"On mounting a rising ground, which brought
the figure of his fellow-traveller in
relief against the sky, gigantic in height,
and muffled in a cloak, Ichabod was horror-struck
on perceiving that he was headless! but
his horror was still more increased on observing
that the head, which should have rested on
his shoulders, was carried before him on
the pommel of his saddle!"
-- Washington Irving,
"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"
"Leonard Betts" represents a team effort from the writing triumvirate of Vince Gilligan, John Shiban and Frank Spotnitz. This episode was selected by the FOX Network to be shown after FOX's inaugural Super Bowl game in the hopes of garnering even more viewers for their most popular show. In the Denver Metro area, this strategy apparently worked; The X-Files drew a 23 rating and 35 share in the overnight Nielsens.
It is hard to imagine a more violent, graphic episode of The X-Files than "Leonard Betts"; the TV14 rating was deserved. But so are the kudos to the Three Amigos (in deference to John Shiban's apparent undying love for all things Hispanic ;-) for a most riveting thriller with far-reaching overtones. This was clearly a case of three cooks creating a superior broth, rather than spoiling it. The opening trailer, where the title character is first decapitated and then rises from his "cozy resting place" in the morgue, was beautifully photographed and perfectly set up. The special effects throughout this entire episode were outstanding, and the distorted image of the escaping Betts, akin to that of a fun-house mirror, was merely a prelude of bigger and better things to come.
Leonard Betts (Paul McCrane) is an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in Pittsburgh who displays an uncommon medical knowledge and an even greater affinity for the detection of cancer. An automobile accident decapitates him, but he refuses to "play dead." His body has mutated to the point where he can regenerate lost limbs, even including his head. M & S investigate after Betts' body and head disappear from the morgue when an attendant is attacked and rendered unconscious.
Mulder is apparently preparing for a life in standup comedy after The X-Files, for he effortlessly whips off a couple of wonderful one-liners, and then displays some realistic facial emotions as he and Scully rummage through the hospital's Bio-Hazardous Waste looking for the missing corpse. I couldn't help but think of the headless horseman when Mulder emerged with Betts' head. After another of those "I'll chase after this clue; you stay in the lab and do the yucky stuff" verbal exchanges, M & S eventually track down their man, only to discover that he has died twice before. In a climactic scene as energized ;-) as any ever filmed for the series, Scully subdues and kills the murderous Betts with a defibrillator.
It is in that aftermath of this triumph that Scully faces her moment of truth, the realization that there is something very wrong physically with her. The final fade to black, set in Scully's bedroom as she tries unsuccessfully to pretend that it really isn't her blood on the pillow and that her nose isn't bleeding, is a powerful statement on human nature. The true beauty of this scene can only be appreciated when you stop to realize that there was absolutely no dialogue. Yet the incomparable Gillian Anderson is able to convey all this and much more through just her reactions. A Golden Globe just isn't enough.
David Duchovny portrays Mulder much looser than usual, and this rendition seems to be more comfortable for Duchovny as well as Mulder. I know I enjoyed the jokes and the less intense Mulder a lot more than the "angry young man" which seemed to be the way the character of Mulder was heading at the end of last season and the beginning of this one. The kinder, gentler (and wittier) Mulder is definitely a turn for the better. Duchovny turned in the kind of effortless performance that I've come to expect (and almost always get) from co-star Gillian Anderson. "Leonard Betts" displayed both actors at their finest, and for their largest audience ever. This was definitely the right episode to follow the Super Bowl.
First-time or occasional viewers were treated to what I consider Mark Snow's finest work on the show. For me to single out one episode and call it Mr. Snow's definitive work is like trying to decide which is Gillian Anderson's best performance. But Snow's score was so subtle, yet so much a part of the entire body of work that the episode would have lost a lot of its allure without it. The score was haunting in its texture, almost unnoticed by the ear. But at just the right moments, it grabbed you and took you along for the ride. Take another look (listen? ;-) at the chase scene in the hospital parking lot right after Betts kills Michele, and you'll see what I mean.
Director Kim Manners turned in one of his better works of the season. The pacing of the episode was just right and he coaxed superior performances from both lead actors and the guest stars. Director of photography Joel Ransom did a fine job with the contrasting lighting and darkness that was pervasive throughout the episode. Finally, Heather MacDougall's editing was flawless, as each scene moved smoothly through many difficult transitions. In totem, this episode was a superb technical achievement.
The guest stars, most notably Paul McCrane, were nothing short of wonderful. McCrane's portrayal of Leonard Betts spanned the range from a man who cared about people through his dedication to his craft to the sub-human monster who would attack his own mother to sustain his existence. Marjorie Lovett, as Elaine Tanner, gave a convincing portrayal of a mother who can see her son doing no wrong. Her response ("My son wouldn't kill anybody, and if he did, I'm sure he had a good reason") demonstrated her undying devotion to her son. Ms. Lovett was especially convincing when describing her son's childhood when he was beaten up by the local bullies when he was eight years old. She was "everymom," the woman who loves her son unconditionally, no matter what people say about him.
There were some flaws that were minor in nature, but they couldn't detract from the overall enjoyment of the episode. Scully and Mulder went to see Dr. Burks in College Park, Maryland and Scully reacted as though it were a five minute drive. In fact, by air it's 192 nautical miles between the two cities, and by car it's 243 miles. This was not your average day trip. :^) I also couldn't understand why Leonard, with his regenerated head, would get a job at the same hospital where he used to work. Of course, he did know that there was an opening for an EMT. ;-) But the chance of being recognized (by an ER doctor, nurse or intern) was pretty great. If he didn't mind being recognized, then he shouldn't have needed to kill Michele.
Almost immediately upon arriving at the morgue, Mulder displays his uncanny :^) ability to diagnose the supernatural explanation for the strange disappearance. This is getting to be old hat with Mulder. Just once, I'd like to see Mulder be wrong about what's going on in the first five minutes of a case. As predictably as the sun rising in the East, Scully, her MD degree firmly clenched in hand, insists that what Mulder suggests is medically impossible. But so was Eugene Tooms, and Virgil Incanto and Samuel Aboah and all the other Monsters of the Week she and Mulder have encountered over the past three and one-half seasons. When, if ever, is Scully going to start opening her mind to the X-treme possibilities? Maybe if Mulder were wrong once in a while, Scully would be a little more receptive to his off-the-wall theories. I know that sounds backwards, but it's worth a shot. ;-)
Finally, I must discuss the climax to the episode and its denouement. It was obvious to a series-long viewer like me that Leonard's pronouncement to Scully meant that she had cancer; in fact, since he uttered the very same words to the cancer victim from the bar, this should have been obvious to even a first-time viewer. But the subtle tie-in to episode 2X08 ("One Breath) where Scully is mysteriously returned after her abduction was a nice touch for us long-time fans. Thank goodness the clock didn't read 11:21 or 10:13. ;-)
But we know that Scully isn't going to die, don't we? My own take is that somehow Scully's cancer is linked to the "black cancer" from the recent "Tunguska/Terma" arc. That disease was induced through the nose, which is where Scully was bleeding from. I'm theorizing that this was Frank Spotnitz's contribution to the episode.
So, in summary, we have a wonderful episode with superior acting, excellent directorial pacing and a new creation: the stand-alone conspiracy episode. "Leonard Butts" pushed all the right buttons for me: it scared me, it made me laugh, it made me gasp, and it gave me pause to think. It was a ratings' grabber, and it showed just how good The X-Files can be, to borrow an analogy from football, with excellent performance at all of the team's skill positions. :-)
My Score: 9.8 out of 10