X-Files S1E21: Let's get Mitched!

Editors' Note: On the rewatch of The X-Files, Lorrie plays the part of Sestra Amateur and Paige serves as the resident "expert," aka Sestra Professional.
 
Sestra Amateur: 

It’s Toomsday and Eugene Victor Tooms is at it again. Remember him from the third episode? He’s the guy – thing? – who goes on a killing spree every 30 years and can fit pretty much anywhere. Turns out Tooms is up for release from the sanitarium because our heroes couldn't charge him with murder, just his attack on Scully. That’s just what society needs -- a yellow-eyed, elongated creepy serial killer.

Back to him in a bit, 'cause it’s Skinner time! The upside of being familiar with the X-Files history is I know how important Assistant Director Skinner will be to our Dynamic Duo – in good ways and bad. But in his first episode, in which he is clearly being influenced by the Cigarette Smoking Man, he seems just like every other AD who is working against Sculder. He tries to intimidate Scully, who has grown a lot since the last time we saw her in an AD/CSM meeting. She stands up to Skinner -- figuratively, not literally -- and suggests he should have an open mind regarding X-Files cases. But Skinner doesn’t give her any wiggle room, especially with CSM hovering directly behind him. On a technical note, I hope the wardrobe peeps do something about the reflection in Skinner’s specs; you can see the whole crew in them.

Mulder attends Tooms’ release hearing. We see Tooms start to change, but he manages to control himself. Too bad the same cannot be said for Mulder during his testimony. The “pro” is he provides enough exposition to catch up old viewers and not confuse new ones. The “con” is Mulder ends up sounding pretty crazy. It’s a good thing most X-Files cases don’t end up in a courtroom. 

Scully’s late for the review because of her meeting with Skinner. For me, that casts him in a bad light from the get-go if this is how Scully’s morning started: “Hey boss. I need to go testify at a hearing to keep a man who attacked me from being released.” Skinner: “No, let’s talk about something you probably discussed monthly with other ADs instead.” So, of course, Tooms is released. He even gets his job back with Animal Control. Almost immediately, he is back to his creepy behavior, but he gets liver-blocked by Mulder. 

Meanwhile, Scully visits Briggs, the original detective, to see whether they can still build a case against Tooms. Remember how Briggs conveniently maintained all of the evidence from the decades-old murders in the third ep? I can buy that since he considered the cases unsolved. But now, Briggs miraculously mentions something he never disclosed to Sculder or even tried to follow up on his own: He pulls out a 60-year-old liver in a jar that he said belongs to his one missing victim. Briggs even tells Scully where he thinks the body is buried, and of course, they find the bones pretty easily. Well, that's convenient. But why would Tooms leave a liver in the first place? Wasn’t he killing people for their livers? Sestra Pro, I need more exposition! Scully has the bones examined and unofficially identifies them as belonging to Briggs’ missing person from 1933. 

Mulder follows Tooms, who is hot on the trail of a potential victim. Mulder falls asleep on his unauthorized stakeout -- that’s exactly why you need teams of two -- while Tooms elongates himself to get in through the sewer system (P.U.!) and the barred windows (Eek!) Mulder awakens and warns the family they may have a serial killer inside their house, but Tooms makes a not-so-clean getaway. Mulder is just not looking good in this episode at all. 

Scully meets up with Mulder on yet another unauthorized stakeout. They have a cute bonding moment and Mulder leaves to get some rest. What he doesn’t know is Tooms stowed away in his trunk. After he gets back to his apartment, Mulder falls asleep. Tooms gains access through the A/C vent, but instead of killing or hurting Mulder, he sets up the agent up so it looks like he attacked Tooms. It sort of works and Sculder are brought before Skinner. CSM is still silently lurking in the background. Do you think William B. Davis got paid by the word or the cigarette? Scully alibis Mulder, who uses science to prove he never attacked Tooms. 

Scully finally has evidence that Tooms murdered the man whose bones were found and they go to arrest him. But by now, Tooms has killed his shrink and is ready for hibernation. Man, those liver addicts have no self-control. Sculder determine Tooms will return home, but his apartment was destroyed and replaced with a shopping mall. Yes, in the seven months between these episodes, the contractors demolished a multi-story building, built a shopping center complete with escalators, filled the spaces with retailers and opened for business. Too bad road construction crews can’t work that efficiently.

