X-Files Rerun "Fire"

I couldn't locate the review for "Fire", so I wonder if it was lost during my original move from livejournal to Facebook notes. As part of my marathon leading up to "Herrenvolk", I have decided to re-review it. 

"Fire"
Aired 12/17/93

This episode started off really "hot" with a favorite Mulder line of mine which he tells Scully, "That's one of the luxuries to hunting down aliens and genetic mutants. You rarely get to press charges." After discovering a cassette tape in their car that informs them of a recent car-bombing, we meet an old "flame" of Mulder's named Phoebe Green. From this point on, the episode can die in a fire.

Ok, its not that bad, but Phoebe Green does ruin an otherwise decent episode. Throughout the first season we got to know the agents better through people in their past, with episodes like "Squeeze" and "Lazarus", yet Phoebe has zero chemistry with Mulder. I cringed almost as much as Agent Scully did every time she attempted to flirt with Mulder. The less said about her the better. Mulder's fear of fire is a little too convenient, as its a way to attempt extra drama within the episode but its forced. I expected something like this out of a hired writer who was just paid for one script, not out of the creator Chris Carter who gets the writing credit. The fear of fire is fortunately never referenced again.

I will talk about the positives though, since there are a few, mostly thanks to the episode's villain. I did like the imagery with the fire effects, like Cecil L'Ively setting his finger, and finally his entire arm on fire while seated at a bar. Another is the transition in scenes when Scully sees the fax of the police sketch and discovers the identity of the killer, which then flips to a close-up shot of Cecil smoking a cigarette. The final scene is also a bit chilling, as we discover Cecil actually survived and is in custody in a type of iron lung-looking container. He's burnt to a crisp, just the way I like my marshmallows that are roasted over a fire.

"Fire" is my definition of an average X-Files episode. It isn't totally unwatchable because its saved by the great production crew, but its just not something I care to revisit. This episode gets a 2.5/5.