"Folie A Deux"

"Dial and smile, Gary."
Originally Aired 5/10/98

Always a sign of a quality episode, despite Mulder making a face like he passed gas.

Before starting my "9 Seasons in 9 Years" journey, this fifth season episode was in my top ten episodes; now, I don't know. I think it lost a bit of it's luster after seeing several amazing episodes like "Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man", "One Breath", "Wetwired","The Post-Modern Prometheus", and even last week's episode, "The Pine Bluff Variant." That doesn't mean it's not an enjoyable hour of the series, it just means that this current season has been balls to the walls.

I do like how there's continuity with Mulder's finger that was broken in "The Pine Bluff Variant", yet Mulder's attitude towards the case would have been better if this episode was placed before "Patient X." In the first portion of the season Mulder treats the X-Files like its just a job rather than his passion because his distrust of the government has reached its threshold. "Folie A Deux" also makes use of that doubting Mulder since he groans at being sent on another monster hunt, but I like how this turns out to be more than just a typical hunt. Vince Gilligan turned the typical monster hunt on it's head by shifting gears mid-way through and turning it into a character piece on Mulder.

Another aspect that I do like about this episode is the setting of a telemarketing office. Most people I know think those call centers are evil since they disrupt you at all hours of the day, but its funny that Vince Gilligan took it a step further and turned them into zombies. Even the gigantic, creepy bug that zips around all blurry is pretty unique, too. The work place horror stories that make people go insane (like "Blood") are wickedly relatable and effective thrillers. Yet, in a way, these hostage situations are a bit odd to watch since there have been too many recent incidents like that.

Mulder's madness in the second half of the episode, as he keeps digging into the case despite the hostage situation ending, is where "Folie A Deux" excels. Past episodes have shown Mulder's determination getting him into hot water, but never has it actually put him into a hospital. I recall reading that Morgan & Wong wanted to write a story arc into Season 4 where Scully has Mulder committed but that was rejected, yet it doesn't seem too far off from what happened in this episode. In fact, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. It's fun watching all of the ranges of David Duchovny, as Mulder goes from apathy to a hostage and then full-on freak-out while strapped to a bed. His "freak out" was a lot more convincing than when he had his arms amputated earlier in the season in "Kill Switch." While this may have been bumped from my top ten, it is on the short list of contenders.