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The X-Files - Roland by David Nutter, Chris Ruppenthal.

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The X-Files ✺ 1✗23 - Roland

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THE X FILES | 1.23 — Roland

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Season One overview:

My top episodes -

Beyond the Sea 61/60

Pilot and Tooms tied at 59/60

Fallen Angel 56/60

My least faves -

Space 10/60 (ouch)

Born Again 16/60

Ghost in the Machine 22/60

Average episode rating: 41/60

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Roland

2.25.24

Roland is a questionable episode. I can't help but be skeptical of portrayals of intellectually disabled characters, and I'm not convinced that Roland as a "savant" is as sensitive and brilliant as a lot of critics seem to think.

I'd probably criticize the writers for this episode more than the actor cast as Roland; he seemed to give a sympathetic performance despite being handed almost nothing but stereotypes in the script. I can't speak as someone with any authority on what's offensive or not; I do have autistic family members, though, and I don't feel that Ivanek did them a disservice in his portrayal. Obviously individuals can make up their own minds about how to feel regarding Roland.

Aside from that, I didn't find the plot all that compelling. It centers around ableist assumptions by a group of scientists who don't suspect the disabled man of being capable of reasoning and skill at their "level," much less murder. Turns out, though, the murder thing is because Roland is being possessed by his twin brother, the actual scientist, who died in a car crash (or did he??). Makes sense, right?

The best parts of this episode are when the scientists are sucked into the fan, and the genuine and sweet moments between Tracy and Roland, as cringy as they may be.

All in all, I think it could have been a lot worse for 1994, considering how often the r-word was thrown around back then, and what attitudes about disability and mental illness were like. I suppose I would rather have a character full of stereotypes that's still allowed dignity and compassion, than a supposedly informed portrayal that comes across as tokenistic, fetishizing, or just plain lifeless and flat (looking at you, Sex Education).

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3.05 The List

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In 1934, long before anyone even knew what an eco terrorist was, a WPA crew working that same area vanished without a trace. Not one of those men was ever found or heard from again. THE X FILES | S01E20, ’Darkness Falls’

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THE X-FILES | Darkness Falls (1.20)

I told her it was going to be a nice trip to the forest.

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Dana Scully in “Darkness Falls”

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THE X FILES | Darkness Falls (1.20)

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The tomboy in Scully judges pretty boy Mulder's dainty methods:

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THE X FILES | Tooms (1.21)

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Born Again

2.04.24

writing: little girl is possessed by the spirit of a murderered cop, and takes revenge on other cops. bruh this plot SUCKS. they're trying to explore themes of reincarnation, the soul, maybe a little Carrie, etc, but the elements are just so fucking bad. i don't give a shit about these corrupt cops. let em die. i don't care about this random little girl. like its literally the "welcome back princess Diana" meme but not funny. the plot is hard to follow because it's not interesting, and takes too many little detours to get to the payoff, which is not worth the wait. 4

characterization development: Mulder and Scully both get to do some good deducting. for example he immediately pointed out that if Barbala was suicidal he probably would have opened the window. Scully figures Michelle saw the photo of Charlie in the station and projected it into whatever story she came up with. Mulder annoyingly refuses to budge from the solution of regression hypnosis for everything, which seems unethical on a child. scully resists his reincarnation theory as there's no evidence, but eventually seems open to believing that the kid is involved in some way. 6

emotion: i truly do not give a shit about anyone in this ep. i think the writing for Mulder and scully is just okay. there's nothing to really move me. I liked Lazard who trusted her gut and kept an open mind, and because she didn't take sexist bullshit, but i think she was underdeveloped due to the cast being too crowded. 2

antagonist: a creepy child episode. she's possessed. she has psychokinetic powers. she can wander all over nyc at will and her mom doesn't notice she's missing or call the cops. the child actor is... fine, not amazing, but hey she's young. I'm not expecting Oscars. other antagonist is the corrupt group of cops, but they all look and sound the same so i don't even know what i could say about them. 2

on set: the 14th precinct was a fun set, crowded and cluttered. kinda interesting when m and s have to work in another office. i like seeing scully do autopsies as well. her wardrobe was nice, the olive pinstripe then the beige skirt with black scoop neck, until the horrendous knee length vest came out. wtaf. Gillian was pregnant and they were trying to hide the bump, but oh my God the vest is just straight up maternity wear, and ugly maternity wear at that. poor scully. want sold on the effects in this one either; the objects manipulated by Michelle looked hokey rather than scary, and when she threw stuff at fiore, they used a cartoon sound effect that really undermined the tone of the scene. reusing the same shot of her turning her head on slo mo, over and over, got pretty old too. 5

