AIR DATE:  February 14, 1999
Written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz
Directed by Rob Bowman

	Does anyone really care about the conspiracy or what happens to
any of the supporting characters in "One Son".  Of course, I stopped
caring about the conspiracy a long time ago and only look for how it
affects Scully and Mulder.  At this point in the X-Files Chris Carter and
gang have let the conspiracy veer off in so many directions there isn't
any possible way for them to link everything together.  Where do the shape
shifting healing alien fit into all this, what about the clones who turn
into toxic goo when killed, what about Gibson Praise, is he still living
with his gray alien buddy at the Nuke plant, what about all those Jeremiah
Smith's working at Social Security, what does Mrs. Mulder know about the
conspiracy or a number of other things that have been brought up in the
series. Everything the members of the Consortium did was so they would
have more time to develop a vaccine against the aliens they are working
for and if they don't find a vaccine in time they'll allow the aliens to
infect the rest of humanity.  Does anyone else see the fallacy of this
thinking?  Why would the aliens need the Consortium's help to conquer the
world in the first place?  Did the aliens need them to develop a species
of bees that could spread the virus?  Well, is it just me or does it seem
if this was the case then the Consortium could tell them to buzz off.  The
Consortium would have to have something that the aliens needed in order
for them to make this deal and vice versa, but it was never made clear why
the aliens needed the Consortium for their invasion plan. Why do I even
bother caring anymore when what could have been a moving drama about a
man's search for his long lost sister and how the truth behind her
abduction exposes how one's government will lie to its people not to help
the people, but to protect its own self interest.  Also, exploring how
family members can become corrupt and destroy their family when they think
they are doing the right thing. Instead we get a missed opportunity to
take the X-Files beyond the usual alien invasion story that's been done a
hundred times better. Sad, because it never had to end this way. 

	The other big problem with "Two Fathers/One Son" was Scully and
Mulder were inconsequential to the story.  If you took them out of the two
episodes completely it wouldn't make any difference to the outcome.  It
wasn't they who stopped the alien invasion or stopped the Consortium
plans.  They didn't save Cassandra Spender or weren't able to weaken
Cigarette Smoking Man's power or even get back the X-Files without
someone's help.  If this was truly going to be full disclosure then Scully
and Mulder should have been the ones to do things that make a difference
and exposed everything.  Now that would have made a good X-Files;  the
fallout of exposing the truth to the public and how the ensuing publicity
affected Scully and Mulder's ability to work on other X-File cases.  In
the end these episodes had Scully and Mulder running around with nothing
to do while the action was going on around them and other people spending
half the episode trying to explain everything that has gone on the past 5
seasons.  Let's hope the X-Files gets back on track with Scully and Mulder
back on the X-Files though from Mulder's action in these episodes I don't
think he deserves it.

	Now a few more comments on "One Son":

- I had a hard time listening to Mulder's opening teaser speech because I
couldn't take my eyes off Cigarette Smoking Man's 70's haircut or obvious
wig.

- Boy, those aliens sure looked so scary and menacing I think I will give
up all of humanity to them.  Did they really have to make them look like
the aliens from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"?

- Did anyone else find the whole CDC busting down Mulder's door a bit
ludicrous?  I found the whole thing just a set up for the cliffhanger in
"Two Fathers" and to have Fowley come waltzing in like a white knight in
"One Son". 

- Good to see Scully wasn't shy about hiding her feelings about Fowley. 
Fowley should know better than to mess with Scully, especially a mad
Scully.  At last Scully basically told Mulder that it was personal that he
would take Fowley's word over hers and he would trust Fowley more than
her.  To Scully there was a personal stake in what was going on.

- Mulder should have known there was something up with the nurse he sees
in the hallway since she was wearing that Phyllis Diller wig. 

- Why is it always Frohike who answers the Lone Gunmen's door?  Also, we
see Scully has smartened up when investigating fellow agents, instead of
breaking into their office she goes to the Lone Gunman as she and Mulder
should have in last week's episode. 

