Irresistible ('MOW'): I Need a Shower

Yeesh. . .I feel dirty and I don't like it. The writing talents of The X-Files have managed to write something both explicitly and outright creepy while throwing in some ambiguous ideas (that work depending on the viewer, I suppose) and viewer participation through character discomfort. Irresistible is a fan favorite for good reason: it adds elements of the supernatural with the very real evils that surround us in the darkest corners of the planet.



Irresistible is pretty grim and twisted, something the X-Files has mostly avoided. The show is always atmospheric and creepy, but Irresistible dips into areas best left in the shadows (Chris Carter would get his rocks off doing this every week in the first season of Millennium, which is probably the only show that can match or top the sinister feel this episode and later episode 'Home' manage to pull off). The aspect of death fetishism is, understandably, ambiguous. A lot is spoken about it but the truly dark aspects of it are hinted at in cop jargon or off handed remarks and many of the grisly crime scenes are simply flashed on screen without much focus. For once. . .I'm thankful. When Donny Pfaster sniffs a piece of an underage girls hair at one point, that was enough to make my skin crawl: brief descriptions of his other 'acts' were enough to nearly induce vomit.

This is, in some odd way, a sign of a successful episode. You really want Mulder and Scully to stop this dickbag and, thankfully, they do though Scully goes through some emotional crap as a result. I remember a while back I didn't like this episode because I thought Scully was the anti-Scully. . .a victim needing to be rescued. What I forgot, and was reminded of this viewing, was that Scully has a problem with the idea of death fetishists. . .especially since, as she mentions, they are almost impossible to profile unlike other fetish criminals. In a show that persists in showing anti-human behavior, many scenes in this show that Scully is very, very human. . .and her weakness is no different then Mulder's fear of fire in 'Fire' or his not letting go of his mistakes in 'Young at Heart'. In the end, I respected her more from this episode then anything else.

Because this episode manages to be, amongst many things, about fear. Scully is justfully fearful of what Donny Pfaster represents. This is not only effective in her acting as the audience's eyes (Mulder is quite calm in this episode. . .he even watches football eagerly as grisly deaths are described) but it also helps us realize how close Mulder and Scully are. The writers really managed to sprinkle small character moments into each episode and this episode is yet another barrier broken between the two friends. When Scully cries in Mulder's arms at the end, the friendship goes to another level.



The only gripe I have with the ep is the whole 'manifestation' of evil deal. I understand that Pfaster briefly flashes what other characters perceive as a manifestation of evil (or a bat creature that looks similar to Remans in the film Star Trek Nemesis, years and years later) but when Pfaster morphs into numerous other faces, I didn't buy it. I think the brief glimpses of, what I believe to be, pure evil is enough. The morphing technique was pushing it. But it only lasts a few seconds. . .the rest of the episode is a success in that ironic way: completely uncomfortable and shower inspiring.

Aubrey ('MOW'): Unforgettably Forgettable

I feel mid-season fatigue coming on because Aubrey, while ultimately interesting (and fairly sciency, new word by the way) is probably unforgettable for being forgettable. I can probably place Aubrey, as well as 1st season’s Born Again as successful but unmemorable. And that’s fine. Aubrey won’t boost your ratings but gives you something to do for 45 minutes on a boring night. The saddest part is that the ideas presented, like spirit/genetic/generational/behavior was done in a much more eerie and overall better way in a 9th season episode, believe it or not, called ‘Hellbound’. But we’ll get to that some day (month, or year!).



Aubrey is notable for the first appearance of Terry O’Quinn in what would be his first of three roles in the X-Files (he appeared here in kind of a throw away role, in the first movie and in a 9th season episode) and his first of four total roles in the X-Files universe (Millennium’s Peter Watts). Also notable for geeks is that Sarah Jane Redmond pops up for three seconds as an extra in a scene in a park. If you know who that is then you will know why that is notable. If you don’t, ignore it.

I wouldn’t recommend ignoring the episode however because it has a few genuine shocks, a perfect it is/it isn’t real scenario and has probably one of the most unlikable characters ever (that of former killer Harry Cokely). Cokely is actually another ingenious plot device where we get answers to questions like: what happens to young serial killers when they get old and what do they do if they’re released. This wrinkle said a lot about how we treat ex convicts (always a suspect, even if they are physically incapable of doing anything) and what is going through their brains AFTER spending time ‘reflecting’ on their crimes. I found that the most interesting (as well as the somewhat vague genetic thing) more than the actual killer or background killers.



