"Trevor"

"Dear Diary, today my heart leapt when Agent Scully suggested 'spontaneous human combustion.'"
Originally Aired 4/11/99

I believe that critics at the time this aired, along with the rest of The X-Files fan community, aren't too fond of this episode. "Trevor" isn't an episode that breaks new ground like several previous episodes we've seen this season but it is a success at being a true "monster of the week" investigation. The writers raised the bar in the first half of this season, then they seemed to have attempted to return to their previous level of storytelling, though the transition may not have been as smooth as they had intended. "Agua Mala" and "Alpha" were a 'run of the mill' return to the "monster of the week" format. I can't even recall any good one-liners from Mulder in those episodes, which is occasionally a good measuring stick for the quality of an episode. With "Trevor", the interaction between the agents is a step up, it's villain is interesting and leaves unique victims in his wake, and the plot itself was compelling.

Previously in Season Five The X-Files had poked fun at programs like Jerry Springer, with werewolf babies and even mutated children like the Great Mutato in the "Post Modern Prometheus." This episode actually lifts a bit of the paternity battles that occur on those programs, which were popular at the time, with the series' own spin on it. That's the best I can come up with for a description: The X-Files Meets "Who's Your Daddy?" It's honestly a better episode than that. When the episode begins, a tornado is bearing down on a ram-shackled prison, so the prisoners are doing what they can to board up windows and brace for impact. One prisoner, "Pinker" Rawls, is ordered to ride out the storm in "the box", though through some scientific wackiness that only Agent Scully can explain, he gains the super-power to pass through matter. He uses the most of his newfound ability to escape from prison and search for a child that was conceived before he was incarcerated. It's a somewhat touching story, though he did go to prison for a reason, so there are a few gruesome bodies that he leaves behind. The special effects team for the series did a great job of making these bodies look as gruesome as possible- the prison warden is completely severed in half, while an old buddy of Pinker is missing his entire face.

While "Trevor" isn't a new episode for me, I feel like my goal of watching the series in order has another benefit, which is that I was able to successfully guess that this episode was directed by Rob Bowman. His use of close-ups and camera angles is what tipped me off; though I also liked the lighting and music used within the episode too. Even David Duchovny seemed more enthusiastic about this episode than the previous batch of episodes. Mulder's jokey nature balances out the serious tone of the story and I'm glad he's having fun as Mulder. That also leads me to the early scene where Mulder and Scully are exchanging theories on the cause of death of the warden. Mulder is actually stumped this time, while Scully tosses out a theory: spontaneous human combustion. It's that line from Mulder, "Dear Diary, today my heart leapt when Agent Scully suggested 'spontaneous human combustion'" that pops in my head at moments when I find out a female is interested in me. Maybe that plays a small part in why I give this episode more credit than most.