X-Files Episode Guide: Wetwired

Written by Mat Beck

Directed by Rob Bowman

For all intents and purposes, Wetwired shouldn't work. First, there's the fact that any obvious fan could realize--- this is almost a straight reworking of Blood. Admittedly, it's a little more stylized---- the visuals are a little more clever, the music's a little more unsettling--- but because we're dealing with straight visuals rather than the cleverness of the digital readouts, it can't help but play as a retread.

Then there's the fact that we're basically pulling a straight removal from Anasazi--- one of our heroes is having a psychotic break. This time, it's Scully instead of Mulder, and by necessity that's less believable, too. Mulder plays so close to being paranoid that it seemed pretty plausible that he would be having a break from reality--- it was a relief when we learned he wasn't  psychotic. Scully going on a similar journey doesn't seem nearly as plausible, mainly because we know that this is being done deliberately-- she's a victim of whatever digital readout is being called the monster of a week. Consequently, when Scully pulls a gun on Mulder, it can't help but have less of an effect. Throw in the fact that the end of the episode Mulder ends up pulling a gun on X and calling him a coward--- a combination of Scully doing so in 731 and Mulder doing the same in Soft Light--- and one could definitely come away with the impression that this isn't a real episode, rather one of those 'X-Files highlight reels we get near the end of the season.

And yet, despite this, Wetwired is a very effective episode, particularly remarkable because it is coming from the head of the visual effects departments, rather than any member of the staff. Yes, it's not as clever as Blood in the delivery of the message, but in execution, it works much better, mainly because it realizes that the way to make this gimmick effective is to have one of our heroes affected by it. One could be cynical and say that they give it to Scully because it's her turn, but the fact of the matter is, we've already seen Mulder paranoid; its a good twist not to go for the obvious. It also helps that Anderson is good enough to make what might not seem believable become very potent and effective.

 And while the depth of her breakdown can't seem but a replay of Duchovny's in Anasazi, it plays better because of the effect. Mulder's distrust of Scully is a legitimate one--- she was brought in to spy on him. The idea that Mulder would work for the Smoking Man is almost laughable, given everything that's happened. And yet when Scully points a gun tat Mulder at the episode's climax, it doesn't seem like a retread as we realize the lengths of the abuses against her so far (and as later seasons will demonstrate, we haven't even begun to scratch the surface of the offenses) her fear is basically the same as Mulder's, which in its own way is very sweet (sort of). And in its own way, this reinforces the strength of the partnership in general. It's telling that given the choice of finding out who is responsible for these crimes, or learning the fate of his partner, Mulder chooses the latter. One can therefore understand his rage at X when he confronts him at the end of the episode---- the whole mess can be laid at his feet, and his reaction that Mulder should have been as dispassionate as he was pursuing the truth is almost worth gun in the face.

Of course, this being a conspiracy episode, everything has the standard ending. The parties responsible are killed before they can be brought to justice, all of the evidence is destroyed or beyond Mulder's reach, there's never even any clear idea as to what the purpose of this experiment was in the first place. But despite all this, one doesn't leave the episode with the usual bitter taste in the mouth--- because we get a revelation after all in the final scene when X meets with the Smoking Man.  The scene is played in such a way that we're not clear whether X is reporting to CSM, or they are meeting on an equal footing, but one thing is clear--- the Smoking Man's suspicions have been aroused. X did his best to cover his tracks (a necessity done because Steven Williams didn't have time to film several key scenes) but its clear he's not long for this world.

Despite its patchwork nature, Wetwired continues the string of brilliant episodes that we've been getting. Considering that Beck clearly had a better grasp of the series than some of the other people who've written for The X-Files this season, (but then again, in his old job, he'd have a clearer idea what worked and what didn't) it's rather a shame that this would be his only script for the series. Then again, if he'd continued writing, the visual might have suffered for the series. And given the show's nature, that would've been a much greater crime.

My Score: 4 stars.