Written by R.W Goodwin
Directed by Kim Manners
Season three finale Talitha Cumi posed an interesting idea. What if the Cigarette Smoking Man was the father of Mulder? It was the first thing a lot of us thought of when it was shown that Old Smokey and Mulder's mother had an affair years previously and strangely enough the series hasn't dealt with that idea in a major way since. Until now. Going into Demons one must be prepared that this episode will not answer the questions posed definitively, but just by dealing with those questions, it must be applauded because to put them right into the middle of an episode is a great move by director R.W Goodwin, writing his one and only episode of the show.
What I love about Demons is that is mixes what could have been a simple stand alone tale into a mythology heavy episode. We've already seen Millennium do a 'lost weekend' episode itself in the shape of Walkabout and it's a narrative that you very rarely go wrong with because that episode proved to be excellent and seeing The X Files put Mulder into a mystery like this is very promising, a promise Demons more than lives up to. Putting into its narrative the Samantha storyline is an even cleverer one.
I have read a lot of negativity surrounding Demons and a lot of it seems to stem from the frustrations at the lack of answers provided. Lack of answers? On The X Files? Who would have thought it? The interesting thing is that when Talitha Cumi made the suggestion of the CSM and Teena Mulder's affair, I automatically thought of Mulder being the product of that union. For some reason I never thought of Samantha or whether or not this affair could have been the reason for her abduction. We all know that a choice was made by the Mulder family as to which one of their children would be abducted and the thing with Goodwin's script is it puts these ideas into the mystery. The flashback sequences are stunning and feature a lot for fans to dig their teeth into. We see the return of Chris Owens as Young CSM as well as Vanessa Morley as Samantha, plus there's the way they've been filmed, with strobe lighting and exaggerated colouring. They look and feel different than anything done on the show before.
Right from the opening of the episode this one has you. It opens with one of these flashbacks, and proceeds to give us its 'lost weekend' narrative. Mulder, in a motel room, covered in blood with no memory and two rounds from his gun fired, you can't go wrong with something like this and I'm glad to say that it proves to be a very enjoyable forty five minutes. I love it when an episode presents a more unhinged Mulder, and this one really goes to town with it. We know he couldn't possibly have murdered anybody, but the fun is in getting to the explanation. When you've got the missing time to run with as well as the question behind the flashbacks, you really hope that we'll get a great explanation and we do. It pushes the tale into more medical sci-fi territory, complete with a bit of body horror, but the combination of mythology centred mystery and lost weekend narrative is irresistible.
Of course only one of these strands can come to a conclusion since the other is part of the ongoing narrative of the show and Carter needs the audience to keep coming back for more. So, we find out what happened to Amy and David Cassandra, the couple Mulder is accused of murdering, but we're never given a concrete answer to the mysteries that Mulder is seeking to answer through his use of the procedure that caused Amy and David to kill themselves and for himself to lose his memory. It is clear that Mulder's father knew of the affair and it is heavily implied that Samantha may in fact by the CSM's daughter, as opposed to Mulder being his son, and its understandable that many will get frustrated that no definitive answer is upcoming, but what it comes down to for me is that I love lost weekend stories and ever since Talitha Cumi I had wanted to see an episode that puts the parental suggestion at its heart front and centre.
If it there's any issues to be had with it is that it builds up to a scene in which Mulder and Scully are in a darkened room and he pulls a gun on her, which seems to be a stock in trade when it comes to a mythology tale (Zero Sum had two such scenes), although the fact that Mulder is in a medically and emotionally heightened state gives it a power beyond being a confrontation the likes of which we usually get, although like Zero Sum it ends with a gun being shot in an attempt to make us think that a murder is being committed when in fact the shots are hitting a wall, but until then this is wonderful and it's a disappointment that the next season will be the last to be filmed in Vancouver because I think it means that we lost any chances of another Goodwin scripted episode, because he shows himself to be as capable of writing as he is when directing. Usually the premiere and cliffhanger director, he's a director knee deep in mythology tales and he shows a really great understanding of the mysteries and questions that it poses. Best of all, despite the lack of answers, Demons is strangely satisfying. Just by dealing with these mysteries and making the suggestions that it does to the events in Mulder's past, it actually feels satisfactory on its own terms and I love that about it.
