"4-D"

"Plates? For crying out loud, who eats polish sausage with plates?"
Originally Aired 12/9/01

Revisiting this episode was a 180 degree experience from the previous episode, "Daemonicus." "Daemonicus" was somewhat of a bore and full of mindless gore, which is a rhyme I didn't intend on making, but sums up that episode quite nicely. "4-D" is one I could barely remember, except that it featured Doggett confined to a hospital bed following a nearly fatal gunshot, and had too much of Agent Reyes for my liking. It turned out that "4-D" was just as experimental and out-there as episodes in Season 6, with their wacky time loops, body swapping, and holiday ghosts, only this episode took a much darker turn.

The villain of the week is a creepy murderer in the same vein as Norman Bates, with an overbearing mother who watches his every move, except she doesn't realize he can also move into a parallel universe. This villain, Erwin Lukesh, slips to the other side and commits grisly murders, then slides back unnoticed. The X-Files never gets into the how and why, which is always the way the series works; I've learned you just have to go with it and not ask questions. This actor playing Lukesh, Dylan Haggerty, was also a similarly creepy guy on X-Files' sister series Millennium, so it's nice to see him being recast as another bad guy.

Agent Reyes takes center stage for this episode, with Skinner, Scully, and Follmer assisting in various roles for the investigation into Lukesh. Doggett is on the sidelines as he's confined to a hospital bed, communicating only by clicking with one finger to type up messages for Reyes. It reminded me a lot of the Star Trek episode where Captain Pike's only way to communicate was through blinking lights. They even make a Star Trek reference too, with Doggett mocking Reyes' mirror universe theory. Actually, episode writer Steven Maeda, drew inspiration from a real-life journalist who was paralyzed.

Playing Doggett in a hospital bed for a majority of the episode seems like it would be a pain for Robert Patrick, though he was actually really damn good at emoting through facial expressions, and I can't imagine the episode would be as good if the roles were reversed with Reyes. Although the only slight gripe I have with "4-D" stems from last week's episode, where they tried to insinuate Doggett harbored feelings for Scully. This time, Reyes appears to have feelings for Doggett as she wipes away mustard from his lips, then shaves his face while he's in the hospital. Typically the measuring stick for quality of these latter seasons is if I can't find a decent quote to feature in these reviews, then it's kind of poor episode. For once, "4-D" is a good episode, with little to no funny lines... likely due to Doggett's inability to speak.