Summary
Interesting episode. The guy who played Gerry (Pruitt Taylor Vince — doesn't that seem like a name in reverse to you?) terrified me with his uncanny ability to make his eyeballs quiver like a real madman. Talk about acting! To me, this is the classic X-Files "photography" ep, not the more lukewarm Tithonus. The fact that both ended with Scully potentially getting killed has not escaped me either, although I could "buy" this one more than the other. (Peyton Ritter — what an idiot.) Once again, in true Mulder fashion, our "Spooky" hero shows us why he's an FBI agent and we are not — he can see all sorts of things in photographs that we wouldn't even notice on our best days with the best computer aids. Oh, and I loved the scene with him chasing after the Explorer. I'm sure he could have caught it had he arrived just a bit sooner!
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| So does Scully look "troubled"? |
As I rewatched this ep (which aired out of sequence with its episode number, being shown fourth in the season's original rotation), I had a bit of a problem with what was implied among Schnauz's already hard to believe abilities. Are we being [fore]told — through him — of Scully's upcoming "troubles" with cancer? If so, how many people do we need to cover off that situation (given that Leonard Betts is still to come)? Speaking of the mytharc side, wouldn't you have thought that a chill would have run up and down our agents' spines when it was revealed that Mary had been given an "icepick" lobotomy? You'd think that they would have been reminded of the "plam thing", or the potential involvement of the Syndicate.... But no, it was as if they had been told that this was just a MotW case; no alien involvement here.
It's interesting that Scully thinks that she "empathized" with Schnauz while she was held captive (she says this in her final report). It seemed to me as if she antagonized him more than anything. She first questioned him with barely concealed anger at the police station and then after she was captured by him, she more or less tried to insinuate that "you're the only crazy one here" by saying that if howlers existed, they lived only inside his head. Luckily for her, Mulder had just finished pulling off one of his more astounding leaps of logic and was right at her doorstep to save her.
On the other hand, I loved that Scully actually pulled the trigger after she warned Schnauz with the "Stop or I'll shoot!" I can't tell you how many times I heard that in TV/movies and yet the guy just gets away because it's an empty threat.
As in Oubliette, the antagonist in this episode is given a mental illness reason for his behaviour: Schnauz was previously diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. In today's world, that makes him a little less villainous in my mind, because this man is not wholly responsible for his actions. I can't hate him in the same way as I would had he just been an "ordinary" psychopath. But yes, I can reconfirm that he was still an extremely memorable TXF villain, all in all.
Picayune Peculiarities
There's that scintillating software again! Whenever I try to blow up some detail in the background of my photos, I just get blurs. This wonderful application at the FBI can actually create detail out of that blurry stuff.
You also gotta be impressed with Schnauz's up to date diary entries. I'm having trouble keeping on schedule with this blog and yet he was so quick and efficient to have included Scully's name in his records!
Best or Worst Moment
I love Mulder's ability to stay inquisitive. I recently read something about the sixteen basic desires of human beings (drop me a line if you're interested in knowing the complete list) and I think Mulder's life desire is focused on curiosity. Supposedly this desire manifests itself in "truth-seeking and problem-solving". Anyway, my point is that scene in the woods after they've found Alice Brandt's body. Mulder is confused about the nature of Gerry's photos and wants to understand. Scully says, "I don't." It's a very telling moment.
Original Rating: * * *
Revised Rating: * * *
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