The X-Files: Season Four
Herrenvolk
(4.01)
Written by Chris Carter / Directed by R.W. Goodwin
Well, it's been a long summer waiting for the
premiere of the X-Files and the partial resolution of the cliffhanger
from season 3. It has also been a long wait since watching this
episode last night having forbidden myself to check the newsgroup
until I post my opinion. I had mixed feelings about the episode on
the first viewing. I wasn't riveted while watching it until the last
ten minutes or so...then it kicked into high gear. Not that it wasn't
compelling but I've come to the conclusion that storylines involving
the conspiracy are by their very nature complex and full of
information from several viewpoints making for a show that jumps
around and tries to cover too many topics for its 45 minutes. The
MOTW episodes can be much tighter and exhilarating but a mythology
episode may never achieve this level due to its construction. But I
love the conspiracy episodes for what they offer in the way of
speculation once the credits roll and with the new info and loose
ends in Herrenvolk, this season should keep me busy.
***
X F - A n a l y s i s
ID:
X is dead. I don't care if it was the most obvious
choice or even if it made sense storywise...sure CSM was suspicious,
sure X was taking chances and putting his life at risk. I liked him!
I didn't want him to buy the farm. And he kept trying to help until
the end...it was painful to watch and the moment in Herrenvolk that
affected me the most. Too bad Mulder just now realized that he *was*
a friend (as he referred to him to the SRSG assistant). Was Scully
trying to be a defensive forward and block the ABH's way? She almost
deserved to be knocked down. Mulder tells Scully to go get the
car...she ain't his lackey. Then he ditches her...again. Does he
honestly think he can make up for it by calling her hours later? And
then he tells her to cover his tracks and his butt. This is one
selfish, self-centered git. Even Jeremiah had to set him
straight...it's more important than just the life of his mother.
Scully seeks help from Pendrell...she's working this angle but he
doesn't seem to mind. Straightening his tie and even getting screen
time out of his lab coat...I look forward to Pendrell sightings.
Another XF Olympic event...the quatrathalon. Run, boat, hike and
hive. Honeycomb's BIG. Yeah, yeah, yeah! Mulder gets a new informant
who seems to be an empath. The ABH heals Mulder's mom...is her name
withheld to protect the innocent? CSM to ABH, "And you know how
important Agent Mulder is to the equation." Tell us what you mean or
we'll rip that unlit cigarette out of your hand! My X-pervs for the
week...Mulder to Scully, "I'm going to need some protection," and
Scully to Pendrell, "I got lucky."
EGO:
Herrenvolk started off with sunny, green rolling
hills and an event seemingly unrelated to our cliffhanger. But it
didn't take long before a man lay dead and we got our first glimpse
of some potential fledglings from the "master race". When we catch up
to the standoff at Bond Mill Road it breaks quickly into a chase
scene with Jeremiah deciding it's every man for themselves. This
scene went on too long but it was nice that they waited on the
credits until the tensest moments were over. The best shot was of
Mulder rising from the wood chips (?) and sinking the alien pithing
device into the ABH's neck...for all the good it did. Mulder catches
up to JS who has scarpered in a boat and leaves with him, ditching
Scully once again. If Mulder truly believes he has dispatched the
ABH, then why didn't he haul JS out of the boat since they could make
better time in a car? If he wasn't sure the ABH was dead, then how
could he leave Scully there with a clear conscience? Mulder has
tunnel vision. He comes off in this episode as reckless, selfish and
naive. JS points out that the suits will be waiting at the hospital
to kill him but Mulder can only think of his mother. This is noble
but what about the big picture? Mulder says, "What can they do? We're
working in the light. They can't stop us without exposure, without
consequence." Does he have amnesia? When did he become so naive? He
splits the scene as Scully is determining that the ABH is not dead.
Is there anything that will kill this guy? The pithing device didn't
even do it, assuming that Mulder was accurate in placement. I did
notice that the ABH seems a bit more socialized and talkative. Much
more polite this time as he asks Scully where Mulder and Jeremiah are
going. There is one nagging question in my mind. He seemed to
reabsorb his green blood but the vapors may have still been
present...but then he pulls the pick from his neck holding it in
Scully's face yet she has no reaction. Wonder if her missing months
have garnered her some immunity to this previously toxic chemistry.
So Mulder is on the run with JS and the retrieved alien pithing
device. He phones Scully asking her to cover his tracks and to tell
her that he is okay. Unfortunately, he has just given up his location
to the ABH. The look on Scully's face when she's talking to Mulder
was priceless. I thought she was just pissed and I couldn't blame
her. Sure you want me to cover your butt...me, me, me...is that all
you ever think about Mulder? But she was tense because she had the
ABH in the backseat. Mulder arrives at the farm and is given a view
to the future..but what does it all mean? Jeremiah explains that the
children are merely drones with no language skills who are overseeing
the cultivation of the plants...flowering shrubs that are not found
on any taxonomic chart. Mulder is pretty slow in picking up the idea
of this clonal population which is surprising given the information
he possesses. Even knowing this, he drags one of the Sam clones with
him when the ABH shows up to tend to unfinished business. JS tells
him he has a chance to understand and expose something bigger to
which Mulder responds, "Then explain it to me. Explain it to me now."
Why the heck didn't they discuss this in the car or on the hike
through the hills? What were they doing? Singing show tunes? So they
hide from the ABH in the honeycomb warehouse. I liked this shot,
being the closest I'll get to my dream location (a cave), with the
huge honeycomb stalagtites. You can knock down the ABH but he'll only
get up again as Mulder finds out the hard way diving from a phone
booth. At the end of this scene Mulder's in a boneless heap, JS is on
the lam, and the Sam clone is pithed, but the conversant ABH has an
interesting exchange with Mulder before tossing him against the van.
