X-Files Review 10×04: “Home Again”

The X-Files went heavy on the emotion this week, and it raised some really thought-provoking questions.

When a city official starts moving homeless people across town to an abandoned hospital, no one is happy, especially not a mysterious figure known only as The Bandaid-Nose Man (John DeSantis). He is the one who “speaks for the people.” And he does it by sneaking into the guy’s office late at night and ripping his arms right out of their sockets.

But while Mulder (David Duchovny) is dealing with the mystery, Scully (Gillian Anderson) is dealing with some tragedy of her own. Her mother is in the hospital, dying. To make matters worse, the only person Mama Scully (Sheila Larken) asked for before slipping into a coma was Charlie-the son she hasn’t spoken to in years.

These two things don’t seem like they should go together, but in this episode, they are woven in such a way that while the reveal of the final image is slow in coming, it’s worth the wait. And begs the answers to a couple questions. How much is a life worth? And how many do we treat as if they’re worth nothing?

It’s time to see the softer side of Scully

I’m sure there are people who always saw Scully as “soft,” but I’m not one of them. I remember the Scully from the 90s as no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners, and take-no-BS suit-and-heels wearing version of real life badassery. She was what a lot of us who were kids at the time aspired to be like-though with maybe a little more color in our wardrobe.

Sure, there were peeks here and there to the more “human” version of Dana Scully, but it wasn’t until her mom died that her stoic facade really crumbled.

“I don’t care about the big question right now, Mulder. I just want one more chance to ask my mom a few little ones.” -Scully

It’s a strange thing going from child to parent and right back to child again. The death of a parent is one of the few things in life that tend to drive people to where they cling to the illusion that their parent can live forever. That they can be someone’s little boy/girl forever. That was part of the transformation of Scully this week. We got to see hints of that, and then watch as the strength of her persona tried desperately to tamp it down and do whatever needed to be done in the moment.

Until that choice was taken from her.

The fact that there was no question from Mulder that she should go to the hospital rather than stay on the case was fantastic. And that when she asked him to come because the end was near and he dropped the case to be by her side? It clutched at my heart and showed (more than anything else so far this season) how much Mulder and Scully still love each other. When Mama Scully came out of her coma long enough to grab Mulder’s hand and speak to him before she died, the pain in the hospital room was almost a palpable thing.

“Her last words to us were about our child-her grandchild-that we gave away. Why did she say that? Why did she have to say that?” -Scully

Bringing William and the guilt Scully feels over putting him up for adoption (even though it was done to protect him) into the episode was another wonderful step to building her character and showing us how the last thirteen years have affected her. Diving back into work showed she’s still tough-as-nails, but everything else we witnessed in this episode revealed that her intense work ethic and determination are largely a defense mechanism that allows her something to focus on-a problem she can fix-when other parts of her life are outside her control.

Monster, Myth, or Man?

This is the type of monster of the week that I love. We start with a shadowy image of the Bandaid-Nose Man tearing the councilman’s arms out of his sockets, and the next time we see him, it’s as a piece of art on a billboard. And then the art is gone-stolen. He’s there and he’s gone. Is he a monster? Is he myth? Is he an alien? Is he an avenging god? Or is he somehow just a man?

And regardless of what this creature who rides around in the back of a garbage truck, dispensing justice on those who have wronged the most vulnerable in the city, is several questions plagued me as a viewer. How do the homeless people sense him coming? Who is driving the truck? Is he created by the art? Or does he become the art? I wanted to know, and that’s what I remember keeping me watching The X-Files way back when.

“The Bandaid-nose man, he’s different. Tibetan Buddhists would call him a tulpa. A thought form. Using mind energy to will consciousness into existence.”

“Tulpa is a 1929 theosophist’s mistranslation of the Tibetan word tulku meaning a manifestation body. There is no idea in Tibetan Buddhism of a thought form or a thought as form. And a realized tulku would never harm anyone, let alone kill.” -Mulder

I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting the show to go to Buddhist mythology, but what really bothers me (because that totally didn’t-tulpas are insanely intriguing to me) is that once again, it felt like a missed opportunity to link this case to the over-arching story of the alien conspiracy. Was the Trashman (Tim Armstrong) one of the children in the alien DNA experiments? Could his power be creating thought-forms? It wasn’t enough to make me dislike the episode, but it is becoming increasingly frustrating.

Your privilege is showing

Holy hell, this episode hit me hard.

“The people on the street, the homeless, the street people. They ain’t got no voice, right? They get treated like trash. I mean actual trash. It’s like this. You throw your grande cup or your pop bottle in the right trash can under the sink: recycling here, trash there. You tie it in the bag, take it outside, you put it in the right dumpsters. You pat yourself on the head. You’re a good person, yeah? You did the right thing, you fought global warming, you love all the little animals. But Friday comes, Wednesday maybe, garbage man take the trash away. It’s not your problem anymore. Magic! But it is your problem. Cause it piles up in the landfill. The plastics leak toxins into the water. And in the sky. But if you don’t see a problem, there’s no problem, right? People treat people like trash.” -Trashman

Yes, they kind of whacked us over the head again, but damn…this was a much more powerful statement about society. The council members believed what they were doing was right. That they were helping both the homeless by relocating them-getting them off the street. But what they’re really doing (as Mulder pointed out) is being self-serving. Landry and Cutler want them off the street so they can gentrify the area. Huff wants them left alone because she doesn’t want them in her district near a school.