music: there was one part of the score i liked, and it was a piece of staccato plucked stringed instruments in the first quarter of the episode. i thought it sounded really good. the rest didn't really seem to stick out, or it didn't match the tone...? like when what's his name died via bus, the music had a weirdly whimsical sound to it. 3

bonus:

giving the tech guy a bonus point. he seemed cool.

boring: uh, yeah. 7

ccwfl: 0

bonus: 1

demerits: 7

total: 16/60 ouch

favorites: I'll say it first. reincarnation.

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Tooms

1.24.24

Merits:

Writing:

Okie dokie. Tooms is back, Skinner is here, Scully is in time-out for letting Mulder run amok, and everything is very fun and creepy. Morgan and Wong wrote this one with Chris Carter, and I love Morgan and Wong. They have great ideas. Are there plot holes? Yes. But we get to see that little freaky slime boy slither around some more, and Mulder and Scully get to do their whole us-against-the-world routine, so we're happy. 8.

Characterization/development:

Mulder and Scully are being reigned in, but their conviction leads them to go outside the bounds of "conventional methods" to capture Tooms. Mulder is only spurred on by Skinner's censure of Scully, and Scully is determined to protect Mulder and his work, even if it means ruining her professional reputation.

Mulder's impassioned argument against Tooms' release is...it's a great speech, but why is Tooms being released in the first place? They had enough evidence to put him away; he attacked Scully in her apartment. Why does Mulder need to argue the quasi-immortal mutant angle? I know, I know. Because the plot requires it; because it sets up the impending shutdown of the X-Files. Because it shows how Mulder is willing to look stupid in order to stand up for the truth.

Anyway, the strong parts character-wise are obviously when Mulder and Scully have each other's backs. The case is just a handy way to show how loyal they are. 10!

Emotion: The stakeout scene is such a great, defining scene for this season. They're not entirely on the same page yet (iced tea/root beer), and Scully's attempts to get close are still being rebuffed ("Fox..." "Mulder."), but she's proven that she cares about his work, and he's willing to accept her help. She breaks protocol by taking over the stakeout on a case they're not supposed to be on so that he can get some rest, knowing that this is important to him. It's important to her, too -- they both want justice and for the truth to come out. Gets a 10 for this reason!

Antagonist/monster: Obviously I've talked about Tooms already, but it's worth reiterating how much I love this MOTW. 10.

On set:

Seeing from Tooms' perspective, a victim's surroundings fade to grey while the victim glows in brilliant blue. Such an interesting and cool effect! Since liver-related ailments often cause jaundice, it's clever to use a color opposite yellow on the color wheel to represent the liver-eating man's hunger. This and the yellow contacts could be too much, but Doug Hutchinson is so good, so subtly weird and freaky in his portrayal, that the effects don't come across as overdone.

The yellow bile is also really fun; it LOOKS like it smells horrible. 9.

Music: This episode boasts some excellent horror-movie tracks; shrieking, discordant strings especially, that do a LOT to add mood and elevate how fucking creepy Tooms is. We already know that he is, because we've seen him before; the scary part this time is we don't know if he can be stopped before it's too late. 10.

Demerits:

Boringness: 0

CCWFL (Christ Carter Wankfest Level): 0

Bonus Points:

First Skinner appearance!!

Mulder falls asleep watching The Fly on the couch, defining his love of classic horror/sci-fi films and demonstrating his habit of sleeping on the sofa.

Merits: 57

Bonus: 2

Demerits: 0

Total: 59/60

Favorites:

"If there's iced tea in that bag, it could be love." "Must be fate. Root beer."

"Fox...Mulder...I wouldn't put myself on the line for anyone but you."

"I'm looking for my dog! He's a Norwegian Elkhound! His name is Heinrich. I use him to hunt moose!"

At the end, Mulder and Scully pause to look at a butterfly cocoon on a tree. What does it mean? What does it all mean?? Is it a callback to Tooms' "nest"? Is it symbolic of the coming change to the X-Files (if so, why the optimistic imagery)? Is it analogous to the blossoming friendship and partnership between them? Well...I don't think it really matters, but it's a cool scene and they look great in that lighting.

