AIR DATE:  March 1, 1998
Written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz
Directed by Kim Manners

	I think we should vote Mulder the most gullible man of the past
decade since he so easily believed Michael Kritschagau's story of the
government creating a story of alien abduction to cover up greater sins
against its people from the "Gethsemane/Redux/Redux II" trilogy just as
easily as he believed in alien abduction. This is the same Mulder who saw
Max taken up in the air and disappear in front of his eyes, the Bounty
Hunter change in front of him in "End Game", a ship of unknown
configuration fly over him in "Paper Clip", a non-human body in the
spaceship in "Tempus Fugit" and countless other things throughout the
series.  I've always found this character development in Mulder this
season of switching his belief in alien abduction to not believing in them
to be too sudden of a switch especially since he took it on the word of
one man who provided no physical proof too hard to believe.  As Scully
said to him in the office after she showed him the newspaper article about
his assertions, it is all a government conspiracy and that he should just
pack up his bags and go home.  Because if he can now so easily dismiss
people's claims of alien abductions then how can he so easily believe in
vampires ("Bad Blood") and killer trees ("Schizogeny") without question. 
It makes his character too inconsistent that he'll pick and choose what he
believes in no matter what he has seen.  I still want him to explain if
the government is behind everything how they were able to do that trick
with Max in "Fallen Angel".  For all Mulder knows this could all be a part
of a government conspiracy to get him to stop investigating alien
abduction stories.  If the X-Files people had develop Mulder's doubts
slowly over the course of the fourth season instead of having it thrust
upon us in "Gethsemane/Redux/Redux II" then it would have been more
believable.  Can anyone show me where in "Gethsemane/Redux/Redux II" that
Michael Kritschagau's story was any more believable than all those people
claiming they had been abducted?

	Be that as it may about Mulder's so called conversion to a
non-believer in alien abduction stories, "Patient X" was a good episode
overall mostly due to Scully's character still being true to herself.  It
appears she is the only one still willing to be open to extreme
possibilities through experiences she had over the past 5 years that there
might be a grain of truth to what these people are saying.  It was she who
kept the story going because she was willing to believe Cassandra
Spender's story because of her own personal experience in being abducted
and experimented on.  Also, any episode can't be that bad if it brings
back our favorite rat, Alex Krycek, who we still have no idea whose side
he is on other than his own.  It is good to see that all the rats seem to
know each other since Krycek has had some kind of sexual past with Marita
Covarrublias.  Once again the oily aliens are introduced back to us and I
guess Krycek infected the boy so he could bring the oily alien back with
him and the Bounty Hunter who for some reason decided to look more like
Odo than his real self along with a buddy decides to burn to death all the
people who have been implanted over the years.  Mulder who is too busy
having his head stuck up his ass to see the big picture has to have Scully
call him into Skyland Mountain to investigate the burned bodies and the
fact they all have implants.  I kept waiting for Scully to say back to
Mulder everytime he asserted the alien abduction stories are lies the line
he said to her in "Beyond the Sea", "After all you have seen how come you
still can't believe?"  (Well, that's how I remember it)  Cassandra Spender
was talking to the wrong person when she told Mulder he is the only person
able to stop what is going on since Scully is the only one willing to give
her story the benefit of the doubt while Mulder just dismisses it
outright.  So instead of Mulder being out on that bridge with all those
people it is Scully who is there to stop it. 

	A few general comments on "Patient X": 

- "Due to Some Graphic and Mature Content Parental Discretion is advised". 
When I saw this come across the screen not once but twice I thought they
were going to repeat "Home".  I hate to break it to the FOX censors, but
I've seen worse stuff on the local news.

- Mulder's opening monologue reminded me of the monologue used during the
opening credits of "Hercules" where Gods were petty, etc. 

- Does anyone else find it hard to believe all those people would sit in
their cars waiting to be set on fire as they watch everyone else set on
fire and not at least try to get away?  There only appears to be about 2
or 3 of them setting people on fire so considering how many people that
were there it is hard to believe no one got away both in Kazakhstan and
Skyland Mountain. 

- Dmitri must be the Russian equivalent of John Smith for giving a false
name.  I did find it interesting that the boy would give a false name then
say he saw what happened which isn't true because he and his friend only
came upon the burned out cars and never actually saw the Bounty Hunter set
them on fire. 

- Doesn't Mulder realize he sounds just as much a loony as he did before
by saying it is all a government conspiracy to have people claim they were
abducted? 

- Did Krycek sew up Dmitri eyes and mouth in the hope that the oily alien
wouldn't escape?  Couldn't the oily alien just as easily escape via the
nose and ears?

- When the Consortium were having their little discussion about Krycek and
what his agenda is and the phone rang I so much wanted them to say
wouldn't that be ironic if it was Krycek on the phone before they picked
it up.

- If the vaccination doesn't work does this mean Mulder is still infected
with the black cancer? 

- When did Skyland Mountain become a National Park?  Last time we saw it,
it was a private ski resort.  Also, doesn't the Park Service usually
regulate how many cars can go into a National Park in order to cut down on
the pollution.  You would think the guard would be suspicious why all
those people were going to Skyland Mountain.  Heck, would the Park Service
still let people in that late? 

- I was a little bit surprised Cassandra Spender didn't remember Scully's
name from the Duane Barry incident since he did kidnap Scully which would
have been in the news.

- I think someone should tell Jeffrey Spender if he doesn't want it to get
out that his mother believes in U.F.O.'s and they are going to take us to
a higher plane than he shouldn't allow his mother to be videotaped and
shown at a conference which is reported in the news.  Also, one would
think he wouldn't let Dr. Werber near her.  Oh well, I guess there is only
so much a son can do to control his own mother.  It just seemed pointless
to ask Scully to ask Mulder not to talk to his mother.  I guess he must
have thought if Spooky Mulder started investigating his mother's story it
would get out in the Bureau.

- When did Mulder have the X-Ray light installed into his office?  That
must be where the money for Scully's desk went to.

- Why did Covarrubias ask if Mulder was on a secure line if she knew she
was calling his work number?  This is something she should have just
known.

- Also, why didn't Mulder go after Scully when she so abruptly left his
office.  He knew there was more to discuss with Scully about the case and
you would think he would want to take Scully with him to where Covarrubias
said she was since it dealt with the burned out bodies.  I kept expecting
to see him walking down the hallway as Scully was getting a drink of
water. Somehow this didn't seem right. 

- I suppose everyone was too busy looking up to the sky to see a beat up
person in the crowd. 

- I kept expecting throughout the episode to hear those five tones used in
"Close Encounters of the Third Kind". 

	"Patient X" was a good mythology episode.  It had some of our
favorite loathsome characters from Ratboy to Well-Manicured Man.  If only
Mulder's sudden conversion to non-believer had been done more believably
the episode would work better because it was good in showing us Scully
struggling with her desire to not to believe and her own gut feeling that
Cassandra Spender might be telling the truth.  "Patient X" would have been
a better episode if we saw Mulder struggling with his own belief in alien
abductions instead of being closed minded to these people's claims. 

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

3/2/98  

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