The X-Files Season 1, Episodes 18-20

Because I don't have that many specific things to say about each of these episodes, I'll cover three - 'Miracle Man', 'Shapes', and 'Darkness Falls' - in one post.



Episode 18: 'Miracle Man'

I found this episode kind of strange, because I really can't understand why Vance, who was disfigured by his burns, but living what appeared to be a reasonably good life, was so angry as to murder innocent people. For one thing, why not just kill Samuel if he's that bitter? It's gonna rattle people either way, you know.

But I also couldn't figure out how he managed to kill his victims and time their deaths so they appeared to be a result of Samuel's 'healing'.

As an atheist, I'm pretty damn skeptical of this kind of thing in real life, but obviously in the X-Files universe, all sorts of things are possible, so I'm willing to accept that Samuel really did have some special ability - Leonard Vance is clearly proof of that.

I liked the character development of Mulder, and the disappearance of his sister and his uncertainty about it certainly influence his willingness to believe just about anything. If paranormal activity is real, then his sister may still be alive. He doesn't just want to believe; he has to.

Episode 19: 'Shapes'

I will admit that I do not know a lot about many Native American cultures. My initial thought when they first described the case and who it involved was that the episode would go to a place of uncomfortable stereotypes and rather negatively portray the Native American people who appeared.

I don't think I was entirely wrong, but I can't say for sure what they got right or what they messed up. I suspect some of the customs portrayed and mythology described were borrowed from a number of different cultures, rather than one single one. (I cannot find any information on the Trego at all, other than the existence of a town in northwest Montana called Trego [and some others, but that's the closest I could find]. Perhaps I need to refine my googling.)

Otherwise, I couldn't really determine the point of this episode, other than werewolves? I think it might have been a lot better had we not seen the transformation in the cold open. Sometimes it's OK to let the audience discover something at the same time the characters do.

Episode 20: 'Darkness Falls'

Holy shit this episode will give me nightmares. It's a good thing I already hate camping and refuse to ever do it, because if I didn't before, I certainly would now. Damn this was unnerving as hell.

I'm not really a fan of bugs, either, now that I think about it (it's one of the reasons I don't like camping). I remember walking to my bus stop in elementary school, and every yard on the block had a pair of crab apple trees near the edge, branches extending well over the sidewalk. In the spring, these trees became infested with tent caterpillars, who built their silky nests all over the branches. I'm pretty sure I've never run faster in my life trying to avoid standing under those things for too long.

And the cocoons in this episode weren't unlike the tent caterpillar nests. I cringed just watching Scully cut one open.

Otherwise, I have to say I do like that Humphreys pretty much got exactly what was coming to him for being such a pompous, self-righteous douche. Yeah, the eco-terrorists may have inappropriate and illegal methods, but that doesn't mean they're all inhuman monsters, so shut it, OK? Well, I guess he did. Though in a highly unpleasant and icky way.

And of course, the scene near the end, just before the timely rescue, was probablycertainly the most horrifying thing I've seen on this show so far.

I think if that happened to me, I'd never set foot outdoors again. At least not without a hazmat suit.

I'm kind of wondering if the government's solution wasn't so much pesticides and controlled burns as nuclear bombs. There seemed to be a "nuke it from orbit" kind of vibe going on there.

Also, I've been watching these all with my girlfriend, who has also never seen this show (though perhaps has caught bits and pieces of more episodes than I have) and we both agreed after watching this that we should watch another episode, since it was kind of late at night and we didn't want to go to sleep immediately after creepy bugs. Then we remembered this is The X-Files, and it's entirely possible the next episode could be even more horrifying.