Salvage

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PLOT: A man is exposed to a strange metal alloy and soon exacts revenge towards the people he feels responsible for his condition.

I must admit that this episode was a little bit better than last week's "Surekill." Even after seven-and-a-half seasons, the series still knows how to grab your attention with the eye-popping teaser. I must have rewound that one little scene with the car driving *through* Ray Pearce at least five times. Hearing the screeching tires, bending metal and broken glass made for an instant adrenaline rush. If that wasn't enough to wake you up, the screaming at the end when Curt's head was used as a bowling ball certainly made me notice. Ouch!

For another MOTW episode, "Salvage" had the plot, intrigue and good pacing to be above average. I still don't agree why Scully and Doggett were there to investigate an apparently earthly homicide. The car wasn't moved, and the body wasn't found yet when they arrived. Thus, what was the X-File to have them fly out to Indiana? Again, I can't imagine Deputy Director Kersh (who again wasn't shown) actually approve this at face value. As anal as he is with the X-Files and their methods, this would have been something he would have vetoed as a valid investigation for the Bureau. Don't you think?

Getting away from that plot hole, I did like how Scully's mind was very active as she peered at the wrecked car. Yes, people will say (and they have) that she is thinking "like Mulder." After seven years together, Scully would know how Mulder's brain worked better than anyone alive even if she felt that usual skepticism. Doesn't that kind of intimacy happen between two people who care about each other? What's so bad about that? Scully has experienced enough with Mulder to understand that what she sees in front of her can be plausible in some way, shape or form whether it can be proven scientifically or not. That's the stance she takes with the "apparent" death of Ray Pearce.

For all accounts and purposes, something or someone has been killing people that have had some connection to Ray through his work and a local laboratory working with experimental metal alloys. Through some very thorough police work, Doggett finds out that Ray found himself exposed to something that he could not avoid. Thus, there was clear motive for what Ray did to all the people who died.

Yet, there is the other flaw in the plot. The actor who played Ray Pearce was very effective in evoking the hurt and anger of his condition and lashing out towards the people whom he blames for it. However, Ray seemed underdeveloped to be the major motivator of the story. Blank stares can only be compelling for so long. Though he can't be comparatively as bad as the "garbage monster" of "Arcadia" or "bat-man" from "Patience," Ray could have been shown in a more revealing light than the dark glimpses of the windows to his apparently non-existant soul: his eyes. At the end of the episode, I just couldn't "feel" his pain or understand the reason why he decided to commit suicide.

I'm glad that writer Jeff Bell had more interaction between Scully and Doggett. Unlike "Surekill," the agents were actually *part* of the story rather than just standing on the sidelines waiting for someone to raise their hand and say "I did it!" I also liked that there was a little bit more friendliness between Scully and Doggett though Scully still seems as though she would rather be out in the middle of the dessert looking for Mulder. However, they worked very well as a team in this one and made the story move along at a nice pace.

Speaking of pace, someone on the cutting room floor must have not paid too close attention. The one scene that looked like it obviously needed another scene for it to make sense was when Ray went to the lab to kill the one scientist. In the very scene before it, Scully and Doggett are in a car talking about the case. Without any kind of true transition, we see Ray go into the lab and be lured into a holding tank with *Scully and Doggett* rushing in with their guns raised and a handful of federal agents in riot gear! Now how in the world did they even know Ray was coming at *that* particular moment? When did Scully or Doggett have time to round up a SWAT team? What was the reason for this particular scene to begin with? I'm not usually that nitpicky about such things but this sucker stood out like a sore thumb.

Finally, I have to comment on Scully again. I must agree with many xphiles out there who like how she has looked this season. Angst and sadness (as well as that underdeveloped pregnancy thing) agrees with her. The last time I thought she looked this aesthetically appealing to the eyes was during Season 4, which is *still* my favorite season to date. Yet, Gillian portrays Scully so excellently that we sometimes forget that our favorite redheaded agent is not truly herself this season. She is missing her better half, and Gillian shows it so subtly, but it's there! If Gillian doesn't get an Emmy nomination for this season, she was robbed! Of course, I could just be influenced by those turtle-neck ensembles that she looks so fetching in lately. :)

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