"The End"

"I was sent to bring you back."
Originally Aired 5/17/98

After I watched this episode yesterday for the first time, I sent a text to a friend that said, "In The End...'Gibson Praise reads minds, Smoking Man returns to f*ck sh*t up.' Not really as cool as it sounds." Perhaps that summary was a bit hasty since I always seem to come around after the third watch. There are some very neat sequences and a new direction that is teased for the next season.

This is the most bittersweet episode I have ever watched of The X-Files. As I have stated before, I am watching the series from start to finish over nine years as way to stretch out episodes I haven't seen before and "savor the flavor." I am nearly at the point where what's been new to me and things I have discovered for these past five years, even things I have grown to love, have met what I previously knew about the alien conspiracy. Before watching this episode in full for the first time, I did have the accidental experience of witnessing the closing moments on the SciFi Channel when I remembered reruns were on in the afternoon; sometimes I remembered, sometimes I forgot. The rest was all new to me so I have counted this among the "unseen episodes"; a number that is fastly dwindling. 26 left to be exact.

The best sequences of this episode, no doubt, are the moments when the Cigarette Smoking Man is onscreen. In an earlier episode it was shown that the Smoking Man is nursing his wounds in a cabin and I want to believe he is passing the time by writing his third Jack Colquit story. However, he doesn't get to finish it when two men parachute down outside of his cabin, in a sequence that resembles an opening to a James Bond movie. The Smoking Man is retrieved by Alex Krycek, and when he reunites with the Syndicate, its like a triumphant hero returning. He's loving every minute of the fact that he's in demand, while the Well-Manicured Man is no doubt pissed about that fact. I really wish more had come of the splintering of the Syndicate, but I guess that's just implied with Smoking Man manipulating his son now. That's also a great scene when father meets son, and it reminded me a lot of the early years with Mulder meeting X in dark parking garages.

The Smoking Man isn't the only character in this episode, though. Mulder and Scully meet a chess prodigy who is more than meets the eye, while Agent Spender returns, and another new character is introduced. I liked Agent Spender a lot in the previous arc and he's just as good here as a foil for Mulder. I have no idea what Smoking Man's endgame is for bringing his son into the fold, and though it likely won't be realized, it is a cunning move on his part. Another principal character who's introduced is Diana Fowley, a former flame of Mulder who is instantly more convincing (and less annoying) than Season One's Phoebe Green. I mentioned before that this episode teased a new direction and it's through the use of Diana Fowley. I read for years that this was a wrong move on Chris Carter's part to bring in a female who could be a possible love interest for Mulder, however I didn't get that impression at all. It seems to me like she is just a plot device to bring Mulder and Scully together in a way that the series hasn't done yet. Previously Mulder and Scully have been close because they both have grieved over loss of family and Mulder blamed himself for eveything that happened to Scully, but none of it was ever in a romantic way. Now it seems like both, or at least Scully, are actually reflecting on those feelings for one another; in fact Gibson Praise just seems like a means to that end, too.

While Agent Spender, Gibson Praise, and Diana Fowley are new characters that are positives to this episode, it appears that longtime guest player Alex Krycek is getting lost in the shuffle. He's always been fun to watch but its more apparent than ever that there is no meat to the character, no motivation for anything. At least Spender was clearly defined as dismissing anything alien because of his mother, yet Krycek changes sides each season as he went from Syndicate henchman, to rogue operative, and finally a chauffeur for the Well-Manicured Man.

I would also kick myself later if I didn't mention Martin Ferrero as the assassin. He's likely more famous as "the blood-sucking lawyer" from Jurassic Park and I will always remember laughing hysterically the first time I watched him get chomped off the toliet by the T-Rex. Martin Ferrero is less famous to some as Izzy Moreno on Miami Vice; man, I need to get back to that show in my downtime before I start the sixth season of The X-Files. I digress. The FOX cartoon clips throughout this episode are a fun time capsule, especially since I didn't even know a Silver Surfer cartoon existed.

The bitter part of all of this is that I have finally reached the end of the Vancouver era and out of four seasons remaining, I have only the amount of a full season left of new episodes to go. This is even the last season finale that I haven't seen before, since I've seen 6, 7, and 8, and caught parts of the series finale during reruns (and dvd menu screen spoilers.) Yet, I enjoyed "The End" more than the past two season finales. The sweet part is that when I was becoming a fan back in 2007, I only wanted monsters and creeps and dismissed the sixth season as light, corny, and The X-Files gone soft. Six years later, I'm actually ready to embrace a lighter X-Files. Bring on Season Six! But not too soon, since I'm not ready for this ride to end.

