MULDER: Two men died in that crash room, Scully. One man came back. The question is … which one?
Written by: Alex Ganza & Howard Gordan
Directed by: David Nutter
Original Air Date: February 4th, 1994
Principal Setting: Maryland & Washington D.C.
Episode Summary:
The background of Scully’s past continues on as we are introduced to Agent Jack Willis (Christopher Allport) who was both Scully’s FBI instructor and past boyfriend for nearly a year. Agent Willis is out to catch a bank robber that he’s been after for years and finally gets his break to catch him, only to be shot and pronounced dead at the hospital…or is he? The bank robber that died in the altercation, could have somehow manifested himself in Agent Willis’ body.
As Scully encounters the raised from the dead Agent Willis, she still believes it’s him despite the change of personality and him forgetting about their history together. Her history with Jack will affect her judgement and that trust in him will ultimately put her life in serious jeopardy, as she tries to put the pieces together on who he really has turned into.
Personal Commentary:
“Lazarus” goes into the same category as some season 1 episodes like “Space” and “Shadows”, where there are some good moments, but the episode as a whole is forgettable. The best part is getting more character background of Scully’s past relationship, with her FBI instructor no less (scandalous!).
The plot holes on how the robber’s consciousness transferred over to Agent Willis is a bit of a stretch (tattoo and all…huh?). It could be a perfectly logical explanation that Agent Willis dedicated so much of his life to catching these bank robbers, that he eventually became him. It takes it a bit further to seem like something paranormal has occurred, but it could be one of the few episodes that could very well happen.
And how many hints does Scully need to get to realize it’s not really her ex-boyfriend? I guess it’s another example of Scully wanting to believe, like in “Beyond the Sea”, due to her history with the man.
Episode Grade: C
Favorite Scene:
Fun Facts:
- The first time Scully actually kills someone with her gun.
Faces You Recognize:
Not really any familiar faces in this one.
*Note: The Lazarus poster was designed by a very talented graphic artist, J.J. Lendl. You can view his other poster’s here: The X-Files Poster Project. He is designing an episode poster for each day of the 201 Days of the X-Files.
201 Days of the X-Files Blog 