The X-Files
The third season of "The X-Files" premiered on September 22, 1995. This was really the season that the show started firing on all cylinders and showed audiences what it could do. The ratings were the highest they'd been so far and the show was nominated for and WON Emmys. The series was nominated for 8 Emmy Awards and won 5. I think one of the things that propelled the third season ahead of the previous two is that the show finally found it's sense of humor. Episodes like "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose," "War of the Coprophages," and "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" proved that the show could be funny, sometimes even poke fun of itself and still be suspenseful, scary and unsettling. A lot of this is thanks to writer Darin Morgan, who penned the aforementioned episodes and sadly, left the show after this season, not returning until the revived tenth season. Thankfully, the shows other stable of regular writers saw the returns on this episode and weren't afraid to incorporate humor and sometimes even ludicrousness into future scripts.
"The Blessing Way"
Scully: "Who are you?"
Well Manicured Man: "I'm a member of a kind of consortium. We represent certain global interests."
Scully: "What kind of interests?"
Well Manicured Man: "Interests that would be severely threatened if the contents of the digital tape you are all pursuing were to come to light."
Scully: "Threatened enough to murder?"
Well Manicured Man: "Oh my, yes."
Notable Guest Star: John Neville as the Well-Manicured Man
Mythology or Monster of the Week: Mythology
X-File of the Week: After the firebombing, Mulder is presumed dead, but he is not. He is found by Albert Hosteen and the Navajo who preform a blessing way ritual to try to heal him. Meanwhile, the Cigarette Smoking Man is lying to the Syndicate about Mulder and the digital tape. Meanwhile, Scully is re-visiting her abduction, having her own clandestine meetings and being wary of Assistant Director Skinner.
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| Scully isn't messing around. |
Season three of "The X-Files" is the best season of the show. Full stop. The show is never more confident than it is in season three. The writers know what they are doing. Everyone is firing on all cylinders. It definitely feels like everyone involved has locked in to what makes the show great and it shows with every episode. I'm not saying that every episode is great or there aren't some meh episodes. I don't think any show can put out 22-24 episodes that are all of the same quality, but even the episodes that aren't as successful, there is still things about them that make them worth watching. Season three kicks off with maybe the two best mythology episodes of the whole series.
The episode picks up where the last one left off. CSM and his men go to the Hosteen's and terrorize them. It's a rough scene to watch. It hits harder in 2022 than it maybe did in 1995, which is scary and really sad. After they all disperse, the Navajo find Mulder buried under rocks and not in great shape. They take Mulder to a sweat lodge and perform a "blessing way" ritual to try to heal him. While Mulder is undergoing this ritual, he sees visions of Deep Throat and Bill Mulder. They urge him to not give up, letting him know that his work is not done yet.
You've heard me say it a million times. Sometimes, "The X-Files" doesn't handle the different cultural aspects it investigates the best. They do a great job here. The blessing way ritual is handled respectfully. It never feels like a joke. It is something that is very serious and impactful. And the fact that these people are using it on Mulder feels important. I feel like the show doesn't delve too deeply into the metaphysical, but maybe it should. The scenes where Deep Throat and Bill Mulder are great. I love Jerry Hardin and this brief monologue just makes me really miss him on the show. We haven't had a lot of time with Mulder's dad but this scene really establishes an emotional connection for the audience.
For the first time, this episode really give us a clear idea of the main antagonists of the series: the Syndicate. A consortium of powerful men who are aware of the existence of extraterrestrials, are attempting to use them for their own means and at the same time cover it up at the same time. We are used to seeing Mulder getting visits from shadowy figures, but here it is Scully who is approached by the Well-Manicured Man who is going behind the Syndicate's back. He's warning Scully that she has been targeted for assassination and it may come from someone she trusts.
This is really Dana Scully's episode and we love to see it. Most times it's Mulder who shines in these mythology episodes with Scully kind of along for the ride. But since Mulder is incapacitated for most of the episode, we get Scully in the driver's seat. There hasn't been a lot of talk of Scully's abduction in a while, but when Scully continuously sets off the metal detectors she heads to a doctor who finds a microchip embedded under the skin of her neck. Her sister, Melissa, urges her to see a hypnotist to try to recover those lost memories. She does, but freaks out when things start coming back to her.
