X-Files Rerun "Die Hand Die Verletzt"

"Better hide your Megadeth albums."
Originally Aired 1/27/95

I love Morgan & Wong's episodes. Well, most of them; I can never quite get into their last episode. At the time this episode aired in Season Two, it was to be their last entry for the series as they were moving on to create their own, Space: Above And Beyond. It didn't quite pan out for the duo so they returned to The X-Files for its Fourth Season. I'm actually glad they returned and didn't end their run with "Die Hand Die Verletzt."

This episode isn't as bad as the previous crop in Season Two, in fact it's not a terrible episode either. I just had a few gripes that overshadow the good moments in the episode. The highlight of the episode is a giant python devouring a man whole. Just the way the entire sequence is staged, from the moment Mulder hand cuffs a member of the PTA in his dark, dingy basement, it's obvious he'll meet a gruesome end.

Where the episode lost me was the subplot in which that member of the PTA, Jim Ausbury (Dan Butler, whom I remember as "Bulldog" on Frasier), is accused of illicit behavior by his step daughter. The monologue, where the daughter explains her memories of the incident to Mulder and Scully, is brutal. It's one of the hardest sequences to watch in the entire series, from the dialogue to the acting. It pulls me right out of the episode and the worst part is that I have to sit through it a few more times while I compose this review. Before and after that sequence "Die Hand Die Verletzt" is darkly comical and I think it really ruins the flow of the episode.

Besides the darkly comic moments, such as the satanic PTA, there are also several moments that I found were unintentionally hilarious. The best of these would be when Mulder is questioning Mr. Ausbury at his home and he shatters a cup with his hand. "Did you do it?" KA-POW! That's some guilty conscience! Another moment isn't as funny, but the new substitute teacher is revealed as the killer when she opens her desk drawer and inside are the eyes and heart from a student. Then she sets a stack of graded papers right on top, yuck!

The episode is also saved by it's chaotic finale. After Jim is introduced to the teacher's pet, then Mulder and Scully are attacked so they can be used as a sacrifice by the PTA. If it wasn't for the middle portion of this episode, I'd likely rank this among Morgan & Wong's top episodes. Viewing it as is, I'm just going to call it a "misfire."