X-Files Episode Guide: Apocrypha

Written by Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz

Directed by Kim Manners

By far, the most powerful moments of this episode are the teaser and the last scene. A survivor from the naval disaster that was related to us by Johansen in Piper Maru is told from the perspective of a man in a hospital dying of radiation burns in 1953. His first-hand story of what was actually killing the man on the submarine is pretty potent, and it's incredibly well shot, but what makes it sing is the wonderful moment when we realize the dying crewman has told his story to a young Bill Mulder and a young Cigarette-Smoking Man. When you realize that these two men (and probably a young Deep Throat, though we'll never know for certain) were, even then, working so hard to keep the truth from getting out, we realize why Mulder's bold statement of 'You can't bury the truth' as the CSM pulls them (as we learn) inches away from getting the proof he's been hunting for can be met with a dismissive sneer. Of course, the truth can be buried. He's been doing for forty years.

Part of the reason this episode works a bit better than the last one is because of the Smoking Man's presence. Ever since the season opener, we've seen even less of William B. Davis than we have of Mitch Pileggi. So it's good to see him and his swagger back, his cavalier order to 'have the bodies destroyed' , even though his henchmen aren't dead yet. To seem utterly calm in the face of Alex Krycek, and to instantly know that it isn't him alone that's confronting him. Admittedly, the scene where he's chewed out in front of the consortium is a bit repetitive, but it's an interesting to demonstrate, just as he did in 'Paper Clip', how utterly assured he seems to be if he can lie to their faces.

Davis' presence will make even a weak conspiracy episode stronger, which is a good thing, because we're already starting to get a sense of the runaround with alien life, even though this new wrinkle is barely an episode old. We're at least given a theory as to what this black oil substance is, and even a  reason as to why it's been body jumping. But even now, its starting to raise questions that the series doesn't even bother to try to answer. How does this black oil decided when to jump hosts? And wasn't it a remarkable coincidence that the last body it jumped into happened to be just the right one where it needed to be?  There are some interesting possibilities raced by this creature (including the idea that you might not be that glad to free of its consciousness) but as will become true later, Carter seems to have no interest in any kind of consistency. By the time we see it again in Season 4, he and Spotnitz will have invented a completely knew set of traits for it.

Once again, its the human elements that make this episode work well, and most of it surrounds the shooting of Skinner. Scully rushes to the hospital and learns that the man who shot Skinner, Luis Cardinal is the same man who murdered Melissa. (And once again, you've got to wonder why the Syndicate is so scarce for help that they use the exact wrong people to carry out their machination, particularly considering that Cardinal, shot the wrong woman, who failed at killing Krycek and who only wounded Skinner when he was at point blank range.) The work of Gillian Anderson makes this moment sing as Scully finally comes face to face with the man who shot her sister, and doesn't have the heart to pull the trigger on him.  The look on her face as she turns away from vengeance in favor of a greater truth is very satisfying, as is the anguish that she feels when she learns that Cardinal is dead, again without any sense of closure or peace.

And the scene where Mulder gingerly thanks Skinner for his assistance is a powerful scene too, considering where their relationship was as recently as Nisei. The idea of Skinner becoming an ally is not something we would've even considered at the start of Season 3. It's a shame that the rest of Mulder's other confrontations don't have nearly as much power. When Mulder manages to literally beard the lion in his den (i.e. call the phone number of the Syndicate's New York office), again he manages to fumble the ball. John Neville again gives a masterful performance as the Well Manicured Man, but this time, it's used to far less effect. Again he seems able to give Mulder what he needs, and again Mulder doesn't bother to come away with more than crumbs

Then there's the last scene, where poor Krycek is found free of the black oil, locked in a missile silo with a UFO, with no food or water, and no means of escape. Honestly, when I saw this episode the first time, I was certain Krycek was toast, and frankly, given what would happen with his characters starting with his next appearance, I often wish Carter has just left him there. A fan of Ratboy I am not.

Apocrypha is a pretty good episode, but we're starting to get into an unhealthy pattern with these two-parters; we get hints of enormous, life-changing events in part One, and in Part Two, all the toys get put back away without much changing for the world or our heroes.  Mulder and Scully are pulled away mere feet from their goal, the guilty people are killed or removed from the picture. The human elements are enough to make up for it here, but there's starting to be less and less feeling, and more formula. And that's a combinations that deadly for any series, especially ones like this.

My Score: 3.75 stars.