X-Files S2E4: Heeeere's Krycek: Expect Sleepless nights

Sestra Amateur: 

Nope, we’re not in Seattle. We’re in New York City where Saul Grissom is relaxing on the couch in his apartment, minding his own business. He realizes the hallway is on fire, calls 911 and grabs a fire extinguisher. It doesn’t do any good and the fire spreads inside the apartment. Firemen rush upstairs while residents run out in panic, except for one man with a creepy look on his face. Hey, it’s Candyman! No hook for a hand, but he does have a weird scar on his neck. The firemen don’t see signs of a fire but force their way into Saul’s apartment and find poor, dead Saul. So was the fire only in Saul’s head? Nice to know the resale value of a decent NYC apartment hasn’t been affected.

Sometime later Mulder picks up the newspaper from his doorstep and finds better inserts than coupons. Someone circled Saul’s obit and provided an audiocassette of Saul’s 911 recording. Turns out Dr. Grissom researched sleep disorders before his untimely demise. Mulder tries to convince Skinner that Grissom’s death is an X-File. Skinner says he’ll look into it then sends Mulder back to the purgatory that is wiretap duty. 

Mulder later gets a visit from an eager agent by the name of Alex Krycek. (I think I heard Sestra Pro’s squeal when I was watching the ep. She has a sixth sense about him.) Krycek tells Mulder they’re assigned to Grissom’s case, but since Krycek opened the file he considers it his case. Krycek shows some balls when Mulder fights him on it. Krycek: 1, Mulder: 0. Mulder covertly calls Scully and asks her to perform an autopsy on Grissom. Hey Sestra, who’s George Hale? (Mulder's nom de plume.)

Mulder ditches Krycek (Mulder 1, Krycek 1) and goes to Grissom’s sleep disorder clinic in Stamford, Connecticut. Krycek catches up with Mulder there and is a little perturbed, but Mulder has to concede since the rookie has the lone vehicle. Krycek 2, Mulder, 1. Mulder and Krycek meet with Scully at Quantico so she could discuss her autopsy findings. She says Grissom’s body showed he was exposed to intense heat but did not suffer burns, as though the victim believed he was burning to death. 

Meanwhile, Candyman has a reunion with Henry Willig, a man with the same neck scar as Candyman. Henry, who calls him Preacher, is being tortured by visions from their time in Vietnam. Preacher induces Henry into believe he's being shot to death by his Vietnamese victims. Krycek’s contact tells him about Henry’s unusual autopsy results -- Henry has 43 small internal hemorrhages but no bullet holes. Krycek 3, Mulder 1. 

Mulder learns Willig was a Marine and realizes both victims were stationed together 24 years earlier. The only other survivor of their group is Augustus Cole – Preacher – who is in a secured VA hospital in New Jersey. Well, no, he’s not. Turns out Cole tricked his doctor into signing him out. Cole’s doctor says they had kept him separated from the other patients because he somehow disrupted their sleep patterns. While Mulder and Krycek are making progress in their investigation, Mr. X – Deep Throat’s very reluctant replacement – insists on a meeting related to the case. 

Mulder ditches Krycek again (Krycek 3, Mulder 2), so Mr. X can talk the sleep eradication treatments that made Willig, Cole and their unit “better soldiers” in Vietnam. Mr. X gives Mulder the name of a presumed dead soldier so they can interview him. Krycek 3, Mulder 3. Mulder then retrieves Krycek, who has heard that Cole robbed a drug store and is hiding at a nearby motel. Krycek 4, Mulder 3. They join the local police, but two officers end up shooting each other while Cole gets away. 

Scully is typing up her report, and as usual this season, missing all the action. Mulder believes Cole is telepathically projecting his consciousness onto others, which we know is true. Krycek 4, Mulder 4. Mulder and Krycek head to 2 Jays Café – no, not TooJay’s where you can get a nice, thick, tasty pastrami sandwich – this place is more like a dive. They meet with Sal. He not only has the neck scar, but like Cole and Willig, looks like he hasn’t been sleeping. Turns out that’s the case. Sal, who hasn’t gotten a wink in 24 years, tells them the horrifying history of their squad’s murderous actions. Sal says Grissom had a partner named Dr. Francis Girardi. Scully learned Girardi is en route to New York for Grissom’s funeral. 

Mulder and Krycek get stuck on the Long Island Expressway – damn that rush-hour traffic! -- and barely make it to the Bronx train station in time. Of course, Cole’s there too. Mulder finds Girardi,, then spots Cole pointing a gun at Girardi’s back. Mulder pulls his gun and tells Cole to drop his, but Cole shoots Girardi then seems to shoot Mulder. Turns out Mulder hallucinated the whole thing and was pointing his gun at the crowd. Krycek convinces Mulder to confide in him about Mulder’s theory of Cole’s psychic ability. Krycek 5, Mulder 4. 

