"Babylon"

"Is this what you want Agent Mulder, your 'woo woo paranormal'?"
Aired 2/15/16

 

My fandom isn't the same as most X-Files fans, or in some circles are referred to as, "X-Philes." I came late to the party, after the series had already ended its run back in 2002. Its been fun experiencing new episodes on TV, and now I have a new wrinkle to add to my own fandom, which is "Babylon." I just happened to be surfing the web as this episode was leaked days before it's airdate, whether intentional or accidental. Myself and thousands of other fans were treated to a sneak preview before it vanished from Hulu within the hour. I even signed up for a free trial of Hulu just to watch this episode!

However, out of ten seasons of television and two feature films, this was the most bizarre installment of them all. "Babylon" began with a terrorist bombing of an art gallery, almost like one of those "ripped from the headlines" episodes of Law & Order. Mulder and Scully then meet their doppelgangers (unlike the doppelgangers in "Fight Club"), who inform them that one of the bombers is still alive, although unconscious. They pair off in wacky, unlikely duos, with Mulder and Not-Scully trying to communicate with the bomber through a wild and wacky mushroom-induced hallucination. Did I already say how wacky that is? Well, it is. David Duchovny definitely excels in comedic roles, much like he did in the middle years of the series when they fully embraced comedy; "Dreamland" always springs to mind. I liked that Mulder's hallucination was a way to work in the deceased Lone Gunmen characters, especially after seeing a behind the scenes clip where the trio were wearing ten-gallon hats. The hallucination also featured Skinner and the Cigarette-Smoking Man, although his appearance was slightly disturbing to me. I believe David would be fantastic on Dancing With The Stars but this was not X-Files.

Once Mulder's bad trip wore off, the episode was right back to it's serious tone dealing with an act of terrorism. "Babylon" was giving me whiplash with that back and forth shifting. I think perhaps this episode was just chock full of country songs and current pop songs that it was hard to look beyond that and enjoy the episode for what it was trying to accomplish. The X-Files rarely used contemporary music outside of its score created by Mark Snow, except for a few examples such as Cher and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Perhaps Chris Carter didn't know what he was trying to accomplish though, which can make for a bad viewing experience.

The X-Files never touched on social events either, unlike what it did here in "Babylon". While I do enjoy those moments when the series would link WWII planes with UFOs, those are radically different from trying to make your episode into an "After School Special." During the opening moments, I thought maybe I was supposed to relate to the Muslim kid, because I too like to check out females and eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But then he turned out to be a suicide bomber, which I can't relate to that at all. The investigation is wrapped up when his mom shows up and says she never raised a son to be a killer. The Dawson's Creek-styled ending was out of character, too, with all of the characters reflecting on the episode's events over a pop song playing in the background; just a real mish-mashing of ideas. I think Chris Carter is like I am at times- I have a lot of ideas swirling in my head, but the end result isn't quite what I intended to say.

Mitch Pileggi is looking an awful lot like Sean Connery in The Last Crusade.

I will say this about "Babylon", that what it does get right are those moments between the central characters of Mulder and Scully, which has returned to the series after that initial premiere episode. Mulder's quick wit and David Duchovny's comedic timing are in top form here and throughout these "standalone" cases. I suppose that's been the journey of Mulder throughout this mini-series, as he became depressed and drove a wedge between himself and Scully in his years away from the FBI, but now he's regained that old Mulder spirit. But if I hear more of "Honky Tonk Ba-Donk-A-Donk" during The X-Files, that space ship better beam me up too, cause I'm out.