Scully is almost Mulderesque in this episode. She's dealing with her abduction. She's meeting with shady figures. She's on edge and suspicious of everyone, particularly Skinner. I love these role reversals and Gillian Anderson plays the hell out of it. Anderson is an actor and I love when the show gives her a chance to stretch those muscles. It feels like she'll get a lot of chances to do that this season particularly after her sister Melissa is on the receiving end of Krycek's bullet meant for her.
Grade: A
"Paper Clip"
Cigarette Smoking Man: "What is this?"
Skinner: "This is where you pucker up and kiss my ass."
Mythology or Monster of the Week: Mythology
X-File of the Week: Picking up from the end of the last episode, Mulder, Skinner and Scully are in a Mexican stand-off in regards to the digital tape which Skinner has. After learning about Operation Paper Clip from the Lone Gunmen, the agents meet with former Nazi scientist, Victor Klemper. He leads them to a mining facility in West Virginia, they find records that prove this conspiracy goes deeper than either initially thought and involves them both.
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| Oh no. |
The issue with future mythology episodes is because they plotting becomes so convoluted that it is easy for the thread to get lost. It's refreshing to watch an episode like "Paper Clip" that is so tightly plotted and everything makes sense and connects. There a ton of moving parts here. The Cigarette Smoking Man trying to correct his error and cover his tracks before the Syndicate finds out, the Well-Manicured Man moving Mulder and Scully where he wants them to go, Mulder's familial secrets, Melissa's gunshot wound. I don't give series creator and writer of this episode, Chris Carter, a ton of credit, but I have to give him some here. This may be some of the best writing he's ever done for the series and I'm very impressed.
I don't talk much about the direction in "The X-Files" but I have to give mad props to the director of this episode, Rob Bowman. Bowman has directed and will direct a lot of episodes and he does a great job. The sequence at the mining company, in particular, is very impressive. The sounds of those aliens running through the mine shaft in the dark will haunt me for the rest of my life. The scene of the UFO lights shining on Mulder through the windows of the building and then him running out is awe inspiring. This is the first clear, long look really that we've gotten of a UFO since the show started and Bowman makes it feel like the monumental moment it should.
One of the things I love about "The X-Files" is how they weave real-life things from American history into the mythology of the show. Operation Paperclip was a real thing and in the history of the show it makes complete sense that the Syndicate would try to use these monsters for their own benefit. The agents meeting with Klemper at his greenhouse is as disturbing as you think it would be. The agents have no stomach or time for Klemper's excuses and justifications for his monstrous actions.
There are a lot of revelations in this episode that will have repercussions throughout the remainder of the series. The Well-Manicured Man reveals that Klemper was working on making alien-human hybrids using the genetic information the agents found at the abandoned mine and that Samantha was taken to ensure Bill Mulder's cooperation. Scully was in the files, most likely because of her abduction but so was Samantha. And when Mulder finds his sister's file, he is able to peel her name off and find his underneath. This leads to a tense conversation with his grieving mother where he learns that his father chose to have Samantha being abducted over Mulder and Teena Mulder hated Bill for it until the day he died. All this and Melissa Scully succumbs to her injuries.
This is a heavy episode but the agents do experience some wins and the Cigarette Smoking Man some losses, which is always nice to see. When Krycek and his partner, Luis Cardinal, steal the digital tape from Skinner, it looks Mulder and Scully are screwed and the CSM is certainly gloating in Skinner's office. But then Skinner reveals that Albert Hosteen has committed the contents to memory and passed the information to 20 other men. Watching Skinner get on over on the CSM is glorious and you can tell he has never been happier than when he tells the man to kiss his ass. The hits keep coming for the CSM because before meeting with Skinner, Alex Krycek revealed that he survived his attempted assassination and that he had the digital tape and is prepared to blackmail the CSM if anyone comes after him. I love watching the CSM get taken down a peg. It's always very satisfying.
The agents are reinstated and each has a renewed resolve to take down whatever and whoever is responsible for these events. It is a great set up for season three.
Grade: A
Next up, people are getting struck by lightning and the agents meet a man who claims to be able to see the future.
We are up and running with season three. Do you love season three too? Let me know in the comments.
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