2X21 - The Calusari

Summary

This episode seemed to hold so much promise, but when it ended, I was disappointed with it. I think it suffered from the obvious Exorcist and Omen similarities, proving once again that taking on subject matter that's been done well in the past is not easy unless you have a bang-up new angle to throw into the mix. What we got here — a dead twin having an influence on his still-living brother, resulting in those who attempt to "get in the way" being killed in quick succession — made for a violent and action-filled hour, but nothing of it was too terribly original.

A little more paprika and you'll be good to go!

Lessons learned from the teaser: don’t give a two year old an ice cream cone and a balloon at the same time. The first is doomed to fall to the ground and the second is doomed to float away in the sky. Which then – for some reason – leads to Dad throwing everybody's ice cream into the garbage when snotty older kid goes on about losing his balloon to his younger brother. I know how much ice cream cones cost at amusement parks and he’s right: that was a waste of good money! I’m pretty darn sure that wifey – had she not lost her kid in the subsequent tragedy – would have asked him, “What happened to my ice cream?”

I like it when Mulder and Scully call upon other members of their professional circle to assist with their cases and this ep gave us both Chuck Burks and Karen Kosseff. (Chuck seems a bit full of himself as he defends his findings against Dana Scully’s skepticism.)

Okay, they find this ash and it’s supposedly neither organic nor inorganic. How can that be? (According to the so-called technicians, the stuff doesn’t exist. Well, it very clearly exists since it’s in a baggie and you’ve been handling it.) Never mind that Chuckie instantly recognizes it as “holy ash”. Which leads to one of the better moments in this ep, Scully’s response to Mulder’s theory that the energy from spirit beings could have opened up the garage door while they were inside having a looksee: “Yeah, that or somebody activated the remote control.”

As we approach the climax of this one, Mulder sends Scully back to the Holveys while he goes to get help. I think Scully got the raw end of that deal, as it was only due to very coincidental timing that she is saved from certain death at the hands of “ghost of dead twin”. All Mulder had to deal with was a demon who may or may not recognize him in future. (Although if I had been Mulder, I would have retorted, “Well, it would have been nice if someone had told me not to look at him before I looked at him!”)

Best or Worst Moment

The teaser, once again. Seeing the "oh my God, there's tragedy ahead for that little kid" during the first few minutes of this hour prepared me for a much better episode than what I got.

Original Rating: *
Revised Rating: *