He says that JS gives Mulder only pieces of the whole story because
he is inconsequential and a traitor to the project. Mulder is willing
to trade his life...not for JS, but for the chance of life that JS
can give his mother. The ABH's response... "Everything dies."
While Mulder is having his emotions passed through a playdough
machine, Scully's been busy. Skinner calls Scully in to find out what
she and Mulder have been up to. He's been busy himself, delving into
the work of the now missing Jeremiah clones of the Social Security
Administration. Taking a printout of the data, Scully heads to
Mulder's apartment to get some info from unofficial channels. X has
been looking for Mulder and shows up at the apartment with some info
and some answers. Unfortunately, the information he has is actually
planted info being used to trace and breach the flow of secrets from
the conspiracy. He does give Scully a clue to the initials SEP and
the rest Scully remembers from her molecular biology classes. SEP
stands for Smallpox Eradication Program and the following letters
represent the one letter code for the 20 amino acids that make up
every protein. The specific sequence of these letters on the printout
represent several forms of cowpox vaccine, and with Pendrell's help,
Scully has her theory. Unfortunately, presenting this theory earns
her some raised eyebrows since she sounds more like Mulder. But as
she explains to Skinner, it is reductive reasoning and fits her
scientific method. People are being catalogued, tagged and
inventoried...but by whom and for what purpose? This remains a
mystery. A call comes from Mulder and a troop of suits are dispatched
to offer protection for Mulder and JS who are heading to the hospital
to see his mother. Unfortunately, Mulder arrives alone, confused and
muttering, in a state of shock. Duchovny's disillusioned, emotional
Mulder really hit its mark. Despite my annoyance over his
single-minded pursuit of JS for the sake of his mother and his own
redemption, his defeat and sorrow were well portrayed. Scully chooses
the right path and instead of asking questions or trying to comfort
him with words, she simply lowers Mulder's head to her shoulder and
allows him to feel and express his pain. He keeps saying that his
mother will never know. Know what? That he loves her, that he tried
to help, that the Sam clones exist and offer hope for finding the
real Samantha?
Skinner featured well in this episode. He wants to know what the
heck his agents are up to but is willing to help them in the
investigation despite the fact that they keep him in the dark. He
unquestioningly offers them the protection they need at the hospital
much as he did when Mulder asked for his help in End Game. X was
helpful to both Scully and Mulder. Some have felt that X was
two-dimensional and not as interesting as Deep Throat, but I have
become more and more interested in this character. I liked the
dichotomy he represented...helpful in one case and a hindrance in the
next. He drew a line for himself but overall he was helpful to
Mulder. He put his life on the line in the past despite Mulder's
insistence in WetWired that he never had, and in this instance his
luck ran out. The information was planted to trace the leak and he
walked right into it. I'm extremely sorry to see him go...but he went
out trying to help. When he arrived at the apartment he realized
something was amiss but his paranoia made him look back instead of at
the death waiting for him in the elevator. With a shot to the heart
his life bled away in a stylized death scene but he still attempted a
final message to Mulder. The guy in the elevator got a chance to
redeem himself having botched the attempt to get Skinner out of the
way in Avatar. Personally, I hope he follows quickly in the Crew Cut
Man's footsteps...bastard.
But X's final clue to Mulder leads to a new ally. The assistant
to the Special Representative to the Secretary General. In my
opinion, she is already less interesting than either Deep Throat or
X. We know too much about her...her name, where she works, and the
fact that she seems awfully interested in what Mulder wants and why.
She seemed like an empath, trying to reach past Mulder's defenses.
And Mulder didn't appear to have many defenses left. It's been one
month and yet Mulder seemed nearly as fragile as the day he stumbled
into his mother's hospital room smelling like a bad car accident. His
mother should be out of her coma...you'd think he could hold back the
tears a bit better. I must mention CSM. Having been recently cured of
lung cancer he seems unwilling to start smoking again. Every time we
saw him he was twirling an unlit cigarette in his hand. And we get to
see his softer side...holding Mrs. Mulder's hand as she lies in a
coma then making an interesting demand of the ABH, ordering him to
heal her. Thank god we didn't lose CSM. His background and
motivations may not be as mysterious anymore, but if I had lost CSM
and X, I would be really ticked. And CSM's reason for ordering the
ABH to heal Mrs. Mulder was interesting and probably only half true.
He says the fiercest enemy is the man who has nothing left to lose.
This doesn't quite describe Mulder since he still has Scully and the
hope of finding Samantha, but it does actually describe CSM himself.
He has no family according to his own confession but he seems quite
attached to Mrs. Mulder. Interesting.
SUPER-EGO:
So a more critical analysis...everything dies. But
not everything in Herrenvolk. The words came from the Alien Bounty
Hunter himself and yet he grants CSM's request and heals Mrs. Mulder.
Then there is the SRSG's assistant who offers information and hope to
Mulder...and maybe a potential love-interest . He'll
probably be getting help from her in the future and maybe won't have
to be so cloak and dagger about it since she dealt with him right in
her place of business. I'm curious to know how the SRSG figures into
the equation but maybe I should figure out what the position holder
actually does to earn a paycheck from the government first.
