"To sleep; perchance to dream . . ."
-- William Shakespeare
"Dreams are the answers to questions we haven't learned how to ask." This insightful comment by Dana Scully serves as the backdrop for writer Vince Gilligan's second offering this season, "Paper Hearts." It is a finely crafted, taut episode, on a par with Gilligan's previous efforts, "Pusher" and "Unruhe." And there lies the only problem I have with "Paper Hearts." The story opens with Mulder having a dream wherein a red dot, similar to the sighting devices used by snipers, appears and leads him to the site of a missing adolescent girl. Mulder awakens and retraces his steps from the dream and actually discovers the body, right where he "saw" it in the dream. At the unearthing, Mulder realized that what he has helped to uncover is the fourteenth victim of a serial killer he helped to capture through one of his profiles. Mulder and Scully then visit the captured John Lee Roche (Tom Noonan) in prison who gives Mulder the identity of the discovered body, along with the intimation that one of the other two missing girls was Samantha Mulder. Eventually, by playing on Mulder's deepest weakness, Roche gets Mulder to take him back to Martha's Vineyard, where Mulder slays the child molester in a deserted school bus.
There are many things that were right with this episode. For one, I didn't notice any continuity errors or inconsistencies. The direction by Rob Bowman was impeccable. One of the most visually striking images I have ever seen on The X-Files was that of Scully in profile and Mulder in reflection, after the two of them interviewed Roche the second time. Roche was clearly seen still sitting at the interview table, head in hands, while the frustrated agents mourned for the last missing child. This was a powerful statement on how one doesn't need to say something to be a fine actor, and Bowman captured this exceptional moment with three actors perfectly.
Jon Joffin's lighting was consistently wonderful, from the darkness of the park in Manassis to the re-staging of Samantha's abduction and finally to the climactic scene in the school bus. The darkness of the soul of John Lee Roche was beautifully captured by Joffin, as Mulder searched for light amid the darkness that has pervaded his life since Samantha disappeared. It was a masterful piece of work by a fine artist.
This seems to be an X-ceptional year for guest star performances on the show, and Tom Noonan's John Lee Roche may have been even better than Kristen Cloke's Melissa in "The Field Where I Died." Noonan's subtle portrayal of a door-to-door salesman turned child molester was a little too believable for comfort. The cold aloofness of a killer reveling in the detailed discussion of his crimes starkly contrasted with the smooth-talking salesman with the psychic connection to the man who helped bring him to justice. Noonan was nothing short of brilliant. He is this season's Peter Boyle (an Emmy winner for 1995's "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose"), and an Emmy nomination is in order for his work here. He preyed on Mulder's weakness (his relentless search for Samantha) to his own advantage, and another child almost paid for Mulder's obsession with her life.
David Duchovny displayed great range in this episode, which is quite possibly his best thespian effort to date. By showing a wide variety of emotions, from horrified FBI agent to distraught brother ready to accept any rational explanation for the unexplainable, to angry and frustrated agent capable of physical violence, to someone who realized that he has been played for a fool, and finally to the resigned person who has one buried little girl still missing and unaccounted for, Duchovny makes the transition smoothly, effortlessly and believably. Mulder's quest has taken him all over the world in his search for the truth about Samantha and finally put an innocent bystander at grave risk. His determination to right this wrong was apparent as he scoured the graveyard of old school buses looking for Roche and Caitlin. The irony of a child molester using a school bus to perform his unspeakable acts wasn't lost, either. Gillian Anderson's Scully was once again the voice of reason crying out in the wilderness known as the Mulder psyche. Scully had very limited screen time in this episode, but Anderson, the finest dramatic actress working on TV today, still managed to have an impact on the story. She was able to convince Skinner that Mulder was right in his pursuit and also was able to see through the smarmy veneer of a serial killer. Her confrontation with Skinner after Mulder had procured Roche's release was that of a little sister trying to make excuses for her errant big brother, and her reaction to Skinner's "You let me down" was consistent with that of someone whose approval means a lot to her. This was just one of many excellent reaction shots captured by the unerring eye of director Rob Bowman this time out.
Mitch Pileggi's Walter Skinner was gruff and curt and perfectly in character for an FBI Assistant Director. His speech to M & S after Mulder hit Roche was that of a parent saying to his unruly ("Unruhe-ly"? ;^) child: "Watch your step" to Mulder and "Make sure your big brother stays out of trouble" to Scully. The intensity with which Pileggi portrayed an AD who is concerned with the image and conduct of his agents and the Bureau in general was dead on. This brings me to the writer. Vince Gilligan has once again provided us with an X-File that was "Spooky" ;-), believable, and finely crafted. The characters, while short in number were richly drawn and totally consistent throughout the story. Gilligan's script was rich with literary allusion, from the blatant homage to "Alice in Wonderland" to a much more subtle reference to James Barrie's "Peter Pan." As I watched Mulder follow the little red dot on more than one occasion, I couldn't help but think of Tinkerbell from the Mary Martin production. Seeing the "I Want to Believe" poster over Mulder's shoulder more than once reinforced this image for me. But for all the wonderful dialogue and interaction among the principals, there was something hauntingly familiar about "Paper Hearts." "Pusher" was about a serial killer with the ability to change apparent reality with his mind, a psychic manipulator of sorts. "Unruhe" was about a serial abductor who saw demons in his mind and who could induce psychic photography. "Paper Hearts" is about a serial killer who can enter the mind of his nemesis via a psychic connection to his dreams. Mulder shoots Modell, the "Pusher," in the head. In "Unruhe," he shoots Gerry Schnauz in the head. In "Paper Hearts," he shoots Roche in . . . the head.
Hmmm. I think I may have detected a pattern here. ;-) Gilligan seems to be so enamored of the human mind that I'm beginning to suspect that he's affiliated with the Psychic Friends Network. Maybe he's a long time fan of Dionne Warwick. :-)
This is not to say that Vince Gilligan's work is becoming predictable or that it's not worth watching. He has a marvelous grasp of the regular characters, and he writes some wonderful dialogue. His villains are multi-dimentional and always worthy adversaries. He has mastered the genre of the serial killer with the extraordinary mind. I found the scene where Mulder and Scully are digging up the fifteenth body to be a metaphor for the entire series: Mulder's relentless digging for the truth, his untiring search for Samantha, has expanded and touched his partner. "Help me, Scully!" was more than just a plea for his partner to (symbolically) dirty her hands. It was Mulder begging his partner to join him in the work that has consumed so much of his life. Scully's willingness to do so without hesitation or reservation is at the very core of the show. This was a brilliant episode from start to finish.
I just think it's time for Mr. Gilligan to branch out and write us an X-File that doesn't stem from an unusual occurrence in the area above the neck. I can appreciate the artistic beauty of "Paper Hearts" on its own merit. It rates with "Tunguska" as the best of the season. But from someone who has rated all of Vince Gilligan's efforts at 9.3 or higher, I offer these words of advice from the rock group Foreigner:
"No more head games . . ."
My Score: 10 out of 10