Mulder: That money’s as dirty as you are, isn’t it. Isn’t it?
CIA Agent: Say that were true. Then what do you hope to accomplish, Agent Mulder, as a whistle-blower? To mobilize a civil rights action? To bring down the federal government? To do the very work that group you were a part of is so bent on doing? What do you want? Laws against those men, or laws protecting them?
Mulder: I want people to know the truth.
CIA Agent: Well sometimes our job is to protect those people from knowing it.
Written by: John Shiban
Directed by: Rob Bowman
Original Air Date: May 3rd, 1998
Principal Setting: Washington, D.C.
Episode Summary:
Scully is worried about Mulder when during an undercover sting operation, Mulder apparently lets a suspect, Jacob Steven Haley, escape. Haley is a right-wing anti-government militiaman who was observed in a park handing an envelope to someone who the FBI thinks was selling weapons. After Haley’s escape, they find the other man dead with most of his flesh eaten away. Concerned that militiamen are in possession of biological weapons, FBI assistant Director Skinner takes Scully into his confidence and tells what is really going on.
Personal Commentary:
This episode felt like a mini movie with the complexity of the plot and the twists of lies on top of lies. It was interesting to see Mulder go undercover and the audience and Scully being left in the dark having to figure out if he is a traitor or not.
I remember that bioterriorism was a big topic in the late 90’s with the many anthrax scares, and this was a really interesting spin on that. I really liked how tense the bank sequence was and it reminded me a lot of The Dark Knight Joker bank robbing introduction scene.
Episode Grade: B+
Featured Video:
Fun Facts:
- Kate Braidwood, who plays the movie theater usher, is the daughter of X-Files first assistant director and Frohike, Tom Braidwood.
- The theater in Ohio has “Die Hard with a Vengeance” as the feature film. The musical score of this episode departs from the usual X-Files standard spooky (or silly, if it’s a humor episode) fare and creates a very tense and foreboding edge-of-your-seat atmosphere using French horns. The tempo and style are remarkably similar to the score of the Die Hard movies, but especially the one referenced.
- According to John Shiban, Mulder was not supposed to wear Dracula’s mask, but he asked to because Dracula was one of his favourites characters as a child.
- The big inspiration for this episode is the movie with Richard Burton, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, based in a fantastic novel by John LeCarre. The big idea of the episode is to find lies under new lies. They get a great ambient of paranoia that fits perfectly in this season 5 in which we have some kind of distance between Mulder and Scully.
- When Scully follows Mulder until the motel and she is confused with his wife, the name that she figures out that Mulder uses is George Kaplan, also one of the identities of Cary Grant in North by Nothwest, another fantastic thriller full of lies.
Faces You May Recognize:
- Daniel von Bargen always seems to play the stereotypical cop, military officer or tough guy roles. He is famous for playing in The Postman, Basic Instinct, Super Troopers and my personal favorite, George’s kooky boss Kruger in Seinfeld.
- Sam Anderson has played a lot of guest apperances in great shows like Bones, Grimm, and Lee Paxton in Justified. He is most for playing Bernard Nadler in Lost and Forrest’s principal in Forrest Gump.
201 Days of the X-Files Blog 