You know that thing in fiction where people who try so hard to avoid a particular outcome end up walking right into it? Well, 'Soft Light' was kind of like that.
And in this case, it turns out to be total disaster.
We still don't know that much about X, but whoever he's working with or for has a use for Dr Banton and it cannot be good. I'm pretty sure they're trying to figure out how to weaponise what happened to him.
OK! I started with the ending. Good job, me!
Anyway, how did we get here?
Well, it turns out that there's a deeper story to X which is only hinted at here, and which I don't think will be particularly referenced beyond 'Soft Light', but it adds enough to the character's mystery that we, the viewers, can still think about it the next time we see him. If we even do. Mulder doesn't really seem too keen on pursuing that connection any more.
What part of, "Trust no one!" did you forget, Mulder? Despite his reservations about the man, he clearly trusts X, and lets him in on some of the things he's learned in his and Scully's investigation, thinking this can help to protect Banton. When instead, had X not become involved, it's possible Banton could have managed to avoid capture, though I don't know if he could have avoided sacrificing himself to save others. At least not for ever.
When Detective Ryan first showed up, I thought that she would be a potential addition to the cast and get an FBI job and work on X-Filesy stuff with Mulder and Scully. At least until Banton killed her in the only death he actually intentionally caused. I think she's the first protagonist since Deep Throat to be given a real identity and role who then gets killed by the 'monster of the week'. Most of the other victims have been otherwise unassociated with Scully or Mulder.
She was also clearly a student of Scully, but it appears the main thing she took away from class was Scully's dress sense. No, sorry, Detective Ryan, that's a Scully thing, not everyone in law enforcement needs to wear oversized suits.
But it was her personal ambition that got her into trouble. Mulder was right - she put herself ahead of her work, but only in terms of power. She forgot to put her personal safety ahead of her work and charged into the situation rashly, forgetting Mulder's warning, and apparently forgetting how dangerous Banton was. Seriously, did she not put two and two together when she saw two police cars accompanied by two scorch marks on the pavement and two police officers had just mysteriously vanished?
I guess she was also a little too much a student of Scully in that she couldn't accept that Banton was anything more than a dangerously violent criminal, despite evidence that something unusual was going on. Her personal desire for success and power trumped caution. I'd say she learned her lesson, but a) that seems harsh, and b) she's dead, so she can't really use it to improve in the future.
I did like the callback to 'Squeeze' and 'Tooms' when Scully checked out the vent, and similarly, the reference to Morley cigarettes, which I really thought was somehow going to mean the Cigarette Smoking Man was involved (well, I guess maybe he was, depending on who X works for?) And I also found very amusing the ability of security camera footage taken from a short distance to be blown up with such detail that Mulder could read the logo on Banton's jacket. Let's enhance!
I did NOT like that Banton seemed to be the stereotypical nerdy scientist who's utter shit at communication. Again. I mean, I know he couldn't have explained to the police that his shadow would kill them, but everything he said to them could have been doubly interpreted, and given the work police are typically used to, it came off as threatening. He may have at least been able to say something like, "I can't explain it, but you can't come closer, it's too dangerous. But if you go to [address] and find Chris Davey, he can help." But I guess for the story to work, Banton needed to be paranoid and poor at dealing with the situation.
Speaking of his situation, though, I don't really understand why his shadow would cause people to disintegrate, but didn't affect anything else around them. Wouldn't the floor also be destroyed? Or the wall? Or the door of the hotel room? Or, you know, everything? If his shadow acted as a black hole, it would consume everything around it to the point where Banton himself would fall through the giant hole he cut in the earth and get incinerated in the core. Which I suppose would be one way to solve the problem.
But instead, the whole thing is kind of inconsistent, but that does lead to the ability of X and whatever organisation he works with to capture and study him in a way that was freakily reminiscent of A Clockwork Orange.
Not a bad way to end an episode.
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