I hate falling asleep when I watch things but when I saw Aubrey for the first time I fell asleep and had to start all over again the next day. Add that to my viewing last night and I’ve seen it enough times: three times is too many. Once is enough and though you’ll enjoy it, you’ll probably never go back to it again.

Excelsis Dei ('MOW'): Perfection in the Details

When I wrote about 'Ghost in the Machine', I talked about how the atmosphere (and the weak, unoriginal plot) made the episode feel like something you’d watch on Sci-Fi Channel (oh, sorry, SyFy) at 3am. In that case it was a backhanded compliment: the episode was enjoyable but inane. 'Excelsis Dei' appears to have the same atmosphere attached to it but is original and odd. . .which is what the X-Files is all about.



I actually didn’t want to watch this episode when it’s turn came up because I was nervous. . .at one point a ‘forgotten’ episode, I had watched it a few years back in the perfect environment: it was a lonely Summer night, roughly 2am, and the episode just hit all the right notes: creepy and unforgettable. To this day the images from the episode stuck out in my brain and, like all things attached with hype and nostalgic memory, I feared the episode would end up sucking wind. Little did I know, the episode ended up being a complete joy AGAIN and, now viewed in sequence, it held better ‘cute’ moments.

Though I’ve watched about three episodes a month since the project started, I have vivid memories of each episode. When you research the episode, mull over it, and write about it you tend to take in details better. And this episode has one of those ‘slash’ moments fans go all crazy over and I have to commend Duchovny for pulling it off. When the old rape suspect, who shows his ‘plumbing’ so willingly, says he didn’t mean to step on Mulder’s toes when complimenting Scully on how pretty she was, Mulder finds himself momentarily distracted with his thoughts: in only seconds so much can be read. You get the feeling that Mulder hasn’t really thought about Scully that way before and, hell, he might like it. But not enough to distract him.
The praise needs to extend to the set design or, rather, the location scouts. The location of the old-folks-home seems born just for this episode. If I saw this place in real life I’d probably pee my pants. The show found the perfect setting to tell its story and without it, the story might have failed. The idea of a Japanese man giving powerful mind mushrooms to old folks and curing them of not only Alzheimer's but giving them the ability to see different planes of existence sounds pretty kooky, right? But it works. Add the ideas of entity rape and you get your creep factor.



I also have to place the guest actress, Teryl Rothery, in the X-Files guest star Hall of Hotties alongside chairman Perrey Reeves (‘3’) and Lisa Waltz (‘Shadows’). She is smokin’ hot despite the fact that she’s kind of a whiny bitch who no one believes because. . .well. . .she’s so bitchy. When I recommend episodes to the general public, I’m going to have to recommend this movie for it’s great attention to detail both in setting and character (and hotties) and it’s crazy but acceptable premise. 'Excelsis Dei' is an X-Files classic I’m sure many have forgotten.

Red Museum ('Mythology'): Unimportant Importance

‘Red Museum’ likes to creep up on you and matter, in the mythology sense, when you least expect it. On the surface, ‘Red Museum’ looks like a kooky monster of the week, but what is revealed in this episode is monumental to the goings-on in the show and one, serious thread is locked up (and made more mysterious all at the same time) involving the death of a major character; ‘resolved’? (I say with frustration). Sort of.



For its ‘MOW’ aspects, ‘Red Museum’ works masterfully: it creates a unique community (in this case, a cow-town run on livestock) with disparate characters (the blue-collar farmer/meat workers vs. the odd, vegetarian cult) and a problem that pits the two against each other (kids are being taken, rattled, and returned in their skivvies with the words He (or She) Is One). Obviously, the most obvious suspects are not the kidnappers and only weird pervert people, completely coincidental to the whole thing, bust the government’s involvement wide open (wrong place, wrong time).

I love the slow burn of the episode. . .and the seemingly 12 different story-arcs going on. . .and how they all come together. If I were to get deeply philosophical here, I’d start writing about the ideas of ‘fate’ and ‘luck’. A plane happens to crash and reveal, to the agents who HAPPEN to be in this small town, the machinations of a government experiment with biological liquids and compounds that has, it just so HAPPENS, involved the same agents, who just HAPPEN to be around, before. It may be convenient but it certainly doesn't feel that way in the presentation. . .if anything, the abruptness of major plot points from season 1 (in this case 'Purity Control' (the mysterious compound a doctor died for in 'The Erlenmeyer Flask') and Deep Throat's assassination) makes the whole thing feel. . .intelligent; dare I say planned out?

