…………………………………………………

The X-Files Season 2 Review

The second season of The X-Files is an obvious improvement upon the original. It still has its clunkers, but this is where the show started to grow into the classic that it will become.

………………………………………………….

“They have something on everyone, Mister Mulder.

The question is when they’ll use it“

…………………………………………………..

The first of 25 episodes is titled Little Green Men. This debut episode is set in a very interesting observatory location and it was the beginning of a much bigger arc that would unfold very quickly. The Host is by far one of the best episodes of this season. It’s the first truly fantastic Monster of the Week installment and a particularly amazing watch for me as a biology fan. The parasitism of the main creature was superbly explored while the biology of flatworms was surprisingly accurate to real science. The sewer action and stupendous for the time VFX are two other highlights.

Blood is a standard cult episode. Nothing particularly memorable to be found here. Sleepless is solid, but also far from great. Duane Barry and Ascension constitute a two-episode arc that is first about the titular troubled man who might be mentally ill or really having issues with aliens. The whole hostage plot worked, but the highlight was the whole storyline with Krycek, the new partner to Mulder, and how he betrayed him.

Mulder was too naïve in this instance, but somewhat expectedly so given that he lacked Scully by his side. Krycek was an incredible henchman/villain and it’s such a shame that his arc was ended way too abruptly as he had so much potential for more episodes. As for the absence of Scully during most of the season’s first half, the reason behind it was the pregnancy of Gillian Anderson. She was sorely missed in the episodes where she was absent and the show just isn’t the same without the duo both working together.

…………………………………………………..

3 is such a bad vampire episode that is overly sexual, but not really sexy. It’s just silly. One Breath is this very emotional story that finally sees Scully’s return. The whole drama of will she survive or won’t was overplayed as we all knew the only possible outcome, but still the episode was surprisingly dramatic and sweet. Firewalker is another stronger monster episode with the fungi pathogen being the culprit. It’s very intense and scientifically intriguing.

Red Museum is one cult episode too many in a season that seemed obsessed with them. Excelsis Dei is an interesting ghost story that mostly works while Aubrey is a thriller genetics story and a really effective one. Though it’s not particularly supernatural, the serial killer elements were terrific and quite disturbing.

Irresistible is by far the best serial killer episode so far in the show’s run. It’s clearly not supernatural at all, but it doesn’t matter when the execution is so deft. The actor playing the killer did an incredible job and he was so creepy while the final confrontation between Scully and him was very suspenseful. It’s a near-perfect installment.

…………………………………………………..

Die Hand Die Verletzt is the best cult episode of this run that is also a voodoo story. The main actress playing the villain was incredibly creepy and the show needs more praise for how fabulous their villains have always been and how superbly they were performed. This is one immensely eerie story with so many great twists and turns. The snake sequence was brilliant.

Fresh Bones is too familiar, Colony is forgettable and End Game features very vulnerable Mulder with his sister arc, but Scully is once again kidnapped here and I got sick and tired of this trope as the character deserves much better than this kind of treatment. Fearful Symmetry is a ridiculous animal rights story that is too silly for its own good. Død Kalm is a very interesting episode set on a ship and that location made it unique and cool.

Humbug has a fantastic message preaching acceptance of the different and its circus setting was mostly well utilized. The Calusari is a very weak, dumb episode that doesn’t work at all. F. Emasculata is intense and well made but familiar while Soft Light was very well executed, but the premise remained too ridiculous. Our Town is full of great conspiratorial work and it benefits from a wonderfully detailed depiction of a town and its community and business, which is something this show always did great and rarely got credits for.

…………………………………………………..

Anasazi is a terrific finale that hooks you for the next season with a thrilling, ambiguous conclusion. It’s also a very dark episode that featured one important death and a highly distraught Mulder who’s never been more vulnerable than he was here. The return of Krycek was also commendable and the episode’s thriller tone worked tremendously well.