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"I'm trying not to take offense."
I had high hopes for this episode, but I've come to the conclusion that the X-Files should get out of the sequel game. They just don't know how to do it right anymore, especially when it comes to great episodes. It worked the first time with "Tooms," failed miserably the next with "Kitsunegari" and while "Orison" was significantly better than that, it still paled to "Irresistible."
There are things I liked about "Orison", but it never felt fully realized, despite a strong fourth act. I have to suspect that there were more hands in this script than former "Millennium" writer Chip Johannessen's because this had all the feel of two episodes forced together because someone really wanted to bring back Donnie Pfaster, and thus neither idea was given its full due. First we had the story of Orison, the trepanning ex-con priest with amazing hypnotic skills which was left half told so we could bring in Donnie Pfaster to tell us Scully is "all I think about." However, instead of really revisiting the internal conflict this character caused for Scully (a la that fabulous EAP scene in "Irresistible") and either showing us how she's dealt with it or hasn't we have her cocking her newly coifed head repeatedly to listen to some R&B tune. That, and going through the same old, same old debate about God with Mulder (who continues to be his usual mocking self about such things).
Actually, considering the situation, it seems until the end Scully had done a pretty admirable job of dealing with Pfaster. When she tells Mulder at the start that "this case doesn't bother me" it's not the same, laughable level of lie as her "Irresistible" statements of "I'm fine". She does seem to have steeled herself to "get to work" on this case because she believes it is important that Pfaster is caught. Well, that is until the end when both Mulder and Scully, despite their knowledge of the perp suddenly decide since Orison is dead it is not their problem anymore and it's time to go home and catch a nap.
We have to wait until the very end for Scully to deal with Pfaster, and the answer they came up with, while certainly dramatic, has serious and not very nice ramifications for the character. Yes, wasn't it something to see that wonderfully constructed fight sequence in which the diminutive Scully rails against her attacker. Yes, wasn't it nice to see her struggle to and successfully escape her confines and find her gun. Yes, wasn't it nice to see that even though Mulder arrived he was not there to save her. I only wish, for once, she'd taken his advice as we see him yelling in slow motion "don't shoot!" Dramatic? Damn yes. Scary in intensity. Stunning. And wrong. So now the same Dana Scully who believes in the sanctity of life so much that she argued for Pfaster to have a life sentence instead of the death penalty, the same Dana Scully who was pissed at Mulder for *punching* a child murderer in custody, the same Dana Scully who shot Mulder to prevent him from killing a murderer, the same Dana Scully who in "Tunguska" railed against "men who have no respect for the law and who flout it with impunity" did a bad bad thing. We can argue all we want about state of mind, about Pfaster being evil, how she was not in control of her own actions, but those are the things that are to be argued in a court of law. And they won't be. And that is where the real crime occurs, when a Dana Scully who *is* herself and fully understands what she did ("but the law doesn't") goes along with Mulder to cover up her crime. The writer (or writers) of this episode backed themselves into a corner to which cover up was the only real answer. In doing so they made Dana Scully into every other TV cop we've seen over the years. I know for the sake of television we can't just have them trotting Scully off for a lengthy trial and possible jail time after being tossed out of the Bureau for what she did. However, the real crime is, knowing what we do about how things work on this show, that it is highly unlikely that it will ever even be addressed again. Closed case. Oopsie about that whole murder thing. Now where are those pesky magicians?
There were good things about this episode. I did like the whole clock reading "6:66" concept. Surprisingly, out of all the things that bothered me, the demon morph did not. I found that consistent with "Irresistible" in that people saw the evil in Donnie. It stunned Scully into not shooting in "Irresistible" and obviously stunned Orison enough for Donnie to attack here. Scott Wilson as Orison was good, but underused. Nick Chinlund's Pfaster was as creepy as ever. As I mentioned, I thought the fourth act was wonderfully done from a technical perspective. The editing, directing, music, and slow motion moments made for very exciting television. Even if we never found out really what the heck that song or all the spiritual mumbo jumbo meant for Scully, Gillian Anderson did a nice job with Scully revisiting the faith puzzle. Though one would think after the season opening two parter it would be even more puzzling, but since they were having to shove two episodes into one there was no time to cover that ground. Despite the troubling nature of the ending, the acting cannot be faulted. From the look of terror as she struggled on the floor to the shooting sequence Gillian Anderson was chilling. She shows us a Scully clearly troubled with her actions in the end. Pity she's not troubled enough to do the right thing.
