Written by Sara B. Charno
Directed by Rob Bowman
In tone and principal this story is
not that far removed from several stories from Season One, most obviously Born
Again. In that story, a nine year girl turned out to be the genetic
reincarnation of a murdered cop, whereas in this episode, the central series of
murders are being committed by the granddaughter of the killer. What makes
Aubrey work far better than that one is more stylistic matters than anything
out of the plot. However, the changes are mostly for the better.
This time, the woman at the center
of the X-File is Missouri Detective B.J. Morrow. Like the girl at the center of
the murders in Born Again, Morrow. has no idea what's happening. What the
writer does far more ably is give Morrow a far more interest plot and female
makeup. As one of the few episodes of the series that would be composed by a
female writer, this script has a rare female perspective that so many of the
stories lack. It does so by, perhaps not coincidentally, giving Scully a more
upfront approach to the case. Mulder comes up with the major insights---- that
the killer is the child of the original murder, and figures out who the
potential victim is. But it's Scully who comes up with the equally advanced
leaps that B.J. is having an affair with a boss, and that B.J. is pregnant as a result. It's a bit of feminine
intuition that Scully will begin to develop and will become more pronounced as
the series progresses.
It also helps matter that the crime
itself is more intriguing than we've had for awhile. Linking an X-File back to
an old FBI case is a trick the series has tried before, but it works a lot
better because of the imagery. We 'see' the murders of the FBI agents in the
40's, we see the crime scenes as they emerge both past and present, and let's
be honest--- having the word 'sister'
carved into your chest is a far better visual than having 'He is One' written
on your back in magic marker. Some of the story's revelations would seem cliché
if they'd been done in another episode, but seeing them done here is painful
because Morrow is such a sympathetic character, we don't want her to be a
victim of the story. As frightening as it when Morrow goes after Mrs. Thibedaux
and Cokely with the same kind of weapon her father used, its frightening, but
we're a little resentful of the story emphasizing plot over character.
The guest cast is far more able
than they've been in awhile. Deborah Strang's performance as Morrow is one of
the high points of Season 2, as she undergoes a complete and utter breakdown
from an untenable position at work that quickly unfolds into a literally
nightmarish insanity. Also extremely good is Morgan Woodward as the man who
committed the series of murders half a century earlier, and who still seems to
be a threat even chained to an oxygen tank. Future Emmy winner Terry O'Quinn
demonstrates his talent by giving his most understated performance for
Ten-Thirteen (and the simplest)
This isn't a perfect episode by any
means. The genetic predisposition that Morrow has is supposedly turned on by
her pregnancy never explains how she started committing this new set of murders
without anybody noticing them, and the two women who've been killed get
particularly short shrift by the murders half a century earlier. And Tilman
seems a lot less of a character and something of a plot device--- something
that Morrow can react of. (It gives him
a little more dimension than most of the cops Mulder and Scully end up dealing
with, but not much more. But it has an eerie, hazy quality that make it far
more engaging than the last few episodes we've seen. It's a shame that Charno
would only write one more script for the series--- she seemed to have a better
grasp of what X-Files then some of
the other writers would.
My Score: 4 Stars.
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