5X13 - Patient X [REVISITED]

Summary

I found this mythology two-parter confusing and irksome and compelling all at once, but what I do like about it is the personal journey that Mulder begins from this point forth. "Am I a believer or aren't I? Has my life been a sham or hasn't it?" While some of us in fandom saw something in the latter part of season five that caused a bit of a rift between M&S, some of us didn't. I interpreted it as a personal crisis from Mulder's side that resulted in him being less "in tune" with Scully and her needs, to the point of causing her considerable pain at times. For the fact that TXF does so poorly at keeping continuity, I always pinpoint this two-parter as the catalyst for Mulder's introspection into his life and what it's become.

Agent Scully meets Dweeby Spender

Okay, so how the hell do you see where you are walking and how do you breathe? Or eat, or drink, or hear? Come on, having all of your orifices (truly, is it all of them?) closed makes for an eerie looking being, but how can you possibly function? I know you're an alien, but still... And what about when Krycek poured water on the poor boy's (who is not an alien) stitched-up face? I was asking out loud, "How does that help him?"

Otherwise, I was a little less confused this time around. (I think the marathon viewing process is helping to provide some clarity, given that I am intentionally trying to hit all of the mythology eps.) Not that I don't still have questions, such as why Krycek is so well informed and why the Russians are so much more advanced in their "research" when they seem to work in such primitive conditions. (The reappearance of the chicken wire, for instance, made me wonder why they didn't have a better way to "test".) But then, the alien resistance guys seem a little primitive too, what with their "solution" to avoiding the black oil. At least they have their fancy matchsticks that appear to act as both accelerant and incendiary device.

Going into part two, I must say that I liked Scully's inner battle here as she is overcome by memories that she doesn't have. Not only that, Mulder is not providing any support for her as he steadfastly resists the alien abduction theory.

Best or Worst Moment

I disliked the Jeffrey Spender character from the beginning, and here is the beginning. I never saw him as integral to the plot of this or any other episode that he ever appeared in; I only saw him as an attempt by CC to create potential secondary characters to carry the show post-DD. For as badly as Spender turned out, is there any hope for Mr. John Doggett in Season Eight??

Original Rating: * * *
Revised Rating: * * *