode raises the bar. There is scientific evidence of the existence of alien life even if only a virus. One man who had gotten in league with the agents, Deep Throat, is shockingly murdered. The X Files are closed. Things have become gravely serious for the agents.

It is due to this seriousness that Scully slams Mulder about Deep Throat. "This has reached the point of absurdity...who is this Deep Throat?" Mulder replies "Do you think he does this because he gets off on it?" Scully brutally answers with, "I think he does it because you do." She's starting to know her partner well. She could get into Mulder's head and know that a mysterious person, seemingly telling Mulder everything he's suspected since his sister was taken in front of him is true, but hadn't ever revealed any true facts, that she could tell. Mulder was seduced by Deep Throat. They both know that the stakes have been raised, and she's worried that Mulder may see only what he wants to see. That could very well lead to Mulder's death.

We see Scully run the gamut of emotions in this episode. TickedScully who Mulder orders around, who instantly turns into FunnyScully with the monkey pee comment. HumbleScully admits when she's wrong and should have trusted Mulder even at the expense of questioning her beloved science. SkepticalScully makes her appearence when Deep Throat appeared to her and she questioned his apparent willingness to save Mulder at the expense of many other lives. UndercoverScully walks into the Containment Facility, trusting that Deep Throat is indeed helping them.

Her scenes with Deep Throat also run the gamut of emotions. She clearly doesn't trust him, at first thinking that Mulder's involvement with him will lead to Mulder's undoing. After Mulder is kidnaped, well, she certainly doesn't trust Deep Throat as far as she can throw him, but she has to. She has no where else to turn.

At the bridge before the exchange, Deep Throat is adamant that it will be he who makes the transfer to the kidnappers, not her. She once again wonders why. She has to think fast. Deep Throat's attitude of anger at her naivete and fright for what would happen during the exchange makes her make that step to trust him. She hands over the flask and walks to her car. She doesn't drive away to safety. She sees the men in the van drive by and takes note of the driver's face. She can almost feel the shivers roll up her spine. She watched the exchange in the rear view mirror and is horrified that Deep Throat is shot at point blank range. Just think of what must have been going through her mind at that second. It could have been her, but she smartly put her trust in a man that she didn't. She's worried that Mulder is probably already dead if they would kill the messenger so quickly. Her first instinct was not to drive away in fright, as I may have, who knows what one would do in such a situation until you're in it. She gets out of the car and runs to Deep Throat laying on the ground, sees Mulder's body being thrown out of the back of the van as it speeds away. Mulder could also be dead. They could shoot her out of the back of the van for all she knew, and she ran to them anyway.

She checks to make sure that Mulder is alive, then goes to Deep Throat. He's been shot in the heart and doesn't have much time. He's talking to her. Deep Throat is still thinking to the future also, even though he knows he's toast. He made Scully put her trust in him, and she did. He doesn't want that to happen again. The next time, she may put herself into the wrong hands. In a most important moment, he tells her "Trust No One". That's a tagline to the show, but to me, it's his poignant way of telling her that she should never trust anyone if they are to continue to find the truth. You'll notice that from this episode on, she doesn't, except for the one she should, Mulder.

OH COME ON!

A car crashes into the water at high speed and Mulder and Scully don't even question if it's the same car by the lack of a crinkled front bumper or a broken headlight? The car looked like it just came off the assembly line... sure in 1994, but you know what I mean.

When Scully meets Deep Throat for the first time he claims they have met before "ever so briefly." Like when?

The password for the flask would be written on Dr. Berube's monkey pee vial. Wouldn't he know what the stuff was in the vial? He's only got one research project going on.

Dr. Scully, however, once again fails her CPR test. This time she takes Mulder's pulse with her thumb which is not very effective and can result in confusion as to whether you are feeling the victims pulse or your own. Please writers and directors! If you're going to have a medical doctor as a main character on the show, let her be a realistic doctor.

It's pretty bright outside Scully's place at 11:21 pm.

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

Bacteria under a microscope is smooth and symmetrical.

If a guy's oozing green matter from a wound, don't stick a needle into him.

Only four nucleoside exist in DNA.

I haven't learned why Scully would get the kidnappers' own tissue sample to exchange for Mulder's life. Who are the kidnappers? Who are the scientists working for? Who had the fetus? Aren't they all one and the same?

CARTERVISION

There are test subjects who have green toxic blood when it's fresh. Scientists are working on a human-alien hybrid. Purity Control, run out of Los Alamos. The hybrids have super-human strength and can breathe underwater. In 1987, a group of children were given the hybrid DNA. In Born Again, it was mentioned that there were children who were tested on. There are also the Eves and Adams.

SFX

The alien-human fetus looked fake, but then what is an alien-human fetus supposed to look like?

RECURRING CHARACTERS

Deep Throat, The Assassin, Skinner is mentioned, CSM

WRITER
Chris Carter

This is the mother lode of the first season mythology episodes that leads us from point A to point B very nicely. He's probably got his 'bible' for the show and this episode gives us some things to work with. Sure, they only make us ask more questions, but that's the charm of the series. By killing off a major character, Mulder's informant, Deep Throat, we the audience are taught a lesson. When a character seems to be in danger, he/she just might be.