While reviewing CCTV footage, Mulder and Krycek realize where Cole took Girardi. The latter imagines soldiers from the squad have returned to kill him. Mulder and Krycek find Girardi who is injured, but still alive. Alex calls for help while his seasoned partner finds Cole. Mulder tries to help Cole without shooting him, but Krycek catches up and points his gun at Cole. Cole holds out his bible, but Alex believes Cole is pointing a gun at Mulder so Krycek shoots and kills Candyman. Weirdest case of suicide by cop ever. Krycek panics when he can’t find a gun by Cole, but Mulder convinces Alex he did the right thing. Krycek 5, Mulder 5. 

Back in Mulder’s car, the file Mr. X gave him is missing. Someone also stole Scully’s reports related to the case. Turns out it was Krycek, who turns everything over to the Cigarette Smoking Man. Krycek tells him Scully is a problem and CSM agrees. Watch your back, Scully, and enjoy your maternity leave, Gillian. Final score: Krycek 6, Mulder 5. Round one goes to the new guy.

Sestra Professional:

Gillian's not on leave quite yet, she actually barely leaves the canvas as we'll see in the next episode -- a landmark one for the show on every front. But first, Krycek comes on the scene. A welcome addition, to put it mildly. I might have mentioned that he's my favorite character on the series, will detail why that is a lot more in future episodes.

Great opening teaser, very X-Filey for sure. It's an excellent set piece with the fire, only to find out that Grissom became more of a mental charcoal bricquet than a physical one. I don't know about anyone else, but this character reporting a fire comes off as an uncomfortable reference to the first Apollo mission for me.

Yes, Agent Mulder, I can read: Newspaper props in television are so shoddy, let me tell you that. We're really big on 1.) verbs, 2.) using negative white space and 3.) trying to draw the reader in. But full props to Howard Gordon (Homeland, 24, Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), who penned the episode. This has both an interesting premise and character development as the show continues building to a seminal moment. Not to mention the fact that Mulder and Scully's relationship keeps getting stronger with them spending much of their time apart.

Re: Mulder referring to himself as George Hale, that's a callback to the "Little Green Men" episode earlier this season. Hale's ideas resulted in the creation of the Palomar Observatory in San Diego. The Hale Telescope is named for him. First user of that apparatus -- Edwin Powell Hubbell, who later got his own telescope tribute.

Krycek's pretty convincing as a would-be lapdog, trying to get on Mulder's side by saying he believed in his work, and that at the academy, he always thought there was more out there than what people were being force fed through official channels. Nice gag reflex too at seeing a corpse in a pugilistic state.

Although Scully's major contributions are medical, Gillian provides some texture with her reactions to Mulder's "new" partner. David does some major "something smells bad" acting in his initial antipathy for the rookie, but comes across much more naturally in a telephone call with Scully that shows how rock solid that relationship has become through good-natured teasing that speaks volumes about their unspoken need to be part of each other's lives. 

The truth is still out there, but it's never been more dangerous: We also get our first look at Mulder's new informant, X. Meta on this was that the character was going to be female -- and in fact, Natalija Nogulich even filmed a scene, but then she was replaced by 21 Jump Street alum Steven Williams. We're already finding out that he's a different kind of informant, one much less willing to be a father figure for Mulder. "The man we both knew paid for that information with his life, a sacrifice I'm not willing to make," X tells Mulder. 

Mulder might be not thrilled to have a Y chromosome tagging along, but it certainly makes for interesting interplay. The train station scene is loaded with tension. We're certainly with Mulder as he pulls his weapon when he thinks he sees both his witness and his target. But then we pull for the new guy, who claims he wants to believe and is looking for more insight into the case and Mulder.

And then the denouement. Even before we find out Krycek is not what he seems, Alex's reaction to getting the chance to take out Cole doesn't seem completely unwarranted. Particularly since he thinks he's seeing a weapon pointed right back at him. Even Mulder begrudgingly admits the rook did the right thing.

But, uh oh, Krycek is playing for the other team. (That's a bit of a double entendre, it wasn't long after this than Mulder-Krycek fan fiction started popping up on the internet.) It's Alex who points out the strengthened Sculder bond to Cigarette Smoking Man. So anything that happens to Scully is Krycek's fault?   

Guest star of the week: Since Nicholas Lea's role is recurring, it's a no-brainer to give the nod to Tony Todd. He gives a truly striking and committed performance as Augustus Cole, especially in his final scene. The Candyman-turned-24 General makes you buy into the premise and draws viewers into the resolution of this particular story while other pieces of the overall game are being moved around the board.