In essence the episode is a satire on modern life. Mulder tries to grapple with technology, as he learns how to use the camera app on his smart phone that constantly malfunctions taking random shots as he is chased by a monster. Instead of using his eyes to glean the crime scene, Mulder looks at the evidence through the lens of his captured photos, cleverly suggesting how cellphones and other forms of technology remove us from the sensory experiences of physical proximity, and experiencing the horror of violence. Mulder also tries to wrap his head around gender fluidity, and while empathetic, he is genuinely confused and frustrated trying to figure out the politically correct terms for a transgender woman in the episode.
The story for this week revolving around a two or three eyed monster that kills people in a small town, is essentially a commentary on modern American life that has become a rat race: getting a job, paying off your student loans, earning money so you can afford a consumerist lifestyle buying ridiculous, expensive smart phones, and worrying about whether there is enough money in your retirement account. It's a soulless rut, that takes a cute puppy and some stiff drinks to make tolerable, if only temporarily.
The monster played by a New Zealander actor, Rhys Darby is very, very good. He is earnest, funny, bewildered, and also very sympathetic. This episode, takes the standard X-Files monster of the week format that X-Files series had established itself, and challenges that paradigm. While the TV episode is titled "Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster" the episode is quite novel as it subverts the definition of a monster. Who is the real monster here? It's a smart and thought provoking idea, and one I'm sure Mulder never thought about quite this way before. Suddenly, the monster-of-the- week seems far more humane than all the human characters combined in the entire episode. No wonder seeing the cruelty and absurdity of this world, the monster wanted to escape reality through any possible means.
It's a comedy of the absurd, disguised as a commentary on our current lifestyle. It is also the funniest, laugh out loud episode in the season, and maybe the entire season. A funny scene, I really enjoyed was when Mulder and Scully are in the oh so obviously inspired Bates Motel from Psycho, and Mulder has this great monologue in front of Scully, as he basically goes through every line of defense, that the logical, rational, scientific Scully would have argued without letting her say a single line. It's so clear, how closely Mulder and Scully know and understand each other, and the bond they still share. The scene is also a nice homage to the iconic scenes from earlier seasons of the X-Files, when we used to see the two agents staying in random motel rooms as they investigated cases in small towns. Gillian Anderson clearly plays the supporting role in this episode. Here Scully remains the voice of reason and the pillar of strength while Mulder breaks character, and it's good that she remains within reason, allowing the episode to be playful and absurd while her character still reminds the audience that this is still The X-Files. The director and the writers also have fun with this episode and spoof their own show. In one scene Scully suddenly becomes the temptress, seducing a character in a fantasy sequence, and in turn satisfies the fantasy of X-Files fans by showing Scully actually having sex. (Shock! Horror!)
It's cool to see Mulder and Scully having fun and letting loose for a change, and the actors and creators not taking themselves too seriously. So while this episode is somewhat disappointing for a long time fan of the series, who really wanted to just experience the nostalgia of the X-Files from its heydays, the episode is a good reminder of how much the times have changed since 1993, when the first episode aired on TV. But next week, I want my X-Files to be back!
For full review see: http://www.artspeaksy.com/x-files-season-10-episode-3-review/
The story for this week revolving around a two or three eyed monster that kills people in a small town, is essentially a commentary on modern American life that has become a rat race: getting a job, paying off your student loans, earning money so you can afford a consumerist lifestyle buying ridiculous, expensive smart phones, and worrying about whether there is enough money in your retirement account. It's a soulless rut, that takes a cute puppy and some stiff drinks to make tolerable, if only temporarily.
The monster played by a New Zealander actor, Rhys Darby is very, very good. He is earnest, funny, bewildered, and also very sympathetic. This episode, takes the standard X-Files monster of the week format that X-Files series had established itself, and challenges that paradigm. While the TV episode is titled "Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster" the episode is quite novel as it subverts the definition of a monster. Who is the real monster here? It's a smart and thought provoking idea, and one I'm sure Mulder never thought about quite this way before. Suddenly, the monster-of-the- week seems far more humane than all the human characters combined in the entire episode. No wonder seeing the cruelty and absurdity of this world, the monster wanted to escape reality through any possible means.
It's a comedy of the absurd, disguised as a commentary on our current lifestyle. It is also the funniest, laugh out loud episode in the season, and maybe the entire season. A funny scene, I really enjoyed was when Mulder and Scully are in the oh so obviously inspired Bates Motel from Psycho, and Mulder has this great monologue in front of Scully, as he basically goes through every line of defense, that the logical, rational, scientific Scully would have argued without letting her say a single line. It's so clear, how closely Mulder and Scully know and understand each other, and the bond they still share. The scene is also a nice homage to the iconic scenes from earlier seasons of the X-Files, when we used to see the two agents staying in random motel rooms as they investigated cases in small towns. Gillian Anderson clearly plays the supporting role in this episode. Here Scully remains the voice of reason and the pillar of strength while Mulder breaks character, and it's good that she remains within reason, allowing the episode to be playful and absurd while her character still reminds the audience that this is still The X-Files. The director and the writers also have fun with this episode and spoof their own show. In one scene Scully suddenly becomes the temptress, seducing a character in a fantasy sequence, and in turn satisfies the fantasy of X-Files fans by showing Scully actually having sex. (Shock! Horror!)
It's cool to see Mulder and Scully having fun and letting loose for a change, and the actors and creators not taking themselves too seriously. So while this episode is somewhat disappointing for a long time fan of the series, who really wanted to just experience the nostalgia of the X-Files from its heydays, the episode is a good reminder of how much the times have changed since 1993, when the first episode aired on TV. But next week, I want my X-Files to be back!
For full review see: http://www.artspeaksy.com/x-files-season-10-episode-3-review/