X-Files S2E5: Things are getting Barry, Barry interesting

Sestra Amateur: 

Meet Duane Barry. He looks like a nice, normal guy with a house and a dog. But Duane Barry is not normal. He thinks he’s been abducted by aliens and he’s convinced they performed experiments on him. Duane even thinks they implanted tracking devices in his sinus cavity, teeth and belly button so they can always find him. On June 3, 1985, Barry believes the aliens have returned to torture him. But are we seeing what Duane thinks he’s seeing or have aliens really found him? 

Nine years later, we see Duane Barry again, and in that time, he's understandably been institutionalized. His psychiatrist, Dr. Hakkie (who looks a little alien himself), wants to sedate Duane because his patient is refusing to take his meds. Barry says it’s because he doesn’t like how they make him feel. Then Duane tries another approach -- he knocks out a security guard and takes Hakkie Sack hostage. That’s not really helping your argument, is it?

Mulder is swimming when Krycek tracks him down to tell him they’re needed at the hostage scene. I’d bet a Titans Scully vinyl figure that Sestra Pro was more focused on Krycek in his business suit than on Mulder in his teeny tiny red Speedo. 

Mulder and Krycek meet with Agent Lucy Kazdin, whose hairstyle, clothes and skepticism really reminded me of Scully. Duane not only has Hakkie Sack as a hostage; he’s holding employees at a travel agency too. Aside from the mental health issues, Duane Barry also has a bad habit of referring to himself in the third person, but that’s probably how he distances himself from the horrifying memories in his head. Barry wants to go back to his abduction site, but he doesn’t know where that would be. I don’t think the travel agency has a Triple-A Triptik for that location, Duane. 

While talking to Barry on the phone, Mulder learns the guy is a former FBI agent. Guess Duane knows all of their hostage negotiation tricks. Mulder is clearly the man of the hour with this case while Krycek does the coffee run. Ouch. Hope he didn’t screw up the drink order. Nothing will kill a budding career faster. Mulder calls Scully to research Duane Barry. The power goes out and Duane shoots wildly, hitting one of his hostages. Medic!

Mulder and another agent mobilize to help the shooting victim. Mulder trades himself for the injured man. Agent Kazdin tries to coach him, but Mulder goes off script because he believes Duane is truly an abductee. Scully calls Mulder, but can only reach Krycek. She warns Alex that Mulder needs to get out before Duane kills him but clearly does not tell Krycek why because she instead hops on a plane to tell them in person. Not sure whether that should be chalked up to Scully’s lack of trust with Krycek (even though she has no known reason not to trust him), her emotional state at the thought of Mulder’s life in danger or a writing continuity issue. 

Duane describes the torture he endured from his aliens, things the meanest dentist in the world wouldn’t even do to a patient. Scully says Barry is experiencing psychosis from a shooting injury to his head which occurred when he was an FBI agent. She relays that information to Mulder, who convinces Duane to release the female hostages. Mulder gets Barry out of harm’s way when the Hostage Response Team is ready to shoot him, but then seems to put him right back in their cross hairs. They shoot Duane but don’t kill him.

Agent Kazdin later tells Mulder doctors recovered metal from Duane’s gums and sinus cavity, just where he said they would be. Duane also had damage to his teeth that could not have been caused by modern dental instruments. Scully has the metal analyzed and learns it has some type of bar code. She scans it at the grocery store checkout register and it seems to show a serial number. Weird. She also pays for her purchases with a check and the cashier doesn’t ask for a driver’s license. Weirder. 

Back at the hospital, the “aliens” return for poor Duane Barry, so he knocks out a security guard and leaves – I assume – against medical advice. Scully calls Mulder because the serial number on the metal freaked her out. But Duane Barry shows up at her apartment and our intrepid heroine is in trouble … to be continued. 

Sestra Professional:

Gillian Anderson's pregnancy really put The X-Files on the spot. And not only did executive producer Chris Carter work his way out of that hole, he did so brilliantly with an arc that reverberated for the rest of the series run.

"Duane Barry" marked the first time Carter took the reins directorially, and he received on-the-job training with a near-flawless episode that he also penned. Of course, it helped to get Steve Railsback to take the title role and go off the proverbial rails with Duane. He gives that poor schlub such gravity, all the while retaining that is-he-right or is-he-crazy sensibility.

Speedo time! I'd say Sestra Am owes me a Scully Titans vinyl figure, but she already gave it to me. When Mulder goes for a swim during a break from his hefty alien caseload, a thousand fan fictions are born -- particularly after Krycek retrieves him with the words "something's going down." To be fair, I didn't see Alex sneaking a peek at Fox's package, but maybe he did while I was doing that.

It's a great plot device to have Mulder come in to do the hostage negotiation. The team already on site certainly doesn't believe in aliens, they just want the FBI's leading authority to appear to understand Barry so they can keep him on the telephone, prevent him from taking lives and get the situation resolved.

You think you know what Duane Barry's going through? It's another swift stroke to make Barry former FBI. Kinda makes you think that Fox Mulder isn't so far away from turning into the shrieking fearball that Duane has become over the years. His resolve to sympathize with Barry puts Mulder at odds with those who have brought him in to help the situation. Agent Kazdin -- fabulous CCH Pounder (who might be guest star of the week under other circumstances) gets to deliver the lone humorous note in the ep -- telling Krycek to take out his note pad and then ordering her complicated cappuccino.

Someone probably should have told little Lucy and the tactical team that Mulder would go over the line with Duane, that he would be not only interested in saving the hostages but in helping Barry out as well. And there's something deeply freaky about Duane claiming the aliens drilled holes in his damn teeth on the same day I went to the dentist -- and had holes drilled in my damn teeth. 

Now we've got Scully working from behind her desk on the other side, finding out that Barry isn't what Mulder thinks he is -- thanks to that bullet in the brain thing. Yeah, OK, I'll admit that just might be responsible for his unique insight. Hey, Krycek gets a step up from order taker, now he's fielding phone calls. He can come be my secre ... assistant, if he wants. I'll definitely treat him better.

Another vote is in -- and one of the female hostages admits she believes Barry's story before she exits the premises. Kazdin eventually is forced to recognize the strangeness of the actual implants found on Duane's X-rays, and even Scully admits that would mean he was telling the truth -- or some version of the truth. And that's the premise that really propels the series going forward. What version of the truth are we getting? It's not all lies, but it's not the entire truth either.

Guest star of the week: Railsback. Wow, another tour de force performance on a series that's already pulling top-notch talent early in its second season. He's played psychopaths before -- Charles Manson in the TV movie Helter Skelter, Ed Gein in the film of the same name -- but not quite in this vein. Interestingly enough, it was Pounder who scored an Emmy nomination for this episode. Maybe Railsback was a little too good for his own good.