Weirdness. I still think that Mulder should have asked Jeremiah Smith
more questions when they were border jumping. He has only himself to
blame that he let this source get away without learning more. Of
course, JS is still out there so I'm sure we'll see him again. I
wasn't too impressed with the final dialogue that Mulder and Scully
had in the hospital. It seemed too verbose and unrealistic. I
appreciate when they have a thought provoking conversation, making me
think long after it's over but this one didn't quite achieve this
level. Especially Scully's speech...it seemed like just that, a
speech, not words of comfort and motivation to her friend. But it
still sets the season in motion and in that it was successful. And
then there were the bees...
Here's my preliminary take on the situation. We know that Klemper
was working on hybrid plants in his greenhouse and Mulder figured
that meant that he was involved in the alien/human hybrid project.
Another offshoot of his work for the project may have been to create
a hybrid plant genetically altered to express a toxic protein in its
pollen. The bees assist the reproductive cycle of the plants and can
also be vectors for the toxic substance since they stung the
lineworker and he died shortly after. Mulder had no immunity to the
sting but the Sam clone and Jeremiah himself were quite safe. The ABH
suffered physically from being stung so many times but it wasn't
toxic or fatal. As far as the significance of the pollen and how it
relates to the clonal population...I think I'll need more than one
night to figure that one out.
***
Overall, it was a great episode. I guess I had to watch it a
second time to really become involved in the earlier scenes...must
have been information overload. The crucial elements came in the
final scenes and were worth the wait. Well, maybe not four and half
months wait so there's no need to torture us like that again.
Herrenvolk didn't offer much closure compared to the questions it
left us with but we did have some resolution for Mrs. Mulder with her
healing coming from an unexpected source. With X gone (RIP) there is
a new informant on the scene and I'm curious, though apprehensive, to
see how this plays out with regard to Mulder and Scully's quest and
their partnership. On with Season 4...
Back to Menu
Home (4.03)
Written by Glen Morgan and James Wong / Directed by Kim Manners
Picture this...the scripts for Die Hand Die Verletzt
and Pusher pile in a car for a nice country drive. A horrific car
accident ensues wherein huge chunks of Pusher are ripped from the
bound copy and land on the dead body of Die Hand Die Verletzt. Enter
Morgan and Wong who, being the dutiful sons, take the scripts home
and manage to sew them back together while singing tunelessly. There
are bits and pieces left over after the attempt but it's always the
way with Do It Yourself. So, what do you get? Home...a conglomerate
of scares, horror and UST moments that would make a mother proud.
Well, I don't know if Chris Carter is proud but this was an
unclassifiable bit of writing and visual wonder that could only be
found on the X-Files. Morgan and Wong are back home.
******
X F - A n a l y s i s
ID:
Gut reaction...a hopped-up version of Pusher on some
illegal concoction of drugs and mutagens. Three reasons. UST, Kevlar
and Mathis...with a twist. Would you like some technobabble or fries
with that? Just the technobabble...lots and lots of technobabble.
Scully paid more attention in genetics lecture than I ever did. The
Peacock Family...Come On Get Happy! Mulder reminisces about eating
baloney sandwiches on the vineyard...gizzie, baloney! Oh I wish I was
an Erlenmeyer wiener! Mulder and Scully in Home, Pennsylvania. Who
are these people and what did they do with the real M&S? That
overnight DNA analysis had eager beaver Pendrell written all over it.
The Home Crier: Elvis Presley DEAD AT 42. Big pout from Mulder.
Weirdness. And Edmund was 42...the 42's are out there. Hard to do
X-Pervs when Mulder managed to be suggestive during half his dialogue
with Scully...takes the challenge out of it. Unexpected Mulder
line..."For real?" Unexpected Scully line..."I've quit the FBI and
become a spokesperson for the AbRoller." Notice how when Mulder asks
Scully to smell something (the baseball) she immediately complies
unlike Mulder in Revelations? Bottom line...a visceral dichotomy.
EGO:
A rundown with observations. The teaser for Home was
a visual nightmare...and I mean that in a positive sense. It was
dark, creepy, and bloody with a backdrop of rain and violent
lightning. This is the stuff of which nightmares are made. It
immediately seemed prudent for the stations to run that disclaimer,
the first of its kind I've ever seen for this show. The final view of
the three brothers mourning their heinous act while the lightning
flashed, alternately offering a glimpse of the house in the
background or whiting out completely, was a visual that stays with
me. But as the opening credits rolled, I thought to myself, where are
they going with this? Not an uncommon question at the beginning of an
episode but it wasn't the last time I pondered this during Home.
When next we enter Home, it appears to be the small town that
Mulder pines for. Verdant fields, lots of sunshine and kids playing
baseball. But in the background looms the house your mother always
told you to steer clear of...spooky. With a perspective jump, our
daring duo enter. Mulder is too busy pondering his past and
practicing pitching to assist Scully in the actual investigative
grunt work but despite this she comes up with some clues. The real
evidence is in cold storage in the sheriff's office and the reason
they were called in the first place. The sheriff is a compelling
character, mourning the loss of his small town's innocence, but when
he saw the buried infant, he knew an outside source had to be brought
onto the case. His monologue is telling but was a bit too long and
speechy for me. His explanation of the Peacock family is a bit
bizarre..."I guess you could call them human" and "I suppose the
parents died." It seems clear that this family never melded into the
social strata of the town so the people were content to leave them
outside their field of vision and outside the law as long as it
didn't threaten their utopia.
