The Truth Is In Here: The X-Files Review Thread

[C_Miller]

Herrenvolk
(***1/2)

"While Mulder and Jeremiah Smith attempt to uncover the truth, the Syndicate realizes that they have a traitor in their midst."

Review: Well, from what I can tell, we're getting more into the Government Conspiracy as opposed to just the existence of alien life, which to me is a little unfortunate. My image of the show in my head always was searching for the truth and the show isn't half over and we already have the truth. But, at the same time, I did enjoy this episode. I do feel like these mythology episodes are getting harder and harder to review though. Like I said, we learned so much earlier in the series that they're starting to slow down so they can continue. Lately there have been some mytharc episodes where we learn absolutely nothing, but this was not one of them. We did get a little bit more in the Samantha arc, which is cool and we lost our dear friend Mr. X. While it took me a while to warm up to him, I think it's safe to say that I'll miss him.

Well, season four starts with some promise, let's see what the future shall bring. From the looks of it I have a controversial fan favorite up next.

 

[Starbreaker]

"Home" is tame compared to some of the stuff out there today.

 

[C_Miller]

Home
(***)

You know, I was expecting to feel strongly one way or the other about it. This was riding the line between plausible and paranormal and while I like when the show does either of those, this kind of blurred the line and I didn't really like that. That being said it was a rather enjoyable episode, but probably not one that I'm going to recall too much by the end of the series.

Teliko
(**)

The X-Files really doesn't do stories of different ethnicities with much sensitivity, do they? To be fair, they're just playing with the stock ethnic characters that they had in the 90s and Native Americans fare much worse on this show. Anyways, this was kind of a boring episode and even though I just recently watched it, I really can't tell you too much about it.

Unruhe
(***1/2)

I actually kind of liked this one. Lots and lots of tension, which is always cool with me. And for the first time this season, we have a bad guy with a trippy power. That's what really kind of got me into the show past the whole alien abduction story. I will however say that the times that Mulder has to save Scully are vastly outweighing the times where Scully has to save Mulder. Maybe it's because I just recently watched Buffy, but I'm really noticing the disproportion.

 

[C_Miller]

The Field Where I Died
(****)

Worst. Teaser. Ever. I’m sorry Mulder is one of my favorite characters every created in fiction, but him reciting a poem does not make me want to watch the rest of the episode. On one hand, I enjoyed it and on the other hand, it doesn’t feel like an X-Files episode even though we have an FBI case and something strange about it. I have said before that I don’t like how X-Files does religion, but this was a great look at the world of cult religions. But this is and extremely strong episode with great performances from everyone, especially David Duchovny. I really love the idea of past lives and what not and I think it’s really interesting that Mulder knows all of the important people in his life from a previous one (or at least that’s what’s implied).

Now, I can’t see myself watching this over and over again like some of the mythology episodes or Beyond the Sea, but I will certainly recall this as an episode I enjoyed when I look back at the series.

 

[saturn5]

"Home" is tame compared to some of the stuff out there today.

'Home' is the scariest X-files ep EVER! Oddly it's also the one with no supernatural or paranormal influence at all. But when the mother tells Scully 'You have no children' and starts talking about 'The war of northern agression' and when they drive around in their old car listening to Johnny Mathis, creepier than ANY little green man or goverment conspiracy

 

[C_Miller]

The Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man
(*****)

I’m not sure what more I can say other than the fact that this was a brilliant episode. It was in a somewhat strange place in the season, but it was simply a refreshing episode. I loved all of the links to history such as the Kennedy Assassination and the MLK Assassination and made me appreciate how edgy the show can actually be and how many barriers that it pushes on a weekly basis. I also loved the allusion that our friend The Smoking Man is the reason that the Buffalo Bills didn’t win a single Super Bowl during their epic run in the early 90s. A lot of that has to do with the fact that I come from Western New York and The Bills are my team.

And at the same time, this is frustrating because I know that it’s never confirmed to be true and most of it most likely isn’t. But it’s frustrating in a good way. Well, if I’m counting correctly, this is quite possibly my first five star review in quite a while and I hope that the series gains some momentum from this.

