Written by Howard Gordon & Frank Spotnitz
Directed by Kim Manners
Yes, it's yet another conspiracy episode,
but this one has a much better flavor to it than the ones that we usually get.
And because of Gillian Anderson's lack of availability---- she was shooting a
movie at the time---- it doesn't even have the benefit of Scully. Most of the
mythology episodes are filled with the inevitable Carter purple prose, but this
time---- perhaps because Carter isn't the one who wrote the dialogue----- its
much leaner and fitter than what we usually get.
For starters, the first act has a
virtuoso six minute sequence where no dialogue is uttered at all, and the
camera for the most part is focused on a single man---- Walter Skinner.
Underutilized for the majority of this season, the writers have made up for it
by making Mitch Pileggi the center of the episode. And whereas last time,
Skinner seemed, for all the focus on him , something of a cipher, this time we
get a bit more behind the curtain. In Memento Mori, Skinner made what amounted
to a Faustian bargain with the devil himself---- the Smoking Man. Now we see
the payment come due, any even though its still vague as to what these people
are actually dying for, we have a better sense of just how dear the cost will
be.
By this point in the series, it has
become a level of trust that Skinner now has to be considered an ally of the
agents. The writers won't get message for quite a few more years, but for once,
the ambiguity works in our favor. We think Skinner can be trusted to do the
right thing, so the opening sequence where Skinner disposes of evidence of the
conspiracy's wrongdoings --- up to the point of his disposing of a body----
does come as something of a shock. When he learns about the death of the
detective, its a genuine shock to him (if not to the audience) because he knows
how genuinely complicit he is in this man's death. There's also genuine fear
when he realizes that his weapon has been taken from him, and he realizes the
machinations of the men behind the scenes---- it's one thing to be theoretically on the side of the
shadows, its another when they cast their nets onto you. And all of this makes
the absence of Scully far more relevant, the reminder of what he sold his soul
apparently wasting away with no chance of survival.
Mitch Pileggi gives a much more
arresting performance in this episode than he did in Gordon's other
Skinner-centric episode Avatar. The situation is similar to that of the
previous episode---- Skinner is being
framed by the conspiracy for a crime he didn't commit------ but different in
the fact that before the ambiguity never revealed any real answers to the plot.
This time, we know that Skinner is not guilty of the crime, but he is involved
in the murder nevertheless. And yet despite all that, there is a genuine sense
that he wants to somehow get caught, that if Mulder were somehow able to prove
it was him, there would be some kind of genuine relief on his part. One can see
that consequence paying a part in his actions for the remainder of the episode,
as he tries, to make right what he himself has done wrong. (In essence, he gets a taste of what Mulder has
been going through all these years, which you would think would make him more
inclined to see his subordinates point of view. Man, those writers were thick.)
Admittedly, the backstory is still
barely comprehensible---- the bees are back, and they somehow are carrying
smallpox, and what the hell does this have to do with an alien invasion? But we
are inclined to forgive the writers this time, because this time the
consequences are much clearer. It's one thing to be told that the conspiracy
will do anything to further its agenda, it's quite another to see them release
a group of killer bees on a grade school. It also features a rich performance
by William B. Davis as he exercises his
ability to have Skinner dance for his own bargain. We should be dissatisfied
with the climax where Skinner pulls a gun on CSM, but there is something very
emotionally appealing about the scene
where he deliberately misses him. We so very rarely see this man vulnerable, it
seems almost triumphant to see his hands shake as he reaches for the inevitable
pack of Morleys.
Admittedly, the last five minutes
of the episode are unsatisfying as, same as it ever was, it becomes clear that
the Syndicate has once again wiped all traces of their evidence away. And the
supposed shock that Marita Covarrubias is in league with the CSM really isn't a
shock at all---- Mulder's last two informants obviously were, it would only be
surprising if she wasn't at this point. But the fact of the matter remains that
Zero Sum this is a strong and well done entry in the mythology. It's something
of a shame that Gordon would walk away from the series at the end of the
episode---- if he had been able to continue his role as the series progresses,
maybe the mythology still could have been comprehensible, or at least
salvageable.
My score; 4 stars
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