"Go, Soul, the body's guest,
Upon a thankless arrant:
Fear not to touch the best,
The Truth shall be thy warrant:"
-- Sir Walter Raleigh, "The Lie"
A Kaddish is a Jewish prayer for the dead. The opening sequence, a Jewish funeral set in Brooklyn, provides the backdrop for this week's episode. "Kaddish" is the second offering this season from the pen of Executive Producer Howard Gordon, following the eminently forgettable "Teliko." Like "Teliko," "Kaddish" draws its premise from the legend of a culture that is unknown to many in the viewing audience. From an educational standpoint, then, "Kaddish" was an educational success. From an entertainment view, it was less than enthralling. This looked very much like what I call a "filler" episode: do a little research on some culture's legends, whip up a paint-by-the-numbers episode, make the culture sympathetic and use this episode to fill the gap between good episodes.
One can always tell the filler episodes because Mulder and Scully seem to be moving along at a snail's pace, and their interaction is strained, not natural. The obligatory Scully Rational Explanation (SRE) is usually ludicrous at best and laughable at worst. Finally, Kim Manners normally draws the short straw and gets the directing assignments for these episodes. ;-)
There are some good things I can say about this episode. For starters, Gordon did not get preachy about the persecution that the Jews as a people have suffered. There was only one mention of a concentration/death camp, and that was inconsequential to the story. The episode didn't espouse the evils of neo-Nazism with a heavy hand, and the motive for the creation of the Golem was love, rather than revenge. Incredibly, Mulder did not jump to the correct explanation of what was really going on within five minutes after he arrives on the scene. ;-) Instead, it was in the last 10 minutes when the truth finally dawns on Mulder. Finally, there were wonderful and moving performances by guest stars Justine Miceli and David Groh. As I watched the opening credits roll, I pictured NYPD: Blue meets Rhoda in my mind, ;^) but both actors gave credible performances as a protective Jewish father and his daughter who had lost her husband to violence spawned from hatred and bigotry.
Ms. Miceli was very convincing as Ariel. She displayed the right amount of concern with acquiescence when Mulder and Scully interrupted the Shivvah, and she maintained her poise and dignity from the opening sequence to the final fade-out. The use of love, of not being able to let go of a departed loved one, seemed to be very much in character. Ariel, despite losing her betrothed to the violent act of bigoted hate-mongers, bore no ill will towards anyone. This made it much easier to believe that love, not revenge, was her motivation.
Mr. Groh was sufficiently restrained in his righteous indignation that the resting place of the dead was sacred. Groh's loving, caring, protective father was also right on target throughout the episode, even to the point of taking the rap for the murders. So what was wrong with "Kaddish?"
The main problem lay with the principals in this episode. Scully seemed to be cold and calculating, almost devoid of human warmth. Mulder, on the other hand, was more animated than usual. Mulder pursued the religious angle for the explanation to the mysterious deaths, while Scully, who has shown glimpses of being a devout or at least practicing Catholic, never once considers searching for the solution in religion. And her explanation for the spontaneous combustion of Jacob Weis's Book of Creation was so off the wall that even Mulder gave her a look that seemed to say, "Are you serious????" M & S seemed to be disconnected in this episode. They just never seemed to be working together, and they had about as much effervescence as a can of soda that had been left opened for three days.
Mark Snow continues to paint the metaphorical canvass of the story's background with his music. There were several musical interludes that could have been straight from a book of Jewish hymns. These were particularly good in the scenes shot on the synagogue. With the possible exception of Mike Post, Mr. Snow has no equal in the musical scoring of television shows today. His work never disappoints, even when the episode does.
Jon Joffin's photography was quite good. The overhead shots from within the synagogue were effective. He seemed to catch just the right amount of shadows and darkness when that's what was called for, and the right amount of light when that was appropriate. He's come a long way since his first episode, "Home."
The direction by Kim Manners was pedestrian. The episode flowed logically, but it never seemed to get out of second gear. Using this analogy, I guess you could say that a pedestrian could out-pace the driver of this episode. ;-)
There were some things I just could not comprehend. Why was the last young killer hanged and not strangled like the others? Why in the world would the Golem try to strangle Jacob at the end, also using a noose? Certainly he was not to blame for Isaac's death. So why try to kill him? Was there some obscure significance to hanging in the synagogue of which I'm not aware?
But I think what put me over the top in "Kaddish" was my own twisted
perspective as I watched the climactic scene. As Ariel removed the letter from
Isaac's hand, clad in her white wedding dress, all I could think of was
I apologize. That was a cheap shot. But for me, the prime consideration
of an episode of The X-Files is the story. I've found that if the story
is good, then the good (and even great) performances usually follow.
Conversely, if the story is weak, then the performances of the show's stars
usually follow suit. Such was the case with "Kaddish."
I reflected back on some of the less appealing episodes of the last two
seasons, and I believe that I have an idea as to why these episodes are
generally less appreciated than most. In episodes such as "Teso Dos Bichos,"
"Hell Money," "Teliko," "El Mundo Gira" and now "Kaddish," the very premise of
the X-File itself is fomented within a culture which is unknown and strange to
most viewers here in the US. A good deal of the episode therefore, is spent
explaining the origin of the episode's Monster of the Week. The problem with
these episodes seems to be that Joe-Average-American can't really relate to
these legends and folklore from another culture which is so different from
ours. The writers of the afore-mentioned episodes spent so much time with the
background of the culture that inevitably, the characterizations of Mulder and
Scully are not given sufficient time and room to come up to the standard that
we, as rabid fans of the series, have set for them. In their defense, writers
Gordon, Vlaming, and Shiban should be commended for their efforts; they have
taken the risk of boring their regular audience (and have succeeded ;-) by
trying to expand the realm of The X-Files beyond the limits of late
Twentieth Century American culture. After the better part of four seasons,
the show is in need of new MOW story lines, and legends from other cultures at
least offer the promise of opportunities for new story lines. My take is that
someone needs to write an episode of this genre to demonstrate that it can be
done without spending an inordinate amount of time on the cultural background.
Hey, Vince! Are you out there??? ;-)
My Score: 4 out of 10