AIR DATE:  December 15, 1996
Written by Vince Gilligan
Directed by Rob Bowman

	"Paper Hearts" is what "Tunguska/Terma" should have been an
episode in which one of the main characters has to explore everything they
thought was true.  In "Tunguska/Terma" we have Mulder getting set up by
Ratboy who might have been working with Cancerman, and Scully having to
defend herself and Mulder in front of a Senate Subcommittee, but the
problem with those two episodes is that we really didn't learn anything
more about Mulder and Scully or the conspiracy that we couldn't have
surmised from earlier episodes.  In "Paper Hearts" we have Mulder
confronting everything he has believed about Samantha's disappearance
because if it were true that John Lee Roche did take Samantha then it
changes everything in Mulder's belief that aliens took Samantha with the
government's approval and maybe with his father's involvement.  It would
also change the whole conspiracy thread since we have been led to believe
Samantha was either taken to keep Bill Mulder quiet or it was always
planned to take her as part of a grand experiment.

	Writer Vince Gilligan has Mulder confront his biggest fear that
Samantha may have been taken by a murderous child molester while he sat
back and let it happen whereas if it was aliens or whatever then he had an
excuse for his actions.  The statement by the father about how he thought
it would feel better to finally find out what happened to his daughter
could be said about Mulder and his sister.  By not knowing what has
happened to his sister there is always the hope that she could still be
alive, and he didn't fail to protect his sister just as that father now
feels that even though he is relieved to find out what happened to his
daughter there will always be that feeling of failing to protect her.
Another telling statement was when Mulder told the daycare worker it was
his fault and not hers and afterwards Scully asked him if he thinks Roche
killed his sister and he tells her it doesn't matter anymore.  Mulder has
finally come to realize he has let his sister's disappearance affect his
judgement so much so that he has allowed another little girl to be taken
by Roche.  We have seen in previous episodes whenever his sister is
involved Mulder gets distracted and ends up either getting himself hurt or
someone else close to him hurt.  This is why he was able to kill Roche in
the end because finding his sister at any cost was no longer important,
the only thing that was important was the little girl's life, and maybe
Mulder getting on with his life.  Yeah, that'll be the day.  Anyways this
was an important Mulder episode because it has made Mulder face the
reality that aliens or government conspiracy might not have been behind
his sister's disappearance.

	The actor who played Roche was magnificent in his portrayal of a
child killer.  You could see under his cool demeanor how much he misses
doing those things to the little girls and how much he enjoys messing with
Mulder's head.  It is obvious rehab hasn't worked with him since he wanted
the paper hearts so he could relive what he did to those little girls and
as part of a power trip over Mulder.  He truly was one of those normal
looking people who seems normal until you find out what a truly creepy
person Roche is in reality.  The clue that gives away Roche's non-
involvement in Samantha's disappearance was that he couldn't name the
board game Stratego.  I just somehow feel he should have known the name of
the game because who would have described the game the way he did by
saying it was a board game with blue and red pieces though it does help to
prove Mulder's theory that they had somehow become linked in their sleep.
 
	Some Misc. thoughts on "Paper Hearts":

- First off I want to give a big thanks to Vince Gilligan for not screwing
up on any of the facts already established in past episodes.  As far as I
can tell he didn't mess up on any of the facts of Samantha's disappearance
and Gilligan even mentions Reggie Purdue as an early partner.  It only
proves that if they pay attention it isn't too hard to follow past
information. Glen Morgan and James Wong are you listening?

- I have to ask, does anyone else think Mulder's behavior in this episode
could be enough to get him either suspended for a while or kicked out of
the F.B.I..  He went against Skinner's orders and let a dangerous convict
escape to endanger another little girl.  It just seemed to me that this
would have been viewed as once again Mulder letting his feelings about his
sister affect his judgement and putting people at risk by the review
board.  But I guess with Cancerman and this being tv land these type of
questions aren't brought up.

-  Okay, how many times do we think it took them to get the shot of
Duchovny hitting the basket. 

- I have to admit my favorite scene was seeing Mulder in the basement of
his mother's house.  A parent's home is the true storage area of their
kids junk from when they were little kids till the day the parent dies and
the kids have to go through all that old junk.  Gee, I thought my parents
were bad with letting us children store everything in the basement.  Mrs. 
Mulder even had the old vacuum cleaner from the early 1970's, you would
think she would have throw some stuff out after she moved off Martha's
Vineyard.  Also, the funniest line came when Mulder asked his mother if
the paper heart looked familiar, and she goes that he knows she has a hard
time remembering things since the stroke.  I felt like yelling at the tv
"Hey, lady, you were having a hard time remembering things even before the
stroke."  Boy, talk about selective memory.  Oh yeah, is the middle of the
night the only time Mulder goes up to visit his mother.  I guess this must
be a common occurrence since it didn't faze Mrs. Mulder one bit to find
her son in her basement.

- The one thing that was hard to believe in this episode was that the
earlier investigators in the case wouldn't have found Roche's book full of
paper hearts.  You would think they would have torn apart the car to find
the paper hearts if they were so important, and why didn't Mulder check
out the car himself if it bothered him so much that they hadn't been
found. Oh yeah, one last thing who wouldn't love to see the look on that
kid's face when he finds out Mulder has cut up his car's upholstery.  I
did love the look of surprise Scully gave him.  One of those "Mulder
you're nuts looks." Of course, Scully was the solid foundation to Mulder
from the way she put her head down when Mulder asked her if she believed
his sister was taken by aliens and trying to give Mulder hope that they
will find the other little girl meaning they will find Samamtha.  Mulder's
damn lucky to have Scully as a partner. 

- Okay, you would think when Mulder and Scully went looking after the 2nd
body one of them would think to bring a shovel or a forensic crew out with
them.  Also, I can't help feeling one of those forensic crew members from
the first body would feel like yelling at Mulder to buzz off and let them
do their job.

	"Paper Hearts" was another good effort by Vince Gilligan.  As he
did with "Pusher", Gilligan got into the psyche of Mulder.  "Paper Hearts" 
allowed Mulder to get deeper into himself about his relentless search for
Samantha and how in his search he has hurt innocent people.  It also
allowed him to face the possibility that his sister wasn't taken by aliens
or the government and that he allowed his sister to be taken by a killer. 
Just imagine how much this would have crushed Mulder's world if Roche had
been behind Samantha's disappearance.  You could see throughout the
episode in Mulder's face how part of him wanted it to be true since it
would give some kind of closure to a part of his life while at the same
time scaring him to find out what truly happened that November night to
his sister.


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

12/16/96

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