"It is not true that life is
one damn thing after another,
it is the same damn thing over and over."
-- Edna St. Vincent Millay
If one thing can be said about Fox Mulder's never-ending quest to definitively prove the existence of extra-terrestrials and that a government-sanctioned plot exists to conceal these existences, it's that no matter how many times Mulder comes <this close> to the brass ring, he is always thwarted. He can never get close enough, he can never produce enough evidence and he can never completely convince people of what he knows is real. It's the same damn thing, over and over.
"Max" is the concluding installment of a non-Sweeps period conspiracy arc (a rarity in and of itself ;-) that had its roots in Season One's "Fallen Angel" and which was picked up by last week's "Tempus Fugit." Max is Max Fenig, the nerdish, nebbish alien abductee from "Fallen Angel" who was killed in the crash of a commercial airliner last week. Scott Bellis's portrayal of Max Fenig in "Fallen Angel" ranks among the best of the series. Disappointingly, after piquing my interest so much with the re-run of "Fallen Angel" two weeks ago, the two-part "Tempus Fugit"/"Max" arc comes off as a waste of Mr. Bellis's talents. "Tempus" saw him emoting without vocalization, acting the scared rabbit on board the ill-fated Flight 549. "Max" saw him used solely as the backdrop for the overall story, his participation down to a few precious moments on videotape. The wonderful, manic, slightly off-center character of Max Fenig was reduced to being the star of a living will, a testament to his idiosyncrasies and beliefs. For me, this is an unpardonable sin perpetrated by writers Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz. They brought back a wonderfully complex and finely drawn character to be used solely as a plot device. It didn't have to be Max, and it didn't have to be any character who had previously appeared on the show as a victim of the aliens or the conspiracy. It seemed to me that Max was brought back and used solely for the purpose of evoking sympathy from Mulder and Scully. The death of Max made the tragedy of the plane crash personal for Mulder and Scully and served to provide impetus to their investigation. Knowing one of the victims gave them a personal stake in finding out the real cause of the disaster and conveniently led them to the conspiracy.
To their credit, Carter and Spotnitz do tie off some loose ends, and they do it with a good story. Director Kim Manners paces the episode expertly, in what I consider to be Manners' best effort of the season. The show never dragged, and it hung together well. One of the things about The X-Files that constantly amazes me is how a two-part story arc such as "Tempus/Max" can be directed and edited by two different people and yet the completed work hangs together as a unified body. The peerless Rob Bowman directed "Tempus" and the unerring eye of Heather MacDougall edited the episode. Kim Manners directed "Max" and the final product is the result of the efforts of editor Michael S. Stern. But somehow, it all came together, playing as one cohesive, non-stop drama. This says a lot about the quality of the people behind the cameras on the show.
The spotlight was definitely on our two stars, and, along with this fine story, they carried the show nobly. Gillian Anderson once again shows why she's the best dramatic actress in the medium as she displayed some of the many facets of Scully. While Mulder was trying to explain how the plane went down to Mike Millar (Joe Spano), Anderson was quietly rolling her eyes at how this must sound to someone they barely know. Her genuine concern at the shooting and eventual death of Agent Pendrell was vintage Scully-in-charge, as she alternately barked orders at the paramedics and tried to reassure the mortally wounded Pendrell. That Anderson can slip in and out of these different emotional frames is a joy to behold. That she can do it so easily, so effortlessly, so consistently and so naturally, week in and week out is what makes her performances so artistic, so intrinsically beautiful to watch. There's no one even close working on television today.
As with many (or rather, most) of the conspiracy stories, Mulder is the fulcrum around which the story revolves. David Duchovny's performances the last two weeks have been solid and nicely understated. He didn't go over-the-top, he didn't lose his temper and get himself in more trouble, and he retained that nice edginess that spilled over into his witticisms. This season on Homicide: Life on the Streets, Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher) said that as a homicide detective, he speaks for those whose voices have been silenced. In "Max," Mulder takes up that same sacred duty, to speak for those victims from the plane. Duchovny's Mulder takes up the cause of those who died in the crash, and he does so convincingly. I believed that Mulder's prime motivating force in "Tempus/Max" was the search for the truth for those 137 voices which had been silenced by the conspirators. This was a nice change from his Quixotic quest for the truth about his sister.
Certainly, "Max" had its flaws. I think I'll need someone with an advanced degree in astro-physics to explain to me how this missing time thing makes any sense based on what we've seen. It may have some foundation in Einsteinian relativity (i.e., where you are makes a difference in your perspective), but I'll be damned if I can make any sense of it. The difference in editors was apparent in the "Last week, on The X-Files" segment. Last week, Scully shot once and hit the mustachioed man (whom I believe is listed as "Garrett" in the TV Guide credits) in the leg. In the re-cap, she shoots twice, missing once. Of course, Garrett manages to not only get to his feet, but he also manages to get away cleanly, without leaving a trail of blood to follow. Sure. Fine. Whatever. Whatever they're paying these mercenaries who kill for the conspiracy, it's not enough. Garrett must own only one pair of pants, because he's still wearing the same pair, bullet hole, blood stain and all, on the plane from Syracuse when he's trying to get the third piece of alien technology from Mulder. And I wonder what happened to the guy from last week who took Mulder out to the middle of Sacandaga (rhymes with Onondaga, the county where Syracuse is located, Mulder) in his small boat so that Mulder could go diving for more than quarters at the deep end of the Y-pool.
Last week, several theories were espoused about the meaning of Mulder's birthday gift to Scully. The explanation (or at least, the Scully version) turned out to be pretty much what one very insightful reviewer on this list offered. ;-) As Casey Stengell once said, "You could look it up." Scully's musing did provide one of the nicer moments of the show and gave Mulder a chance to once again bury the depth of his feelings for Scully under a facade of humor. Both aspects worked beautifully.
"Max" was the best second part to a two-part conspiracy arc since "Apocrypha." It was a solid story with many excellent moments, some new insights into the nature of the conspiracy, and with fine performances by all. I was particularly impressed with the performance of Chilton Crane as Sharon Graffia. Her coming to grips with her abduction ordeal and her devotion to Max and his memory were portrayed with a deftness that brought a realism to her character. And special mention must go out to the team that produces the special effects for the series. They really outdid themselves the past two weeks.
But I'm still disappointed that Max didn't get the screen time he deserved, that the character is gone forever and that somehow, I feel cheated about Max Fenig's return. "Max" was terrific episode that could have been great. It should have been great.
My Score: 9.6 out of 10