Mulder finds the nest below the floor and Tooms non-verbally invites the agent to join him. Mulder non-verbally declines and a creepy chase ensues through the vent. Mulder kicks Tooms in the face, then starts the escalator. Tooms gets caught in the track, and well, I’m sure all of your parents told you what would happen if you ever got caught in an escalator. If not, there are some disturbing YouTube videos out there that will catch you up.

The next morning CSM finally decides to speak. Turns out he believes Sculder, but is that just about Tooms or about all of the X-Files? Mulder warns Scully that change is coming. Oh, don’t get so foreshadowy, Fox. 

Sestra Professional:

He's baaaaack. And he's heeeeere.

The team of Glen Morgan and James Wong created a classic X-Files villain and a blueprint for "Monster of the Week" episodes in Eugene Victor Tooms. And the show hit the mother lode casting Doug Hutchison, because he's so supremely creepy and does it with a minimal amount of dialogue. 

Very cool that a legal loophole brings Tooms back into the fray and the public since his behavior in the mental institution was exemplary and the agents' evidence against him -- 19 murders spanning nearly a century -- defies belief and/or common sense. Mulder's liver-extraction theory certainly leaves a bad taste in the judicial system's mouth.

Less cool that Skinner's first meeting with Scully, as Sestra Am pointed out, comes at the expense of an ongoing case. Walter cites their inconclusive findings backed by opinion -- "Maybe your mind has become too open." His charge is quick to point out Sculder's conviction or case solution of  75 percent, well above the bureau standard. He calls that their saving grace, she counters with a claim that conventional investigation may decrease the rate of success. No biggie, he's a quick learner.

Mulder knows Tooms needs to kill to survive, and he won't be sloppy about it -- at least not until near the denouement of the episode. Scully, who just stood up to Skinner, still winds up in some kind of verbal tussle with Mulder. "If you're resisting because of some bureaucratic pressure, they've not only reeled you in, they've skinned you." No, Mulder, they've Skinner-ed her.

So Mulder follows Tooms around town -- the mutant's hearing and seeing things in slo-mo, is that something yellow eyes do for you? -- and Scully goes off to rework the previous murders. By the way, the detective on the original case should be an X-File himself. There's no earthly reason why he should have figured out exactly where the evidence was in the cement, for if he could truly do that, he should have solved that one before now. That dude must have been soooo Mulder -- aka Spooky -- back in his prime.

So much meta for me in this episode from Mitch Pileggi's first appearance to David Duchovny's outtakes. A story I've been lucky enough to hear in person a couple of times, Mitch was brought in several times to test for the show prior to this episode. When they wanted to see him again for Skinner, he was pretty perturbed and let that show in his performance. That controlled anger ultimately landed him the role, obviously a more important one than in his previous auditions. Meanwhile, David's riffing on poor, poor Tooms for animals. "I use him to hunt mousse ... for my hair" and "Where can I get a jumpsuit like that?"

You're going to get sloppy and you're going to get hurt: Mulder hasn't slept for three days? By Sestra Am's own reckoning, he falls asleep twice during this one episode! Maybe because he's so tired, he tells Scully he even made his parents call him Mulder.

I think it's kind of a cool plan Tooms came up with to frame Mulder. Of course, he's no match for the G-Man, because that guy can figure out what's what just by finding a loose screw. Also appreciating how technology can utilize information from the original murders to point the elongated finger at Tooms now. 

You can get the next mutant: I totally concur on the ridiculous shopping center springing up magically between Episodes 3 and 21, but regarding the liver, maybe he was just saving it for a late-night snack? I had a fear of escalators long, long before this show -- guess my mom did tell me what would happen if I ever got caught in one. Chock up another solved and closed case for Sculder ... and this one won't have to go to court, Sestra Am. 

Guest Star of the Week: I didn't give it to Hutchison last time, although he definitely earned his paycheck in both eps. And another fine piece of X-Files meta -- the guy performed his final scene chasing Mulder through the duct nude, and that made Duchovny eXtremely uncomfortable and all too eager to get away from him. Perfect motivation, I say.