Case 08, File 09: Salvage

AKA: As He Lost His Mind, Can He See Or Is He Blind?

The question of what makes a great, or even good, Monster of the Week episode is one that's been plaguing me these last few reviews. Obviously there are elements that need to be present; a decent monster, solid characters, an engaging script, good Mulder and Scully banter, but the absence of one of those elements doesn't make an episode bad. I think all of the good elements are less of a binary and more of a gradient; Lack of any one won't make an episode bad, but it will mean the other elements will have to work harder to make up for it.

Case 08, File 08: Surekill

AKA: Did Rob Liefeld Name This Episode?

The X-Files needs to strike a weird balance in how it spreads its time, at least in a normal Monster of the Week episode. We have to spend enough time with the monster to know what it's doing and why, enough time with Mulder and Scully to keep the plot moving and maybe get some banter, and if there's time we might want to have a plot running with the episode specific characters. With Mulder out of the picture at this point, banter has taken a back seat and as such there might be more time to develop episode specific characters, depending on how they want to execute an episode.

Case 08, File 07: Via Negativa

AKA: One, Two, Tipet's Coming For You 

The X-Files is not a show that repeats elements, beyond broad plot outlines, very often. Between a wide variety of weird monsters, odd writing and increasingly convoluted continuity to keep track of, it generally has enough variety in its story and setups that it doesn't need to dip into the same wells more than once. We are at this point however, 8 seasons and well over 150 episodes deep, it is inevitable that some episodes start looking like specific older ones, at least if you squint.

Case 08, File 06: Redrum

AKA: No It's Not Related To The Shining

As much as I mock the Revenge From Beyond the Grave plot setup, it's mostly a punching bag because many of the episodes that use it are pretty bad, not cause the series usually has a wide variety of complex plot setups. While The X-Files can have extremely creative monsters and ideas, it usually has pretty straightforward plots, and that's not a complaint. When you have 43 minutes to tell a complete story, you kind of have to fall back on easy to understand plot beats so you don't have to worry about confusing your audience. What that does mean is that the plots that are uniquely put together stand out.

Case 08, File 05: Invocation

AKA: Isn't This The Plot Of The Lovely Bones? I Never Read It

Writing a character on a TV show, especially a main character introduced late in the series run, is a little like writing backwards. Elements are added onto their personality and backstory as the story needs and become integral parts of the character or are discarded, depending on the later story needs or how fans respond to them. But there are elements of a backstory that can't be left to the random happenstance of random story beats, in which case you might want to develop a whole episode to introduce them.

Case 08, File 04: Roadrunners

AKA: I Gotta Make This One "Meep Meep," Don't I?

One aspect of The X-Files that gets lost on rewatches is that it was, for the most part, playing horror tropes straight at a time when horror was increasingly leaning on ironic mockery and parody (Scream hit right in the middle of The X-Files' 3rd season). But as the series wore on and the characters lived through more and more horror stories, it became inevitable that they would start to figure out when they're in another one. Or at least get a sixth sense for when they're getting manipulated.

Case 08, File 03: Patience

AKA: I Wouldn't Say The Man-Bat's Most Notable Trait Is Patience

Let's be honest, the real test of the Doggett/Scully team up wasn't going to be a Myth Arc episode. As important as they are to the fabric of the show, they aren't a big percentage of any given season and they aren't what kept people coming back. No, for Doggett and Scully to work as the lead pair of the show, they'd have to be able to navigate a Monster of the Week episode. And sure, that's easy to do when the episode is good, but they might also have to navigate some pretty mediocre episodes.