“F. Emasculata” – Season 2 Ep. 22

Scully: According to the briefing, the prisoners escaped by hiding in a laundry cart.
Mulder: I don’t think the guards are watching enough prison movies.

Written by: Chris Carter & Howard Gordon

Directed by: Rob Bowman

Original Air Date: April 28th, 1995

Principal Setting: Cumberland Prison, Virginia

Episode Summary: 

The episode begins in the Costa Rican forests as Doctor Robert Torrence is doing a study on bug specimens and comes across a dead warthog that has bugs and boils all over him. He squeezes one of the boils (never squeeze a huge, pulsating boil EVER) and it sprays puss onto his face. Hours later he calls for help with a high fever and covered in boils himself. Troops arrive and find him dead covered in bugs and being consumed by vultures.

Meanwhile, an unknown package is sent to an inmate at a prison in Virginia. He throws the contents into the corner of his cell as he discovers it is a piece of meat that is infected with the virus. A dozen prisoners are infected and two lucky inmates that are ordered to clean the room up decide to escape instead. Mulder and Scully are assigned to the case by a mysterious source.

They find that the truth needs to be told to the general public, but the CSM and disease control don’t want that information to be leaked. Mulder desperately tries to locate the two escaped inmates before they spread the virus, and Scully stays at the hospital to attempt to find a cure. Scully has a revelation and finds what could be the cure, but not before many lives are lost at the prison. Mulder wants the truth of the outbreak to be known to save lives, but the Cigarette Smoking Man is set to hiding it to avoid mass hysteria.

Personal Commentary:

“F. Emasculata” is a great episode with constant action throughout. It lacks really anything paranormal to be a true X-file, but it makes up with the very real dread of a virus getting loose to the public. It reveals that the drug companies and disease control very well could resort to killing off prison inmates to just find a cure for the virus.

It’s also even scarier today with the recent outbreak of Ebola, and it makes you think how much information is hid by the government to avoid mass panic. How frustrating CSM is in hiding the disease from the public, it does make sense to try to reduce the hysteria. Although, if you’re going to do that, at least try to find a cure. Scully seems like the only one working on a cure besides the CDC trying to use a prison as a guinea pig test to find the anti-virus.

Other than that, it is a very gross episode with all the boil popping and puss flinging on faces. Unless you’re into popping zits – than you may have a weird satisfaction from it.

Episode Grade: B+

Favorite Scene:

Another rendition of The X-Files Abridged

Fun Facts:

• The exploding pustules were carefully rigged to burst on command. Makeup supervisor Toby Lindala constructed a hand-held device that connected via tube to the faux sores. When the device was pressed, the pustule would burst.
• The first episode where cellphones are used on a regular basis.

Faces You May Recognize:

• Dean Norris is famous for playing in the films Little Miss Sunshine and Terminator 2, and TV shows Under The Dome and most notably Hank Schrader from Breaking Bad.
• 
• Charles Martin Smith has played roles in The Untouchables and American Graffiti.

• John Pyper-Ferguson has played roles in Drive and Unforgiven and most recently has appeared on The Last Ship.