An examination of the small victim reveals a shopping list of
birth defects and yet it's apparent that the infant died not from the
defects, but from being buried alive. Scully is unusually affected by
this child which leads to a discussion of genetics and motherly
feelings. Here's a striking example of the dichotomy presented in
this episode. The gruesome opening sequence set against this cozy,
bonding conversation in the sunny townsquare had my reactions to this
episode swinging like a pendulum. The conversation was mostly teasing
banter but in the end, Mulder was compelled to view Scully in a
different light. If you felt the pair had been bereft of UST for some
time you're probably reeling from that scene alone. Suggestive words,
looks, and even some physical contact thrown in for good measure.
Scully steers Mulder back on course by convincing him that the case
is still an X-File since the brothers may have kidnapped and held
someone against their will.
Apparently nobody is home at the Peacock residence but Scully and
Mulder enter to search the premises after seeing a blood covered
table and a pair of scissors. Probable cause turns into a room full
of enough evidence to close the case when they turn up a bloody
shovel and footprints that match those found in the field.
Unfortunately, their discussions about APBs and warrants are
overheard by the house's one hidden occupant who is seen only as a
pair of illuminated eyes in the darkness...shades of Tooms. Scully
calls the sheriff from the hotel to swap information while Mulder
plays with the TV antennae. It's actually surprising that Mulder
never saw Scully in the mother role since he is usually busy being a
kid (playing with the baseball, monkeying with the TV) while she is
gracing him with one of those maternal tolerance looks. The sheriff
leaves the door unlocked and his gun downstairs, still clinging to
the "old ways" and this action leads to his death since the Peacock
brothers are on the move.
The most graphic crime witnessed in this episode is the murder of
the sheriff and his wife. When the Peacock's show up in his driveway
the tension starts winding up as he sees the abandoned car with
Mathis blaring on the radio. The events begin with standard scare
tactics. A shadow at the door, the knowledge that someone is in the
house, the approaching footfalls on the stairs, and the ever present
creaking door. But this jumps from anticipation and fear to brutal
violence so quickly it made my head spin. They never stood a chance
against the three brothers. It isn't so much the murder or the amount
of blood in the scene...it's the unforgiving brutality of the act
that drove my reaction. The wife's view from beneath the bed, the
horror of the act perpetrated...the need to react, to try to help, to
scream and yet the drive of self-preservation. But as the blood
pooled and reached toward her, she is sniffed out by the killers and
is herself dispatched from this life. No mercy in this horrific act
of twisted self-preservation.
Deputy Barney finds the bodies and calls Mulder and Scully to the
scene. Between the crime scene and the DNA results (technobabble
alert), the Peacock brothers cannot escape their prime suspect status
and with the help of Barney Bronson...I mean Barney Paster, they head
back to the Peacock property. Scully feels the situation for the
possible kidnapping victim is too critical to wait for back-up which
could take a day and with this plot device in tow, they arrive at the
house. But with a warning and some motherly encouragement, the boys
are ready for the onslaught. They've rigged the house with traps and
are ready to protect their privacy and way of life. After gearing up
with bullet proof vests and headsets to keep in contact, Barney heads
off to try the direct approach under cover of daylight. Scully with
binoculars sees the trap too late...and then there were two. Upon
informing Mulder of the situation, Scully gets a lecture on undiluted
animal behavior as Mulder tries to impress her with his newfound
Learning Channel smarts. I felt this oversimplification of the
situation was very un-Mulder.
With a pig diversion Mulder and Scully enter the house to find
the "victim" while avoiding the Indiana Jones obstacle course. What
they find is a willing accomplice instead of a victim in the person
of Mother Peacock who resides under the bed a bit worse for wear
following her car accident ten years ago. Scully tries to reason with
the mother while Mulder plays lookout, but is unable to find any
common ground. Ma Peacock has such pride and love for her boys who
will do anything for (and with?) her, including attempt to murder two
federal agents. When the two youngest brothers succumb to multiple
emptied chambers and their own traps, the agents discover that the
eldest has managed to escape with the mother. After putting out an
APB and calling for roadblocks, Scully concludes that in time they
will be caught. This seemed like a bit of a resigned stance for
somebody who usually pursues justice with such determination. I would
think they'd want to collar them personally since they have in fact
killed off the entire law enforcement staff of Home not to mention
committing a "brutal infanticide". But it seems that for now, the
Peacock duo has gotten away..."you can't keep a Peacock down."
SUPER-EGO:
A more critical overview. The main element that I'll
associate with this episode is the dichotomy it portrayed in mood,
lighting, character, and dialogue. The jumps from Mulder and Scully
to the Peacocks were jarring to say the least and unsettling to be
more specific. I think the word unsettled best describes my feelings
when I was watching Home. Both David Lynch and John Waters have
dredged up this emotion before and I appreciate it for what it is...a
feeling of imbalance, loss of control, and the sense that anything
could happen and usually does. What I don't appreciate is gratuitous
anything...violence springs to mind in this case. But when I really
analyzed my reaction, it wasn't violence as much as the way some
scenes made my guts twist. And to have that feeling immediately
followed by a Mulder/Scully bonding scene was jarring. So if an
attempt to unbalance the viewer was a goal, then I say mission
accomplished.
As to the dichotomy...the main visual example was of course the
difference between the interior of the Peacock house and anywhere
else in the town. The interior was dark and the sounds of the buzzing
flies conjured up smells and sensations that were not shown but took
no effort for me to imagine. Compare this house to the sheriff's
house and the slice of small town Americana it evinced. The sunshine
drenched scenes outside of the house only made the transition
sharper. The special effects make-up was good...not too much shown or
played upon, but enough to make a statement when the harsh light of
day was cast upon them. And compare this family to the sheriff's
family, the young kids playing, or even the potential family unit
that M&S seemed to be considering on the park bench, if you want
to reach. Bright and happy and straight out of Better Homes and
Gardens. Combine this with the way the camera seemed to view the
Peacock property compared to the rest of the town. Dark,
foreboding...I loved the camera angle from the yard up as Mulder and
Scully entered the house the first time. The pan up as they pass only
to end on the fly blown head of a pig. Yuk.