With another season wrapped up, here are my "Fave Five" of the year.

1. The Post-Modern Prometheus
2. The Pine Bluff Variant
3. Patient X/The Red and The Black
4. Folie A Deux
5. Bad Blood

Honorable Mention: Unusual Suspects

"Folie A Deux"

"Dial and smile, Gary."
Originally Aired 5/10/98

Always a sign of a quality episode, despite Mulder making a face like he passed gas.

Before starting my "9 Seasons in 9 Years" journey, this fifth season episode was in my top ten episodes; now, I don't know. I think it lost a bit of it's luster after seeing several amazing episodes like "Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man", "One Breath", "Wetwired","The Post-Modern Prometheus", and even last week's episode, "The Pine Bluff Variant." That doesn't mean it's not an enjoyable hour of the series, it just means that this current season has been balls to the walls.

I do like how there's continuity with Mulder's finger that was broken in "The Pine Bluff Variant", yet Mulder's attitude towards the case would have been better if this episode was placed before "Patient X." In the first portion of the season Mulder treats the X-Files like its just a job rather than his passion because his distrust of the government has reached its threshold. "Folie A Deux" also makes use of that doubting Mulder since he groans at being sent on another monster hunt, but I like how this turns out to be more than just a typical hunt. Vince Gilligan turned the typical monster hunt on it's head by shifting gears mid-way through and turning it into a character piece on Mulder.

Another aspect that I do like about this episode is the setting of a telemarketing office. Most people I know think those call centers are evil since they disrupt you at all hours of the day, but its funny that Vince Gilligan took it a step further and turned them into zombies. Even the gigantic, creepy bug that zips around all blurry is pretty unique, too. The work place horror stories that make people go insane (like "Blood") are wickedly relatable and effective thrillers. Yet, in a way, these hostage situations are a bit odd to watch since there have been too many recent incidents like that.

Mulder's madness in the second half of the episode, as he keeps digging into the case despite the hostage situation ending, is where "Folie A Deux" excels. Past episodes have shown Mulder's determination getting him into hot water, but never has it actually put him into a hospital. I recall reading that Morgan & Wong wanted to write a story arc into Season 4 where Scully has Mulder committed but that was rejected, yet it doesn't seem too far off from what happened in this episode. In fact, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. It's fun watching all of the ranges of David Duchovny, as Mulder goes from apathy to a hostage and then full-on freak-out while strapped to a bed. His "freak out" was a lot more convincing than when he had his arms amputated earlier in the season in "Kill Switch." While this may have been bumped from my top ten, it is on the short list of contenders.

"The Pine Bluff Variant"

"Is this the Pepsi Challenge?"
Originally Aired 5/3/98

I've read, and now have seen for myself how cinematic the series was through its film-making techniques, like tight close-ups and camera angles, and the talent of its actors. Watching this with my mom on my family's widescreen tv enhanced this even more, likely the true way they envisioned the series. Even though this episode was filmed after The X-Files movie, it serves as a teaser for the movie, because it plays out like a spy movie with its twist and turns. I could even tell it was filmed by the movie's director before his name appeared in the opening credits. It's a great episode that oozes coolness and is full of tension, which might even be the coolest episode I've seen from the series.

In this episode Mulder gets involved with a terrorist group that has a powerful chemical weapon that dissolves human flesh, but that isn't even the highlight of the episode. That would actually be the appearance of it's two guest stars who may be familiar to fans of the small screen. Sam Anderson was known for being the principal on Growing Pains, yet he's likely better known now as Bernard on Lost. The other man is Daniel Von Bargen, whom I instantly recognized as George's boss from Seinfeld and the eye-patch wearing drill sergeant from Malcolm in the Middle. Neither of these men would receive an Emmy Award nomination for their performance, unlike Lili Taylor in "Mind's Eye", but I certainly enjoyed seeing them. I have no idea if its a coincidence or intentional, but many actors from FOX sitcoms appeared on this show either before or during the run of their own series- Kurtwood Smith from That 70's Show, David Faustino from Married With Children, and Daniel Von Bargen and Bryan Cranston from Malcolm in the Middle.