- Nice to know the people who own the Watergate have improved on their
security by the fact Mulder is able to walk to Fowley's apartment door,
then easily break in.

- One would think Mulder would ask CSM who was that person who he claimed
was his sister, instead he doesn't even mention it. 

- You know what I would like to see on the X-Files, a Scully and CSM
confrontation.  She is due her chance to point her gun at him. 

- Don't these aliens have a name?  You would think they would be
identified by the Consortium by what the aliens call themselves instead of
the generic term "aliens".

- Boy, Mulder really sounded convincing when he tells CSM that he will
stop the alien plans if CSM doesn't.  I really hope that Mulder was
playing Fowley to see which side she was on by his defeatist attitude that
they should all give up and join the aliens and become hybrids.  I just
can't believe Mulder would give up so easily that he would basically say
screw you humanity I'm only going to take care of myself and have a chance
to see my sister again.  I just couldn't tell which way he was going even
when he was talking with Scully.  If he hadn't gone off with Scully to
attempt to rescue Cassandra Spender then I would have had doubts about his
motives though why he was wasting his time sitting in Fowley's apartment
waiting for her to come home only makes me think he had given up. 

- Somehow I don't think having bees spread the black oil to people would
be the most effective way to do it.  Unless these bees have learned to
adapt to certain weather conditions (I don't exactly see bees flying
around in the winter time) then they are not going to be able to get
everyone in a quick manner.

- Funniest thing I saw was the wives of the Consortium members bringing
their suitcases with them for their little trip to become alien hybrids. 

- Notice how CSM was worried that Krycek wasn't there so he knew something
was up and I loved how he and Fowley quickly and nonchalantly headed back
to Fowley's car and left the airplane hanger once they saw it wasn't who
they were expecting at the hanger.

- So from what Mulder said at the end of the episode they don't have just
one enemy to worry about, but now they have two enemies, the black oil and
faceless aliens.  Mulder's best line was when he told Kersh he tried
telling people about what was happening but nobody would listen. 

- It is getting tiring on the X-Files to have us not see someone die on
the show, instead we are left in doubt.  At least Deep Throat and Mr. X
have stayed dead.  Poor Marita Covarrubias, without Well-Manicured Man
there to protect her they do nasty experiments on her.  Shouldn't WMM have
been standing with them in 1973 and been a major player in the discussion.
I will admit I'm going to miss Chunky Italian Guy.

	Chris Carter and gang can learn a lot about how to develop a plot
line over episodes and when to wrap things up by watching "Buffy, The
Vampire Slayer".  After the first season they killed off her main enemy,
The Master, then in the second season they brought in two new nemesis who
are gone and now in the third season we have Mr. Trick and the Mayor who
was alluded to throughout the second season.  Imagine "Buffy" today if the
Master was still alive trying to get out of the hellmouth and then you
have a show going nowhere as has happened with the X-Files with the
conspiracy plot line.  The conspiracy plot line in X-Files brought in so
many things we knew they would have to forget some of them in order for
the conspiracy plot line they decided on to work whereas in "Buffy" even
the little things brought up in episodes can have major consequences in
later episodes.  This has been a problem with the conspiracy plot line
since the 3rd season.  They should have allowed Scully and Mulder to score
some kind of victory against the Consortium and their plans and then moved
on to something new instead of introducing new aspects to the conspiracy
that made absolutely no sense because of what we have seen before.  I
would have loved to have seen instead of CSM supposedly killing Spender,
government officials from around the world destroying the bees and
cornfields and at the same time Federal Agents led by Mulder and Scully
busting into their headquarters in New York City and gathering further
information on what was going on.  Nope, we see CSM is still just as
powerful and Mulder and Scully no further than before except a whole bunch
of top level Consortium figures were killed though somehow I think there
were lower level officials ready to take their place.  It would have been
great if Scully and Mulder had made a difference in this episode. 

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

2/15/99

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