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PLOT:Mulder and Scully confront the world of the occult while investigating some gruesome murders.
"Theef" is a definite example of how Season 1 "Monster-of-the-Week" (MOTW) episodes felt. A disturbing though attention getting opening teaser followed by the appearance of Mulder and Scully, some more scary moments which are never witnessed by our duo, a feasible albeit wildly crazy explanation and a contrite ending. That is the bare bones of most of the Season 1 MOTW eps. "Theef" follows that tradition with some very big plot holes added in.
I did enjoy "Theef" in regards to the pure scary factor and delving into witchcraft and the occult, a subject not often explored on the series. The teaser alone was enough to get me extremely interested in the episode. Yet, there seemed to be so many places in the story that screamed "plot device" to curb the overall enjoyment of the episode for me. However, after waiting two weeks from the disappointment of "First Person Shooter", this episode is almost like a breath of fresh air. Almost.
Like I mentioned earlier, many of the MOTW eps of Season 1 always had a great teaser to hook you into the episode (i.e. Squeeze, Ice, Fire, Darkness Falls to name a few). "Theef" certainly follows that very well as the mundaneness of this "Brady Bunch" perfect family is heavily contrasted with the gruesome and bloody death to one of them before the segue into the opening credits. I must admit that a part of me didn't mind too much that there was a murder involved since Dr. Weider's family almost made me go into sugar shock with all the "sweet" affection amongst them. Not too many doctors in this day and age have both a *great* career and a *great* family life blended so perfectly well as this doctor and his family. I grew up with a doctor (my mom) in the family, and believe me when I say that it *never* felt like that growing up.
The arrival of Mulder and Scully to the murder scene was fairly quick
being that this is yet ANOTHER episode set in California. I assume that they have already moved into a California Bureau office since
five episodes in-a-row have been set in the Golden State. One has to wonder if moving the series to California has made the producers lazy in
setting up another part of the country in their stories. Then, there is some question as to how exactly involved Mulder and Scully were in
this one. Besides the discovery of a rare disease in the first victim and getting information from an occult practitioner, they were
mainly on the sidelines until the end. Heck, Dr. Weider investigated more than Mulder and Scully did. Yet, I still don't understand what the
word, "theef," has to do with anything other than being on some vague piece of cloth and Peattie's odd reference to it.
There were two distinct plot holes that bothered me after watching this episode. First of all, there is an inconsistency with Peattie's background in terms of his exposure to the modern world. His passion for the occult is obvious, so he is definitely grounded in his Old World beliefs and superstitions. That could explain why he sticks to these "home remedies" rather than trust what modern medical science has to offer. After what happened to his daughter under a modern doctor's care, that is understandable. Yet, he had trouble figuring out a modern vending machine and stated that a microwave was "God's light." With all this ignorance of modern technology, how in the world is he familiar with some of the most rare diseases on the face of the Earth? Couldn't he just give someone simple pneumonia or a heart attack? That would attract very little attention towards him and make Dr. Weider's attempt to save his loved ones even more painful, because he couldn't cure something that should be relatively easy to cure. Plus, that would have been more feasible for Peattie to have experienced with his own people than "Kuru" or "flesh-eating disease."
The other glaring plot hole that bothered me was the cabin scene. In fact, there were several things in that scene that were disturbing. For one, why was Scully's ID Badge that she *wears* around the J. Edgard Hoover building (which is on the OTHER side of the country) sitting in the ashtray of a RENTAL car? This might be the hard evidence to show that Mulder and Scully have been reassigned to a California Bureau office. Also, besides the fact that it looked like it only took Mulder 10 minutes to arrive to the cabin after calling Scully, why did he take his sweet time when he saw Scully's car window broken? Wouldn't he believe that Scully would be in grave danger at that moment? And finally, after quickly killing off both the father-in-law and the wife, Peattie takes his time in killing Dr. Weider? Sure. Fine. Whatever.
I don't normally nitpick about so many inconsistencies in an episode, but this one bothered me BIG TIME. Again, after the horrible fiasco with the last episode, I guess I was looking for something more than just a fresh rehash of a MOTW episode. Other episodes dealing with the occult such as "Die Hand Die Verletz," "Fresh Bones," and "The List" each had a unique blend of both the scariness of the occult as well as the feasibility of the plot mixed in with the right amount of Mulder and Scully involvement. In other words, they were unforgettable episodes. "Theef" does not even come close to fitting that criteria.
Even the interaction between Mulder and Scully didn't feel right. It was as though Mulder was just giving one-liners while Scully looked about as interested as one of the corpses that she autopsies. Though the lighting, camera work and music all made the episode feel very spooky in its own right, it was just a distraction to hide the plot holes to most viewers. The last scene in Peattie's hospital room didn't help much either. I don't understand why Scully would quickly agree with Dr. Weider's diagnosis and treatment for poor Lynette Peattie when she was never there to decide for herself. All doctors have their own opinions for treatment. You just watch "ER" to know that. Scully should not be empathizing with either Weider or Peattie, and the actions they took. Even Mulder is surprised in Scully's reaction. For someone who doesn't jump to conclusions at the drop of a hat, Scully sounded very un-Scully-like.
Overall, I was disappointed with "Theef." It held a lot of promise in its initial teaser, but like many episodes as of late, it was a bunch of smoke and mirrors. I'm especially surprised that it was co-written by Vince Gilligan, John Shiban and Frank Spotnitz, the core of X-Files writers that usually pump out some very good episodes in the last couple of seasons. Have the writers lost interest? Let's hope not. Even if this is the final season, I certainly would not want the series to end with an episode like this.
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