2.04 - Sleepless
There’s a new Handsome in town.
But before we get to that, I have to comment on the stock footage (I think it’s stock) this episode opens on. I LOVE it. This is not irony, this is true love. It’s grainy footage, wobbly VHS-era colors, and it truly is something I associate with the X-Files as a whole. There will undoubtedly be a part of me sad to see it go as the show slowly becomes crisper and digitally rendered through the seasons.
Anyway.
This cold open is excellent, just under three minutes long. It features a nice “bait and switch” with the fire showing up, only…it’s not actually there! Plus, we get to see our first glimpse of Tony Todd who was born to be bad, no doubt about it.
Next we see Mulder who manages to be the cool dude on the show despite tucking his t-shirt into his jeans, but it was the ‘90s, so cool was a little different. Mulder gets a cassette tape delivered to him inside a folded newspaper, which is perhaps a subtle nod to the real life Deep Throat slipping notes to Bob Woodward in his newspaper. Maybe not so subtle.
Special Agent Alex Krycek saunters in, cheekbones first, and reveals he’d already opened a file on the very case Mulder is working, that being the missing fire in the apartment where a dead man shows up.
Whether they meant to do it or not, the juxtaposition of Mulder’s floofy hairdo next to Krycek’s slicked back shining helmet does say…something… I’m not sure what, but I like seeing how different they are expressed visually.
Scully is still elsewhere, unable to work with Mulder directly. Yes, it’s because Gillian Anderson was pregnant and thus continually framed from the chest up. This plays a big part into the storyline we’re about to see in the next episode.
Mr. X makes his debut as Mulder’s newest confidential source. He calls to set up a meeting and then shows up to hand over some info about the Vietnam Marines Augustus Cole (Todd) fought alongside. He reveals that Augustus Cole - also called Preacher in the episode by his fellow Marines - hasn’t slept in 24 years. It’s legitimately a scary idea and casting Tony Todd was a perfect way to bring it to life. You can see the exhaustion in his watery eyes and hear the psychopathy in his whispered questions and hokey bible verses.
Alongside the creepy Vietnam-fueled paranoia and murder we get to see Scully show how jealous she is of Mulder’s new partner. It’s only a small moment but it’s memorable.
Further proving the casting director was great, Jon Gries shows up as Marine Salvatore Matola, yet another actor who wears his paranoia and fear on his skin. Most people would know him as Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite but he’ll always be the Wolf-Man from The Monster Squad to me.
After more telepathic murders and spooky goings on, Krycek says “I want to believe” and you can hear the smallest click as a key slides into Mulder’s heart. They have their first real connection.
I really like the plot to this one and the sadness in all the Marines. Tony Todd manages to make his character likable, scary, and sad all at once. There’s a lot more reading I’d like to do about Vietnam, and especially its use as an easy justification for “crazy” in narratives like this one. Kathleen Belew wrote a non-fiction book called Bring the War Home that’s about Vietnam and its role in creating a new wave of white supremacy, racism, and hatred within the United States. Not really relevant here but it’s a pretty interesting book.
Lastly in this episode we see Krycek delivering the Top Secret info handed over by Mr. X and tattling on Scully and Mulder to the Cigarette Smoking Man. It’s an early, earrrrlllllyyyy glimpse into who Krycek is (kind of) and a rare case of this show getting out in front of some plots that’ll happen down the line.