Of course only one of these strands can come to a conclusion since the other is part of the ongoing narrative of the show and Carter needs the audience to keep coming back for more. So, we find out what happened to Amy and David Cassandra, the couple Mulder is accused of murdering, but we're never given a concrete answer to the mysteries that Mulder is seeking to answer through his use of the procedure that caused Amy and David to kill themselves and for himself to lose his memory. It is clear that Mulder's father knew of the affair and it is heavily implied that Samantha may in fact by the CSM's daughter, as opposed to Mulder being his son, and its understandable that many will get frustrated that no definitive answer is upcoming, but what it comes down to for me is that I love lost weekend stories and ever since Talitha Cumi I had wanted to see an episode that puts the parental suggestion at its heart front and centre.
If it there's any issues to be had with it is that it builds up to a scene in which Mulder and Scully are in a darkened room and he pulls a gun on her, which seems to be a stock in trade when it comes to a mythology tale (Zero Sum had two such scenes), although the fact that Mulder is in a medically and emotionally heightened state gives it a power beyond being a confrontation the likes of which we usually get, although like Zero Sum it ends with a gun being shot in an attempt to make us think that a murder is being committed when in fact the shots are hitting a wall, but until then this is wonderful and it's a disappointment that the next season will be the last to be filmed in Vancouver because I think it means that we lost any chances of another Goodwin scripted episode, because he shows himself to be as capable of writing as he is when directing. Usually the premiere and cliffhanger director, he's a director knee deep in mythology tales and he shows a really great understanding of the mysteries and questions that it poses. Best of all, despite the lack of answers, Demons is strangely satisfying. Just by dealing with these mysteries and making the suggestions that it does to the events in Mulder's past, it actually feels satisfactory on its own terms and I love that about it.
I can honestly say that I never, ever missed not getting any definitive answers this episode and until this write up, I'm not sure I've even really thought about it. The story is just so satisfying in its own right and even though we don't get those answers it feels as though we're headed toward them. At least now we know that Bill Mulder knew about the affair and that the choice as to which child was taken was based on paternity. That's a startling revelation in its own right! Who belongs to who remains to be seen.
ReplyDeleteI think we both liked this episode but for different reasons. I felt this episode was just so outrageous because Mulder is always getting into tricky situations yet still has a job, with this being the worst. Then I gave in to the ridiculousness and loved it.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind not getting answers to the Mulder Family drama. Yet the episode DID give answers to its own mystery, like what the paintings were. Mulder said he felt energetic after the seizure, and Mrs. Cassandra did too, so she started painting.
Not to discredit Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, but this episode left me wondering how different the series would be if Vince Gilligan, RW Goodwin, and maybe even John Shiban were in charge. Shiban may not have the best scripts, but like Gilligan, they were fans first so they always sprinkle in references and keep continuity going in their standalones.
Mmm, it interesting to think about how The X Files might have turned out if Carter had left the showrunning duties in the hands of someone else. I am a big fan of the man and believe he is a better writer and director than many give credit for, but it has to be asked, how would another writer handled the mythology the longer the show went on. Would it have become as convoluted and confusing as it ended up becoming?
DeleteBy the way, after "Paper Clip" and now this episode, I really think it would make more sense if Samantha was in fact the child of Smoking Man and Mrs. Mulder. That's why Bill Mulder gave away Samantha to the Syndicate instead of Fox because she wasn't really his daughter. Though it can't be that because I know Spender and Mulder are half-brothers because of the "William" episode. I suppose thats what I get for watching several out of order back when I first became a fan.
ReplyDeleteOr else maybe Bill just assumed Samantha wasn't his child, when in fact she was, and I'll find that out when I get to Season 6...hmmmm...
I think that might have been the case, although given how twisted he was, I think the CSM may have believed himself to have been the father of both Bill Mulder's children.
ReplyDeleteI read your friend's blog entry over at Musing's of an X-File and had a bit of an epiphany! I always assumed Bill made the decision, so that's why Teena left him. But what she wrote made it sound like CSM had so much influence over the family that HE made the choice. Well, at least implied, which made me realize I had it backwards!
ReplyDelete