"You have to be an intellectual to believe such nonsense. No ordinary man could be such a fool." -- George Orwell
Orwell knows whereof he speaks, for the application of this quotation extends beyond the events seen in "Patient X" and lands precisely in the lap of the faithful viewer.
At first glance, "Patient X" appears to be primarily plot-driven; writers Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz reveal quite a bit about the central theme of the show's mythology. We learn, from multiple sources, that there are indeed extra-terrestrials, even multiple races of extra-terrestrials, visiting the Earth for some reason which has yet to be fully explained. While this is not an earthshaking revelation, it is significant. For the underlying message is that whatever deal the Consortium has made with one of the races of extra-terrestrials, that their "partners" are reneging on the deal. Carter and Spotnitz seem to be setting up the movie by depicting the members of the Consortium as intellectuals being played as fools by their accomplices. We can only hope that in the end,. the Consortium members will justly rewarded for their duplicity.
This season's Mythology episodes are now squarely locked in to what is expected to be the final payoff in June, at a theater near you. If "Patient X" is any indication of what we're going to see when movie marquees, we're in for one hell of a ride this summer.
It would serve no good purpose to rehash the plot of "Patient X." Regular viewers watched the episode intently and it wouldn't make much sense to the casual viewer. What I will say is that Director Kim Manners did a masterful job of moving the action in "Patient X" forward as if his life depended on it. "Patient X" contained more violence and gore than most episodes, but it was handled appropriately. This was, I think only the second episode that carried a parental warning as the show began. The terror of what happened to people within the Mythology was abject and disconcerting. You couldn't help but feel for the victims as their demise was depicted on the screen. The multiple venues and scene changes were brought together like the singular instruments of a symphony orchestra and blended together in a story worth watching more than once. For my money, this was Manners' best directing job on the series.
David Duchovny was superb as the now-skeptical Mulder. His low-key delivery was perfect for the rational approach the new Mulder seems to be taking. The best evidence of this was DD's speech while sitting on the panel at the Massachusetts Institute at the beginning of the show. His espousal of the government making us believe in aliens when that was what they wanted us to believe was convincing. Later, his remarks to Scully had the same impact. Scully's reaction, that of stunned surprise, mirrored my own.
Gillian Anderson did wonders with her limited dialogue. It was more her reaction shots that once again demonstrated why she won the Emmy last year. Her demeanor when meeting with Mrs. Spender was dead-on. She portrayed the empathetic victim perfectly, expressing her concern for Mrs. Spender's welfare should she be inclined to have the chip removed from the base of her neck. Anderson also displayed a knowing recognition in that same scene when Mrs. Spender talked about having to be someplace but not knowing where. The bond formed by these two women was immediate and complete five minutes after they met. Later, when Scully stares at the cluster of Cassandra's fingerprints on the window, Anderson once again displays a visage that says haunting familiarity. Finally, in the climatic scene at the bridge, the recognition of the depth of the bond between the two women is demonstrated without a word being spoken. Wonderful moments like these have been too rare this season, but this trio of examples almost makes up for past transgressions.
Veronica Cartwright almost steals the show as the paraplegic Cassandra Spender. In Greek mythology, Cassandra was a woman who foretold the truth but was cursed by one of the gods so that no one would believe her. So, too, does Cassandra Spender seem to be similarly cursed. Cassandra's unwavering beliefs in the eventual good that will come from humankind's first encounter with an extra-terrestrial species are consistent throughout. Her bonding scenes with Gillian Anderson wouldn't have worked if only one actress had held up her end. Ms. Cartwright was equally adept at displaying her emotions when meeting her hero Mulder. Even Mulder's brush-off comment about checking out of the hospital and enjoying the rest of her life failed to dampen her spirits.
Conversely, Chris Owens, playing Cassandra's son, had all the charisma of a three month old sponge. There was absolutely no excitement or concern in his voice when he was telling Mulder that his mother had disappeared. Owens portrayal of the Jeffrey Spender character was so flat, that I could envision him walking through an electric eye and having the door not open.
Nick Lea's return as Alex Krycek was a welcome addition, and he made the most of this opportunity. Lea alternately played the outraged soldier at the Russian massacre site, the desperate and heartless minion when he ordered Dmetri infected with the black cancer, the smug negotiator when talking with the Well Manicured Man on the phone, the passionate lover with Marita and the stunned and surpised victim when he realized he had been duped by Marita and was facing the armed WMM. I hope he hasn't learned this lesson about which head he should be using to initiate his thought processes too late. ;)
Laurie Holden as Marita was as stoic as ever. Her face appears to be carved in stone. I didn't buy her scene with Krycek in the ship's hold for a minute. What was supposed to pass as passion came off forced and unnatural. Her supposed terror as Dmetri aproached her in the phone booth wasn't convincing, either. Ms. Holden had two opportunities to demonstrate her acting prowess in "Patient X." She was the acting equal of Chris Owens in both of them.
Director of Photography Joel Ransom had his best outing since "Detour." The massacre scenes were beautifully filmed and framed. The foggy mists of smoke added to the atmosphere of total annihilation. The scenes in the Tunguska gulag were deary and dark, with heavy shadowing demonstrating the darkness that went on in the gulag. Ransom used backdrop lighting behind Cassandra when she first met Mulder to obtain the opposite effect. "Patient X" was a visual treat because of Ransom's work.
Mark Snow added some new riffs and exercised some measure of restraint with his background score. Of particular note was the nice blending of piano and violins when Mulder approached the telephone booth from where Marita called him.
The main problem I have with "Patient X" actually lies with David Duchovny's performance. Ironically, it is because Duchovny was so convincing in "Patient X" that I'm scratching my head. Duchovny made me believe that the character of Fox Mulder has completely abandoned his former beliefs and now accepts the story told by Michael Kritschgau. After all that Mulder has seen over the past four and one-half years, it is still incomprehensible to me that, based on Kritschgau's word and precious little else, Mulder would suddenly become the doubter that Duchovny is portraying him to be. This is actually a tribute to DD's talents; he's made me believe something I can't find believable. But this means that I'm finding the direction that the Mulder character has taken to be inconsistent with the rest of Mulder's development. This is obviously the direction that the producers and writers want to take with Mulder. I'm just not comfortable that Mulder would have turned his belief system upside down with so little evidence. It seems forced.
If there has been one consistency with the mytharc episodes over the past two years, it's been that when there is a two-part episode, Part I usually sparkled and Part II was unsatisfying, to say the least. Carter and Spotnitz have given us an opening episode that opened a lot of doors and gave us a lot of information about the nature of the Mythology. The opportunity exists for us to enjoy the best two-part conspiracy episode since "Piper Maru"/"Apocrypha."
The Mythology is actually starting to make sense to me. I know; it's a scary thought. I'm anxiously looking forward to more answers and questions in Part II. Despite the flaws in "Patient X," it's still about the story for me. This was one great story.
My Score: 9.8 out of 10