 

[C_Miller]

Tunguska
(****1/2)

Well, Alex Krycek is back and like always I just want to introduce him to Mulder’s fist repeatedly. But here we return to the mystery and intrigue of the early Mythology episodes are back in this one. I think a lot of my enjoyment from this episode came from all of the moving around, which was a staple of episodes such as E.B.E and Little Green Men and the three parter between Seasons 2 and 3. I also feel like the stakes go beyond Mulder and Scully and their wellbeing. I’m also fond of the idea of Black Oil. It’s alien, but it gives us a nice diversion from the actual aliens that are quickly taking the place of the Borg as the most unbeatable, overpowered, monolithic enemies on television.

I loved the trade off between Skinner and the Smoking Man. I think while a lot of the praise from the show is directed at the interaction between Mulder and Scully, but the antagonism between these two is always a delight to see, even though we don’t see it all that often. I just love the Smoking Man in general. In many ways he’s simply the perfect villain. He’s mysterious, nefarious, and opportunistic yet at the same time he is a bit sympathetic. He is the perfect example of a villain who simply has a different ideological opinion from our heroes. It doesn’t seem like anyone is a fan of these aliens abducting people and what not, but while Smoking Man wants to keep them hidden, Mulder wants the truth exposed.

Very good episode, let’s see if the second part can live up to it.


Terma
(****)

I’m not sure how I can adequately grade this one seeing as it is very much the second half of a two hour episode rather than two episodes. I do like the idea of the Government using this alien material to fight wars and keep people in line. It seems like Cancer Man and friends are a lot less sympathetic than I was going to give them credit for. Oh well. But in the end, Mulder and Scully end up exactly where they started in terms of evidence.

I did like Mulder’s soap box at the end of the episode. Classic Fox Mulder, we’ve missed you. Well, while the series has kind of been meandering, these past last three or four episodes have given me renewed hope. Full speed ahead!

 

[C_Miller]

Paper Hearts
(*****)

Man, the surefire way to make a classic episode of The X-Files is to take Fox Mulder and give him a personal connection to a case. The Samantha Mulder storyline is probably the one I’m most interested in at this point and this was a great callback to the story without really bringing in the whole alien mythology arc. It makes the series feel more interconnected when these Monster of the Week episodes (he might not be supernatural, but he sure is a Monster) bring in parts of the alien arc. I did love the idea of a killer using Mulder’s weak spot to torment him

This episode was full of tension. Rarely do I actually feel worried about the outcome as I did at the end of this one. On a cognitive level, I knew that he wasn’t going to get away with his crimes nor was he going to kill the girl, but I still felt like the scene could have gone either way. It was also nice to see a story that really had no supernatural undertones to it. This was a character piece through and through and it showed that the characters are strong enough to carry the series, even without the concept.

Overall a brilliant episode, one of the best of the series. And I think it’s safe to say that after three seasons of asking, Mulder was finally given his “Beyond the Sea.”


El Mundo Gira
(**)

X-Files, you were doing so well. I really don’t have much to say about this episode other than it was extremely heavy handed and clearly meant to try and be socially conscious in an era where illegal immigration was on everyone’s mind. Oh well, just gotta keep on truckin’.

 

[Harvey]

"Paper Hearts" is one of my favorite standalone episodes, as far as you can call it a standalone. It's great, I think, because it tells a story that isn't about aliens, but still manages to use so much of the show's rich mythology.

 

[C_Miller]

Leonard Betts
(****)

“Mulder and Scully investigate a bizarre death that may involve either the theft of a headless body or a headless body that escaped of its own accord...”

This was actually an extremely well done Monster of the Week episode; one that really kept me guessing until the reveal. It had some classic Mulder and Scully trade offs that were reminiscent of Season One, which I always enjoy. It also had some interesting science involved. Now, I’m not exactly very good at science, so I can’t tell you if it’s actually good science, but it seemed relatively plausible as far as Science Fiction goes. Leonard Betts was also extremely creepy, reminding me of classic villains like Tooms and Pfaster. The X-Files is a show that almost requires extremely creepy bad guys and I don’t think they use them enough.

And like Paper Hearts, this is a stand alone episode that will seemingly have consequences later on as it implies that Scully has cancer. I do recall that all of the abduction victims got cancer, I think that was revealed in Neisei or something like that. I wasn’t sure if that would come back or not, but it looks like it did.

