The X-Files
A character from season one is making a brief return in this mythology two-parter and a minor character meets a grim fate. Let's get into it.
"Tempus Fugit"
Fox Mulder: [handing her a small wrapped box] "It's just something that reminded me of you."
Dana Scully: "What, an alien implant?"
Fox Mulder: "Two actually. I made them into earrings."
Mythology or Monster of the Week: Mythology
X-File of the Week: Serial alien abductee, Max Fenig, is traveling on Flight 549, carrying something that could cause problems for lots of powerful people. Pursued by an assassin, Max's flight is downed and everyone on the flight is killed. Special Agent Fox Mulder and his partner special agent, Dana Scully, get involved because Mulder believes that Max was on his way to see him. Mulder believes that a UFO attempted to abduct Max mid-flight and that is what caused the crash much to the chagrin of the NTSB investigators.
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| Emotional Mulder |
Max Fenig first appeared in the season one episode, "Fallen Angel," where he detailed his experiences as a multiple alien abudctee. I didn't think that we'd see Max again, so when I first saw this episode, I was surprised to see him shaking in his seat and clutching a package. It's a pretty tense cold open as we see an assassin, clearly there for Max, go into the bathroom and assemble a "zip gun." Then, the plane starts shaking and a bright light fills the cockpit and we've watched this show long enough that we know what is happening. And you can't help but feel bad for the passengers on this plane. Talk about bad luck, you know what I'm saying?
The mythology episode of "The X-Files" can sometimes get a little convoluted and as we get deeper into the series that is definitely happening. We have alien bounty hunters and black oil and colonists and clones and now we even have bees. It can be a lot to keep track of and so it's kind of nice that this two-parter sort of takes us back to basics. When you boil it down, this is kind of a simple premise which is kind of nice in the fourth season of the show.
I really enjoy how this episode really shows us the large scale impact of what it means for a plane like that to crash. It doesn't shy away from showing us the damage, the trauma, the death. It's jaw dropping when the camera pans across the open field that shows all the wreckage of the downed plane. The yellow body bags that contain the bodies of the 134 passengers. It's really impactful to see Mulder breaking down next to Max's body. David Duchovny really leans into this quiet moment of grief and it's always nice to see when we are used to seeing him as the genial jokester or the intense one.
This definitely feels like a flashback to the mythology episodes of season one and that isn't a bad thing. We get lost time. Seriously, ask any "X-Files" fan what it means to lose nine minutes and they will not hesitate to tell you. It's all part of an abduction event. We get twisty turn-y stuff leading the agents from the crime scene to military air traffic controllers that are obviously lying to the agents. And honestly, I'm really glad we don't see any members of the Syndicate or the Cigarette Smoking Man in this episode.
I love how the episode ratchets up the tension in the last half of the episode. It is compulsively watchable. It's great watching Mulder piece his theory together. That is basically confirmed when Louis Frish tells the agents that Flight 549 was intercepted by a second aircraft and he was told by his commanding officers to basically allow Flight 549 to be shot down. Mulder believes the other craft was a UFO that was there to abduct Max and that the Air Force shot down the UFO so there is a second crash site out there.
Scully takes Frish into custody and takes him back to DC while Mulder goes to investigate the second crash site. I have to say, I know that they beefed up some of the special effects in the blu ray releases of "The X-Files," which you can tell in that opening shot of the plane flying across the night sky. It's so crisp and clear and looks so good. But then we get the shots of the UFO wreckage underwater when Mulder is investigating and it's such a juxtaposition. The wreckage literally looks like cardboard covered with aluminum foil sprinkled with glitter and some fairy lights. I love it. It's part of the shows charm but it becomes a littler more noticeable when you have scenes that have been remastered a little bit.
In the DC bar, tragedy strikes when Agent Pendrell shows up to wish Scully a happy birthday. Oh Agent Pendrell. With your unrequited crush on Scully, we barely knew you. But it's still shocking and a little sad when you get shot by shady Scott Garrett aka Dark Man aka Mustache Man. You deserved better even if your crush on Scully was a little creepy.
The episode leaves lots of loose threads dangling: will Mulder get away from the agents that are pursuing him at the site of the UFO wreckage, will Pendrell live, what really happened to Max and the plane, why was Sharon Graffia, Max's sister, abducted? It makes you excited to watch part 2.