Each season of the X-Files typically has an episode that is what I call a "runaround" episode, where they run around chasing something yet end up with nothing at the episode's end. "The Pine Bluff Variant" is the fifth season's version of that episode yet I like how they seem to find creative ways to mask this style of episode. Season Two used an explosive sore that appeared on people who were exposed to bacteria in "F. Emasculata", this time was a deadly flesh-eating chemical. To explain the twists and turns would be futile; I know this because my mom missed the last 5 minutes and seemed confused when I explained it. Yet if you watch it you know just how good this episode is. My only complaint would be Mulder hesitating to shoot a bank teller during the heist. We know Mulder would never shoot anyone but at least shoot the floor next to the guy to make it look like you're a bad guy; the endless stalling seemed odd to me. Despite that, I'm surprised this episode actually came from the mind of John Shiban because he isn't the strongest of the core writers for the series. Bravo, John.

"All Souls"

"Well, then maybe she flew here, Scully."
Originally Aired 4/26/98

It must be 1998 since the cellphones are smaller.

Another week behind and another difficult review to write. This week's episode feels closer to a plot from The X-Files' sister series Millennium than it does one of it's own. It's about girls who are mysteriously dying by the hand of either a demon or an angel in disguise, which is what feels like Millennium, but the moments I enjoyed involved Scully. She tells this episode in a flashback which is done with her in a confessional booth and I thought that was a creative way to tell this episode's story. I seem to be one of the few who enjoyed the two-part "Christmas Carol"/"Emily" story, so I guess that's why I liked that part of "All Souls." If this was just a typical X-Files case and not attached to that story, I think it would seem rather dull and "soulless", actually. Tying it in with that previous story gives Gillian Anderson a reason to flex her acting muscles (wings?) and I am even more of the belief that Seasons 4 and 5 are *her* story and not Mulder's.

Last week we had an episode with Mulder forming an attachment to a victim, just like he has in the past, so it was nice that Scully was given an episode where she was forming an attachment. However her's was more about letting go of her lost child. Now you would think as much as I enjoyed Scully's scenes, I'm not sure how much I enjoyed it overall. It didn't seem to develop it's villain very much, though I did like the make-up effects used on the body of a pastor that he appeared to have set on fire from the inside of his body. My other complaint is more of a nit-pick; I think Father McCue is a terrible pastor. During a scene where Scully is trying to explain that she saw a heavenly figure, he explains the entire plot of this episode, only to dismiss it as a bogus story. If he had actually believed in that story, he could have prevented all of these girls from dying! He says its just a story and it isn't even recognized by the "Church." Which church is that, just his own? Because it seems like that is religion in a nutshell. That's why we have Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Catholics, and Baptists; they're all basically Christians, its just they decided to leave out certain things. So which is really right and which is just a story?

The X-Files motto was "I Want To Believe" and it took on multiple meanings throughout the course of the series. I like that it wasn't just a belief in aliens; it could have been in human nature, the paranormal, and in religion. However it seems that when The X-Files actually had a plot that used religion, it was hit or miss; mostly miss.

"Mind's Eye"

"We found her at the scene doing a Formula 409."
Originally Aired 4/19/98

This is a very great episode, so why was it so hard to review? I was even pretty good this season at keeping myself from falling behind until "Mind's Eye." In a season full of experimenting and episodes that played with the show's formula, this one is also different from the normal formula. It feels so much like an episode of Law & Order because its set at a police station for a majority of the scenes, and it also deals more with murders than ghouls. Yet in typical X-Files style, its done as a character-driven story, and its guest is very good! Lili Taylor as a blind woman, who's also the suspect, was so good she was even nominated for a "Guest Star Emmy Award."

Lili Taylor's character, Marty Glenn, is why this episode works so well. This episode is very "talky" and full of dialogue, so to make it work it needed a great guest who will get you engaged into what's being said. To compare it to another X-Files episode, I think this actually is what Glenn Morgan was attempting to do with "The Field Where I Died", but it didn't quite translate from page to screen. Mulder becomes attached and is determined to clear Marty's name, much like he connected with Melissa in that episode. A better comparison outside of the series would be to Millennium's first season episode, "Covenant", in which Frank Black fights to clear the name of an innocent man whom everyone thinks is guilty. To connect it back to The X-Files, that episode's guest star, John Finn, also played Michael Kritschgau in this season. Only difference is this episode ends tragically, making it one of the most heart-wrenching standalones in the run of the series. In fact, I struggled to find a humorous line that would work as my intro quote; "Mind's Eye" is too much of a downer.

This one was a real treat out of my remaining "unseen" episodes. I wasn't really sure what to expect before I was able to finally see it. Four episodes remain of Season Five, with only one of them being an episode that I have seen before ("Folie A Deux".) With just four left, it doesn't feel like the end of the season already. Even though there were fewer episodes than normal, they seemed to spread them out more with at least 3 breaks that lasted three weeks each; guess it doesn't help that I fell an extra two weeks behind.

Scully: the Original Duckface