X-Files Episode Guide: Hell Money

Written by Jeffrey Vlaming

Directed by Tucker Gates

Unlike the previous episode, which has a deservedly lousy reputation, this one has been maligned by most die-hard  fans of the series. It's easy to see why---- for one, strictly speaking this isn't an X-File at all. There aren't any real supernatural elements, and it becomes very clear early on that despite the trappings of the editing, there's precious little suspense as well.

Most of the episode plays as a strictly procedural drama, much like Grotesque. What makes it harder to take is the fact that we examine the entire thing from a remove that comes from being an outsider--- Mulder and Scully are clearly never fully comfortable around any of the participants in the drama, and the viewer is kept at a remove because of the Chinese dialogue, only some of which is subtitled. Once again, our heroes are met with extreme skepticism by their fellow law enforcement officers, but for once this has nothing to do with Mulder's bizarre theories. Detective Chao (one of the first truly measured performances by B.D. Wong on TV) views them with disdain because they are outsiders to a world with which he shares a common language but little else, and while they are just traveling in this world, he has to live in it. The fact that we later learn that he is himself corrupted by the unsavory elements of the story does not make his statements any less true.

Then there's the fact that the story at the center of an episode---- a lottery where money is promised in exchange for body parts---- is even more unsettling a concept than some of the so-called paranormal elements of the show. This continues to tap into a theme that has been recurring throughout the season of the supernatural being a cover for something far more mundane but no less horrible. The 'ghosts' that torment the victims of the lottery are flesh and blood, but the real frightening part is the utter coldness and corruption that surround the game itself, and how accepting the participants are, even when the bad draw costs them their eyes or their livers. When the game is finally revealed to be fixed, the outrage that the participants feeling is a frightening and angry, but when the American authorities lay siege, they run into a wall of silence that is even more frightening than the idea of the game. The consequences of the game are as frightening as any X-Files, but the fact that Chao feels no outrage about the game itself, and only that it is fixed speaks volumes to the insular nature of the game.

It's a frustrating episode in some way, because Mulder and Scully seem unwanted from the start, are dogged by their colleagues, and eventually to seem to accomplish nothing. We're also robbed of any real setpieces are spooky moments (with the possible exception of a frog emerging from a dead man's chest) to give us any familiarity. That doesn't change the fact of its effectiveness, mainly because we're almost certain something like this is based on a true story. (It wasn't). We also some familiar faces--- in addition to Wong, we also see the formidable cameo by veteran Chinese character actor James Hong, who has such presence that one could almost see him doing William B.  Davis' work,. And there is a very early appearance by Lucy Liu (so early she was still using her middle name and a still very present accent) in the small but vital role of Kim Hsin. At this stage of her career, she was still playing soft, almost maternal roles. And while the fact that there is a fair amount of dubbing involved in many of the performances, in a way this adds to the level of the disconnect, which frankly helps the episode.

As I said, Hell Money is not a popular episode, and probably wouldn't be, even if there were more trappings of the paranormal. But it taps into several overriding themes of the third season--- that of the supernatural being used as a cover  story for something far more human and horrifying, and that of the overwhelming darkness that has been pervading the show in general, even the non-mythology ones. While its never going to be regarding as a masterpiece, the fact remains that it's one of the more undervalued pieces of a very strong season..

My Score: 3.5 Stars.