The camerawork in this episode only seemed to add to the
unsettled feeling I had while watching. The sunny fields seemed
almost too bright; whereas, the Peacock's house was so dark on some
occasions that I could barely make out any details. And the darkness
wasn't the usual variety we experience on The X-Files. It's usually
moody with color adding emotion to the scenes. The dark here was
simply black serving to cover and hide, with the only penetrating
light being harsh and blinding as when they discovered the mother.
The highlight for me was when Mulder and Scully entered the house the
final time. It was a true XF scene...the partners together, covering
each other's back, and beaming their flashlights around, although
they didn't bring the megalights. They created a pool of light
surrounding and protecting them as they breached the gloom and horror
that was the Peacock's world.
******
Overall, I'm still not sure what to make of this episode. I don't
know if Mulder and Scully really did a good job in trying to solve
this case and I certainly feel a bit uncertain about their
resignation at the end. Regardless of the sheltered lifestyle and
desire for privacy of this family, they buried alive their own,
albeit damaged, infant then proceeded to eliminate anyone who
threatened the status quo. Simply being the town outcasts does not
make them outside the law and Mulder and Scully, coming from the
outside themselves, should have responded to this crime in a stronger
fashion. On another level, I'm not quite sure where Morgan and Wong
were trying to go with this offering. Was there a lesson or message
here that I missed completely? Maybe it's that no matter how bizarre
and "out there" others think you are, there will always be acceptance
from your family and you will always be able to find a place to call
home. I guess Morgan and Wong are back home and have brought their
spawn in the form of their written offerings. I just hope I like
their next offspring better.
Back to Menu
Teliko (4.04)
Written by Howard Gordon / Directed by James Charleston
With a new tagline at the opening of this episode, we
are presented with a theme that pervades this episode. In this case,
Mulder and Scully are not only on the receiving end of the deception,
but are guilty as well. Deceive Inveigle Obfuscate. I hope these
variations aren't becoming soundbites for the show that will be used
with frequency since they'll quickly lose their punch. As far as the
episode, it was an average Monster of the Week episode that wasn't
stellar but held my attention throughout, mostly for the camerawork
and the Mulder/Scully discussions regarding investigative approach.
The material seemed to be a conglomerate of reworked ideas which will
make drawing comparisons hard to avoid.
******
X F - A n a l y s i s
ID:
Stay out of the bathroom! Will these people never
learn? The first date shown was May 17th...the date of the third
season finale. Deceive, inveigle and obfuscate indeed. The return of
Agent Pendrell! I loved the way he was waiting out in the hall to get
the most Scully-sight time possible. And Mulder mercilessly ribbing
him...breath, Agent Pendrell. A Michael Jackson reference and a
poster saying "It is a small world afterall." Didn't I mention in my
"C-Files" review that these are inherently X-Fileish? Mulder goes to
talk to Marita about bees and now seeds. If he'd known her earlier,
he could have skipped that father/son talk in his youth and just
sought her advice. We'll see her again since he still has to ask her
about the birds. Mulder shows solidarity with some of his ardent fans
and does some drooling himself.
EGO:
Following the death of an airline passenger in the
teaser, the episode begins with Scully being assigned a case by
Skinner. She's probably been selected since she's dealt with
unexplained cases and because her method of investigation seems to
coincide with the CDC doctor requesting the FBI's help. The case
involves the disappearance of four, black men in Philadelphia, one of
whose body has been recovered at a construction site. The body shows
signs of de-pigmentation and the CDC doctor feels this is not a crime
but a disease whose investigation will begin and end under a
microscope. Knowing how this episode ends, one has to wonder how much
investigation really took place. If the body was found at a
construction site, you would think they would have checked all nearby
sites leading to the discovery of the other victims.
Scully is joined in the autopsy examination bay by Mulder who has
either become a bit hardened like CSM or is getting used to dead
bodies, since he's cracking seeds and jokes with little respect for
the victim. The body lacks all pigmentation in skin, hair and eyes
but Scully hasn't found the cause to explain the effect. Mulder's
take is different, feeling it might be a PR exercise to divert
attention from the fact that black men are dying and no suspect has
been brought in. How can he deny what he sees lying on the autopsy
table? He decides to join the snipe hunt and starts by taking the
trace evidence to Pendrell for examination. Pendrell is disappointed
that Scully didn't show but has found asbestos fibers and a seed from
a passion flower found only in West Africa. Ten bucks says he saved
some of that back to make a passion flower potion for Scully. Mulder
and Scully exchange information regarding a cerebropathic glycoside
from the seed which wasn't found in the toxicological screen,
implying the men were kept alive long enough to metabolize the
substance. Scully has found the hormone and melanin producing
pituitary gland necrotized. One nit-pick is that a necrotized
pituitary gland would stop further production of melanin and
eventually kill the victim. But the color already present wouldn't be
drained away though, I suppose, we'd lose the obvious victim
identification.