I can appreciate the dramatic intensity of this episode. I was on the edge of my seat for the fourth act. The entire episode held my interest. I always enjoy seeing Scully struggle some with her faith or trying to understand how she is supposed to act on it and trying to listen when He is speaking. I don't expect her to be perfect, but I do expect her to do the right thing. In "Irresistible" we explored Scully's fears for the first time and it gave wonderful character insight and made for powerful television. In "Orison" they assassinated a piece of that character that "Irresistible" created. Powerful television again, but was it worth the price?
-Retread Alert: Steve Rankin who played Marshall Daddo played a Dallas area FBI Agent in the movie. He's the one who brought them the bones when they flew back to Dallas.
-Whoever was responsible for painting those walls with biblical sayings and the like had some serious spelling issues. My favorites were the "t" faded out so it said "Rust in the Lord" and the ode to Cake "Sheep go to heven. Goats go to hell." One really should learn to spell heaven before writing it on the wall of the chapel.
-The cut off fingers effect in the teaser was very gruesome. Especially considering how slow that blade was moving you know he would have had to really work at it to cut off all ten. I imagine this hallucination was an intentional mimic of what Pfaster does to women.
-I did like the way that the end of the teaser paralleled "Irresistible" in that it had Pfaster walking directly into the camera with a malevolent look on his face.
-I find it curious why they choose to put Scully's Bible at the foot of her bed rather than on a nightstand. It just seemed odd unless it was there simply for the planned camera shot.
-And why do Scully's lights come on with the power? Had it been off all night long or does she just sleep with the lights on these days?
-I'm really starting to hate the X-Files hairdressers. First we have to deal with Mulder's annual weedwack, and then after finally liberating Scully from the evil that was season six flat hair they chop it all off just when it was looking really good. Someone take the scissors away from these people now.
-How can Mulder know Pfaster escaped at 6:06 if no one remembers anything and they didn't even know he was missing for a while? Plus, this is a maximum security prison? Did they put the whammy on the whole prison at once? Shouldn't their be guards watching cameras or multiple gates, etc?
-Yet another case of the fabulous Mulder leap when inspiration suddenly tells him to move his arm up and down to solicit the "glory, amen." Maybe he's so smart because of all that blood rushing to his brain after the holes he drilled in his head. It's no wonder he's such an expert on the subject after "Demons."
-Stupidity quiz: a creepy looking guy tells you he just got out of prison and wants to give you a manicure do you a) get the hell out of there or b) convince yourself he must be kidding because people always joke about prison to pick up girls and think "hey, let me get in your car!"
-I guess after seeing it at the super's apartment in "Agua Mala" Scully decided that a phone next to the toilet was the way to go and had one installed pronto.
-Well, I don't think I will recover soon from having to witness "pure evil" packing his lunch and prancing around an apartment wearing only tighty whiteys and blue slippers.
-Does Rev. Orison just keep a carton of milk in the corner of his bathroom under the sink or did Donnie bring that in for his snack?
-Frank's Fashion Spot: Despite the too short reappearance of the black mock turtleneck and actually having Scully also briefly wear a skirt this episode we must focus instead on Scully sleepwear. In a psychic moment, Scully decides to eschew her usual bedtime favorites of the silk jammies and matching push up bra for something a little more suited to crawling around in the rubble of your bedroom. This week's sleepwear was a nice little gray pinstripe flannel combination, and since Scully apparently doesn't own a matching gray pinstripe flannel push up bra she actually wore her jammies the way most women do. Complete with scary slippers. Someday she may even go to bed again without make up on.
-Speaking of the sleepwear, Mulder and Scully seem to be headed to bed in the middle of the day or those streetlights outside the apartments are extra bright. Despite the fact Mulder's clock reads 10:06, a significant amount of light comes through Scully's window during the whole fourth act.
-Apparently Scully is the queen of the candle party circuit. We always knew she liked candles, but my God I never suspected she had a closet full.
-Interesting bit of Scully past in learning of the Sunday school murder. I imagine this even had something to do with her future career choice.
-One of the little things I have always found amusing is that I don't think we have ever heard the same answering machine message twice at Mulder's and it is always a straight-forward boring message. Why in the world does he keep rerecording it?
-When Pfaster is drawing Scully a bath we see steam rising from it. Hmm, I thought he liked his girls cold...
Autumn
"Well nobody can stop the world Mulder, I don't care how many
holes they have drilled into their head."