Spoilers

“Colony”

“End Game”

A two part episode that brought the mystery of the disappearance of Samantha Mulder back to the forefront, and gave us another of the recurring villains, an alien, shape shifting bounty hunter with blood that is dangerously corrosive to humans.

The use of Samantha Mulder was done extremely well in this episode, although to be honest the future use of the mystery of her disappearance becomes one of the most overused aspects of the series. I am not sure if the creators of the X-Files actually know what had happened to Samantha and they just wrote that she disappeared and decided they would answer it at some point, not knowing the truth.

We met Fox’s mother and father in the episodes and the father was definitely a questionable guy. He felt fairly withdrawn from his son (something we learn more about later in the series).

The confrontation between Skinner and X is the elevator during “End Game” gave us some real insights into both of these men, especially Skinner, who had been painted as a questionable agent, someone that could not be trusted. This showed that he may be more than what he had seemed before.

Mulder and Scully prove that they are better together than they are separately. I did feel like I have seen Scully kidnapped and in danger from the villains too much during this season. I did like how Scully came into the hospital at the end of the episode and basically saved Mulder’s life with her take charge attitude, not taking any crap from the doctor on duty.

This two-parter was really strong and was a solid pair of episodes in the mythology of the show.

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.

Spoilers

“One Breath”

Scully is back!

She shows up in a Washington hospital and no one is sure how she got there. However, she is in a coma and looks to be slipping away.

Her mother and her sister are there, and Mulder knew that she had a living will, stating that she did not want to be kept alive through extreme measures. 

Mulder is desperate, revealing what lengths he would go to in order to find out the truth about who did this to Scully.

Mulder actually had a gun pointed at the head of “Cancer Man.” They started referring to him as Cancer Man, but shifted to Cigarette Smoking Man after awhile. I believe that is because of the guy who, later this season, could give people cancer. CSM is a better name for him anyway.

I wanted Mulder to pull that trigger so badly. I remember seeing it the first time back when it aired and I was so rooting for him to plug him in the head. 

David Duchovny was outstanding in this episode, his desperation and panic was palpable. He knew what he was doing did not seem to be successful at all and his depression was obvious.

We also started working towards Skinner as an ally as we head a story from him about his past in Vietnam and saw him refuse to accept Mulder’s resignation. 

We get more of a glimpse at X too who brutally murdered a man that Mulder had been chasing. A man who had stolen a blood sample of Scully. In true X-Files fashion, we never learn anything about this guy.

It is great that Mulder and Scully are able to reunite on the show after Gillian Anderson’s pregnancy.

Spoilers

“3”

Scully is still missing, as Mulder places her file squarely in the X-Files, now reopened. Solo Mulder heads to LA to investigate a murder that had connections to a series of cases in the X-Files. Cases that have a connection to vampirism.

I did not like this episode very much. The biggest problem with it for me was the relationship that was forced for Mulder and the woman Kristen. I did not buy that for a second and it felt so out of character for Mulder, especially with Scully missing.

David Duchovny was solid but the absence of Gillian Anderson was absolutely felt. Bringing in vampires for this episode was not a good choice. Unlike later in the series where we had a more comedic episode with vampires, this one just never seemed to really work. It played with some of the vampire tropes, but was more of a mess than anything else.

Scully’s absence needed to be played up more than it was. Thankfully, I believe she returns very soon.

Spoilers

“Duane Barry”

Ooh, a really great episode of The X-Files. 

Series creator Chris Carter was the first time director for this episode and he did a fantastic job. It was tense, suspenseful and simple in the construction.

Duane Barry was a former FBI agent who claimed to have been abducted by aliens and had taken hostages. Because of the alien abduction claim, Mulder was summoned to help with the negotiations. The steps of the negotiations did not feel right to Mulder.

Mulder winds up going into the situation when one of the hostages gets shot, and Mulder begins to connect with Barry. 

The imagery of Duane Barry’s abduction from out of his memory were truly frightening. Of course, as in all things X-Files, you are never sure if this is true or just inside the mind of a mentally disabled psychopath.

Barry talked about the implants in his cheek, sinuses and abdomen. This would be important later as they eventually remove the one in the gut and Scully tries to identify it.

After being shot, Barry goes to the hospital. He is in critical condition, but wakes up and escapes. This was the weakest part of the episode because I had a hard time thinking that he would not have been secured better than he was and his escape seemed too simple.

He winds up grabbing Scully at the end of the episode before it flashes the “To Be Continued.”

There were great performances across the board.

The cliffhanger was scary with Scully begging for help from Mulder over the phone.

When I saw the episode, I did not remember much about it, but I knew this was the one where Scully would be kidnapped. I do not think I saw this before, but I did see the conclusion of it. This is a sensational episode and I am excited to see the next chapter.