The X-Files 3x09: Nisei
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tori_reviewsThe X-Files 3x09: Nisei
You know, all the signs were there that this was going to be an arc episode, yet I sort of missed them for a while. Considering how much of my interest in the arc has to do with having the supporting cast around I should have guessed as soon as they started showing up in the credits. And in some ways I did work out that it was probably arc related, at least around the time Scully met some other abductees (since I do know where this goes), but I still kind of felt it was a reminder of the arc rather than a full arc story. I should have come around from that notion as it sunk in how slowly this episode was moving, clear a symptom of being the first of a two-parter, but again it didn’t quite sink in. When they mentioned the 731 crew, I remembered there was an episode coming up with that title, but didn’t recall that it was the next episode.
For once we’re dealing with an arc episode that I know nothing about (except a few places it leads to down the road), so I’m having a hard time judging this episode. I doubt I’ll know if I think it’s any good until I see the story in total; taken on its own though I have to rule this a not very good episode. It doesn’t seem to have much point to it until we see where it goes. The characterization feels a bit muted because they’re being swept along by the plot that we’re still in the early stages of; so I end up without a ton to talk about.
Skinner somehow manages to convey to my shippy brain that he totally helps Scully but isn’t really invested in helping Mulder. But even I know that’s making a mountain out of a mole hill with his very limited screen time this episode. Since it turns out Mr. X didn’t die in the last set of arc episodes I’m still expecting him to die here, and even if he doesn’t I don’t think he’ll ever go to Scully for help again since it turns out she isn’t very useful in talking Mulder down from doing something stupid.
Although to be fair on that front, I think the moment he could have turned away was earlier; when she basically told him why she recognized the supposedly dead doctor (I guess Mulder just thought she was racist and thought Japanese guys all looked alike, and to be fair to that assumption I do kind of feel like she’s really having to work not to describe X as a creepy black guy, though I also can’t figure out why she can’t just say something like ‘one of your contacts let me know’). When she gives all the significance she can to telling Mulder the tape isn’t why she recognizes the doctor guy, Mulder seems to get the message and I get the feeling he knows he should be the better pseudo-boyfriend and make sure she’s doing okay and that that’s more important than the mission. But he doesn’t; admittedly, though so far it’s not expressed, partly because he’s looking for answers for her. When I still thought that late in the game that this was a setup for a future arc story instead of the first half of one now, I kind of thought he might listen to her telling him to stop at the end, but I think that was just wishful thinking. That would have been kind of interesting, for him to be able to pull back, and for the fact that he did to motivate him later when he probably doesn’t give in, or to throw in Scully’s face down the line that she can’t always tell him not do something that he needs do. You know, character development that might matter past one episode; and I’ve seen enough of this show before to know better than that, so I’m just kind of dumb about it apparently.
Or possibly it indicates a strange filing system in my brain. As I’ve said before, I didn’t start watching this show until late s4, if fact it was after the first run of s4 episodes. What I was watching at this point in my life was Babylon 5. So TXF ends up filed near B5 in what I expect of this era of TV, and B5 would have done all that arc stuff. I really do like B5, I feel like I should say that more often.
And to speak to what I care about in stories and why I rewatch things often and often keep looking for lots of details, Scully’s story is a lot more interesting to me than I think it would have been if I didn’t know where it was going. I don’t think it’s well written most of the time, but I can read a lot into it by backfilling things in. I feel like it makes thing clearer regarding Scully’s fear of exploring what happened to her, and how much she doesn’t want these people to force her to look at it. And it actually made me aware that it might say something that Mulder hasn’t pushed her; he wants her to believe sure, but it’s been a year or so since she came back and he hasn’t pushed her to try and figure it out. I’m not so sure he wants to know either, and so the two of them go on looking into these other people’s cases and try not to get too close to answers they’re not ready for.
I also kind of roll my eyes at this episode because it’s such TV logic that if someone doesn’t remember every detail of an event they much be lying and involved in a cover-up. And the boat at least long enough ago for the guy in Pennsylvania to get the autopsy tape, market it, sell it to guys like Mulder, him to get the tape, and decide it needed to be investigated. But no, the ship guy can’t remember every detail about a ship that came through there weeks ago, I can’t remember the ship’s name and I watched the episode an hour ago.
And, just so I don’t let it slide by, Mulder is a dumbass most of this episode. Just...for most of it really. And his main character invisibility powers are really serving him in never being noticed somehow. Dumbass.
Previous status
Clearly never seen before
Are we saying it’s aliens?