So who is responsible for these deaths? An unassuming man named
Aboah. It's hard not to make comparisons with a previous X-Files
character, Tooms. Both are killing for a need to survive and neither
are very chatty...monosyllabic responses being the norm. And of
course, both can squeeze themselves into very small places. With
Tooms, we were sure he was a genetic mutant but with Aboah, he seems
to be a folktale come to life. The minister at the Burkina Faso
Embassy tells Mulder the story of the Teliko...spirits of the air who
rest by day in close, dark places and only come out at night. We see
Aboah capture his victim and there is nothing supernatural involved.
He uses a sort of dart-gun that he keeps hidden down his throat with
his other tools of the trade...weirdness. Once the victim is
paralyzed, he uses a tool to remove the pituitary gland's components,
lacking one himself but requiring it for survival. The victims are
kept alive and aware but are unable to move as we saw when the police
arrived to question Aboah, and the latest victim is trying
desperately to speak as a tear tracks down his face. What a way to
go. But what the heck was the deal with keeping his tools down his
throat? He could contort his throat structure to insert and remove
these and could squeeze himself into a small space. What happened to
conservation of mass?
During this case, Mulder and Scully have different theories and
methods of investigation. Scully wants to stick with the body and the
evidence while Mulder is convinced he can learn more by seeking out
his contact. He surprises Marita Covarrubias at the UN and she seems
uncertain of who he is, then irritated at his presence. When asked if
she knows about the case or can help, she answers "No" to both
questions. Mulder presses her saying she made an overture toward him
at their last meeting. She supplies him with information on Aboah's
first actual victim, the man killed on the airplane whose death was
listed as undetermined and whose file was buried. Mulder and Scully
begin their debate over whether they are investigating a crime or a
health crisis. They can't seem to agree on this while questioning the
immigration counselor or during their stakeout. This whole debate is
an extension of their varying style in approach to a case. It used to
seem like an advantage but in this instance they seem to be close to
arguing about it. They're both suffering from a bit of tunnel vision
with Scully bound and determined to find a pathogen as the culprit
and Mulder taking the first opportunity to run off in search of a
conspiracy. The truth is they're both partially right but they don't
seem to be combining their theories and efforts very well.
As this episode reaches its conclusion, Aboah is caught by the
duo as he arrives home. He runs and tries to hide, but Mulder and
Scully have met Tooms so check even the smallest of spaces. With
Aboah in quarantine, Scully and the CDC doc are unable to find
anything wrong with Aboah on a first exam. Scully wants to run more
tests while Mulder runs off to find the source of the original
cover-up. They find additional information (Mulder hears the Teliko
folktale and Scully discovers that Aboah's pituitary gland is
missing), but in the meantime Aboah escapes. He is in need of another
victim and chooses his immigration counselor, but is interrupted
before he can complete his acquisition. Mulder and Scully eventually
find a demolition site which connects to the previous body discovered
and the asbestos fibers.
The final scene may have brought back memories but was great in
terms of camerawork. As the partners search the construction site,
Mulder takes a seed-dart to the neck and collapses. While Scully's
looking for Mulder she hears some movement in the airduct (shades of
Squeeze) and climbs in with her gun drawn (shades of GITM), stumbling
upon another of Aboah's victims and finally a paralyzed Mulder.
There's something disturbing about this...being totally aware yet
paralyzed and vulnerable. As Aboah attacks, Scully shoots at him then
drags Mulder out of the airduct, dumping him next to more of Aboah's
victims. As Scully makes a call for help, Mulder frantically signals
her with his eyes and she reads his message just in time, turning to
shoot Aboah as he attacks. The episode ends on a Scully voice-over
summation. The immigration counselor survived and will be testifying
at the trial where Aboah will be charged with five counts of murder.
He will only be able to stand trial if he survives which is
questionable since his condition is deteriorating. Scully concludes
that only medical science can explain the method and place of Aboah
in the larger evolutionary picture. "But science can't explain our
fear of the alien among us. We obscure the truth not only from
others, but from ourselves."
SUPEREGO:
I want to say that I really appreciated the
camerawork in this episode. There were some fabulous shots, including
the one following the discovery of Aboah in the drain. The
perspective looks like a pipe but turns out to be the interior of the
CAT/PET scan machine. Another was the shot of Aboah's eyes peering
out of the food cart drawer. But my favorite was the scene in the
ducts where Scully is approached by Aboah as she crouches
protectively next to Mulder. You can see his shadow thrown on the
ductwork, then he appears from around the bend and at first all
that's visible are two glowing eyes, then the more detailed view of
his bleached skin and red eyes as he attacks. Very effective.
Deceive, inveigle, obfuscate. These words set the tone of this
episode and ring true for many of Mulder and Scully's cases whether
they apply to the "conspiracy" or not. But in this case, they were
doing some deceiving and obfuscating of their own. The minister at
the Embassy had buried the truth probably feeling he had a good
reason, just as Scully and Mulder probably felt they had a good
reason when they wouldn't give a straight answer to the immigration
counselor who wanted to know if this was a health crisis or a
criminal investigation. Like the researcher in Quagmire said, these
two have some trouble coming to the point.
The aspect of this episode that seems to have left the biggest
impression on me has nothing to do with the actual monster in this
episode. It's the differences portrayed in the investigative
approaches of Mulder and Scully and the tension it seemed to create
in this case. While they were on stakeout, Mulder seemed fairly
rancorous toward Scully's scientific method telling her to look up
from her microscope to see the real clues. Then when they find Aboah
missing, he says, "That man ran because he's hiding something and no
amount of tests you run, no science is going to find that." But he's
only half right. Aboah is hiding something and is guilty of crimes,
but without the data gathered by Scully and Pendrell using scientific
methods, Mulder would not have all the information he used to arrive
at his theory. Both of their views and approaches are necessary and I
would think Mulder would be aware of this by now. Later, Mulder waxes
eloquently about new truths being described as folktales, disease,
and conspiracy. Just another way to explain the unknown. This
resonates Scully's speech in Herrenvolk about nothing being in
contradiction to nature, only what we know of it. It appears they're
on the same frequency though they don't seem to know.