Right now, as far as season 4 goes, I think you can count it up there with Season 2 and 3, I’m not sure why people didn’t include this one when they talked about the best seasons.


Never Again
(***1/2)

“Scully begins dating a dangerous stranger whose jealous tattoo compels him to murder the women he encounters.”

Okay, Mulder at Graceland made me seriously crack up. But that’s the only funny part of this episode. In many ways it really is heart breaking seeing Scully take a descent into darkness because we know the context. It also is extremely realistic. I know a lot of people who do extremely rash things and start to act different when they are faced with their own mortality. And what’s more, like Paper Hearts, this was very much a character episode. It feels so much different than just one of them going to investigate a mystery and I think the episode is better for it, because I wasn’t connecting to the actual A plot (if you can call it that).

Talking tattoos can come off as really cheesy and this episode probably would have come off as cheesy if it weren’t for the killer plotline involving Scully. Actually if it weren’t for the quality writing, this episode would probably have come off as just another run of the mill Monster of the Week episode, but this was bumped up due to that. I really couldn’t connect to our strange friend, which is probably part of the reason I wasn’t a huge fan.

I have never been more conflicted with an episode rating. I wish I could give it ¾ of a star. Because half this episode is one of the better episodes this season, but the other half is extremely vanilla.


Memento Mori
(****1/2)

“Scully attempts to come to terms wither her inoperable cancer, while Mulder and the Lone Gunmen race to find the cure.”

Never has The X-Files felt more like James Bond and I love it for that. It was great seeing The Lone Gunmen come into the fold. I can’t recall when we last saw them. This was another one of those episodes that just felt like it had a lot going on. It had the emotional weight of Scully’s cancer with her mother coming in and Mulder and Skinner trying to help her at all costs. But at the same time there’s a lot of action, which can keep even the most ADD fan interested. Good balance between the two at that.

The scene where Mulder ends up in the lab recalls The Erlenmeyer Flask and for the first time in a very long time the whole series really comes together. On top of that, the mythology arc actually feels like an arc rather than a loose connection of episodes about aliens. You can see that the series is kind of working towards something and that’s kind of cool to see. This episode is hopefully the first in a long line of episodes that connect together. Unfortunately for our heroes, it seems that we have made a deal with the devil.

Again, brilliant episode and save for “El Mundo Gira” this could be one of the best stretches on the show to this point.

 

[DevilEyes]

"Home" is tame compared to some of the stuff out there today.

'Home' is the scariest X-files ep EVER! Oddly it's also the one with no supernatural or paranormal influence at all. But when the mother tells Scully 'You have no children' and starts talking about 'The war of northern agression' and when they drive around in their old car listening to Johnny Mathis, creepier than ANY little green man or goverment conspiracy

ITA. "Home" is not just one of the best horror episodes of TV I've seen, it's one of the best screen hours of horror I've even seen. Interesting how the creepiest X-Files episodes tend to be the non-supernatural ones: Home, Irresistible, Paper Hearts. I also love how it subverts the expectations, by having the disabled mother as the main monster/villain. I don't think I've ever been as creeped out as when she says "You obviously have no children" and "What a boy would do for his mother" It's like 'family values' and isolationism taken to the extreme.

IGN put "Home" at #1 of their list of Top 20 Creepiest Moments on TV, and rightfully so!

 

[C_Miller]

I think I may have to watch it again on my TV as opposed to my computer with the lights off one night rather than during the day. That may help.

 

[C_Miller]

Kaddish
(***)

“A murder in a Jewish community leads to the deaths of the killers, forcing Mulder and Scully to determine whether vengeance or larger forces are at work.”

I’m not really sure what to say about this one. It was a fine story and I really did feel for the family. Being a fan of Jewish Culture, I really hate to say that I wasn’t blown away by this one, but I think much of that has to do with the placement. We just had a run of stories that was way above average concluding with one of the best Mythology episodes since the beginning of Season Three. I want to know more about Scully’s cancer and what’s going to happen with that. In fact, I’m not even sure that it was mentioned.


Unrequited
(**)

“The mysterious murder of a U.S. Army Lieutenant General has Mulder and Scully racing against the clock to stop a seemingly unstoppable—and invisible—assassin.”

