Take Two: THE X-FILES Season 7 (Part 2)

August 30, 2023 by Marisa Roffman

Credit: Fox

On Friday, September 10, 1993, Fox debuted THE X-FILES. Now, ahead of the show’s 30th anniversary, Give Me My Remote is looking back at all 11 seasons (and the two feature films) in a new daily series Take Two.

If you’ve read About Last Night, this will be formatted in a similar way: Each episode will get its own subsection/reaction, though in this case there may be slight spoilers or alluding to what comes ahead in the series. In the event a major spoiler is discussed, there will be a warning to be extra safe. Each Take Two will cover approximately 5 episodes and will wrap up the Friday before the show’s 30th birthday.

(I’ll also note how I’m watching the episodes, because some of the streaming platforms have utilized syndicated cuts of this show.)

Today, we’re continuing season 7!

(These were viewed on the original season 7 DVD set—released back in 2003. The episodes are also streaming for free on Freevee or with a Hulu subscription.)

“Orison”:

If you look at this episode entirely divorced from “Irresistible,” it’s fine enough. Not great! But fine.

The problem is this is a sequel to one of the best, most terrifying episodes of the season. As such, the expectations are high. It just can’t live up to it. (I’d argue it’s the weakest sequel of the entire series.)

It makes sense Donnie would want to come after Scully. (Also makes sense she would ask for life for him and not death, but…) It just cannot reach the same tension levels, and the image of him as the devil feels cheap and cheesy to the original episode’s horror.

“The Amazing Maleeni”:

You know how Mulder quickly says he was drugged in “Bad Blood”? I feel like I need to reiterate I was a tween when I first saw these episodes, and it absolutely imprinted on me a certain way because I was young. Is this episode maybe ridiculous? Sure. Is it fun? Hell yeah. (Also, Tiny!Marisa loved that this was very clearly filmed at the Santa Monica Pier, because, well, Tiny!Marisa could visit that.)

But I appreciate that as much as we were in on parts of the mystery along the way, the magicians’ real con wasn’t apparent until the very, very end when Mulder worked it out. It’s just fun, and sometimes we need that.

“We built you a ramp.” HOW FAST DID THESE PEOPLE WORK? (But yay for accessibility.)
“Abracadabra, man.”

“Signs and Wonders”:

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: NO ANIMALS.

I will acknowledge this is 100 percent a me thing, and if you don’t mind snake handling…maybe this is a decent episode. But I zoned out. I always zone out, at this point.

“Sein und Zeit” and “Closure”:

Okay, we’re doing another double-up, because my issues this go-round with this arc kind of require diving into both together.

In many ways, this arc is a hat on a hat on a hat. Mulder had lost so much—if you’re going to reveal that his sister has been dead for more than two decades, maybe don’t have it be in the same arc where his mother also kills herself?

The show generally handles Mulder and missing girls well, and there’s of course a softness here, but…it also feels like too much. There’s a genuinely chilling shot of the mass graves at the end of “SUZ,” but with the Samantha of it all looming—and Teena having just died—it’s hard to get attached the way we should be.

This was an arc I did love, but I was more lukewarm about it this go-round; I do think “Closure” was by far the stronger episode. I wish we had just had the psychic—who was desperate to find his own missing son—and that led to the Samantha resolution, not the other brutal kid killer.

As sad as it is, Samantha being dead was the only real way that arc could end. If she was still alive somewhere, tortured by tests? That would have been unspeakably brutal. As it was, her diary six years post-abduction revealed such torment, including mostly losing her memories of Mulder. It was always a tragedy, but at least Mulder finally got closure.

Considering how much practice they have with familial death, Scully doesn’t break the news about Teena’s death in the kindest of ways…
Mulder clinging to his desperate belief his mom was killed and then ultimately breaking when it’s confirmed she killed herself—absolutely heartbreaking. David Duchovny was great in the arc.
CSM telling Scully to stop looking for Samantha? This man should have just stayed the hell away. Especially with his, “There was so much to protect before.” Letting Mulder grieve and worry and wonder about his sister for most of his life was not the kindness he claimed.
There’s a beautiful (and sad) juxtaposition with Mulder seeing Samantha and accepting her death with Harold who just cannot believe his son is dead. A decade earlier, Mulder might have been equally as unwilling to hear the truth.

“X-Cops”:

Remember the tween thing from above? That applies to the next two episodes, too. This episode is, frankly, delightful.

To be clear, I’ve never watched a full episode of COPS; I kind of can’t stand it. But this was a brilliant way for us to see Mulder and Scully in a different light, literally and figuratively.

The filming style is different because rather than the staged shots of most dramas, it’s faux on-the-go camerawork. We get to linger with Mulder and Scully with suspects and witnesses, because it’s a confined amount of time and it’s what the COPS camera crew cares about…and even Mulder and Scully are kind of stumped by what they’re experiencing.

It’s also funny as hell that Scully is absolutely miserable to be on camera, both because she’s worried about Mulder’s career and she doesn’t want to look foolish. It’s a fun way to have a crossover and go out of the box, but also feel entirely in line with the show’s tone.

“Hard to have a fast-track career in law enforcement when everybody thinks you’re nuts.” “Tell me about it.” LOL, poor Mulder.
Scully’s extremely fake smile when she tells the camera “because the FBI has nothing to hide”…DEAD.
Mulder cursing and being beeped? Love it.

“First Person Shooter”:

The glib part of me wants to be like, this was Tiny!Marisa’s dream to be able to play in a video game like this. That’s still true. (And I still enjoy this episode.)

I’ll be blunt that it actually hit a lot harder in 2023 as we’re in the midst of the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes: Jade Blue scanned her likeness and then it was used for a game…and then her virtual persona became a killer. It’s not exactly 1:1 stakes for the striking actors, but seeing a person have their likeness exploited like that without their awareness? Again, it hit hard.

(Okay, Scully is probably right that this is harmful to society, but…come on, it looks like fun!)
A really good use of The Lone Gunmen, frankly. The show has been hit/miss with them in the past, but this works well.

“Theef”:

A perfectly fine episode. I’ll admit the thing I’ve most taken from it over the years is that I say, “Poppin’ corn” in my head when I see microwavable popcorn. (What a legacy, I guess?)

Outside of that? I loved the throughline of Scully keeping Mulder guessing, all the way to the end. It’s hard to have them replicate their dynamic every. single. episode. So while Scully isn’t embracing her inner Mulder entirely, she’s still opening her mind a bit. It’s sweet.

What did you think of these THE X-FILES episodes?

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