Red Mosquito

Posted: **Tue February 16, 2016 3:13 pm**

digster wrote:Well, that was.....something. As usual, even when The X-Files fails, it's an admirable failure; the show runs full speed into brick walls. And nice use of Misery is the River of the World by Tom Waits!

I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THIS

Posted: **Tue February 16, 2016 3:17 pm**

This was the most baffling episode of the season so far. With every other one, it's been easy for me to articulate what I've enjoyed and what's working vs what I've been "meh" and what simply doesn't work. Episode 5 (in which we once again find ourselves in a hospital for an extended period of time...was it just the easiest type of set to dress) tries some things that miss, like introducing doppelgangers of M + S so we can relive the interplay between believing and being a skeptic. I understand the common criticism of, "How can Scully still be a skeptic, with everything she's seen?" when it comes to things like vast conspiracies, shady government interference, and the basic idea of "we're not alone." That doesn't mean Scully will be okay with Mulder taking shrooms to try and talk to a braindead terrorist. What I'm saying is, they still could've been at odds without introducing the shallow young characters for them to play off of.

The cold open was masterfully constructed; you could feel the warmth between the two friends, the deepness of the main guy's faith, and those **slight** bits of hesitation that his mother thinks are there. That shot of the people on fire was also truly striking (there's lots of stories out there about people running around covered in flames on 9/11, but footage either doesn't exist or people don't want to release it; I don't doubt that this is a reference to that). But then again, I think we all knew where this was going before it got there, and I think the "they're just terrorists" angle is a bit bland; what if our vegetable wasn't, and his friend just used him as a pawn? Carter was never very good at character work for minor players, though, and that would've been hard to fit into the runtime.

Mulder's dream/trip was, on the other hand, just outstanding. I wrote a few weeks ago that I love how Darin Morgan cuts Mulder down to size in all his episodes, and this was another example of how it works well: the whole scene teeters on the edge of Mulder's perception of himself (suave, sexy, the master of the dance floor) and what's actually happening around him (the swerving cars, the nurses and doctors recoiling from him in the hall). I had heard rumors that the Lone Gunmen would be back, and I was worried about the form their resurrection would take; however, this was perfect, because (at least in Mulder's mind) they always saw him as the rock star he sees himself to be, so of course they're his crew at the club. Yes, I love the Tom Waits in the other part of the scene, but somehow the part in the club was more subtle with its cartoonishness, so I think it works better.

So, overall, an uneven episode (most uneven of the returning series). Maybe it was its ambition to try so many things that brought it down, and that makes me a bit worried for next week.

Posted: **Tue February 16, 2016 3:39 pm**

Geez that lizard man episode with Rhys was amazing. So funny.

Posted: **Wed February 17, 2016 12:50 am**

Well...that was interesting I guess.

Posted: **Wed February 17, 2016 2:47 am**

Posted: **Wed February 17, 2016 3:17 am**

spike wrote:
verb_to_trust wrote:Is anyone else worried thing will be left open ended with only two episodes left? I really don't want to be left pining for a movie to wrap up the mythology for the next 10 years or something.
oh i'm sure this is all building to another movie

Series creator Chris Carter tells EW that the finale is “the answer to the question posed by the first part of the two-parter [the season premiere],” though that answer doesn’t seem like it will be an easy one: At TCA, Carter confirmed that the episode ends on a cliff-hanger.

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/02/16/x- ... nale-promo

Posted: **Wed February 17, 2016 3:20 am**

Well then he needs to confirm plans to continue. Carters episode last night was a mess and I have zero confidence the finale is going to put a bow on the myth arc.

Posted: **Wed February 17, 2016 3:40 am**

Welp, that was a terrible episode. Not at all happy with the direction this revival chose.

Posted: **Wed February 17, 2016 3:47 am**

Duchovney has been way more Hank Moody than Fox Mulder throughout this but he went full Californication last night.

Posted: **Wed February 17, 2016 3:53 am**

That Trashman episode had some tense moments recalling the initial seasons. Overall it was okay but not the heights of the rest of this run.

Posted: **Fri February 19, 2016 5:04 pm**

I'll happily stand alone and say Babylon was a wonderful episode. I won't bore everyone with why I liked it, as I'm sure none of you really care. I just wanted to say that I was moved. And I think it was really well done.

Posted: **Fri February 19, 2016 5:23 pm**

durdencommatyler wrote:I'll happily stand alone and say Babylon was a wonderful episode. I won't bore everyone with why I liked it, as I'm sure none of you really care. I just wanted to say that I was moved. And I think it was really well done.

I know my post is long and I do mention some critiques, but I did think it had some great sequences.

Posted: **Fri February 19, 2016 5:39 pm**

Simple Torture wrote:
durdencommatyler wrote:I'll happily stand alone and say Babylon was a wonderful episode. I won't bore everyone with why I liked it, as I'm sure none of you really care. I just wanted to say that I was moved. And I think it was really well done.
I know my post is long and I do mention some critiques, but I did think it had some great sequences.

Your post was great, as usual.

Posted: **Fri February 19, 2016 5:48 pm**

Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.

Posted: **Fri February 19, 2016 5:51 pm**

tragabigzanda wrote: Ep 2 was pretty weak. I do like that it puts a new twist on the alien pregnancy narrative. But the Roswell flashbacks were lame, and I hated the guy who played the young doctor in the flashbacks. The conversation between his present-day counterpart and Mulder was stilted as hell, too -- poorly edited, poorly mixed, and both actors gave shitty delivery of their lines.

This was all in Episode 1, wasn't it?

Posted: **Fri February 19, 2016 5:55 pm**

Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.

Posted: **Fri February 19, 2016 6:06 pm**

tragabigzanda wrote:
Simple Torture wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote: Ep 2 was pretty weak. I do like that it puts a new twist on the alien pregnancy narrative. But the Roswell flashbacks were lame, and I hated the guy who played the young doctor in the flashbacks. The conversation between his present-day counterpart and Mulder was stilted as hell, too -- poorly edited, poorly mixed, and both actors gave shitty delivery of their lines.
This was all in Episode 1, wasn't it?
Ha, so it is. I watched all three last night through a haze of day 4 flu and max strength cold medicine, they sort of blended together. Ep 2 was with the mutated kids, right? I hated that one. I still didn't like the Roswell stuff in Ep 1, but overall enjoyed the ep...Though I guess it's less than "near perfect."

Classic b!

Posted: **Sun February 21, 2016 5:56 pm**

Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.

Posted: **Sun February 21, 2016 6:03 pm**

I don't see a dramatic difference in his style. He's always played Mulder in this same basic way. He's a bit slower with age, a bit more worn down given all he's been through. And all that makes sense to me. I think he's doing a great job.

Posted: **Sun February 21, 2016 8:20 pm**

Yeah, I've actually really liked Duchovny's take on the character this time. He's the same character, but he seems to take himself and the work a bit less seriously. He seems like someone's who's matured as opposed to the second movie, where he really just felt like the same character.

Red Mosquito

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