Grade: A
"Max"
Dana Scully: [holding the Apollo 11 keychain Mulder gave her for her birthday] "I actually was thinking about, uh, this gift that you gave me for my birthday. You never got to tell me why you gave it to me or what it means, but I think I know. I think that you appreciate that there are extraordinary men and women and extraordinary moments when history leaps forward on the backs of these individuals, that what can be imagined can be achieved, that you must dare to dream, but that there's no substitute for perseverance and hard work and teamwork because no one gets there alone; and that, while we commemorate the... the greatness of these events and the individuals who achieve them, we cannot forget the sacrifice of those who make these achievements and leaps possible."
Fox Mulder: "I just thought it was a pretty cool keychain."
Mythology or Monster of the Week: Mythology
X-File of the Week: Following the shooting Of Agent Pendrell and Special Agent Fox Mulder's dive into the lake to investigate the UFO wreckage, Louis Frish and Mulder are placed under military arrest. Assistant Director Walter Skinner says that the military has a different explanation for why flight 549 went down and it is the fault of Louis Frish. Mulder is not convinced and still believes that a UFO was involved especially when he learns that Max and Sharon Graffia were in possession of tech that could prove the existence of extraterrestrials and. UFO's.
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| Never fly on this show. |
I think what keeps viewers caring about the government conspiracy that is the backbone of the show is when we see how it affects regular people. Clearly, it has impacted Mulder and Scully. Mulder has had his sister abducted. Scully has been abducted and now has cancer potentially because of her abduction experience. But, we already have a connection to those characters so we need to see these minor characters affected by what is going on to really be invested in this alien conspiracy that Mulder is basically ruining his career and personal life in order to pursue. And dragging Scully in to it to the point where she is dying.
The thing that I enjoy the most about this episode is when they focus on Max. They visit his cluttered trailer and they watch a videotape of him talking about his life. It's very impactful and a little heartbreaking to watch Max talk about his experiences in his own words. He just wants to believed and you can hear that in his voice. It makes you feel bad for him and it shows you that what the government is doing is bad. This is really driven home when they juxtapose Max's speech with footage of shadowy government operatives clearing out the UFO wreckage from the lake and zipping up an alien body into a body bag.
RIP Agent Pendrell. Pendrell officially dies in this episode. He has kind of a nice moment with Scully in the bar while she is waiting for the EMT's to get there, but then it is sort of unceremoniously told to Mulder that he has died. Like, don't get me wrong, I'm not Pendrell's biggest fan but they didn't have to do him exactly like that. Another casualty of the agents war on UFO's. I do like that in the opening sequence they remind the audience that Scully does have cancer and this kind of stuff is not good for her when her nose starts bleeding. And it is nice to see Skinner, in his own gruff way, show concern for Scully when he tells her to get checked out at the hospital where they are taking Agent Pendrell.
I wasn't necessarily as engaged in the second half of this episode as I was in the first half. There feels like there is a lot of talking in this episode. There is talking between NTSB Agent Millar and the agents about the military cover story which is that Frish and his suicidal partner gave the planes wrong coordinates causing the crash and that his partner killed himself out of guilt. There is talk between Scully and Sharon about the supposed alien tech that she stole from her former employer, Cummins Aerospace. The series definitely has these expositional moments but they are usually delivered a bit better or there are more action oriented moments to balance things out. I will say that the conversation between the agents and Millar is made bearable wit the flashbacks to what Mulder believed happened on the plane, though I don't love seeing plane crash sequences with folks being pulled out of doors and things like that.
I will say the last act of the episode is kind of anticlimactic as well with Mulder now on a plane with alien tech being approached by a man in black. I appreciate the flip flop with Mulder now being in the Max Fenig position. The MIB is Garrett, the man who shot Pendrell. I do think it's wild he didn't even try to dress that gunshot wound in the leg. The agents have these stand offs with guys like this and I always really enjoy them. It's always a lot of talk and threatening and one upping and you think you've got the upper hand, but no actually I do. But really the whole thing is wrapped up by another UFO showing up and taking away Garrett and the piece of alien tech.
The episode does end on a nice note with Sharon taking residence of Max's trailer and being the keeper of his legacy and a nice little moment between Mulder and Scully talking about her birthday present.
Grade: B
Next up, Mulder and Scully investigate a murder that was supposedly foretold and visit a small town where babies are being born with tails.
What did you all think of these episodes? Were you happy to get a return appearance from Max Fenig? Did you appreciate a return to the simpler mythology episodes? Let me know in the comments.
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