Deep Throat's assassin is a pleasant surprise for the episode because, in true X-Files fashion, we get to both seek revenge for his death all the while finding out nothing at all. We are happy the scumbag dies but we never find out who he is, what he wanted with the Erlenmeyer Flask and WHY (oh why) he killed poor Deep Throat! Closure that leads to more questions: only the X-Files can do that and not be frustrating.

The Red Museum cult would be a piece of the 'mythology' that never really came back. In a way, they were a plot point to show the control group for different biological agents being introduced in the human system (probably, one would suspect, to test Purity Control and determine if it would work and prevent alien takeover. . .but we are getting way ahead of ourselves). There existence is merely important to the revelations of the government's plans (which, themselves, would not be revealed for many years) but really serve no purpose to the overarching plot. Much like the episode, the Church of the Red Museum, is a bizarre one-off character, meant to be impactful but simultaneously unimportant.



And that is the way the episode 'feels' for much of its time. The inclusion of it on the official mythology list may appear confusing but, in the end, 'Red Museum' ends up changing the course of the show's direction and has lasting impact all the way to the first movie and even aspects of the series finale. At the very least, you get to see people in cool red turbans and Mulder wipe barbecue sauce off of Scully's cheek. Aw. How cute.

Firewalker ('MOW'): Oh Well. . .

Well. . .that was fast. It looks like season 2 has finally found it’s answer to Season 1’s ‘Space’ or ‘Darkness Falls’: ‘Firewalker’! Man, this episode is a clunker. An absolute crapfest from beginning to end with very, very little to salvage it. I’ll start with the positives: though a complete rip-off of 'Ice' (this time silicon based life forms replace terrestrial worms), the spores inhabiting the residents of that Volcanology group is pretty gross once exposed. I do have an issue with how Scully wasn’t infected since her handcuffed hand was still in the door when Chick-From-Saw’s throat exploded. Oh well.



Um. . .oh yeah, the West Wing’s Josh was kind of creepy all burned up and Kurtzed! He killed a lot of dudes and appeared evil until the ‘twist’ ending but it was still cool because it was fucking Josh man! But even these two positives have negatives attached. In the end, this episode is simply another ‘Mulder and Scully go camping’ episode where they are isolated in a nasty place and exposed to nasty stuff. What a crappy way for Scully to come back (though I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t seen her in awhile or not but Gillian Anderson is breathtaking in this episode) right after the powerful ‘One Breath’. Oh well.



It’s bad when one episode reminds you of a better episode before it. ‘Firewalker’ is purely ‘Ice’ with volcanoes. That’s about it. Group of scientists get stuck in an abandoned area. Check. Something mysterious is killing people left and right. Check. The people who are left are acting really strange and hostile. Check. Something somewhat scientific but highly improbable in existence is inhabiting the crazy residents. Check. Mulder and Scully have to talk each other out of hurting each other. Uncheck. Well. . .close enough to ‘Ice’. In the end, ‘Ice’ was a classic, ‘Firewalker’ was a stinker. Oh well.

One Breath ('Mythology'): Phew

Just when I think that after multiple viewings over multiple years and, chronologically, after watching episode after episode those multiple times, the X-Files gets better and better, both after consecutive viewings and in the sense of watching in order. I really thought ‘Deep Throat’ was the ultimate X-Files episode. Then ‘Duane Barry’ came out. Then ‘Ascension’. Now, it’s ‘One Breath’. I’ve realized, for the first time, why this episode never truly appealed to me until now: I never watched it in the overall sequence of the series and I never left enough time for the previous episodes to sink in.



What appears to be me just not watching X-Files and updating this site was actually a concerted effort on my part to really take in the loss of Scully. Though she appeared throughout the first five or six episodes of the season and, technically, was only completely absent from the show’s mythical world for 1.5 episodes, if you let time (like, a few weeks in a standard run, or a month or so when accessible on DVD), ‘One Breath’ is perhaps the strongest X-Files episode from its run at that point. The episode ‘3’ establishes that heavy absence felt with a presence like Gillian Anderson gone. If you let time sit, then ‘One Breath’s’ low key finale is relieving to the heart and a breath of fresh air. With time, you remember why you love Scully so much and how much you miss her.