******
In conclusion, I would say this MOTW was an acceptable offering
but nothing stellar or unique for an X-File viewer. Scully's
voice-over sums up a lot of their cases, with her mention of fearing
the aliens among us. As far as the need to deceive, inveigle, and
obfuscate, it was ironic hearing those words coming from Scully.
She's pointed out a trait about herself that has become a hard truth
to live with. How much longer can she obscure the truth of what she's
seen from her own self? After seeing this episode and thinking back
to Squeeze, Tooms, and 2Shy, I'm beginning to think that guy from Dr.
Strangelove wasn't as paranoid as I thought. Maybe there is a
conspiracy after all, intent on stealing our precious bodily fluids.
Back to Menu
Unruhe (4.02)
Written by Vince Gilligan / Directed by Rob Bowman
So far this season we've been given a mythology
episode, an unclassifiable episode, and a Monster of the Week
episode. Unruhe is the first X-File during season four that really
serves up a good paranormal story for our duo to duke it out over.
Teliko appeared to offer a similar opportunity but I guess for me the
key word is "good". In Unruhe, we learned a lot more about the
motivations of the killer, making his actions clearer and his state
of mind a cause for sympathy. Teliko's monster lacked so much
humanity it became unnecessary to understand or empathize with him;
the only recourse was to destroy him. Even Scully concludes that in
this particular case, her survival depended on her insight into
Gerald's mind.
******
X F -A n a l y s i s
ID:
MULDER!! SCULLY!! This show had name yelling at a
premium. Guess they wanted to make sure new viewers realized our
heroes' names. Got the picture...and it ain't a Polaroid. Speaking of
which...how come so many people in Michigan have Polaroid cameras?
Scully drives! And she speaks German. Hmmm...hopefully no Klemper
Konnection. I guess she's okay since she still bleeds red. AWL-RIGHTY
THEN!!! Scully in jeopardy...but she wins. (Sorry DD.) I've always
been worried about windowless rape vans, and now this. I'll have to
steer clear of RV's of all types. A smiling tooth key chain. Ain't
gonna do it for me...I doubt this will make my unwillingness to visit
the dentist improve. The Scully weight-watch...she could use a few
extra pounds, if nothing else, it will slow her reaction to drugs
injected by psychos. And my initial and final gut reaction...pacing,
pacing, pacing! Vince Gilligan is the writer to watch for...
EGO:
A rundown with comments and observations. The episode
starts with the first kidnap victim getting a passport photo. We
learn later that she is a postal worker who's been running a credit
card scam with her boyfriend and needs a passport to skip town. After
posing for a picture she is stalked back to her car by a
unabomber-looking gent in a yellow mac who looms spookily behind her,
seen as a shadow on her umbrella. After being drugged, she falls to
the ground outside the car where her even less fortunate boyfriend
has been killed. When she turns up missing, our dynamic duo are on
the case since a strange photo has come into Mulder's possession. The
unclaimed passport photo has a strange, distorted image of the woman
screaming...not at all like what she posed for. Scully makes an
attempt to explain away the image, citing expired film and heat
exposure but realizes how pitiful her explanation sounds. There's no
other evidence at the crime scene or the woman's house until Mulder
finds her camera and shoots a few pictures, finding a similar image
on each. He thinks they are "thoughtographs" or some form of psychic
photography.
The victim is found wandering on a highway and is rushed to a
hospital where a tox screen shows a mixture of painkillers. During a
PET scan, which shows a clumsy transorbital lobotomy, the woman
mutters a word repeatedly. Unruhe...unrest. This scene of the victim
muttering in the room by herself was really spooky and pitiful. A
second missing woman offers a chance for more evidence. A photo from
the previous crime scene offers a connection with a nearby
construction site. Scully follows the construction company lead
feeling the victim's time is running out. Mulder agrees but feels the
best bet is to follow their only piece of hard evidence...the psychic
photo. A more high-tech analysis of the photo reveals a face in the
corner and a shadow that appears to loom over the woman. Mulder
guesses that the figure is passing judgment over the woman...must be
how he got the nickname Spooky. Scully goes to check with one of the
foremen who turns out to be the kidnapper as she chases down, fires
at, and apprehends him.
Mulder and Scully question Gerald Schnauz to determine why he's
committing these crimes. A check reveals that he was
institutionalized in 1980 for beating his father with an axe handle.
His father spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair. In 1986, when
Gerald was released, he dedicated his life to taking care of his
father as penance. His sister committed suicide in 1980 as well, and
Mulder presses him on this "coincidence". As Scully questions him,
Gerald looks at her intensely saying, "You look troubled." Is that a
red shirt Scully's wearing? Mulder eventually breaks Gerald by
showing him the images lifted from the psychic photo. He tells where
to find the second victim, who is "safe from the howlers."
Unfortunately, the woman is dead and Scully seems defeated. Mulder on
the other hand is still interested in finding answers, having changed
his mind on whether the images are the killer's fantasy or nightmare.
Gerald believes he's doing a service, releasing the women from their
pain.