...I think so...I don’t know. Mulder mentions the hybridization scheme they were investigating in the previous arc, so he’s saying it involves aliens, but not necessarily directly in this case...I think.
The gang that’s here
Skinner, TLG, X, and I think that’s it. I don’t think any of the abductee ladies are particularly regular.
Wow that’s uncomfortable in hindsight
The whole thing with the abductee ladies (why were all of them ladies when the dead member of the group was a guy? Was he trans? Was he in a different town where they abducted people for different reasons but now moved to Allentown? Also, with that many people in that small an area all finding random bits of metal in them, that smacks of evidence of something going on that might make some news) is a straight shot to the cancer arc...and beyond.
Scully’s convenient miss of the week
As soon as they split up I figured this would be an episode where Scully conveniently missed everything; I did not account how little was actually accomplished here. She missed the spaceship in a tarp but that’s about it so far.
People allowed to call Mulder Fox
Surprisingly, Matheson (that was Matheson right?). I don’t think he did that the last time we saw him.
How crazy does Mulder sound?
He watches alien autopsies at work (at least it’s not porn), steals evidence, leaves fingerprints everywhere he investigates, makes his partner knock at their office door, chases trains like he can catch them, is randomly dismissive when Scully first thinks she recognizes the doctor, and as previously mentioned is a total dumbass. On the other hand he does have the good sense not to tell Skinner they were investigating an alien autopsy when they got into this mess and is at least chasing down actual leads as they are revealed instead of complete guesswork. In the wash I would say he’s a bad partner, worse friend, a terrible quasi-boyfriend, and a dumbass who’s pretty bad at his job, but he’s been crazier.
Break-ins
Mulder’s place is broken in to, first by unknown people looking for the briefcase (as if the Conspiracy wouldn’t guess to look for Scully next), then by Skinner so he could he could sit in the dark for no good reason.
What’s the FBI’s travel budget?
Mulder and Scully clearly came to Pennsylvania together, did they fly or drive? Because if they drove, how does he get back or does Scully go rent a car in the middle of the night? If they flew I guess it works out, but still has some questions.
Is that continuity?
Didn’t Scully and the doctor at the time talk about how the chip looked like a computer chip, so why is Scully so ignorant of that now? At least they remembered it existed and didn’t decide it was something else; and as it’s a 90s show I understand the need to work exposition back into the dialog when it comes back up, but it’s awkward.
You know, all the signs were there that this was going to be an arc episode, yet I sort of missed them for a while. Considering how much of my interest in the arc has to do with having the supporting cast around I should have guessed as soon as they started showing up in the credits. And in some ways I did work out that it was probably arc related, at least around the time Scully met some other abductees (since I do know where this goes), but I still kind of felt it was a reminder of the arc rather than a full arc story. I should have come around from that notion as it sunk in how slowly this episode was moving, clear a symptom of being the first of a two-parter, but again it didn’t quite sink in. When they mentioned the 731 crew, I remembered there was an episode coming up with that title, but didn’t recall that it was the next episode.
For once we’re dealing with an arc episode that I know nothing about (except a few places it leads to down the road), so I’m having a hard time judging this episode. I doubt I’ll know if I think it’s any good until I see the story in total; taken on its own though I have to rule this a not very good episode. It doesn’t seem to have much point to it until we see where it goes. The characterization feels a bit muted because they’re being swept along by the plot that we’re still in the early stages of; so I end up without a ton to talk about.
Skinner somehow manages to convey to my shippy brain that he totally helps Scully but isn’t really invested in helping Mulder. But even I know that’s making a mountain out of a mole hill with his very limited screen time this episode. Since it turns out Mr. X didn’t die in the last set of arc episodes I’m still expecting him to die here, and even if he doesn’t I don’t think he’ll ever go to Scully for help again since it turns out she isn’t very useful in talking Mulder down from doing something stupid.
Although to be fair on that front, I think the moment he could have turned away was earlier; when she basically told him why she recognized the supposedly dead doctor (I guess Mulder just thought she was racist and thought Japanese guys all looked alike, and to be fair to that assumption I do kind of feel like she’s really having to work not to describe X as a creepy black guy, though I also can’t figure out why she can’t just say something like ‘one of your contacts let me know’). When she gives all the significance she can to telling Mulder the tape isn’t why she recognizes the doctor guy, Mulder seems to get the message and I get the feeling he knows he should be the better pseudo-boyfriend and make sure she’s doing okay and that that’s more important than the mission. But he doesn’t; admittedly, though so far it’s not expressed, partly because he’s looking for answers for her. When I still thought that late in the game that this was a setup for a future arc story instead of the first half of one now, I kind of thought he might listen to her telling him to stop at the end, but I think that was just wishful thinking. That would have been kind of interesting, for him to be able to pull back, and for the fact that he did to motivate him later when he probably doesn’t give in, or to throw in Scully’s face down the line that she can’t always tell him not do something that he needs do. You know, character development that might matter past one episode; and I’ve seen enough of this show before to know better than that, so I’m just kind of dumb about it apparently.
