Essential X-Files: Bad Blood
This is the seventh episode in my rewatch of the eight X-Files episodes that Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz have called essential viewing for the movie: the Pilot, Beyond the Sea, The Host, Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose, Memento Mori, Post Modern Prometheus, Bad Blood, and Milagro.
The plot set-up: Mulder and Scully go to Chaney, Texas, to investigate a series of cow and tourist exsanguinations.
Teaser: A kid goes running through a fog-filled forest. He’s chased by a mysterious figure who finally catches the kid and drives a stake into his heart. The reveal is that Mulder is the killer, and the vampire he thinks he’s destroyed has fake plastic vampire teeth inserts. It’s a great, dramatic, action-packed start. It makes you say, as Mulder did, “Oh, sh–”
When we come back after the commercial break, Mark Snow’s music tells us right off that not everything is going to be serious. When Mulder beats up the garbage can, we know something is up.
This episode is written by Vince Gilligan. Philes call him Uber!Vince. After Morgan and Wong (”Beyond the Sea“) left the show, and with Darin Morgan (”Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose“) being such a slow writer, the fans needed someone to step in as the go-to-guy. And Vince Gilligan sure stepped up. One of the major things that differentiated his scripts from the others’ is the amount of teamwork by Mulder and Scully. Usually at the end, both Mulder and Scully contributed to the success of, or at least to the resolution of, the case. And that’s what happens here in “Bad Blood.”
It’s almost pointless to write a review of this episode. It’s practically note perfect.
“Bad Blood” takes the he-said/she-said storytelling technique and applies it to Mulder and Scully trying to write a field report. We see Mulder staking the guy in the teaser. Now, each of the characters in turn will tell us how they got to that point. The only negative thing I would say about the episode is that Mulder comes off goofier than Scully. So I wouldn’t say that it is a 50/50 representation of the partnership.
And the episode is funny. No, really funny. Not just humorous or amusing. Funny—all the way through—except for one really scary part.
Connections to the movie? I would say the partnership dynamic. It’s revealing that in her version, Mulder kind of steamrolls her and considers her a tool to further the investigation. He even forgets her name in his excitement to keep going. It’s also revealing that in his version, he’s a little afraid of her. But through it all, there’s a trust and a reliance to this very deep partnership. Go, Uber!Vince!
Notables:
- Luke Wilson plays Sheriff Hartwell, who is either smoking hot or not depending on who is telling the story at that point.
- You can see Arlene Pileggi, the wife of Mitch Pileggi (Skinner), in the role of Arlene, Skinner’s assistant. Arlene Pileggi was already Gillian Anderson’s stand-in on the series when she met her future husband.
For as many times as I’ve seen this episode, I’ve never caught this gaff. When Mulder is breaking down a wooden chair in preparation for going after the vampire, someone’s hand enters the shot to lay a ready-made stake on top of the pile so Mulder can grab it and run off.
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