Summary
Those who run religious cults are only marginally more worthy than intolerant and ignorant souls who think nothing of making fun of those who are different. So basically, there wasn't much for me to like in this one. Throw in something about growth hormones being injected into cattle (the same hormones which may or may not also be given to kids in the guise of super-vitamins), alien DNA testing and a Peeping Tom who has been abducting kids (and branding their backs) and whoa — what we have here is failure to adhere to a focused plotline. Does all this really belong together under one story? And it's somehow related to the "purity control" of The Erlenmyer Flask? I think I'm confused. Chris Carter took a wrong turn (or two, or three) in this one. It probably should have been a one-off episode that had nothing to do with the show's mythology.
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| A "shipper gift": Here, let me get that for you... |
Needless to say, my jaw dropped when I heard those words in this episode, an ep that I have probably only seen twice before and that was many years ago, even at the time of S7 when Closure came around. Interesting that Mulder seemed very informed about the concept, explaining to Scully the whole idea of despairing folks being vulnerable to being claimed by more enlightened souls. Don’t quite know how this fits in with “walk ins” who are children about to suffer a violent death, but maybe, like Scully, I don’t quite get the “finer points”.
From just the first three scenes, I had questions. Why is the Kanes’ bathroom so dark? Who undresses in front of a mirror like that (as though she doesn’t know where her buttons are)? And why do the words “He is One” written on a teenager’s back trigger an “Oh my God” from a cop? Not like the words were cut into his skin like in another episode coming up...
Anyhoo, this hour was extremely disjointed, and not just due to the odd appearances of Relic, Penny Northern and Mary Richards’ IRS auditor. (Really showing my age with a couple of those references!)
Speaking of Relic, he really did hit many nails on the head in his brief little exchange with our agents. I’m not one to say no to a good steak (or good ribs) but the odd times when we get an inside look at the meat processing industry, it’s usually not a good story.
Nor is this episode a good story, because more than halfway through, the viewer is still thinking that this is just a “usual” MotW x-file about kidnapped teenagers tinged with religious cultism and soul swapping... and a Peeping Tom. And somehow, the kids’ doctor fits into the puzzle, along with the mystery of why was he carrying around a whole lot of cash and credit card numbers like a 21st century identity thief and fraud artist when he perished in a surprise plane crash.
But then the next thing we see is someone we last saw in a mytharc show: Mr. Assassin! Whoa, this is so not a usual MotW! Had to laugh when I heard Mulder say, “It all makes sense!” It’s this, that and those, except that that has nothing to do with the case and those are just innocent bystanders.
Interesting observation from RL as I watched Mulder and Scully enjoy their BBQ ribs... I believe David was a practicing vegetarian at the time. Wonder what he thought of this ep?
Picayune Peculiarities
Tox reports come back amazingly fast sometimes. Scully says “I just examined the girl” and in her next statement says that she found nothing until the toxicology report came back with whatever it was that was deemed interesting. However, the identity of the contents of the vial found at the plane crash site did not come back in similar “almost instantaneous” fashion.
Were you as shocked as I was that Mulder was continuing his chase of Mr. Assassin through the meat cooler that was doused with gasoline — and that he was threatening to fire his gun?? That would have been some BBQ!
Oh, and who would name their dog “Pupperdog”? Really, who?
Best or Worst Moment
Growing up in the '70s with nothing but the CBC to keep me amused, The Beachcombers was one of those shows that I often watched because nothing else was on. The late Robert Clothier (the guy who waved Scully over to his truck) was a classic in this series as a cantankerous old man named Relic. In this episode, he says a line with the same contemptuous passion that defined Relic for more years than I can remember... when Scully points out that the hormone is safe, he pooh-poohs it with "Says who? The government?"
Original Rating: *
Revised Rating: * *
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