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Darkness Falls

1.24.24

Merits:

Writing:

This episode is basically Ice in the forest, to me. Not necessarily in a bad way. They're stranded with an unknown biological entity among them, tensions are high, Scully distrusts Mulder for a second, and at the end the government destroys evidence. I've gotta say, the ending is extremely weak. It's supposed to be an Oh Shit type moment, but I just don't think it works.

What this episode does just fine is keep things fairly simple: the secondary characters have one or two defining traits and don't really deviate from them; the monster isn't too complicated; the plot is easy to follow. It's all pretty self-contained and doesn't try anything too grand. Until the ending, pulling in a random government conspiracy, but y'know. It's Chris Carter. I'll give it an 8.

Characterization/development:

Mulder assumes the best of the "eco-terrorist" Doug against everyone else's warnings. Once again, an example of how he paints himself as a paranoid cynic, but he's actually a very warm-hearted and generous person to underdogs and people otherwise misjudged by society.

Scully as usual wants a rational, scientific approach, and for once she kind of gets it. A rare/extinct species of bug is not implausible, even if it is extreme. What gets her is when she thinks she has them figured out, but then they do something unexpected -- they're on her body even in the light! I would not be happy either. Solid 8.

Emotion:

As a monster-of-the-week episode, this one doesn't really pull on any heartstrings. There's not a strong feeling of joy, sympathy, fear, anger, or any of those really powerful emotions. I felt bad for Mulder getting dunked on; I sympathized with Scully's little freakout moment; the remaining time, though, I was kinda like "huh. Wonder what'll happen next." 3.

Antagonist/monster:

I like the little green bugs. They're just doin' their thang. Like I said, this is literally just the parasite in Ice, but in a forest -- it's old as balls and it's going to kill you. Nevertheless, I thought the story behind them was kinda cool. Trapped in a tree ring (not in an ice core, make sure we get that straight), dormant for eons, then released upon a populated world. They're hungy!!!! 10.

On set:

One of those episodes where filming in Vancouver actually works. Apparently, though, the weather was so bad and the location was so remote that everyone was pissy the whole shoot, and the director (Joe Napolitano) never came back for another episode. Oof.

Effects-wise, most notable are the bugs themselves, which are very obviously CGI. Shots where they're superimposed over the actors, diligently pretending to fight them off, don't always work. I'm also still not 100% sure how those little guys are supposed to get an adult male up a tree... the cocoon does look really cool, though!

Scenes in the forest and the cabin, on the other hand, are gorgeous. Outdoor scenes are allowed to breathe, with just the location itself doing most of the work, while in the tight quarters of the cabin, moody high-contrast lighting and creative angles give a sense of claustrophobia.

Of course, I can't go without mentioning Scully's adorable windbreaker in the iconic 90s jewel tones. Instead of blow-drying her hair into the pageboy perfection we see in most episodes, she's wearing a messy ponytail and letting her curls go crazy. 7 overall.

Music:

I'll be completely for real. I didn't pay any attention to the music. It was probably just fine though. 5 to cover my ass.

Demerits:

Boringness: It held my attention :)

CCWFL (Chris Carter Wankfest Level): He can't resist the mysterious government agents covering up evidence, can he. 2 because it's not that bad.

Bonus points:

Scully's coat gets an automatic extra point.

Hell, another point for cute bugs and big trees.

Merits: 41

Bonus: 2

Demerits: 2

Episode total: 41/60

Favorites:

"Come on Scully, it'll be a nice trip to the forest."

I like the moment between Mulder and Scully when she gets a little upset with him for letting Doug take their vehicle and fuel can, but after his rebuttal they both agree that arguing won't accomplish anything -- they need to focus on surviving. He acknowledges he made a mistake, and she doesn't rub it in, and they keep working together.

"Take a good look, Scully. Rugged, manly men in the full bloom of their manhood." "Right, but what am I looking for?" "Anything strange, unexplainable, unlikely...a boyfriend?" Is that a dis, Mulder? lol

"That's a lot of flannel to be choking down, even for Bigfoot."

Scully being hoisted up into the tree and then her little look of disgust when she sees the hand sticking out....lmao

"It's a male." "Barely."

"Oh, a brain-sucking amoeba."

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