Redrum

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PLOT: A man accused of murdering his wife claims that he does not remember anything and tells Scully and Doggett that he is living events in reverse order.

Sometimes, fans get caught up in the ever-evolving changes and relationships between the main and secondary characters that a clever, intelligent plot may be overlooked. Though most fans who came aboard at the very beginning may have been attracted to the lead characters, many of the stories they were involved in were highly intriguing and entertaining. Remember that for three full seasons, this show was on Friday evenings long before it attracted the large following it had on Sundays to make the Fox brass take enough notice of the serie's commercial appeal to propel it into the lucrative feature film format.

"Redrum" fits into those kinds of stories we saw on Friday nights past. We are introduced to Martin Wells. He is a man who finds himself injured and in jail, yet we don't have a clue as to why at this point. We see Doggett and Scully in the scene. They obviously know what is going on, especially Doggett. Yet, before we can find out more, Wells is inexplicably shot. Short, sweet and to the point. Nice intro.

For the most part, the episode lacked any real interaction between Scully and Doggett. Since the story is compelling enough to watch, and it was in a Mulder-less episode, it's much easier to stomach. I did like that there was a history between Wells and Doggett, though that relationship wasn't fully explored. Don't get me wrong, I like Doggett, His character shows a resolve that is both admirable and fun to watch. However, he has yet to fully fathom the situation he has been placed in being assigned to the X-Files. But his loyalty is ever so evident in wanting to help his old friend, Wells.

I'm just curious what Scully meant when he tells Wells that the answer may lie in him. I've never known Scully to be so cryptic. It's almost spooky. Yet, that was a major clue in itself as Wells does discover why he is living the last few days in reverse order. There's an obvious reason that doesn't become obvious to him until he sees a tattoo that appeared in his visions of his wife's murder. Though he believes that he has been living each day backwards instead of forward, there are still enough memories that appear to surface to his consciousness to help him prove his own innocence and stop his wife's killer in the process.

I find it rather intriguing that Joe Morton was cast as Martin Wells. I'm sure he and Robert Patrick must have been reminiscing those "T2" days with Arnold, James and the gang in between shoots. In any event, Morton pulls off the anxiety-ridden tension Wells must feel in figuring out why he is perceiving the backwards events since he was shot. This is unlike "Monday" where the horrific events were re-lived over and over ad nauseum. In this particular case, Wells gets to witness events in reverse order. Though they are "technically" in his past, he doesn't remember it or know what to expect as we do with our tomorrows. This kind of sounds more like Twilight Zone than a typical X-File.

Yet, we have to explore why Wells gets this second chance. When we do find out, it sounds rather moot. Understandably, any kind of wrong-doing in the legal system (like *that* never happens...) should definitely be exposed and acted upon accordingly. I just find it hard to believe out of all the vast number of cases, something as relatively simple as withholding evidence to prove a man's innocence would produce such an amazingly incredible experience as living the events backwards. If that was the case, almost every high profile D.A. in every metropolis in the United States would be going through the same experience. =)

I did find it strange that Wells was actually in jail at the end of the episode. No offense, but withholding evidence seems a bit weak for a prison term. Heck, the worst Wells should have gotten was probation and disbarment. He obviously didn't hire Johnny Cochran to defend him.

Overall, the episode was very interesting and watchable. It seems that Season 8 has shown us a definite wide diversity of stories compared to straight MOTW eps that most expected. "Redrum" is as much a mystery/thriller as an X-File. Yet, we also see a character who finds himself in a highly unusual situation and basically sacrificing himself to save someone else. Though I doubt if many fans will want to keep watching the series if it turns into an "anthology" a la Twilight Zone. No matter what anyone may think of having a Mulder-less season, the main characters help drive the story along, and we desperately need to see more stories like that in upcoming eps.

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