DIRECTOR
R. W. Goodwin

The master of the mythology season enders. His direction is crisp, interesting camera angles without making one think to him/herself, "Hm, interesting camera angle." The episode moves along at a nice pace. The murder of Dr. Berube going on where we can hear it, but can only see the monkeys reacting to the violence was chilling. The snap shots with the sound effects of flash bulbs flashing while seeing the crime scene photos of Berube's body, also creepy. I believe I've seen the same technique used in movies since this episode has aired. The all important bridge scene was scary and suspenseful. By the time the ending credits are shown, we want more. Too bad when the show was first airing weekly, we had to wait months.

RUNNING TALLIES
Guns
Mulder Breaks a Law - twice. Broke into Berube's house and Zeus Storage
Mulder's glasses and open field journal are on his coffee table
Raining - pavement is wet when the exchange is made
11:21
Cell Phones
Necklace
Danny
Scully drives!

Side note: Dr. Berube's attic is the same one used in the X Files CD Rom game where Craig Whitmore found Mulder.SCORE CARD FOR SAVING EACH OTHER'S ASS

Scully 5 - Mulder 4
She got the original tissue sample to exchange for Mulder's life with the kidnappers

POINT/COUNTERPOINT

SCULLY: I am so sorry about what happened to Deep Throat. If he hadn't insisted on handing over the flask himself, it might have been me that was killed. But I'm not sure, Mulder. I'm not sure at all about Deep Throat and his motives. Why did you trust him so much? Who was he? And what was in it for him? And why did they kill him and not kill you?

MULDER: What's in it for him? Nothing. Not anymore. He's dead! Sorry... he wanted to tell me the truth, what happened to my sister, who the 'consortium' is, what all this means. But still make sure he couldn't be found out. He sacrificed himself for me. For us. For our work.

SCULLY: Why sacrifice himself? Why didn't he ever just come right out and tell you, or us, about what the hell's going on?

MULDER: I just don't know Scully. Maybe once we know what the hell is going on, we'll understand why he didn't come clean with us.

ATHENAEUM

The parchment paper scratched beneath her door. "Not again," thought Scully. She was beginning to think that she was a dummy who someone was trying to educate by calling her to the library every other day, or perhaps someone was just yanking her chain. When she arrived in the basement she was convinced that her chain yanking theory was probably the right one. She laughed out loud when she saw the Curator this time.

She held out her finger and touched it to his long one. Scully asked the rubbery, so-ugly-he-was-cute creature, "ET? To teach me about aliens?"

The lights dimmed and the first slide was projected on to the wall. "Greys. Zeta Reticulians. Some put them in categories but basically they are one race. They are three and a half feet to six feet. They are hairless, thin with big eyes." ET briefly flashed his at Scully. She looked behind and around the little guy to see if there were prop masters moving him. Or a zipper, for her to know that there may be a little person inside of a costume.

The Curator, knowing she wouldn't find anything, continued, "The mid height Greys were at Roswell and are seen often by humans. They tamper with human genetics to make hybrid. Some Greys good, some Greys bad. Like humans," he shrugged his little shoulders. "The littlest Greys are most viscous. They invade earth, stop at nothing."

"Come on," Scully moaned.

"May be truth, may be stereotype."

The next slide came up. "This is Nordic Alien, very human looking. Maybe your ancestor from the Pleiades, Dana Scully. They're very benevolent, very spiritual. They mean man no harm."

"The next type, Grey-Human hybrid. Could be fact, could be myth." ET kept clicking the remote to the slide projector to no avail. "Slide is missing."

"Anyway," he continued, "Take a look at his Adonis..."

A picture came up of a gruesome looking reptilian creature. "Bad boys, bad boys. What you gonna do when they come for you, Dana Scully? Greys and humans are cattle to them. Next slide please, quickly." ET paused, the slide came up.

"Men in Black. Will on right. Tommy Lee on left. Great movie. ET's favorite. Blockbuster with my people. Earth premiere still a few years away. Earth always last to get good movies."

"What about the Ancients?" Scully inquired.

ET raised an eyebrow, very impressed that she'd gotten with the program. "Dana Scully smarter than she look."

"Hey!"

"Ancients are Greys. Our elders."

Suddenly, a little girl with blond pigtails came bouncing into the projection room. She stood toe-to-toe with the alien creature and she screamed bloody murder. ET, shocked, starting screaming in response. His neck stretching and receding, making him look like he was one of those dashboard dolls.

Scully shook her head, she'd seen the movie. "I'm off. Thanks for the lecture. It was informative."

The Curator as the little alien sidled up to her, "ET borrow cell phone?"

Scully asked, "A long distance call, no doubt?"

QUOTES

DEEP THROAT Are you watching channel eight?

