Red Musem

Oh this episode... OK, it has a couple very interesting, if out of place, surprises. But there were too many ideas going on here at once, too many red herrings, too many pointless additions, and too few explanations even by X-Files standards.



Once this episode swings towards the overarching storyline- not until near the end- it becomes interesting. I would rather Carter focused on developing that, rather than concocting a sort of useless story about cultish vegetarian walk-ins. He could still keep the bit that is essentially supporting small-scale agriculture and anti-hormones in cattle. It's amazing how a) ahead of its time this show was in addressing issues that are so big today, and b) how utterly West Coast this show is, and I didn't even notice until now. I think the difference is, the X-Files was never trying to convert you or anything; it never became propaganda.



That all said, there are still too many things going on, and even I am worried about losing track of them all. So in bullet form, here is a breakdown, so I can move on:

A woman works at a meat processing plant. I think she is too good looking to work here. She is Snow-effing-White. And they spend way too much time setting up this ultimately useless bit of information. I could really do without the graphic meat-processing stuff.

This woman's kid is called on the phone to meet someone, somewhere. He shows up the next day, having been 'possessed' possibly by an animal (never explained in any way) and with 'He is One' written on his back. 'He is one' of the kids being tested, but there really is no point in labeling him as such. No higher purpose/motivation is really provided. No obvious outcome, other than to point the kid out and scare him.

The Red Museum; nut-job vegetarians (yes, apparently we are all legitimately psycho) form a religion, buy a ranch, save the cattle, and are set up as possible culprits in kidnapping the kids. Oh, and apparently they have made up a religion for themselves and believe themselves to be possessed by enlightened beings, possibly animals. They wear white robes and red turbans, probably to keep themselves pure, and don't allow meat-eaters to enter their homes due to contamination from their impure ways. And they are preachy as hell. And their leader is a former Dr... for no other reason than to throw the viewer off track.

Some guy is creeping around in the woman's walls, spying on them, and videotaping them. Also never explained why, he just is. He's responsible for taking the kids; all being experimented on by a doctor with access to Purity Control. Great, he's taking specific kids and obsessive-compulsively writing a phase one their backs. Why? And what is he actually doing with them while he has them? Ie why do they leave thinking they are possessed?

then, just for fun, Deep Throat's assassin is involved too. Oh... OK.


[/rant]



What I do like about this episode, is you get to watch the Mulder/Scully thought process, building evidence and trying to make sense of the events going on around them. Mainly this is done in each other's hotel rooms. They don't know what's going on, so we don't know what's going on and I like it. Plus It's not about Mulder figuring it out from the get-go then spending the rest of the episode trying to convince Scully...

[/rant again]

SO! The scene I really want to get to: M & S enjoying the hell out of some ribs.



I mean, it's not just Mulder Wiping Scully's face- though that is an unexpected treat. Mulder's behaviour is so casual and familiar. Scully's face says 'I can't believe you had the balls to just wipe something off my face'.



This scene is great because it's also about M & S having dinner, being relaxed, smiling at each other. It's one of those in-between things scenes that we never actually get to see, but have to happen all of the time if they are on the road so much.

S: You know, Mulder... ribs like these, I'd say the Church of the Red Museum has its work cut out for it.



Their topic of conversation is still related to the case, of course. But it's a lighthearted attempt from Mulder to help Scully understand this concept of walk-ins.



M: According to the literature, Abe Lincoln was a walk-in. And Mikhail Gorbachev and Charles Colson, Nixon's advisor.
S: But not Nixon?
M: No. Not even they want to claim Nixon



A bunch of dumb rowdy teenagers ruin dinner. When Mulder interrupts the teenage son-of-the-sheriff and his gang when as they attack a kid from the Red Museum, the teenager tells him off with:

Dumb Kid: Yeah, well, why don't you run along with the little wife? You're going to miss the tour bus.

Hahaha... it's worth mentioning that this is the first time somebody openly mistakes them for a couple.



After the kids are chased away Scully makes this interesting comment:

SCULLY: Kind of hard to tell the villains without a scorecard.

Is that ever the truth. That kind of sums up this show entirely.

I do like the former rancher complaining about big battery farms; how they changed the industry forever and pushed small scale guys like him out of business. I also like how he scoffs at the safety of injecting cows with growth hormone:

S: But these hormones have been proven safe. They've been cleared by the F.D.A.
Rancher: Says who? The government? *scoff* pshaw... God...



He believes this hormone is causing the townspeople to become aggressive. Suddenly those vegetarians aren't looking so crazy after all?

The big secret is that the cows and test kids aren't being injected with growth hormones, vitamin shots, or anything... they are being injected with Purity Control to see how they will react with alien DNA.

OK, so that is interesting.



'Mulder, why is the Dr. we are looking for randomly in a small plane crash right here in this town that we are in? And why did it crash for no apparent reason?'
'Why Scully, how else do you think we're going to get our hands on this vial and this suitcase full of money; finders keepers right? Right?'
'Mulder this episode is getting out of hand.'
'Just hang in there Scully, it'll get better.'

Later, questioning the pedophile peeping tom, a light bulb flashes in Scully's head. When driving past, she recognized a man from somewhere, and suddenly she remembers; it's the man who killed Deep Throat. She excuses herself from the room.

When she comes back, she has the results on what's in the vial from the plane crash:



S: I just got the toxicology report back on the broken vial. The residual substance couldn't be analyzed because it contained synthetic corticosteroids with unidentified amino acids. That's "Purity Control," Mulder. (Mulder ushers her into the hallway)



M: Do you know what you're saying, Scully?
S: The man who died in that plane crash was inoculating those kids with antibodies derived from what may have been an extraterrestrial source.

Um... Scully what did you just say?? I can't even believe that came from her. I guess she has it in her to believe in aliens when there is proof after all. Mulder can't believe it and neither can I. She looks so ashamed as she's admitting it, too.



M: He's been injecting those kids with alien DNA.
S: No, Mulder, that was never proven conclusively.

Wait, didn't you just say... Oh nevermind.

She tells Mulder about the man who killed Deep Throat and some important things must flash through his head. One: revenge. Two: answers. Three: truth.



Mulder wants this man brought to him alive.

Of course, after cornering him in the (stupid, yucky?) meat locker then having him escape, the sheriff, understandably wanting revenge of his own, empties his gun into him.

And that's the end of that.



Oh, and the... vegetarian walk-ins... have something to do with something too... Yeah.