"Via Negativa"

"Everything seemed real...but then it was a dream. A dream that ended in their deaths."
Originally Aired 12/17/00

Earlier this season was an "evil" religious episode in which an isolated town worshiped a slug-like creature. Here we have another such episode, except this time those worshipers were already found slaughtered in the opening of "Via Negativa". I guess they should have chosen to worship Jesus instead, since he offers things like wine and holy water, not wounds to the forehead! This cult's leader was Anthony Tipet, who founded the cult after he served time for the "bludgeoning" death of his wife, and coincidentally many of the deaths in this episode are similar fates. Tipet and his cult were trying to find God through a higher plane, but it seems they found something much worse, as "Via Negativa" is explained by Skinner to be a plane of darkness.

If the evil cult already sounded familiar to you, well there are even more similarities to other episodes found in this episode. Season 4's "The Field Where I Died" featured a doomsday cult, a pack of rodents were used in Season 3's "Teso Dos Bichos", and death by dreams was even used back in Season 2's "Sleepless." Despite the similarities to previous episodes, I still felt "Via Negativa" had plenty to offer on it's own. Writer Frank Spotnitz has mostly contributed to mythology episodes with Chris Carter, and also teamed with John Shiban and Vince Gilligan, but this is his first solo script since Season 5's "Detour". I didn't even know I wanted another Frank episode until after I watched this, and now all I want is more Frank. For as good as this episode is at creating a creepy atmosphere and all of it's horror movie imagery, it's also a great way to throw Doggett into the deep end of X-Files territory. It's sink or swim, and there's no turning back for this guy now.

In fact, Doggett is on a clear descent into darkness throughout this episode, and it feels a lot like a few of the late 90's Hellraiser movie sequels. Two in particular feature a character who has come into contact with the deadly cube, the Lemarchand's box, and nothing is as it seems. Doggett meets a similar fate when he comes into contact with Tipet towards the end of this episode. Robert Patrick plays this paranoia to perfection, and it's his best performance yet in his short tenure as a lead on The X-Files. Mitch Pileggi gets more to do here as Walter Skinner fills the void left when Scully is off to have a doctor visit and he easily slides into the "believer" role. David Duchovny departing the series should have thrown the series out of whack without its believer-skeptic dynamic and all of the humor that it provided, yet it actually feels like a breath of fresh air without Davey. Robert has great scenes with Mitch Pileggi, James Pickens' Director Kersh character, and now the Lone Gunmen are thrown into the mix. I like how they just happen to be hanging out in the basement office when those conspiracy theorists should have a hard time making it through a security check-point; although they somehow had access to the FBI offices in last season's finale, "Requiem."

Along with Frank Spotnitz turning in a rare solo script, this episode also features first-time series director Tony Wharmby. Tony, along with the special effects artists and lighting staff, created such an eerie atmosphere that I think this might even crack my top ten episodes once again. I say "once again" because I had a few I would call favorites before I began to watch the series in order in 2008, but I scrapped that list and decided to start over. Most of my previous favorites remained firmly in the top ten, like "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" and "The Host", while a few new ones were made like "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man." I expected to not like "Via Negativa" as much when I finally made my way around to it, yet there was much to re-discover. The only sequence I could recall was the ending where Doggett is standing over Scully with an axe while there's a scary, purple, strobe effect. I only now realized after watching it for the 6th time in 3 days that Doggett is actually about to turn the axe on himself. What an ending!