AIR DATE:  May 11, 1997
Written by R.W. Goodwin
Directed by Kim Manners

	"Demons" didn't quite have the impact as "Paper Hearts", but it
did once again get into how much Mulder is willing to sacrifice in order
to find the truth behind his sister's disappearance.  In "Demons" Mulder
is willing to undergo a radical type of regression therapy to see if it
gives him any kind of insight into his sister's disappearance with
disastrous results.  As always, it is Scully who has to come to Mulder's
rescue when he goes too far in his quest.  What would Mulder have done if
it wasn't for Scully's help?  This episode only reinforces how strong the
bond is between them.  For it is Scully who he calls at 5 in the morning
to help him out and who can calm him down from thinking of killing
himself.

	The important statement in "Demons" was Scully telling Mulder to
"Let it go".  It is time for him to let go of his obession with trying to
remember what happened to his sister because it is slowly destroying him
emotionally.  We have seen in the past what his obsession has done to him
from "Colony/End Game" where he almost gets himself killed, to "Paper
Hearts" where he almost gets another little girl killed.  It was Scully's
way of telling him that he is never going to get to the truth if he
continues to let this one event direct his life.  Mulder definitely was on
an emotional tightrope in this episode since it is obvious he was a
witness to Cassandra's murder/suicide because it was never denied that it
was his weapon used in the killings.  This has to be the most disturbing
part of the episode where Mulder was willing to allow himself to get into
such a situation, and in the end allowing himself to get into the same
kind of situation by his overriding desire to find out what happened to
his sister.  Scully summed it up best during her end monologue when she
comments on Mulder's inability to get beyond his sister's disappearance,
and if he doesn't it could end up destroying him.  Also, in the back of
her mind is what would happen to him is she dies of cancer since they both
depend on each other for support.

	Now a few miscelleous comments on "Demons":

- Scully must have been speeding from the airport with her big speedy
entrance into the motel parking lot.  Could we hear the tires squealing
any louder?

- Good old Dr. Scully, it doesn't faze her a bit to go into the Mulder's
motel bathroom and open the shower curtain with him in it.

- I always thought if a doctor asked you to following their finger your
head wasn't supposed to move.  I guess this indicated to Scully how out of
it Mulder was at the time.  Well, that, and finding him sitting in the
shower with hot water running.

- Is it me or was Mark Snow just a little bit too intrusive in this
episode?  I think he needs to start turning it down a bit. 

- Hurrah, I finally recognize an actor from a past episode.  The autopsy
doctor was the pilot in "Deep Throat" and the F.B.I. guy who gets killed
by the bounty hunter in "Colony".

- Dr. Goldstein gets the Scully look twice in this episode.  One in his
office and in the police car where he was damn lucky he answered her
questions or else.

- "Demons" finally lets Mulder tell Scully he's fine when it is obvious he
is not.  Unlike Mulder, Scully doesn't let him get away with it. 

- I absolutely loved the scene in Mulder's mother's house when he first
starts asking her questions and he can't look her in the face knowing
these are questions she'd rather not be asked, and maybe he is slightly
embarrassed by having Scully there.  Also, loved Mrs. Mulder's comment of
what do you want me to say when he accuses her of lying about making a
choice between him and Samantha.  In other words, Mrs. Mulder was telling
him what can I say to make it right for you.

- Oh boy, here we go again with the great debate of is Cigarette Smoking
Man either Mulder's or Samanta's father.  Personally, I don't think so and
this will be the last time I comment on it until there is some solid proof
that CSM is their father.

- So not only does Scully have extra keys to Mulder's apartment she also
has extra keys to Mulder's car.  This would be the only way to explain how
she was able to drive to Mulder's mother house and Mulder was able to
drive off in the car leaving her behind.  We see her give him a set of
keys in the doctor's building parking lot, but she would need another set
to drive with unless she took them back in the car which wouldn't make
sense.  At least they tried to explain how Mulder was able to drive off
even if it stretched it a bit. 

- Dr. Goldstein reminded me of Paul Benedict from the tv show the
Jeffersons or more appropriately the film "The Freshman" where he played a
self-absorbed professor.

- What was Dr. Goldstein arrested for, malpractice?  I sure would have
like to have found out what it was since he was only indirectly
responsible for Cassandra's death, and I don't think there was any evil
intent on his part.  Just a doctor trying to make a name for himself in
the twilight of his career. 

- What year are they following in X-Files since April 12th fell on a
Saturday this year and Mulder supposedly called Scully on a Sunday.

- Oh yeah, when did Quonochontaug suddenly become the place where Mulder's
sister was abducted instead of Martha's Vineyard.  Either they were trying
to show how messed up Mulder was because he couldn't remember anything
straight or what I suspect is the writer, R.W. Goodwin, forgot the
abduction was supposed to have taken place somewhere else other than the
place where Mrs. Mulder went to meet CSM last season.

	"Demons" didn't really break new ground in Mulder's sister's
disappearance.  It still was a solid episode to remind us how deeply this
one event has affected Mulder's life.  It didn't have quite the emotional
impact as "Paper Hearts", but it was disturbing in what it said about
Mulder.  Mulder was willing to undergo a process he knew was responsible
for three other deaths in which two he was somehow involved in.  By the
time he had gone back to Dr. Goldstein he had forgotten about Cassandra's
death in his quest to somehow unlock those memories buried deep inside
himself.  It is this which bothered Scully the most in Mulder's behavior. 
How he would totally disregard his own safety along with others for the
sake of remembering what happened to his sister. 

Claudia
E-Mail:  Claudia.Cauchon@unh.edu  

5/12/97

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