The X-Files revival continues to truck along, drawing in big ratings -- at least by today's standards -- both in live broadcasts (that's another word for first run) and streaming. This is good news for fans, who likely want more seasons in the future, and studio executives, who want to make more money off a long-coveted franchise.
The season debuted with a return to the alien conspiracy, and promises to revisit the spaceman for the season finale. In between? We've got the monster-of-the-week shows, baby, which fans long consider the best episodes The X-Files had to offer, myself included.
Episode 2, AKA Founder's Mutation, is a classic X-Files one-off, dealing with genetically modified children, some of which possess superhuman abilities. I admit, I felt like I was back in the 90s as Mulder and Scully dealt with government interference while trying to unlock the episode's mystery. It was nothing overly new, but it was entertaining.
The best moments in Founder's Mutation, however, don't deal with the main plot, but with Mulder and Scully and their baby, which they put up for adoption at the end of the original series' run. The episode doesn't dwell too long on this, but the characters get to explore the "what if?" of not giving up William, and the results are emotional and tragic. These sequences are great TV.
Episode 3, AKA Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Creature, is nothing short of genius television. Why? Because writer/director Darin Morgan, he who crafted Jose Chung's From Outer Space, War of the Coprophages, and many more great -- and funny -- X-Files episodes, is back! And that means The X-Files gets to have a little fun with itself.
There are so many great moments in this episode, moments that have fun with where the show fits into the modern world (Mulder has a "fight" with a camera app) and with the characters and where they're at now. It's brilliant, witty and, at times, poignant stuff. And yes, it ranks up there with the best of the stand-alone episodes.
Oh, and Scully gets to be sexy. 'Nuff said.
Keep 'em coming, Fox. Keep 'em coming.
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