Or possibly it indicates a strange filing system in my brain. As I’ve said before, I didn’t start watching this show until late s4, if fact it was after the first run of s4 episodes. What I was watching at this point in my life was Babylon 5. So TXF ends up filed near B5 in what I expect of this era of TV, and B5 would have done all that arc stuff. I really do like B5, I feel like I should say that more often.
And to speak to what I care about in stories and why I rewatch things often and often keep looking for lots of details, Scully’s story is a lot more interesting to me than I think it would have been if I didn’t know where it was going. I don’t think it’s well written most of the time, but I can read a lot into it by backfilling things in. I feel like it makes thing clearer regarding Scully’s fear of exploring what happened to her, and how much she doesn’t want these people to force her to look at it. And it actually made me aware that it might say something that Mulder hasn’t pushed her; he wants her to believe sure, but it’s been a year or so since she came back and he hasn’t pushed her to try and figure it out. I’m not so sure he wants to know either, and so the two of them go on looking into these other people’s cases and try not to get too close to answers they’re not ready for.
I also kind of roll my eyes at this episode because it’s such TV logic that if someone doesn’t remember every detail of an event they much be lying and involved in a cover-up. And the boat at least long enough ago for the guy in Pennsylvania to get the autopsy tape, market it, sell it to guys like Mulder, him to get the tape, and decide it needed to be investigated. But no, the ship guy can’t remember every detail about a ship that came through there weeks ago, I can’t remember the ship’s name and I watched the episode an hour ago.
And, just so I don’t let it slide by, Mulder is a dumbass most of this episode. Just...for most of it really. And his main character invisibility powers are really serving him in never being noticed somehow. Dumbass.
Previous status
Clearly never seen before
Are we saying it’s aliens?
...I think so...I don’t know. Mulder mentions the hybridization scheme they were investigating in the previous arc, so he’s saying it involves aliens, but not necessarily directly in this case...I think.
The gang that’s here
Skinner, TLG, X, and I think that’s it. I don’t think any of the abductee ladies are particularly regular.
Wow that’s uncomfortable in hindsight
The whole thing with the abductee ladies (why were all of them ladies when the dead member of the group was a guy? Was he trans? Was he in a different town where they abducted people for different reasons but now moved to Allentown? Also, with that many people in that small an area all finding random bits of metal in them, that smacks of evidence of something going on that might make some news) is a straight shot to the cancer arc...and beyond.
Scully’s convenient miss of the week
As soon as they split up I figured this would be an episode where Scully conveniently missed everything; I did not account how little was actually accomplished here. She missed the spaceship in a tarp but that’s about it so far.
People allowed to call Mulder Fox
Surprisingly, Matheson (that was Matheson right?). I don’t think he did that the last time we saw him.
How crazy does Mulder sound?
He watches alien autopsies at work (at least it’s not porn), steals evidence, leaves fingerprints everywhere he investigates, makes his partner knock at their office door, chases trains like he can catch them, is randomly dismissive when Scully first thinks she recognizes the doctor, and as previously mentioned is a total dumbass. On the other hand he does have the good sense not to tell Skinner they were investigating an alien autopsy when they got into this mess and is at least chasing down actual leads as they are revealed instead of complete guesswork. In the wash I would say he’s a bad partner, worse friend, a terrible quasi-boyfriend, and a dumbass who’s pretty bad at his job, but he’s been crazier.
Break-ins
Mulder’s place is broken in to, first by unknown people looking for the briefcase (as if the Conspiracy wouldn’t guess to look for Scully next), then by Skinner so he could he could sit in the dark for no good reason.
What’s the FBI’s travel budget?
Mulder and Scully clearly came to Pennsylvania together, did they fly or drive? Because if they drove, how does he get back or does Scully go rent a car in the middle of the night? If they flew I guess it works out, but still has some questions.
Is that continuity?
Didn’t Scully and the doctor at the time talk about how the chip looked like a computer chip, so why is Scully so ignorant of that now? At least they remembered it existed and didn’t decide it was something else; and as it’s a 90s show I understand the need to work exposition back into the dialog when it comes back up, but it’s awkward.
