X-Files Review 10×05: Babylon

Religion, mysticism, and drugs make interesting bed partners with our favorite special agents…and their younger twins

After a pair of Muslims blow up an art gallery in Texas, a couple young agents (Robbie Amell and Lauren Ambrose) go to Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) for an assist with their case. Agent Miller is hoping that Mulder can help them figure out a way to talk to Shiraz (Artin John), the terrorist who is still alive-barely-and in a coma. His partner, Agent Einstein, thinks even asking for help is a waste of time.

But when Scully offers Miller a scientific means of contact, and Mulder suggests a more radical approach to Einstein, the young agents reluctantly agree. Approaching the problem from different angles, they seem to almost view it as a competition. Mulder’s magic mushrooms seem to yield results, but when it’s revealed that Einstein gave him a placebo instead of drugs, everything is brought into question-especially what Mulder claims to have seen while under the influence.

How much can one take on faith? And where is the line between life and death? Big questions for a forty minute episode.

Radicals come in all forms-it’s a lesson that shouldn’t be forgotten

When the episode first started, there was a collective groan in my family room. Was the X-Files really going to jump on the Islam-is-inherently-evil bandwagon? Thankfully, it became clear very quickly that this wasn’t exactly about Islam.

“Wearing that vest, those last few steps…knowing you’re going to die. It must be so strange.” -Miller

“How about the victims? Imagine not knowing. That’s even worse.” -Einstein

“Where’s all the hate come from? He’s just a kid. A kid needs to be taught this hate. I wonder who got in his head.” -Miller

It’s about extreme beliefs.

No one can out-Mulder Fox Mulder, but holy skeptic Agent Einstein. Where Scully was always kind of exasperated with Mulder, I don’t recall her ever being so…angry and vile toward her partner. The strength of her non-belief was staggering.

Then there were the Homeland agents popping in for retribution. The terror threat against the hospital-reportedly from more Muslims (at least according to the man who delivered the announcement.) And finally the nurse who snuck into the room, turned off the machines that were keeping the bomber alive, and when caught, proceeded to rant about refugees and the UN.

While it was only the terrorists who took out a number of people, extremists were everywhere.

Words matter, always have, always will.

A big message of the episode was about where hate comes from. About how our beliefs-what we’re taught through life-can color our lives.

Agent Einstein is a scientist through and through. She’s a “distant relation” of that Einstein, and if science can’t explain it, she doesn’t want to even consider it. That’s why she gives Mulder a placebo. She doesn’t care about results so much as she cares about proving him wrong-proving her own partner wrong. Not because of anything they did, but because of what she’d been taught to believe.

Some people would argue that Shiraz was also taught hate because of his faith. Yet it was his faith as taught by his mother that made him not go through with detonating his bomb. (At least if you can believe that he visited her in her dreams as readily as he visited Mulder.) He was taught hate by extremists, but at his core, he believed in love-the words his mother said to him, the things he was taught from the beginning, mattered more.

And in the end, Shiraz responded slightly to Miller speaking Arabic, but he responded even more to his mother, to the voice of the person who taught him his core beliefs. That speaks volumes as to what really matters.

“You think anyone takes the X-Files seriously?” -Einstein

If they don’t normally, I hope they do this time…

Mirrors are scary-and funny

Bringing in Miller and Einstein as younger versions of Mulder and Scully was genius.

“I’m Special Agent Miller; this is special agent Einstein.” -Miller

“You’re Special Agent Einstein?” -Scully

“I claim a distant relation, if that’s what you’re referring to.” -Einstein

“Forgive Agent Scully’s impertinence. She wrote her dissertation on Einstein’s twin paradox.” -Mulder

“Excuse me, but I was definitely told you were a medical doctor.” -Einstein

“I am. But I’m also a scientist.” -Scully

“Because I’m a medical doctor.” -Einstein

“Oh.” -Mulder

“And you’re a profiler, obsessed with the paranormal?” -Scully

“That’s why we’re here, actually.” -Miller

I loved the reaction that this was basically destined to happen at some point. That there must always be two: a believer and a skeptic, and they will be forced to work in tandem. It was especially apt that Scully chose to work with Miller-even though her approach was based in science, and Mulder chose to work with Einstein-even though his idea was based in mysticism. As if the idea of working with their own mirror was absurd.

On another level, watching the treatment of Shiraz by almost everyone who came in contact with him was a mirror on society. The question is if it was a funhouse mirror or a less-distorting one.

Final Verdict: Is the plan to re-boot with Miller and Einstein? I hope not.

While I loved the mirror theme of this episode, it’s another instance that seems connected to nothing. And then there was this:

“Nobody but the FBI’s most unwanted. I’ve been waiting twenty-three years to say that.” -Scully

“How’d it feel?” -Mulder

“Pretty good.” - Scully

On the surface, it’s just a funny, slightly meta exchange. But what if the entire point of this disjointed season wasn’t to give us more Scully and Mulder as much as it was to pass the torch and re-boot the series with younger (possibly less costly) actors? Ones who would appeal to a younger demographic. Considering Amell and Ambrose are in the finale next week, I’m more than a little curious.

But beyond that possibility, my beef with this episode is the same as it has been all along-that there doesn’t seem to be a theme to the season. It’s been one thing one week and something else the next. As a stand-alone episode, this one was solid enough, but I keep expecting more from Carter and the X-Files. With next week’s finale looming, I still hope there is going to be some logical tying together of everything that’s happened, but I’m not holding my breath.

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

• Twinsies!
• Divide & conquer or are they actually working independently?
• Einstein is really bitchy. Not skeptical, bitchy.
• Woowoo? Really?
• Do words and ideas have physical weight? Interesting thought.
• Communicating with someone in a coma using an EEG? That’s cool
• LOL Miller pulling out the camera. Good call.
• Hate. So much hate
• High Mulder is funny AF.
• Dirty pool, Agent Einstein…
• But the woman from Mulder’s trip is outside the door. Interesting. Belief matters…
• So, if Shiraz visited Mulder (which there’s no good reason to doubt), is it really a stretch that he visited his mother?
• I hope I never have to remember what someone said to me in another language while I was tripping.
• Are they planning a spin-off with Amell and Ambrose? If so, I really hope she’s less cranky in the future.
• Owie, Mulder…
• And the bells are back. If there were reports of them from multiple witnesses, why can’t Scully hear them?