X-Files S9E10: Adventures in babysitting

Sestra Amateur: 

I was going to start this episode review with the definitions of "Provenance" (the title of the previous episode) and "Providence" (the title of this one). But when it started with the always-tedious voice-over, I lost all interest in definitions and just dove into the show. 

A man is talking about "Come to Jesus" moments, with his own occurring during Operation Desert Storm. At first the voice sounded like Special Agent John Doggett, but the man in the flashback is the one from the Alberta, Canada dig site in the previous episode. Alberta Man recalls seeing soldiers getting shot but be unaffected by the bullets. Super-Soldiers? Way back in 1991? It certainly ain’t the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, despite what he recites. And back in the present (boy, that sounds contradictory), the same man stands on the completely unearthed alien spacecraft in Alberta. Too bad Chris Carter didn’t change the intro’s usual phrase to "The truth is in there."

Assistant Director Brad Follmer is conducting a briefing that sums up the kidnapping of Special Agent Dana Scully’s baby boy from the previous episode. Luckily, the Lone Gunmen (especially Byers) are reasonably healthy. The same can’t be said for poor John, who lies comatose in a hospital. Assistant Director Walter Skinner tries to talk to Dana, but she’s in full Mulder-esque government conspiracy mode. And she’s probably not wrong.

Skinner checks on Doggett and finds Special Agent Monica Reyes by John’s side. Too bad John’s not aware of it. Walter offers her some words of support. Scully asks Monica for help after the Lone Gunmen identify Alberta Woman … but won't tell the feds. Reyes thinks Dana is wrong for trusting the guys again but still helps. Meanwhile, Alberta Woman contacts Alberta Man from a pay phone. During the call, the ship seems to activate. Was that William’s doing? Unfortunately, team Reyly arrive too late to the phone booth to catch up to them.

The next morning, after Reyes is unable to see Doggett in the hospital, she takes a page from Scully’s book and prays in the chapel. Follmer observes and tries to comfort her, then he reveals he knew about the failed attempt to catch Alberta Woman. Brad brings Monica to Special Agent Robert Comer’s hospital room and shows her something Robert wrote on a piece of paper. It’s the word "jacket." Reyes asks Dana what it means. Well, Monica, according to dictionary.com, it’s a “protective outer covering.” (Look at that. Turns out I did have a definition in me after all.) 

Scully reveals what she knows and Team Reyly head back to the hospital where Dana “treats” Comer with the artifact from his jacket pocket. He regains consciousness and explains his mission to infiltrate Josepho (Alberta Man?) and his cult. (Luckily, this isn’t a three-parter. "Providence" Comer is way more forthcoming than "Provenance" Comer.) And apparently, there’s a convoluted prophecy involving Mulder’s “death,” the end of mankind, yada yada yada. Too bad (luckily?) they get interrupted by Alan Dale, the one who currently skulks around at the higher-up FBI meetings. By the way, IMDb.com calls him "Toothpick Man," but I don’t remember seeing him with a toothpick in either episode. They should have just called him "Non-Smoking Man."

Alberta Woman and William arrive at the dig site. Alberta Man thinks the boy will be safe with them. The same can’t be said for the two men who were baked inside the space ship when it was activated during the phone call. Skinner and Follmer arrive at Comer’s hospital room and they want to know where Scully and Reyes are. Dana believes her worst fears have been confirmed, that something has been very wrong with William since the day he was conceived. (Wow, she really has no idea how right she is.) And it gets worse; Comer is dead even though he looks healed and healthy. The artifact which Team Reyly concealed in his hand is missing. Monica confronts the nurse, Toothpick Man and everyone else but Scully, who bails to go sit by John’s bedside. Luckily, Doggett finally wakes up. Yet after everything they’ve been through, Dana and John still address each other as "Agent."

Alberta Man calls for a meeting so Scully finds her way to Calgary, Canada. (Is it ironic how the L.A.-based show found its way back into the Great White North?) He quotes the Bible to Dana, who is clearly familiar with the source material but fed up with people keeping her son from her. Alberta Man denies being the one who killed Mulder and he demands proof of death from Scully. Luckily, Reyes and the Lone Gunmen are nearby. Frohike bugs the wackadoo’s truck and Team Reyly quickly follow. Too bad the boys lose the signal. 

Back at the dig site, William’s crying is annoying everyone and everything, including the spacecraft. Monica and Dana stumble across the dig site’s location. Scully runs toward the tent, screaming William’s name. The ship activates and Alberta Man absorbs a beam of light. The ship flies away and the tent burns to the ground, with all of the worshippers’ bodies burned to respective crisps. In the middle of all that, William is still crying, so Dana is able to find her son and hold him again.

