So it looks like it's time for the annual game of "Did Mulder murder someone?" Only this episode is a lot better than 'Grotesque', because in addition to being a good mystery, it explores some more of Mulder's backstory and his memories involving his sister's abduction.
At first I thought this was going to be a typical mythology arc episode about Samantha's abduction, but it turned out to be a case of the week episode about Samantha's abduction. That is, her abduction storyline only served as background for Mulder's actions. And for that matter, we didn't really learn anything about it that doesn't relate to Mulder's paranoia about the incident.
This is another of those intensely paranoid episodes, too. I really felt scared for Mulder, not just because he had possibly committed murder, but because he was somehow being manipulated or deceived and couldn't even remember why. That would have to be pretty much the most horrifying experience. I mean, imagine waking up and finding blood all over your shirt and not knowing where you are or how you got there, but not having full amnesia.
Mulder remembered who he was, maybe a little too well, even. His absolute belief that the abduction of his sister was the result of some conspiracy his father was somehow involved in is fuelling this paranoia. Well, that and some heavy drugs and a very Dollhouse-like therapy to trigger his memories. Actually, maybe A Clockwork Orange would be the more appropriate analogy, given the light and sound. At least it wasn't Beethoven.
The flashbacks made me think of Harry Potter's visions when he's near Dementors. The scene is very similar, though I suppose not quite as tragic. But there's something about the vagueness of the way the scenes are shot that leads me to believe it's almost a fabrication or at the very least a false memory on Mulder's part, somehow generated by what he wants to believe in conjunction with the unorthodox therapy he's receiving.
And he's so paranoid, in fact, that he visits his mother and bombards her with angry questions about that night, refusing to believe her when she denies her involvement. We've seen this before, right? He questioned her in 'Paper Clip' and she said that his father ended up making the choice, and that she hated him for it. Mulder seemed to accept that answer then, so I think it's only his paranoia now that's leading him to question its validity.
We're definitely nowhere closer to finding out what actually happened since everything that related to the abduction in this episode took place in Mulder's head. While I wouldn't be surprised if this is how things played out, I also wouldn't be surprised if it's a bit of a mix of the unreliable memory of a twelve year old and the visual and auditory manipulations of Dr Goldstein.
The only thing that seemed weird here was the timing. We're one episode from the finale of a season that has dealt with the Black Oozing Goo and Scully's cancer, and now there's an episode that doesn't really develop the mythology further and only vaguely deals with Mulder's sister's abduction in such an unreliable way that we can't really count on anything more coming out of it.
Maybe this would have been better in season two, or even earlier in this season, but where it is, it's kind of a distraction. I'd rather have had either a two part finale or an episode 23 that had nothing at all to do with the series mythology.
Also, is that the house from 'Home'? I'm having flashbacks to that episode now. (I just looked it up. It is the house. Goddammit, I'm never going to get that episode out of my head, am I?)
No comments:
Post a Comment