X-Files Episode Guide: Elegy

Written by John Shiban

Directed by James Charleston

In many ways, this is the darkest episode of the series in a very long time. A lot of it has to do with the lighting---- this is arguably the most shadowy episode since Grotesque.  Most of, however, is due to the subject. In that sense, the title of the episode is particularly apt---- this is one of the closest looks at death the series has done, even in another particularly grim season.

The actual mystery of Elegy comes not so much in the case as it is in regard to the paranormal. The idea of a 'haunted bowling alley' is a rather creepy one, but a lot of the interest falls away, the more details we learn. As someone who works very closely with the autistic community, I could find it just another TV episode with all the cliches about mental illness. I am inclined to be a little more forgiving about it, however, because a) the episode  was nearly twenty years ago, and b)  Mulder acts professionally throughout. He doesn't think the suspect Harold Spuller is responsible for the murder, and goes to immense amount of work to prove that he's innocent.

It's a good thing that he does, because one of the problems with the episode is that too many of the characters in the stories act in cliche. The majority of the law enforcement is cold and hostile to Mulder and just about everyone else from the get-go, and the murderer is telegraphed very early on, by giving the nurse in the facility the last name of Innes. (Anyone who watched ER would understand why this was done.) There's no indication or even a motive as to why she decided to act like this and start taking Harold's meds and go on a killing spree. Considering this is one of the rare X-Files where the monster is left alive, one wonders why neither Mulder or  Scully would bother, instead of idly speculating.

However, even though the murder mystery is something of a disappointment, this is still a pretty good episode, because it chooses to focus on a more interesting idea--- that of the death-fetch.  The idea that a disembodied spirit can be seen by people who are also dying is really close to tosh, but it plays out remarkably well, partly because of the sincerity of the performances and the level of the special effect. It also works because, for once, Scully's cancer storyline is utilized well for a change. Scully may be in the most horrible kind of denial about her illness (one could almost have a drinking game based on the number of times she says "I'm fine" in this episode) but when she finds herself face to face with the bodies of the dead, suddenly she can't lie to herself any more.

This episode also has the benefit of the return of Karen Koseff, the FBI psychologist we last saw in Season 2. It's a shame that this would be here last appearance on the program, because once again Christine Willes plays a character that has a rapport with Scully and the right questions about the real stress that she has in her life. Considering that she rarely opened up even to members of her own family (as we will very soon get more evidence), one wishes she would have talked to someone. The conversation she has with Koseff is, much like the conversation she had with her in Irresistible, one of the highpoints of the season, even though next to nothing happens. Sometimes that's the best level of action ---- when the emotional storms are weighing the greatest.

One could get frustrated with either of our heroes in many of the later scenes---- Mulder for his seeming insensitivity when he mentions that everyone who has seen these death fetches was dying themselves, Scully for remaining in immense denial when she learns about Harold.  But this can be forgiven, because both are reacting to the elephant in the room.  Considering how little the cancer arc has been played upon since Scully was diagnosed nearly eleven episodes ago, once is glad to see that for once it isn't being swept away like one of the errant nosebleeds. When Scully sees the fetch of Harold in the last minute of the episode, its far more frightening then anything we've seen in awhile--- not just because it's got good special effects, but because its speaking far more clearer than any purple prose about our greatest fears.

Saying that this is one of John Shiban's better scripts may not mean much, considering how low he has set the bar in previous episodes. But Elegy is a good episode because it demonstrates a level of character development and compassion among our heroes that many of the other episodes have failed to present. Like his other scripts, the story is flawed, but the emotions are true.

My score: 4 stars.