Case 03, File 08: Oubliette

AKA: It Means A Room That Only Has Access Via A Trapdoor, Okay?

Mulder's sister having been abducted is a huge part of his character, but it's one that doesn't seem to come up much. That's not a complaint, nothing is more irritating than a character who feels the need to spout off their character traits every few scenes, but it's just something that winds up totally downplayed. That's healthy for the show, since it means the moments where it comes out feel natural and real, and it often functions as background motivation for some of Mulder's obsessions.

Case 03, File 07: The Walk

AKA: I Guess They Briefly Say "The Walk" At One Point So That Title Is Okay?

I mentioned during The List that the "Revenge from beyond the grave" story is basically a template for The X-Files, and one that doesn't necessarily require the person seeking vengeance to be dead. The basic plot template can be grafted onto a lot of settings, characters and motivations. That's not a criticism, the show has 200+ episodes to fill and it's gotta lean on something. It all just boils down to how interesting the episode's characters and motivations are.

Case 03, File 06: 2Shy

AKA: Let The Right Fat Vampire In

The X-Files is usually, if we're being honest, a show with a lot of female empowerment motifs. Scully is never talked down to by Mulder (at least when it's actually Mulder, and he's in his right mind) and she's honestly a lot tougher than he is. Mulder may have 9 inches on Scully, but if the shit is about to go down, Scully is the one I want watching my back. I normally feel like this stuff goes without saying, but it only feels like it needs to be verbalized with the show kind of fails to live up to it.

Case 03, File 05: The List

AKA: Orange Is The New Dish Best Served Cold

You know, when I first entered the second season, I assumed The X-Files would leave the 'Revenge From Beyond The Grave" in the first season, but more and more I've found that to not be true. And I think I know why; They're easy to write and produce. They basically function like X-Files madlibs; You have your basic structure, you just come up with your hook and your reason for revenge, and you can knock the script out in a week. Unfortunately this means they start to feel a little samey after a while.

Case 03, File 04: Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose

AKA: How To Psychically Save A Life

Addressing death and mourning is always going to be difficult in the context of a TV show, especially a show that isn't geared to give those issues the weight they deserve. I'm already not the biggest fan of The Office, but I found the bird funeral in Grief Counseling exceptionally cloying and the less said about How I Met Your Mother's attempt to make us feel grief in the final season, the better. But, when a show does it right, it becomes legendary, like Scrubs' My Old Lady, Buffy's The Body and, indeed, Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose.

Case 03, File 03: D.P.O.

AKA: 'Electric Slackers' Would Be A Good Name For A Rock Band

I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: One of the things that makes The X-Files so lasting is that, for the most part, it was pretty unstuck in time. It was a show that was at the pinnacle of cultural relevance at the time, but never really tapped into the cultural mentality of the time the way Seinfeld did. But that doesn't mean it can't be influenced by the way the culture was feeling at the time, and thereby tap into the zeitgeist, even accidentally.

Case 03, File 02: Paperclip

AKA: Oh, So That's Where All The Plot Went

I said in the last couple reviews that a lot of my estimation of the previous two episodes depends on how it resolves. That wasn't me being facetious for the sake of my own amusement, several details about the resolution to this little trilogy had escaped my memory. I am not perfect, and as I've indicated several times, the Mythology Episodes aren't usually the ones that make this my favorite show of all time, so they sometimes fade a bit. Which is a shame, because some of them are legitimately awesome.