The entire idea of how most people “help” those in need is cast in stark relief in this episode. Those with enough privilege to help are really only helping themselves and then patting themselves on the back as they ignore the root of the problem. While much of this story didn’t make me think, that part of the episode will stay with me long after watching. And in my opinion, that’s the mark of a really powerful episode of fiction.

“You’re responsible. If you made the problem, if it was your idea, then you’re responsible. You put it out of sight so that it wouldn’t be your problem, but you’re just as bad as the people that you hate.” -Scully

Final Verdict: The balance of the case and backstory was great, but where is the damn conspiracy? We only have two episodes left!

I don’t remember The X-Files ever doing an episode with such a strong balance between a case and the personal stories of Mulder and Scully, and I’m not sure it would work as an every episode thing. But as a one-off, it was brilliant, with amazing writing by Glen Morgan. It provided a little bit of the much-needed look into Mulder and Scully’s relationship and their feelings on William. And it still contained the sassy banter that helps remind viewers why they ended up together in the first place.

“What? I wasn’t going to shoot the kid. And I don’t do stairs anymore.” -Mulder

“Mulder, back in the day, I used to do stairs and three-inch heels.” -Scully

“Back in the day? Scully, back in the day is now.” -Mulder

Nothing has changed, and that’s awesome.

…Except, things have changed. We have a six-episode season and the big story has been ignored since the first episode. Yes, there was a bit of a link in the second episode, but even that was treated almost as if it didn’t matter. Considering the possibility for further episodes is predicated on not only ratings, but also the availability of the cast, there is no guarantee of another season. Which means they are either wrapping the big conspiracy in two episodes (1 & 6) or they’re not going to give any sort of satisfactory conclusion to it at all.

Maybe it’s asking too much of Chris Carter and The X-Files, but many other current shows plot their seasons based on a complete over-arching story that binds things together. That’s what I wanted here, and as much as I loved this episode, I fear I’m ultimately going to be let down by the season.

Questions, Comments, Concerns, and My Reaction on Twitter…

I had to watch a day late, so I didn’t comment on twitter…I commented here instead.

• WTF? Relocation of homeless people? “Area Cleaning”? Hitting them with fire hoses????
• Band-Aid nose man pulls Cutler’s arms off in like a second. Band-Aid nose man is a badass.
• So…the killer hides with the garbage. Who’s driving the truck? And how did the homeless people know to hide?
• Mama Scully. But does that mean Scully’s going to be gone most of this episode again? The stairway filming technique (shaky fishbowl cam?) was odd unless they’re going to carry that through more in the episode.
• No artwork on the billboard when Cutler was murdered.
• Apparently Mama Scully only wants the kid she fought with (Charlie).
• As much as I’m not liking the whole dividing of forces, I do like the personal story interspersed with the crime.
• OMG, all these city officials are jerks.
• “Band-Aid nose man” speaks for the homeless.
• Was the art gone again?
• OMG, the flashback…was that them? It really didn’t look like them, but there’s no other actors listed in the credits for Mulder or Scully.
• Is Scully’s brother pushing to pull the plug? Okay, apparently Mama Scully has a DNR order.
• Ah. Someone stole the art while Mulder was talking to the city officials.
• Yep. Band-Aid nose man WAS the art. Knew it.
• And apparently Band-Aid nose man doesn’t like being stolen.
• So…did Band-Aid nose man become art to find/kill the thieves? Or did the garbage truck just show up because Band-Aid nose man “woke up”?
• Is it because her mom is dying that Scully’s fixating on William?
• So, the homeless believe the artist known as Trashman protects them. And Band-Aid nose man is back as art in another place.
• Trying to figure out Band-Aid nose man logic. Kills Cutler for trying to relocate the homeless. Kills Huff for fighting the relocation.
• Also…ewww.
• RIP Mama Scully.
• How did that guy not know he was being followed? They weren’t exactly subtle.
• Sewer people? Not sewer people. Didn’t really get a good explanation on them. Also, is Trashman one of the alien kids? Makes sense and would have been an easy tie-in to the conspiracy plot. Missed opportunity.
• Statue of the Band-Aid nose man? Very confused. So, is the Trashman the driver?
• Tulpa. Cool.
• They took the homeless people’s pets too? Seriously.
• Bandaid-nose man is now a smiley face man.
• And Scully is feeling all the guilt over “throwing away” William. (Still throws me every time she calls Mulder by his first name.)
• Are the real mysteries of the universe the ones Mulder searches for answers about? Or the ones Scully knows don’t have answers?