The X-Files Season 1, Episode 23: Roland

For a show that deals with extraordinary phenomena, this episode almost bordered on the ordinary. As much as I don't believe in psychic abilities in real life, I can much more easily accept the idea of a psychic connection between identical twins than some of the other far-fetched things they've dealt with.

But also, this was a sad story about a family that was split apart because of attitudes about intelligence and its relative value in individuals.


I think I realised Roland and Arthur were twins pretty quickly - well, I guess no sooner than Mulder did, but still, when it was determined they had the same birth date and year, it seemed like an obvious conclusion.

I, like Mulder and Scully, was slowly able to put the pieces together, and I think I realised Dr Nollette was the villain just as he entered the lab to attack Roland/Arthur. I'm not entirely sure if he orchestrated the car accident or if that really was just an accident that happened to conveniently put him in a position to complete and publish the research. Or if he became the villain once he figured out how Arthur was controlling Roland.

I'm not sure it really matters, either, because as the title indicates, this episode is really about Roland.

And his story is pretty horrible and tragic. Was he sent away because his parents thought it was best for him or best for them and his genius twin brother? Based on the fact that the connection between them was denied to the point of even changing his name, I'd say more the latter.

I have to say, talking about Roland is difficult partly because he was used by his brother to act in ways on one would expect of him based on common perceptions of people with his disability, and also because as someone who doesn't have regular contact with people who are cognitively disabled, I don't know that I recognised him as being anything other than a common fictional depiction of a person with such disabilities.

But at the same time, I think that since it is such a fine line that writers and directors have to walk with characters like Roland, I'm glad they tried to make his portrayal, and Tracy's, more on the side of subtle than wild and obvious. Well, mostly. They tried, at least.

Otherwise, I felt the plot itself was kind of shaky and doesn't hold up well on close examination, but that's OK, I guess, because the season finale is coming up and this definitely had the feel of a late season filler episode before what is sure to be a mind-blowing finale.

This episode also made me wish I'd waited to comment on the ridiculous clothes, because holy shit. Scully was kind of a train wreck this time around, too, but that's nothing compared to Mrs Stodie's shirts that made me think of circus clowns.

I was amused at Scully's horror at the idea of being cryogenically frozen and revived as a head without a body. I share that horror, because I think that would be a seriously unpleasant way to wake up in a couple of centuries. Though actually, since it was implied that Arthur was conscious the entire time anyway, maybe that would be an improvement. Imagine being just your thoughts and otherwise having no ability to interact with the world. Nightmare fuel, indeed.

And finally, DOS. Oh, DOS, how I miss you so.