The X-Files Episode Guide: Improbable

Written & Directed by Chris Carter

Ah, free will versus determinism. The philosophical question that has plagued man since we climbed out of the primordial slime. Writers have been trying to thread that particular knot forever, and its probably not a huge surprise that such a massive debate has spilled over into television. (A few years after The X-Files ended, Lost would come into being, and make that one of its key cornerstones - and probably the shakiest part of the series.)

The X-Files has delved into the subject more than a few times, starting way back with Clyde Bruckman, an episode where the central character was convinced that the future was already written, and therefore action was pointless. The series has visited the subject quite a few times since, whether dealing with whether the patterns of a single day repeated over and over could change because of fate (Monday), whether or not a single could be the focus of events and somehow be a part of luck (The Goldberg Variation) or whether or not man could change his fate given the ultimate power to do so (Je Souhaite) It's a heavy subject to deal with, which may be the reason that the X-Files chose to deal with it strictly in comedy. The last word on the subject would appear to be Improbable, in which centers ourselves on trying to find a single pattern in the everlasting chaos of dead bodies, and centers around the ultimate referee - God.

Burt Reynolds gives one of the most delightful performances in the history of the X-Files. The X-Files has rarely relied on big name guest stars in its key roles - at first because it was so lowly rated it couldn't afford; and ultimately because the series didn't really need them. Here, however, Reynolds is perfectly cast, using his level of charms and well-aged veneer to look like a wise man who genuine seems to have seen it all. But despite all that, he demonstrates himself being a man who can here every part of the universe unfolding in a pattern that only he can hear. And yet, he seems to hold that the characters in his dance have choice in what they do. He wants the woman who loses her paycheck in the same slot machine every week to finally win, even though it only pays off the moment she is no longer in  the equation. He believes the serial killer who decides to kill can make the choice not to kill, even though he never does. And he believes that the FBI agents who come to the garage where he has been waiting for them to play a game of checkers are capable of realizing the truth without him having to point them in the right direction or even having to do anything to save their lives.

Its rather a shame that Chris Carter, the all-knowing creator of this universe, has been, in many ways, the weakest part of the X-Files. His mythology episodes have driven the series into a swamp from which it can't escape, and his standalones have often been the most awkward part of it. But every so often, he shakes it off, and delivers an episode of true imagination. Here in his final standalone, he swings for the fences, and for the most part succeeds spectacularly.  Everything in this episodes moves in a stylized pattern, sometimes very subtly, sometimes with a music that you can't expect.  From the shuffling of cards in the opening, to the movement down the hallway of the FBI, to the movement of the split screens. Its one of those gems that makes you realize the brilliance Carter some times had in episodes of true merit such as Triangle or How the Ghosts Stole Christmas. And what it does in an episode that plays like a brilliant comedy is tell another story that is incredibly dark. We have a serial killer who the script only refers to Mad Wayne, who seems to be driven by impulses that not even he can fully understand -not that far removed from the killer in Clyde Bruckman, who simply killed because he was a homicidal maniac.

 But unlike Bruckman, the murders are actually less of the point to the story. Reyes comes to the case under the impression that a series of deaths are linked because of a group of numerological patterns, something that Scully doesn't want to accept - until she sees the pattern on the bodies. The FBI doesn't want to accept the patterns either - they look upon her and her theories the same way Mulder looked upon the Stupendous Yappi. And the debate seems to be answered by the way that Scully and Reyes argue about it in the climatic scene in the garage, though neither seem willing, in the end, to accept that the observer was God.

All of this makes Improbable sound about as entertaining as an existentialist lecture. When in fact, its one of the funniest episodes since Je Souhaite.  The X-Files has been doing so well by delving back to its dark roots that its refreshing to know that it hasn't forgotten how to laugh at itself. It's so nice to see Anderson being whimsical again, after a season where all she's basically had to do is cry on cue. And its good to see that Patrick and Gish have a gift for comedy that could have served them a lot better had the series been willing to stop taking itself so seriously the past few years. And watching the episode take itself so lightly almost makes the final message - that God may be written to everything - actually seem comforting in a series that usually takes messages from the divine so heavily.

It's not entirely perfect. After everything we've seen for most of the episode, its a little hard to accept the final musical number as something that verges on overkill - though I suspect the pattern and stylization is part of the point of the episode. And the episode does resolve itself  a little too easily when Doggett shows up at the last moment to shoot the killer before he gets Reyes. (Do you call it deux ex machina when God is actually there?) Honestly, though, my main problem is that it smacks a little too much of Clyde Bruckman's resolution for me to happy. But these are minor complaints for an episode that is a lot smarter than anything we've seen in awhile, and a lot more amusing too. If this is the final say on the subject, its a good resolution for me.

My score:4.5 stars.