Killing a police officer, Gerald escapes, returning to the
drugstore to steal a supply of drugs and the passport camera. Scully
believes his next victim will be someone living near the construction
site where he was apprehended. Checking out the film in a self-serve
photo booth, Mulder realizes too late it's an image of Scully and
she's kidnapped. They search for leads and track the car, but their
only clue is Gerald's father's obituary. This leads them to his
abandoned office where they discover recent footprints and a missing
dentist's chair but Mulder seems fixated on the six fingers he sees
in the photo of Scully. Making the connection with the picture in the
obituary, everyone is dispatched to the graveyard where Gerald's
father is buried. Parked near the cemetery is an RV with some
interesting interior decorating where Gerald has Scully held captive.
As Gerald prepares to release Scully from her suffering she tries to
reason with him, even speaking to him in German to convince him that
she has no unrest and doesn't need to be saved. She has no howlers
and tells Gerald that the only howlers are in his mind, created by
him to explain away the things that his sister claimed his father did
to her. Gerald decides to turn the camera on himself and transmits an
image of his own imminent death onto the photos. "What does this
mean," he asks Scully. She answers that he needs help but he says it
means he doesn't have much time left to complete his task. Luckily
Mulder has spotted the RV as a likely suspect and it's confirmed when
he sees the smiling tooth keychain. Calling out to Scully, he breaks
into the RV just in time to shoot Gerald and prevent Scully's
lobotomy. Gerald lies dead on the floor in the same manner as his
final photos foretold.
Unruhe ends on a Scully voice-over as she types out an addendum
to her report. Gerald's diary was found and he'd listed the names of
his victims...women he thought he was saving. Although Scully admits
no explanation for the photos, she has seen them with her own eyes
and used the images in her attempts to reason with Gerald. After the
second kidnap victim was found dead, Scully had an air of defeat
about her. Mulder wanted to pursue the case because he wanted answers
but Scully felt it didn't matter. She didn't want to know. But in her
final report, she admits to understanding and empathizing with her
captor, saying that it was this that allowed her survival. She
basically reiterates the lesson we got in Grotesque about how to
pursue monsters. This time, following her own close encounter with
the mind of Gerald, she seems willing to accept the value of such
insight. But she wonders if by seeking this window into their minds,
"do we risk letting them venture into ours?"
SUPEREGO:
Three main points. Acting, Mulder/Scully partnership,
and pacing. First off the acting. I thought this episode was fairly
well acted, in particular the character of Gerald Schnauz. When I got
a good look at this character, I immediately felt sympathetic toward
him. He was telling Mulder and Scully that he had no idea what they
were talking about and that he was innocent of their accusations. I
knew he did it but I still believed him...I thought maybe he didn't
even remember or was displaying a fractured personality. He just
seemed so sincere, but later we see that he is indeed the killer; a
tortured, confused, if determined killer. Unlike some of the other
killers that Scully has fought so hard to put behind bars, I believe
that Gerald truly believed he was saving them from damnation. Mulder
and Scully still seem to be a bit at odds in their investigation, but
they had a bit more life in this episode than the last. In
particular, Duchovny's portrayal of Mulder's determination and
frustration as he tries to find further clues in the face of Scully's
disappearance. Anderson's best moment for me was when Scully was duct
taped into the dentist's chair and trying desperately to reach the
instrument tray before Gerald could use his awl on her.
With regard to the partnership, I feel that Mulder and Scully
have lost their ability to communicate effectively. Unless it was my
imagination, it seemed to me that in past seasons, they had a spooky
way of communicating with just a look but now, even when they speak
directly to each other, they still seem out of sync. They may not
have been working at odds to one another in this case, but they don't
seem to be working effectively together, as though four years as
partners has earned them no experience. Both Mulder and Scully
advanced the investigation with the leads they pursued, Scully
finding the killer by following up on the construction site logo, and
Mulder by following up on the photographic evidence. As in Teliko,
both of their angles became important in the eventual capture, so why
do they both seem to dismiss the other's ideas and theories?
All potential faults and nit-picks aside, Unruhe was a great
episode in terms of pacing. It was a very cohesive story that
advanced at an interesting pace even when the killer was captured
early in the show. There were several times when I thought the script
was going one way but it didn't fall into a cliched trap. One
incident was when Scully first located their suspect. I thought
either he would get away, since it seemed early in the episode for a
collar, or that Scully had pricked her finger on a hypodermic needle
and would be kidnapped at that point. Neither scenario played out and
I appreciated the surprise. So far I've really liked all three
episodes written by Vince Gilligan. Some may not have liked Soft
Light, but I thought it was a solid episode. Pusher was one of my
favorite episodes of last season and I think it wins out over Unruhe
for suspense and pacing due to the unexpected nature of the ending.
Both scenarios are predictable in the sense that we know our heroes
will come out alive. But Unruhe's tactic for creating suspense, the
kidnapped Scully in jeopardy, has been done too many times for
'Mulder crashing through the door in the nick of time' to overshadow
Pusher's standoff.
******
Overall, Unruhe was a well crafted, cohesive story that offered
us a solid paranormal case for Mulder and Scully. It's just a shame
they don't seem to be working as effectively as I would expect at
this stage of their partnership. The villain in this episode is one
of the more sympathetic characters we've been offered. Even though he
was trying to lobotomize Scully, I was sorry to see his foretold
death play out. I appreciated the backstory on the killer allowing us
to understand him and decide for ourselves whether he was simply evil
or someone to be pitied. On top of the characterization, I thought
the pacing was even throughout providing an enjoyable episode. I look
forward to the next Vince Gilligan offering.
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