Take Two: THE X-FILES Season 1 (Part 3)

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 with season 1!

(These were viewed on the original season 1 DVD set—released back in 2000. The episodes are streaming for free on Freevee or with a Hulu subscription.)

“Eve”:

This is probably my favorite episode of this batch, in part because Harriet Harris, Erika Krievins, and Sabrina Krievins are so good as the Eves. Creepy children aren’t a revolutionary storytelling device, but Erika and Sabrina were so good. (It’s also absolutely insane they did nothing after this. I hope that was their choice.)

It’s also from an era when IVF was still relatively new—they had to explain it within the series. And I can’t imagine what kind of manipulative horror stories might have been going around about worst-case scenarios and how this could be abused within the real-life news at the time. (Of course, XF itself gets into…deeply complicated, at best, territory with its own way of handling fertility and reproductive abuse later in the series, so this is in some ways just the start of that thread.)

But it’s a fun episode. Mulder and Scully getting briefly outsmarted by a couple of kids—moments after they’re in peak mom-and-dad-mode at the restaurant—never fails to crack me up.

• If you do not have an enduring (and probably eternal) appreciation for Eve 6, congrats on being a “normal” TV fan. (Though if you need another reason to appreciate them beyond their fantastic decision to name their group after an obscure X-Files character, please note they also recently supported the striking writers.)
• Poisoned via soda is an attack against me, personally, thanks.
• The mom is heartless…yeah, the girls did not share a biological link with the families that raised them, but that Eve was still your kid. You raised this girl! (Yes, she was a little bit of a killer. I’m not saying it’s not complicated.)

“Fire”:

This episode is what I call perfect cheese. It’s just a dude with powers causing absolute mayhem. (And Mark Sheppard seems to be having the time of his freaking life.)

There’s depth, of course, via Phoebe, who manages to be one of the worst exes in the show’s history in a very short amount of time. Repeatedly trying to manipulate and torture Mulder—while also trying to utilize their past to get her way—while also dismissing Scully? Ugh.

• The throwaway line that they rarely get to press charges in the X-Files division is delightful to think about, because it’s very true. We do see the occasional people get locked up or captured (the Eves, Bob, and Tooms are very recent examples of that), but it’s not like most of those can really go in front of a judge/jury.
• We know that Scully already told her friend that Mulder was cute, but it’s interesting how jealous she gets here. I’ve always been torn on whether it feels earned; they’re close from the start, sure, but Scully is blatantly hostile about Phoebe. (Again, Phoebe is terrible and is also awful to Scully, so Scully should not like her. An argument could be made that she could be this overtly over it because the stakes aren’t as high as they get later in the series. But…)

“Beyond the Sea”:

Gillian Anderson is fantastic here, as Scully grapples with unexpectedly losing her father. The pressure of her parents being skeptical about her pivot from the medical field to the FBI adds extra, grounded, weight to Scully’s grief.

We don’t frequently get to see Scully be the more believing one of the duo, but it was a good juxtaposition to have Mulder’s skepticism baked in from the start versus it feeling like he was trying to be contrary. And even as Scully believed, she doubts herself at various points.

This is an episode that’s a bit harder to watch with an awareness of what’s to come. Scully’s family was intact up to this point. It changes so very fast for her and this grief—while terrible, awful, and life-changing—is still manageable and quaint compared to what’s to come.

• “After all you’ve seen, after all the evidence, why can’t you believe?” “I’m afraid. I’m afraid to believe.” – It makes sense Mulder is frustrated now about Scully’s inability to see his side of things, but, buddy, I hate to break it to you about what’s in store for you re: how long it takes for her to become a believer.

“Gender Bender”:

This is another episode I will not rewatch outside of full series binges, and…my opinion did not change, this go-round.

The Kindred is A-OK with dubious sexual consent, Scully is targeted right after her father’s death, and the ending is ridiculous. No thanks.

(But hello to Nic Lea in a pre-Krychek role.)

“Lazarus”:

Well, we get the first of Scully’s questionable exes! (The power dynamics at play sure are something.)

This is a bit of a middle-of-the-road episode for me. I like the premise, but Mulder instantly jumping on the “well, clearly Jack is possessed with the dead bank robber” makes very little sense. He’s correct, of course, but the dude was just revived from the dead…brain damage or trauma could have been just as likely as an explanation for Jack’s weird behavior.

But it’s an interesting concept. It’s, again, the kind of episode I would not turn away from if I stumbled across it in syndication. 

(Okay, sorry, but as someone who watches and covers 9089210317 procedurals, it’s very funny to be reminded there was a time when they could not trace cell phones.)

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

RELATED:

• Take Two: THE X-FILES Season 1 (Part 2)
• Take Two: THE X-FILES Season 1 (Part 1)
• THE X-FILES: Chris Carter Says Ryan Coogler is Developing a New Version with a ‘Diverse Cast’
• Gillian Anderson Plays THE X-FILES Trivia on JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE
• Fox Developing An Animated THE X-FILES Spinoff
• THE X-FILES Cast and Crew Recreate the Theme Song for Charity
• THE X-FILES: Twenty Years Later, ‘How the Ghosts Stole Christmas’ Is Still a Gift
• THE X-FILES’ 20th Anniversary: ALIAS and FRINGE Boss Jeff Pinkner Talks About Its Influence on His Work
• THE X-FILES’ 20th Anniversary: BONES Creator Hart Hanson Talks About Its Influence on His Work

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