"Trust No. 1"

"Your staring over my shoulder doesn't make me go faster."
Originally Aired 1/6/02

These conspiracy episodes usually give me a lot of material to write about, whether it's good or bad, and "Trust No. 1" is definitely not lacking. I used to like this episode when I originally watched it on DVD ages ago, yet I made excuses for why I enjoyed it. Even the writers and director had mixed reactions, too. I recently read that series writer Chris Carter wrote this episode to include Mulder's disappearance because it was never properly dealt with during David Duchovny's time off last season, yet, that was last season. This season David Duchovny is no longer even a member of the cast, so referencing the character makes it seem like cheating the viewers. Even the director Kim Manners stated that, "The only thing I thought we didn't do right during seasons eight and nine was that a lot of the shows were about Mulder, and I thought it was a mistake to make a series about a man that wasn't standing in front of the camera." He's right, they should have written Mulder off properly in the season opener, rather than this "bait and switch" move, which teased his appearance when they knew they couldn't deliver.

Despite the awful taste in my mouth regarding Mulder, there still is quite a bit to enjoy in this episode. While the episode is all about advancing the sinister nature of the villainous Super Soldiers, there's an undertone that relates to the episode's title of "Trust No. 1." It was always Mulder's "mantra", and here it's eerily relevant following 9/11 regarding national security. There's a "watch dog" division of the government that spies on everyone, tracking the moves of every citizen. Unfortunately it isn't followed up beyond that, because it's just a way for the bad guy to contact Scully, although they could've mined this subplot for a few more episodes.

In fact, that bad guy is another highlight as Terry O'Quinn (or here, Terrance Quinn) makes an appearance as the character of "Shadow Man." I loved Terry on Millennium as Peter Watts, as Locke on Lost, and as Santiago on the very, very short-lived Harsh Realm. Maybe it's just his cool mustache as the reason why I like him. Even a character's dying words on Millennium were, "don't you just love that mustache?"

Once again, Robert Patrick is the standout of the three leads, as he tried to convince Scully to trust him and even discovered crucial evidence on the "Shadow Man." Although it seemed in the season premiere that the writers' intent was to insert Doggett into the role of Mulder, here Scully finds herself in Mulder's shoes. She's the one who is willing to trust any one against her better judgment, with Doggett now playing Scully's role as the one seeking hard proof. It's a bit of whiplash with the role reversals, especially with Doggett even telling Scully the same things she used to tell Mulder. I guess she's just really lost without her partner and trusted confidant of 8 years. Which leads me to one major gripe I had with the episode, that Scully is such a terrible mom in this episode. She invited a stranger into her house with an infant, then fell asleep in another room. Later, she leaves for what looks like an entire day to follow the instructions of the "Shadow Man", as it's daylight when she hits the road and it's night time when she finally meets the bad guy in some deserted field. Luckily for her, Agent Reyes is a better babysitter than she is an FBI agent.

I feel like "Trust No 1" is far from a classic episode, even further from being a considered a good episode, so it's a telling sign that this is one of the better episodes that Season 9 has to offer.