Written by Vince Gilligan, John Shiban & Frank Spotnitz
Directed by Kim Manners
Considering the generally
half-assed level of the episodes that we've been getting this season, its
almost refreshing when we get handed one which is more back to basics than
anything we've seen so far. I guess we could be thankful for it, if not for the
fact that 'basics' seem to be taking us back to Season 1 or 2 as far as the
story goes, with very little in the way of actual story.
Ignoring the fact that we're in California
for the fourth straight episode (I realize we've transferred to Hollywood ,
but that doesn't mean all the
episodes had to be set here), what we have is an episode that is more
old-fashioned than anything we've seen so far. It's another supernatural
revenge story a la Howard Gordon, but it has a little flavor that's all its
own. Indeed, the Gordon comparison is
fitting, since at least a couple of episodes dealt with this kind of black
magic. Mulder and Scully get called into investigate what seems to be a traditional
murder, and find out that there's a fair amount of old-school voodoo being
involved. What gives it slightly more of a kick is that it seems to be dealing
with the kind of voodoo involving modern medicine versus folk medicine, with
the latter being used to afflict Dr. Weider's family with illnesses that have
been extinguished from the medical community. It's an intriguing idea, and
lands us with a couple of decent set-piece which have been absent from the
series for awhile, MRI's of a patient's brain showing 'Theef', and the Dr.
Weider's wife being nuked in a medical X-ray. The idea that somehow even now
Peattie's folk medicine still has a value in the day of gene therapy is a
refreshing subtlety as well.
For the most part, the episode
works servicebly, and that's part of the problem. At this stage of the series,
rather than have some of the same old stories, we expect there to be some kind
of twists. And while the performances by James Morrison as Wieder and Billy
Drago as Peattie are mostly very well done, there isn't a lot of new stuff around
to be admired. Why exactly has Peattie decided that this man deserves to be
targeted should be a question that deserves a good answer, and when we finally
get it - well, this is where the story breaks down. The writers go to such
lengths to make it clear that Dr. Wieder had no choice in performing euthanasia
on a patient that was clearly about to die. And rather than deal with the
possible moral quandaries that this idea brings about, they make it so clear
that it was the only thing he could do, that any residual sympathy the viewer
might feel for Peattie is completely gone. The grieving father is no different
than any other rampaging monster of the week. The legitimate possibility that
her father could've saved her is swept away.
It's a shame because there are so
many interesting ideas in this episode. A lot of it has to do with Scully, who
manages to play a more involved role than she usually gets. One of the more
intriguing themes that has been present in a season that has been sorely
lacking in them, is how after seven years, Scully is finally starting to come
around to Mulder's way of thinking. While the viewer of the series might be a
little frustrated that she's only starting to catch on now that the X-Files (we
think) is about to ride into the sunset, it shows a level of growth in her
character that was mostly absent from television in general. She seems willing
to accept the idea that Mulder is probably right more often then not, and has
actually reached the point where she's actually being a little playful about
it. So when Scully admits at the end of
the episode that as an agent and as a doctor she would've agreed with Wieder's
treatment of Peattie's daughter, but can't help but wonder whether there might
be a chance that he might have been able to save her, it actually seems like a
revelation. It's a pity it comes in such a run of the mill episode, but still
its there.
There was no way that Theef was
ever going to be considering one of the great episodes in the lexicon, even in
the slipshod manner that we've been getting through most of Season 7. But the
acting within it, and some of the character development we actually see is
pretty good for the show at this point. One can't help but think that maybe
this is another one of those episode that would've benefited from a little less writing - have Shiban and Spotnitz really reached the
point in their stories that they are incapable of writing without each other or
Gilligan? Had they tried just a little less,
this episode probably would've at least have risen to the level of the above
average instead of just being normal.
My score: 2.75 stars.
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