Spoilers

“Irresistible”

This was a disturbing and scary episode of the X-Files, and it really didn’t have anything to do with aliens or the paranormal. What it had to do with was a frightening man who had a terrible fetish that led him to do atrocious things.

The man started by digging up bodies in the cemetery and defiling them, cutting hair and puling out fingernails. That was disturbing enough without needing to go into it further. Mulder and Scully was called in because the police officer believed that aliens may have been invovled, but Mulder shot that down quickly.

However, Scully was having reactions to the case, having flashbacks to her recent abduction and it was affecting what she did. It showed her own PTSD over the incident that she has clearly not gotten over as of yet.

Nick Chinlund was cast as the ‘monster’ this episode and he was remarkably chilling. His tone and normal feel made him all the more sinister. 

The local police detective involved in this case was a well known face to police show enthusiasts. Bruce Weitz played Sgt. Michael “Mick” Belker for years prior to this on the NBC show Hill Street Blues. He had won a Best Supporting Actor Emmy for the role, and he provided a nice foil for Agent Mulder. It was cool to see a local cop not turn the stink-eye to Mulder for once. It was a different kind of case, but Weitz was very supportive of Mulder, including being a believer at the beginning.

It was cool to see Mulder and how efficient he could be as an agent with his profile skills that was not paranormal related. You could see why Agent Mulder had been regarded as highly as he was at the bureau prior to his involvement with the X-Files.

I do like how Scully was able to fight back before Mulder arrived. I would have liked for her to have been able to subdue the suspect before Mulder came to the rescue, but I guess her fighting back was enough. I do not want Scully to be seen as a victim.

However, the scene at the very end when Scully broke down in tears with Mulder was a very strong scene too. It showed how important the characters were to each other.

Very good episode. Different from other X-Files episodes and that keeps the viewers unsure about what is next.