But ‘One Breath’ and its focus on Scully is only part of the deal that timing also helps with. When you watch only the mythology episodes you tend to miss certain character beats that make those people special. Skinner, for example, is the biggest character who loses something when you only watch the mythology episodes since, for the first season and a half or so, he slowly enters your consciousness. When he first appears he is mysterious and kind of a dick. When you see him next he is an obstacle for Mulder but a little brighter. By the time you get to ‘One Breath’ you get to see Skinner turn human and ‘One Breath’ features one of his finest personal moments as a character.

Add this theory to Cancer Man as well. Up to this point I can only remember the character having a few lines of dialogue and only an aesthetic importance to the show: he represented something, but what? ‘One Breath’ gives him a new life to live to as we discover he is all too human. His bombastic scene with Mulder is one of the highlights of the second season and one of the best in both the history of Cancer Man and Mulder.



From a shallower perspective, how would you have loved to grow up next door to the Scully sisters. Can you imagine those babes in college. Jesus. I’d try to invite myself over for dinner every night. Melissa and Dana Scully: heart breakers. I bring up Melissa Scully also because she represents a unique aspect to the show that makes Mulder more three dimensional. Just because Mulder believes in alien abduction and creatures of various sizes and shapes doesn’t mean he is all believing in all things. Melissa represents a more mystical aspect of the X-Files (as agent Reyes would be later) and it shows that Mulder’s beliefs can at least somewhat be quantified by vague or detailed physical evidence. Mulder has trouble with faith (as Chris Carter mentions in the X-Files: I Want to Believe commentary (or somewhere else) Mulder WANTS to Believe. . .he doesn’t just believe yet) and Melissa is the first to show that Mulder isn't a completely odd character believing in anything and everything.

‘One Breath’ was so amazing to watch and its power surprised me even though this had to be the 5th or 6th time I’ve seen the episode. If you have followed my site so far (my journey, if you will) or you’ve started watching again on your own, ‘One Breath’ should be the moment when the first great storyline in the mythology is closed and all you can do is go ‘phew, that was amazing'.

3: (Unofficial 'Mythology'): Perrey Reeves Please

I'm going to stick my neck out here and put '3' as an unofficial mythology ep. I am. So deal with it. '3', despite major fan hatred, is one of my favorite X-Files episodes. The shallowest reason is because it stars the sexiest woman that has ever lived: Perrey Reeves. Perrey Reeves fills me with all kinds of perverse joy so I won't go into graphic detail but it is safe to say that if I ever met Perrey Reeves I'd probably begin melting into the ground I walked on.



The episode itself isn't exactly well written and the director, David Nutter, really fell in love with the 'red-like-the-inside-of-an-oven' lighting scheme but, on the whole, the episode carries a lot of dramatic weight and is, in my opinion, one of the rawest, most grim episodes of the X-Files that ever was. Sure. . .it ain't no 'Home' but '3' has an edginess to it that makes it feel a bit nasty and a bit scary. The X-Files always dealt with scary stuff but '3' is the first time I felt a sinister vibe from the villains.

Plus I also listed the subtitle for this article as 'Excuse Me, I Shit Myself' (stolen from the SNL skit Oops, I Crapped My Pants) because, in the chronological order of the show, '3' is the first episode in which something literally made me hop off my couch and check my pants. The real tricky part of the show is the fact that the 'vampires' are either really good at faking it or are actually vampires. There are a couple of 'tricked ya' moments (like the vampire 'burning' in the sunlight) but by episode's end one guy comes back from the dead and one, the oops, I shit my pants vampire, speaks demonically to Mulder after being attacked. Yeah. . .that one kept my night light on. And don't ask why I have a night light. Shut up.



Anyways, I consider the episode pseudo-mythology because, in the chronological scheme of things, Mulder is truly, truly alone. Scully is gone and who knows where the hell she is. I like this because Mulder carries it with him into the investigation and there are many references to Scully's disappearance throughout. I think this qualifies for myth-arc because we are seeing Mulder react to a Scully-less world. Even without Scully, this appearance of Mulder helps solidify Mulder and Scully's strong relationship.

So if you had any doubts about whether the episode was any good or not. . .and sure, it has it's problems. . .just give it a second whirl so you can, at the very least, shit your pants.