Case 06, File 08: The Rain King

AKA: Storm's Romantic Comedy

I've been referring to certain episodes in Season Six (and throughout the series frankly) as "Funny" episodes, and I suppose it's time I quantified that. While The X-Files is pretty consistently funny, the "Funny episodes" are episodes where the point is less to be scary or exciting and more to make you laugh, where the humor part of the series grows and takes over an entire episode. And while I do stand by my assertion that several of the last few episodes qualify, good lord does this one take the cake.

Our episode opens with a pair of character, Daryl and Shelia, dealing with the fact that Shelia announced their engagement on Valentine's Day, even though Daryl didn't want her to. Daryl's rather adult reaction is to get drunk and drive off. Before he can get arrested for DUI though, a bunch of heart shaped hail stones fall from the sky and cause him to crash. Six months later, the mayor of the tiny town where Daryl lives called in Mulder and Scully to investigate him. See, Daryl (who lost a leg in the crash) says that he can summon the rain and the mayor thinks he's using it to cause a drought the area is going through.

Mulder and Scully investigate and find that he does seem to be able to summon the rain, bringing it to an area where he's visiting and also onto Mulder and Scully when they follow him out there. But the weather station (manned by Shelia, who is no longer with Daryl and her longtime friend, meteorologist Holman) say that it's impossible. But Shelia offhandedly mentions to Holman that she doesn't like the FBI poking around and next thing you know, a twister has picked up a cow and launched it at Mulder's hotel room.

The next day Shelia confesses that bizarre weather patterns follow her around (such as snow at her wedding and a tornado that destroyed her high school during their prom). Mulder realizes it's not her that's doing it and after a couple of hints and some research, realizes that it's actually Holman who's doing it unconsciously, as an expression of his love for Shelia. Holman meanwhile hears that Daryl was driving drunk and it wasn't the weather that caused the crash, and the rain immediately stops following Daryl, ruining him.

I really like this shot, okay?

He decides to head back to DC but stops to tell Holman that he should confess to Shelia before he destroys the town. Holman, keeping up the pattern of adult behavior, summons a fog that grounds their plane and asks Mulder for romantic help (which Scully, naturally, finds very amusing). Mulder tries giving him some advice, but now Shelia has decided she's in love with Mulder, and after a brief confrontation with Daryl (who is after Shelia's money I guess? Does Shelia have money?) Holman catches Shelia trying to kiss Mulder and despairs.

But there's no time for that, it's time for Shelia and Holman's high school reunion. At the reunion, Holman confesses to Shelia, who is at first confused but after a lengthy talk with Scully (who is clearly actually talking about her relationship with Mulder) Shelia gets on board and she and Holman get together. And so the episode ends with Shelia and Holman living happily ever after, and even giving advice to our intrepid heroes that they should start boning too.

Of all of the Funny Episodes at the beginning of Season Six, The Rain King is the Funny-Episode-iest of them all. I don't mean that it's the funniest episode (it's not) but that of those episodes, it's the one that wears its Funny Episode badge the proudest. There's no attempt at horror or excitement, the last third of this episode is basically a very rushed romantic comedy. It's no surprise then that the episode is more than a little polarizing among the fanbase.

"Hey Agent Scully, you ever seen Twister?"

Part of the problem I think is that none of the characters are really worth rooting for in the secondary characters. Daryl is conceptually interesting as a garden variety dipshit who just leans into being a snake oil salesman (it's not totally clear if he buys his own hype, and it's not super important) but he gets very little screentime. On the other hand Shelia is a self obsessed ditz and Holman never seems to develop much outside of just being infatuated with Shelia. None of them really grabbed any empathy from me, which is a problem when the episode sidelines anything resembling tension and stakes to make their personal drama the centerpiece of the episode.

Maybe it would be a little more palatable if the episode was nastier towards them, since watching terrible people suffer is an ancient staple of comedy. But I think the episode expects us to like them and feel bad for them, and then hope for them to succeed. I mean, even Daryl gets a happy ending, with a lady so inconsequential to the plot that not only did I need I omit her from the plot summary above, you forgot she even existed until I brought it up. I honestly don't find any of these characters interesting, and more than one I found actively annoying.

The episode actually comes to life at the 2/3rds mark where we get the amusing prospect of Mulder, a single man who has slept with one woman in six years (despite looking like 1999 David Duchovny) giving romance advice. I love Scully's incredulity at it and Mulder is completely out of his depth. More of that would have been better, but my plan to include more of it (make it so Holman calls in Mulder and Scully so we can have them interacting more from the get go) is more or less a complete tear-down and rewrite of the episode, so I won't share it beyond what I've already said.

Unfortunately it's not to last, and while my little shipper heart appreciates how much Mulder/Scully stuff we get, it's mostly filtered through Holman and Shelia, neither of whom are interesting enough to carry this episode's third act. Daryl might have been, but the episode establishes who he is, builds him up a fair bit and then kicks him to the curb to focus on Shelia and Holman. Again, shifting to focus more on Daryl would require more of a rewrite, but might also tip the episode into being more in line with regular series fair, as the resulting product (focused on a charlatan rain dancer instead of a lovey dovey couple) would probably be much darker.

