Questions. Lots and lots of Questions.
The latest installment in The X-Files Alien/Government Conspiracy saga finds our protagonists investigating radiation burns which affected the entire crew of a French salvage ship, The Piper Maru, while the crew was attempting to recover a downed squadron of WWII fighter planes. Mulder is drawn to the case because of the bizarre nature of the radiation poisoning, which affected everyone on the ship with the sole exception of the diver. The episode weaves its way through a maze of flashbacks and world travel, culminating with the possession of Alex Krychek by the alien entity as he and Mulder head back to Washington to retrieve the encrypted tape from the ABC Trilogy.
In a particularly poignant moment, Scully is stopped by AD Skinner and told that "the powers that be" want to end the investigation into her sister Melissa's murder. Gillian Anderson, in one of her finer on-screen moments in recent months, reacts to this news with all the passion, hurt and despair that one would imagine upon being told such news. Anderson's interplay with Skinner usually provides some of the best dramatic scenes, and this one did not disappoint.
It is tempting to refrain from reviewing an episode which is the first of multiple parts. The analogy that springs to mind is that you wouldn't review the first half-hour of a stand-alone episode, so how can one review the first hour of a two- or three-hour episode? But the first part of a multi-part story arc is the set-up for the payoff, the final installment. From this perspective, then, let's take a look at "Piper Maru" as the set-up for this week's concluding episode.
Writers Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz have done a masterful job of picking up loose threads from previous A/GC arcs while skilfully bringing more information to the viewers. The threads of Melissa's and Bill Mulder's murders are grabbed once again and given proper attention. Both Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny get the chance to shine as they display the passion and helplessness that consumes them when these topics are mentioned. For those who wondered about the tape that Krychek obtained during the ABC trilogy, we learn that the tape was encrypted, but apparently Krychek has been able to decode the tape and sell its secrets to finance his own agenda. Carry-overs such as these are one of the reasons I enjoy the A/GC arcs so much. You get some information, but for every answer you get, two more questions are raised.
The questions that are raised in "Piper Maru" are almost too numerous to list. How did Krychek decode the encrypted tape? What was the significance of "Drop Dead Red" on the fuselage of the downed P-51 that was discovered by the French? What is the French's involvement in the Consortium's agenda? What kind of alien entity is running loose on our planet? It certainly isn't anything that resembles the being from "Little Green Men," nor the little greys from the ABC trilogy. It's not a shape-shifter, like the bounty hunter in "Colony"/"End Game" nor does it exhibit any of the tendencies of the gender-bender. It would seem to be an alien that is more like the one from "Fallen Angel." In any case, if there is an alien/government conspiracy, why do we have so many different alien life forms on or visiting Earth, and with how many of them is the Consortium in league?
The questions continue: Is Mulder the next person to be possessed by the alien entity? What is the alien after? Why did Commander Johanson pretend that he had a failing memory, only to stop Scully and tell her his story about the Zeus Faber. Is this story true? Can the Commander be trusted? Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (Ooops! Scratch that last one; I got a little carried away. ;-)
As a set-up episode, "Piper Maru" delivered on all levels for me. Questions and answers aside, the cinematography, most notably the underwater photography, was superb. The ominous red lighting in the Hong Kong restaurant was a subtle portend of the bloodshed that was to follow, and the interior shots of the ship itself, punctuated by the powerful beams from M & S's flashlights were effective in creating an atmosphere of intrigue.
The acting was first-rate, from Duchovny, Anderson and Pileggi, right down to secondary characters, Johanson and Kallenchek. Special kudos go to Nicholas Lea, for his chilling portrayal of the desperate Krychek. The new 'do makes him look even slimier than before.
The music was top-notch, as it took us from scene to scene so seamlessly that you almost didn't realize it was there. Effective seems so inadequate when describing this episode's score. I didn't really appreciate it until the second time I viewed the episode, and I really noticed how the score enhanced the action rather than overpowering it.
So, with all these questions, and sub-plots, how do I rate "Piper Maru?" Well, it did practically everything you'd want a set-up episode to do, and it did it so smoothly, so expertly, that it was almost perfection. The only inconsistency with the episode was with the alien who was inhabiting the submarine commander's body back in 1945, from Johanson's story. What happened to it? It should have "escaped" when the compartment was opened upon the sub's arrival at Pearl Harbor. Are we to believe that this alien either died or escaped into the body of one of the pilots from the downed squadron? Sorry; that doesn't wash.
The challenge to CC & Co. is now to conclude the arc with some answers that satisfy, rather than frustrate fans of The X-Files.
My Score: 9.8 out of 10