The next day(?) Monica goes to the hospital to take John home. He tells her about a voice he heard during his coma that enabled him to help Scully when she needed it. At FBI headquarters, A.D. Follmer confronts Deputy Director Kersh about the report on Comer’s death. It almost sounds like Follmer is becoming a believer. But Kersh hands off the closed case file to the Toothpick Man, who happens to have an implant in the back of his neck. ... On the bright side, no additional voice-overs!

Sestra Professional: 

My gameplan for this episode was to keep saying to myself, "'Audrey Pauley' is next, 'Audrey Pauley' is next." So we'll be back in X-Files/Twilight Zone mode soon enough, and in the meantime, here's the latest reminder that the mythology is currently running on fumes.

 

I was left as a witness to a vision: This might be the best use of a voiceover we've had in many moons. It starts off with the kind of ecclesiastical bent that's become a part of the show for as long as people have been noticing that Dana Scully wears a cross. But then a little twist brings it into a place and time we can all identify with, no matter what our religious proclivity -- finding God in our universe when things are at their worst. That's not such a bad reintroduction to Alberta Man, as those things go. I'm almost interested in what he's up to now.

 

Gonna have to side with Scully when she calls Skinner on his "protection" seeming like more of a systematic FBI effort to eliminate those involved in the X-files. I don't doubt that's Walter's rationalization, but he really needs to clean off those rose-colored glasses. Someone who has survived the kind of battleground we saw at the beginning of the episode as well as over eight seasons of the FBI's oversolicitous ideologies about what the public and its own employees need to know should do better by Dana.

So now we have Toothpick Man (so named for handling toothpicks as opposed to popping them in his mouth) disposing of employees in his best Cigarette-Smoking Man manner. Yeah, he's doing nothing for me. I'm having my own crisis of faith about whether this kind of behavior was more easily acceptable in earlier seasons just because it was CSM and the Syndicate or whether the groundwork was better laid down in those days. But there is some measure of intrigue when the ship starts moving, I guess it's the spacecraft feeling William vibes through the phone or vice versa.

 

Maybe when you're lost, you knock at the door with the porch light on: This has been a rough season for Agent Doggett. He's hospitalized for the second time in 10 episodes after dying/almost dying/not-sure-what-else-to-call-it in "4-D." And lest we forget, John nearly drowned in the season-opening two-parter and clearly needed medical attention as an amnesiac in "John Doe," events that tend to land mere mortals in the hospital. Hey, maybe Doggett's a Super-Soldier too! Has anyone checked the back of his neck lately?

Speaking of bounceback ability, how about Robert Comer? I almost thought he had the Super-Soldier status I've longed for Alex Krycek to have after two near-fatal sequences in "Provenance," but it was just the piece of metal. (Can we call it an "artifact" or something else instead of "piece of metal," Reyes? I don't think the latter description is quite right.)

Just tell them the truth: By necessity, "Providence" is a powerhouse episode for Gillian Anderson, who has to wade through all Scully's emotions for a second straight show after doing light lifting in the early part of the season. What I appreciate most is Dana trusting Monica even though she knows Reyes is being pressed by Follmer and his pals. The women have a good bond, and for the second straight ep, the most information is figured out when they're bouncing ideas off each other.  

I have to admit I still don't get the concept of this prophecy. Alien race leading the world, these ships are the physical manifestation of God and William is the future savior coveted by the forces of good and evil. How do we get from that to both Mulder and Scully's baby need to be dead? And why are we taking it at face value that everyone on Earth perishes if they don't kick off? At least Monica's able to talk to Dana down, because Scully's head is spinning like the piece of metal -- er, artifact -- over the concept.

And so Scully trusts the Lone Gunmen again, and once again, they let her down after swearing to the contrary. Langly states the transponder could track William even underwater in Brazil, and not two seconds later, the signal is lost. I just can't deal with them anymore. Even though their hearts are in the right place, their abilities seem to be offline for good.

It's OK, though, because when Dana and Monica run out of road, no problem! Scully picked up so much from Mulder, including which way to go when there are no roads left to travel (see: Fight the Future). Before they get to the location, the spaceship goes all Raiders of the Lost Ark on the cult. I guess if I can appreciate the mixing together of The X-Files and The Twilight Zone, I might as well enjoy the Raiders-Fight the Future combo platter.

 

Guest star of the week: As much as my gut wants to go with McDonough again, gonna give it to Denis Forest as Alberta Man/Josepho. It was strange to have a non-regular handling the traditional voice-over chores, but Forest makes it work for this two-parter. Sorry/not sorry he didn't get to close it out.