Scully is, as she so often is, A Mood.

If it seems like I'm spending a lot of time rewriting this episode in my head, it's because I think a lot of its failures fall on the script. The direction is fine (Kim Manners directed 50+ episodes of the series, he knows what he's doing) and the actors are all doing what they can, but the script is unfocused and doesn't play to the series' strengths. It doesn't surprise me this was a freelance script, as unlike many other funny episodes it doesn't even attempt pathos or seeing insight into our heroes, and doesn't seem to understand what makes the other funny episodes work.

I think the reason this episode is as polarizing as it is, is because a lot of it comes down to taste. If you empathize with Shelia and Holman, and want to see them hook up, then you'll love this episode. I on the other hand don't like them, so this episode tries my patience very quickly. It has some solid dialogue and some good "Mulder and Scully are mistaken for a couple" moments, but on the whole it's probably the weakest of the Funny Episodes of the series.

Case Notes:

• I recognize that Daryl is a shithead, but putting your engagement announcement in the paper when you agreed not to is also a shitty thing to do.
• Look X-Files, I'm from Alaska, you can't impress me with a town that you have to fly into on a small plane.
• The girl doing tricks in the background, totally removed from the substance of the conversation, feels like an Alexander Payne bit. I adore Mulder's abject joy at it too.
• Heh, the mayor mistakes Mulder and Scully for a married couple, love it. I do like that the mayor immediately takes it back when he's corrected and doesn't get mad or sexist.
• The TV station mistaking Mulder and Scully for the couple who won a contest is just a repeat of the same joke, but it's still funny and Shelia's breathless enthusiasm sells it.
• The reveal of how much Daryl has changed since we last saw him in the cold open is good, and both the costumer and the actor do a great job on selling it.
• There's a semi-cogent point being made about how desperate people latch on to any scheme they can to help them, but it kind of gets relegated to flavor.
• I like how clearly drunk and full of shit Daryl is which makes the moment where it works even more amusing.
• Shelia's continued affection for Daryl makes sense for her character but the bit where the weatherman basically confesses his feelings is a little too obvious.
• Scully trying to sleep at 3AM while Mulder is up reading newspaper clippings is good indication of their characters.
• The cow landing in Mulder's room is unbearably silly, even for this episode. The guy chopping it up with a chainsaw is much better.
• Mulder suggests the cow was aimed for him and Scully asks if he has head trauma. Scully, Mulder has suggested things so much crazier than that.
• The misdirect with Shelia is good, but Holman running up and saying how guilty he feels kinda gives the game away. Or maybe I just think that cause I know the twist.
• Shelia's actress is utterly incapable of selling the serious stuff and her backstory is more comedic than tragic. Or at least that's how it plays on screen.
• Mulder: "Agent Scully and I specialize in these kinds of cases." Scully: *pained smile*
• Holman looking shocked to find that Daryl was drunk the night he lost his leg is REALLY giving the game away, I had to check to make sure we've still got 20 minutes left in the episode (we do).
• Mulder figures out that Holman is responsible immediately, but I like that he actually has some evidence for why.
• Shelia deciding to pursue Mulder makes sense (he does look like Mulder) but I feel we're six inches away from a reference to the Friendzone here.
• Mulder snapping "Holman!" about the fog and Scully just sitting there stunned when she finds out Holman wants dating advice from Mulder are the two best moments in the episode.
• "I do not gaze at Agent Scully" is amazing.
• I love how horrified Holman is to find Shelia kissing Mulder, while Scully just looks bemused.
• Mulder and Scully watching and swaying to the song is cute.
• I like that the conflict is resolved by Scully going and being honest with Shelia in a way that Holman won't be.
• Daryl walking in looking for Shelia is kinda pointless, shouldn't he be like, taking credit for the rain hitting the town?
• Shelia turning around on Holman because him making the weather cause of her is romantic makes sense for the character.
• As always these reviews are supported by my Patreon. Check it out so you can support my spicy hot takes, like "This episode isn't very good."

Current Celebrity Watch:

Shelia is played by Victoria Jackson who was, at the time, best known for a pretty lengthy run as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Nowadays she's mostly known for going full in on the far right Tea Party movement from about 2008 onward. I'm not saying that's why I dislike this episode (I didn't like it from the start) but it certainly didn't help.

Also worth mentioning, Clayton Rohner, who plays Daryl, played a major character on Murder One, a critically acclaimed show I've never seen.

Future Celebrity Watch:

Dirk Blocker who plays the Mayor, is currently on Brooklyn 99 as Detective Hitchcock. I actually like Brooklyn 99.

Audio Observations:

Hokay, we got a lot today: In the cold open, Rainy Days and Mondays by the Carpenters plays on the radio when Daryl is driving. At the high school reunion, Don't Rock the Boat by Hues Corporation plays first (which seems like it's a little early in time to be period appropriate for when the actors graduated high school) and then The Things We Do For Love by 10cc plays (much better). And of course Over the Rainbow plays over the ending, which is just a little too cute for the episode's good.