For the life of me, I’ll never understand why Scully and Mulder are placed on mundane cases. Seems like a waste of their talents. I mean, did they know that Teager was able to make himself invisible before hand? This wouldn’t be the first time this happened though I can’t think of an example off hand. Actually, come to think of it this whole episode seems beneath Mulder and Scully. And it was relatively boring at that. The protection of a General really doesn’t thrill me.

That said, I did enjoy the ending. Nice little tie in to what we know about Skinner as well as bringing in the less than benign government.

 

[C_Miller]

Is anyone still reading this? I miss some of the discussions we were having earlier and hte lack of traffic makes me think I'm simply bumping this thread with long posts...


Tempus Fugit
(****)

“Mysterious circumstances surround the crash of a commercial jet as the agents race against government agents to discover the truth about what happened before it can be covered up.”

Ah, the return of Max Fenig! But sadly, it’s not for long. You know, I didn’t realize how great a character he was until his return. I mean, I liked him in Fallen Angel, but I didn’t realize what he meant to the series and Mulder until I saw him back. In fact, he’s one of the only characters the validate Mulder in the early part of the series and like Scully said, they’re kind of two parts of the same coin. It’s unfortunate that they had to kill him, but I understand why. It was a great drive for Mulder.

The storyline of a downed commercial airplane, shot down by a military rocket is a wee bit disturbing in a Post-9/11 world, but still effective as a plotline. The plane crash site was really well done and from what I could tell, it looked a lot like what a plane crash site looks like from pictures. You know, for our friend the Smoking Man not appearing in this episode at all, his organization was actually at its most sinister here.

I liked the ending with Pendrall getting shot and Mulder discovering what looked like an E.B.E. I have a thing for recurring characters and Pendrall created a lot of continuity in the bureau and this was a discovery that didn’t seemingly take away the mystery of the aliens.


Max
(****)

“Mulder and Scully continue their investigation of a commercial airliner crash and discover that it may have been sacrificed by the military in order to obtain alien technology.”

This was a very good follow up to Tempus Fugit. The mythology episodes of season 4, I think are better than the ones of season 3. In fact, I think that’s the main distinction. The earlier seasons had much better MotW episodes while this season’s Alien episodes are kicked into high gear. Although I can’t help but think that these episodes would have been much better in Season 3 while we still had mystery. Neisei, 731, Piper Maru, Apocrypha, and Talitha Cumi had way too much of the mystery revealed too early on, but there’s a lot more mystery going on here and I like that.

The episode was rather tense, especially the climax and in classic X-Files fashion, we lose the recovered proof by the end of the episode. Very much an almost got ‘em moment, to recall Batman: The Animated Series.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

I am...

Thing is I'm through with my X-Files run (at least until the end of teh seventh season) and the memory of single episodes begin to fade already, so I can't comment that much anymore.
Also pretty busy.
But I still enjoy reading it.

 

[trekkier]

I've been reading too, and I'm watching the series for the first time too, and I think i may just be one or two episodes in front of you so its great reading your reviews! So far I think season 4 has been my favorite.

 

[DevilEyes]

Season 4 was my favorite, too, followed by season 2 and season 3. Season 5 was also quite good, but the mythology was getting a bit too convoluted by that point. But the season 4 finale/season 5 opener, the 3-parter Gethsemane/Redux I/Redux II is the highlight of the series for me.

Overall I liked it better when there was still ambiguity whether there were aliens or if it was all a government conspiracy to cover up something else.

 

[C_Miller]

Definitely agree. I actually think that Season 4 was a major step up from season 3 in that respect. Neisei, 731, Apocrypha, Piper Maru, and Talitha Cumi revealed way too much to the point where we were seeing E.B.E.s out in the open. Didn't like that at all. I knew it was coming, but I was hoping it would come further down the line. Season 4 seemed to rectify some of those things and we really haven't been seeing Little Green Men running around, in fact a lot of it has been the more mysterious stuff of Season 1 and 2.

 

[trekkier]

I just finished watching Redux II and...wow...that was really really reallly awesome.

 

[C_Miller]

Ahhh! The way I'm going, I might actually be finished with the season tonight. I just finished through Zero Sum and I'm just finishing up the reviews. So Redux I and II may be done tomorrow. Can't Wait!