SCULLY Do we even know why the suspect was being chased?
MULDER As far as I can tell, he wouldn't pull over for a moving violation.
SCULLY Well, that ought to put him in the Ten Most Wanted list.

SCULLY How do you know he's not just yanking your chain, this Deep Throat character?

LACERIO I know it's not "Silence of the Lambs," but it's what we do.

MULDER We should check with the doctor's housekeeper about the car while we're out here.
SCULLY No.
MULDER "No?" What do you mean, "no?"
SCULLY I mean, this has reached the point of absurdity, Mulder. We're out here on half a hunch off of a cryptic phone call chasing down a, a clue that's based on nothing but speculation.
MULDER Well, that's all we've got.
SCULLY That's all he's given us. Who is this Deep Throat character? I mean, we don't know anything about him. What his name is, what he does...
MULDER He's in a delicate position. He has access to information and indiscretion could expose him.
SCULLY You don't know that this isn't just a game with him. He's toying with you. Rationing out the facts.
MULDER You think he does it because he gets off on it?
SCULLY No. I think he does it because you do.

MULDER My mother usually likes me home before the street lights come on.

DEEP THROAT Your level of commitment seems to have diminished.

MULDER You know, from day one, this has always been on your terms. I've gone along. Been the dutiful son. But maybe this time, we can just cut out the Obi-Wan Kenobi crap and you can save me the trouble.
DEEP THROAT Don't give up on this one. Trust me. You've never been closer.

SCULLY Mulder, I'm warning you... if this is monkey pee, you're on your own.

SCULLY Now, I may be understating the strangeness of this, Mulder. Bacteria like this... it may have existed, but not for millions of years, not since before our ancestors first crawled out of the sea.

MULDER Yeah, Scully. Keep up the good work.

CARPENTER Under any other circumstances, my first call would have been to the government.
SCULLY What exactly did you find?
CARPENTER A fifth and sixth DNA nucleotide. A new base pair. Agent Scully, what are you looking at... it exists nowhere in nature. It would have to be, by definition... extraterrestrial.

SCULLY Mulder? Where on God's earth have you been? I've been trying to call you all night.

SCULLY I, I just want to say that I was wrong.
MULDER It's all right, don't worry about it.
SCULLY No, um... if you'd had listened to me, we wouldn't be here right now. I should know by now to trust your instincts.
MULDER Why? Nobody else does.
SCULLY You know, I've always held science as sacred. I've, I've always put my trust in the accepted facts. And what I saw last night... for the first time in my life, I don't know what to believe.
MULDER Well, whatever it is you do believe, Scully... when you walk into that room? Nothing sacred will hold.

DEEP THROAT There are limits to my knowledge, Mister Mulder. Inside the intelligence community, there are so-called "black organizations." Groups within groups conducting covert activities, unknown at the highest levels of power.

DEEP THROAT "Why?" Good lord, you've worked so hard and you still don't see it.

DEEP THROAT Roswell was a smoke screen, we've had a half-a-dozen better salvage operations. Dr. Berube was killed because his work was too successful. You're standing in the room where the first DNA transplant took, the first human-alien hybrid was created.

DEEP THROAT I didn't anticipate the speed and precision of their clean-up operation. They're systematically destroying all the evidence.

WOMAN She was in a terrible car accident, her whole family. Doctor Carpenter is... dead.

CREW CUT MAN Your cellular phone's been ringing off the hook.
MULDER I'm a popular guy. Why don't you answer it for me?

DEEP THROAT Listen to me. Evidence still exists.
SCULLY Where?
DEEP THROAT It might be difficult to obtain but with your medical background, I might be able to get you inside.
SCULLY Inside where?
DEEP THROAT The high containment facility at Fort Marlene, Maryland.
SCULLY What do they have there?
DEEP THROAT The wellspring, Miss Scully. The original tissue. If they've got Agent Mulder, they might be willing to make a deal. It could save his life.

GUARD Project password?
SCULLY Purity control.

DEEP THROAT Do you have it?
SCULLY Yes.
DEEP THROAT Good. They're willing to make the exchange.
SCULLY You spoke to them?
DEEP THROAT Yes. I'll take the parcel.
SCULLY No, sir. I'll make the exchange.
DEEP THROAT I made the deal, Scully, they're expecting me.
SCULLY I don't trust you.
DEEP THROAT You've got no one else to trust.
SCULLY I don't know who you are. I know nothing about you.
DEEP THROAT Oh, for God's sake, don't screw this up! Let me tell you something you should know. In 1987, a group of children from a southern state were given what their parents thought was a routine inoculation. What they were injected with was a clone DNA from the contents of that package you're holding as a test. That's the kind of people you're dealing with!
SCULLY So why give it back to them?
DEEP THROAT To save Mulder's life.
SCULLY At the risk of so many other lives?
DEEP THROAT Oh, it's the tip of the iceberg. You and Mulder are the only ones who can bring it to light. Now, give me the parcel.

DEEP THROAT Trust... no one.

MULDER They're shutting us down, Scully.

MULDER I'm... not going to give up. I can't give up. Not as long as the truth is out there.