Dear The X-Files,
You know what I really need to see? Something hideously gross, because you haven't done that in a while. Howabout something with explosive, pus-filled boils? That seems to be the kind of thing you guys are into, right?
Thanks, I knew I could count on you!
So, this episode was vile. It wasn't bad, but it was definitely the most disgusting thing I've seen on television since I watched season one of Fringe, which was similarly revolting at times.
I've already had to remind myself a couple of times not to eat while watching The X-Files, and I'm glad I've stuck to that, especially for 'F. Emasculata', which probably would have made me vomit had I had a full stomach.
OK, so enough about the disgusting boils. Really. I could live without ever seeing anything like that again, but I know that at some point in the next 7 seasons, I'll probably see something far worse. I'm really looking forward to that.
So either way, I'm trying to write this entirely from memory (and reading the script) because I just don't want to watch this episode again.
But more importantly, we get a hint of the depth of various conspiracies and how the government, along with private corporations, is able to cover up things that would cause mass panic if people actually found out about them. Cancer Man is right. (Also, Cancer Man is creepy. What's he doing sitting in the dark in Skinner's office like that?) I think this demonstrates how intricate these conspiracies are, and how many things have to work together to keep them going. If Mulder or Scully had gone to the media, not only would there be mass panic about a horrific infection, but the one organisation that might be able to contain it, the government, would be the last one anyone would trust to help them. "Oh, hey, the government was engaging in a massive cover-up, I'll trust them to keep me safe from this thing!"
I found the episode frustrating at times, because it seemed that every time Mulder or Scully uncovered something, they also discovered a new angle to the conspiracy. But I think that's what made it a good episode, except for the grossness. If I'm frustrated or angry on behalf of Mulder and Scully, the writers have done their jobs.
I was also sometimes frustrated and angry at Mulder and Scully.
Scully made some epically bad choices in this episode. Why cut open a body bag that has clearly been sealed FOR GOOD REASON? Did she not watch 'Firewalker'? Wait, she was there. She should have known better, because this thing behaved in almost exactly the same way. (And, now that I think about it, reminded me of some Fringe episodes, too, 'What Lies Below', specifically.)
But then, the guy who escaped from prison also made some epically bad choices, but I suppose I'd expect that from someone who did something bad enough to be incarcerated and was careless enough to get caught at it. I expected better from Scully, at least. But still, going to visit your girlfriend the minute you escape from prison is perhaps not the best idea in the world.
Either way, it all led to a very tense scene on the bus and I was really worried that the hostage would end up infected, rather than just shot. Fortunately, neither of those things happened, but a sniper with an itchy trigger finger managed to prevent Paul from revealing what was in the package.
At least he got as far as telling Mulder there was a package, though.
Of course, Skinner is complicit in the coverup and knows more than he lets on at first, but I think he makes a good, if terrifying point, which is that even the FBI, nobly pursuing justice, is going to be three steps behind those trying to cover up the truth. And in this case, it just comes down to plausible deniability. Because their package was sent to a prisoner with the same name as their research scientist, even if the information got out, it wouldn't hurt them. It was just an innocent postal error.
But it's a good thing for Pinck that their deceased researcher in Costa Rica just happened to share his name with a prisoner. I mean, what if his name had been Weather'by Dot Com Chanel Fourcast Sheppard or something equally ridiculous and uncommon? Their failsafe would have, well, failed.
So yeah, I actually kind of liked this one, which is a weird thing to say about an episode I've already said I will probably never watch again.
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