The Beginning

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PLOT: Mulder and Scully find themselves in more trouble with their F.B.I. superiors and secretly investigate an alien hybrid that has a penchant for leaving dead bodies everywhere.

This episode was highly anticipated as the euphoric high of the feature film was still very fresh on people's minds. Remember that the film was released on video 10/13/98? That was just a few weeks before this episode premiered in November. Plus, the fact that the X-Files showed this season premiere *over* two months after every other show on TV already premiered for the season, "The Beginning" felt like "Way Overdue" before it began.

But this episode was surprisingly uneven. After the incredible images shown in the feature film, this episode had way too many expectations to fulfill, and not surprisingly, it couldn't meet them. As I also mentioned in my review for the feature film, the continuity is the biggest problem. The teaser showed something very frightening similar to what was buried in the Texas cavern and "breaking out" on the spaceship. That plot point and the fact that the X-Files has been shut down are the only two scenarios brought over from the film.

When we first see Mulder, he is painstakingly putting together fragments of files that burned in the fire shown in "The End" but not mentioned in the film. Yet, both he and Scully are still going in front of the O.P.R. regarding the validity of the X-Files. That, along with the sudden reappearances of both Diana Fowley and Gibson Praise makes this episode very choppy. I try to avoid the volumes of criticism among many reviewers this season, because I know that Chris Carter and crew must have had immense pressure to try to tie in everything from Season 5's finale and the feature film all into one episode.

I believe the biggest thing that bothered me besides the uneven and inconsistent story was Mulder's Jeckyl/Hyde behavior reminiscent of Season 3. He changed from the desperate but overconcerned guy in the feature film to a desperate, insensitive jerk in this episode. Scully also seems to turn into "Super Skeptic" in the beginning as well when she refuses to admit the extraordinary events that she experienced to the O.P.R. Even so, she did not deserve to be treated as though her views mean nothing if it does not corroborate Mulder's account. His tunnel vision attitude towards regaining the X-Files seemed contradictary to his "no holds barred" attitude in doing whatever he could to find Scully in his Antarctic adventure.

I did like the clever little retelling of the conspiracy's plot by the O.P.R. panel. Even though we saw exactly what happened to our heroes, hearing it come out of the non-believing A.D.'s made it sound rather ludicrous. And who can really blame them? Mulder does have a reputation for being brazenly arrogant when it comes to his views of the paranormal. He is an unorthodox hero who tries to instill his views on a very orthodox and conservative organization. As we all know from personal experience, fat chance.

Yet, Mulder is determined to get back "his life." Skinner, who up to this point looked constipated at the O.P.R., helps Mulder get the evidence he needs by cluing him in on the latest case to pass his desk. It deals with the same frightening monster that was shown during the teaser. Mulder steals the file that was supposed to be for the new X-Files investigators, Spender and Fowley.

Now here is where it gets a bit shaky on the logic. Our heroes' old nemesis, Cigarette Smoking Man, is on his way to Arizona to intercept this alien hybrid but needs someone to come along. Guess who? Gibson Praise finally is shown after all this time. There certainly was no concern for his well-being at the start of this episode, but as soon as he appears, Mulder decides that he is the key in finding the monster. Why? Because he can finally have the physical evidence he needs to corroborate his findings with the O.P.R.

Remember that Mulder was not happy to see Diana when he found out that she was assigned to the X-Files? Then why does he even remotely trust her? However, with her help, they are able to enter the power plant facility to locate the alien. Yet, as soon as the sirens are blaring, Diana does a complete 180 and points a gun at Mulder.

Another hazy plot point that should certainly be cleared up is what exactly does Gibson need to do with the alien. There seems to be some kind of psychic connection between the two, but nothing was explained. Gibson doesn't seem to be in any danger. He even appears to want to stay with the alien rather than go with Mulder. Once the alien submerses itself into the boiling water, it appears to shed its monster-like appearance into the stereotypical alien we all recognize. And what of Gibson Praise? He is shown sitting by the side of the water. That's all we see, and we can only guess what else happened.

The most interesting plot point was the fact that Mulder and Scully are reassigned to Assistant Director Kersh, who looks more stern than Skinner on his best day. Kersh looks like he doesn't even like the look of our two heroes before they even confer with him. As you can tell from Scully's reaction, they are definitely up a creek with no boat or paddle. It can be easily surmised that our hapless heroes will have nothing but crap jobs for awhile. It is a change of pace that easily distinguishes Season 6 from any other and the ensuing episodes only confirm that.

Again, a rather choppy episode and big character differences for Mulder and Scully, but very watchable nevertheless. The next few episodes directly deal with their new superior and the painstaking way Mulder and Scully cope with their new and useless assignments. It is a good thing that this episode does not set the tone for the rest of the season. Otherwise, it would have been very difficult to watch.

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