After what was arguably the worst episode of season 6, it's nice to see The X-Files kick things back into high gear with "Trevor," the story of a man named Pinker Rawls who has been given the supernatural ability to move through solid matter. Though this episode did not leave a notable impression on me the first time I watched it back in 1999, I enjoyed it much more on a repeated DVD viewing, and actually deem it one of the more underrated episodes of season six.
I liked the mysterious aspects of the episode, in that it was never clear what Rawls wanted until the last few acts. There are a few "redrum-ish" moments alluding to the object of pursuit, Rawls's son Trevor, that are relatively eerie, and also a few cool death scenes, including a man getting his face scooped out and the final scene involving a car windshield. My partner who watched this with me had more insight into insulators and conductors and thus gave me a marginally better understanding of the plot, but for the most part it's never thoroughly explained how Rawls obtained his unique ability. Still, it was nice that the writers opted out of covering up these plot holes with faux scientific drivel (*cough* "Soft Light" *cough*). Add in some laudable guest acting from Catherine Dent, John Diehl and Tuesday Knight, and you have a better-than-average X-File. Or at least certainly better than some would give it credit for.
7/10
I liked the mysterious aspects of the episode, in that it was never clear what Rawls wanted until the last few acts. There are a few "redrum-ish" moments alluding to the object of pursuit, Rawls's son Trevor, that are relatively eerie, and also a few cool death scenes, including a man getting his face scooped out and the final scene involving a car windshield. My partner who watched this with me had more insight into insulators and conductors and thus gave me a marginally better understanding of the plot, but for the most part it's never thoroughly explained how Rawls obtained his unique ability. Still, it was nice that the writers opted out of covering up these plot holes with faux scientific drivel (*cough* "Soft Light" *cough*). Add in some laudable guest acting from Catherine Dent, John Diehl and Tuesday Knight, and you have a better-than-average X-File. Or at least certainly better than some would give it credit for.
7/10