"Soft Light" and "Our Town" -- X-Philes World-The Old Episodes

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Date Posted: 08:27:56 07/16/03 Wed
Author: Islandgirl
Subject:

"Soft Light" and "Our Town"

Okay, I skipped "F. Emasculta"; quite frankly I get that confused with the other "buggy prison movie" ("The List") and having seen each of those eps once is enough for me. "Soft Light" was a good ep, one that was frightening more in a technological/the government's-out-to-get-you way than a supernatural way. The guy who now plays "Monk" did a great job as the scientist in this ep and it was nice to see Scully have a friend and be the one to initiate the investigation. One thing I noticed about this ep -- and this is far from the only time Mulder ever did this, but it was especially pronounced in "SL" -- was that both Mulder and the scientist talked about being afraid of "the govenrnment"; at one point Mulder told the guy he would protect him from "the government" and at another point Mulder told Mr. X "I won't stalk people down for the federal government!". Uh, Mulder?? That "G" in G-Man?? It stands for "government". You work for the government, Mulder!! The "F" in FBI stands for "federal"! While they probably wouldn't exactly use the word "stalking" in the job description, finding the people the federal government wants found, and bringing them in to government-run facilities is, basically, what FBI agents are *paid* to do!! It just amazes me how often Mulder forgets that he's part of the same "government" he seems to think he's fighting against.
"Our Town" is really scary and gruesome. It also has all the elements of a classic XF ep. . .the small town with a grim secret, the local law enforcement officer who resents the presence of FBI agents in his town and Mulder advancing a supernatural hypothesis, while Scully suggests a more mundane one. What's often overlooked, due to the gorey nature of the cannabalist rituals the townspeople practiced, is that this was basically one of the few episodes where Scully was right. Cannabalism is gross, but it's not supernatural. The only vaguely paranormal aspect of the whole case was that several of the townspeople seemed to be quite a bit older than they actually looked, but it was never verified that their ages were correct or that their youthful appearance was connected to their cult practices; maybe there was just a good plastic surgeon among the citizens of Dudley. I really like the scene where Mulder has just rescued Scully from the witchdoctor/sheriff; the way he gently caresses her face while looking into her eyes is quite sweet.

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Replies:

The government -- detoured, 23:21:03 07/25/03 Fri
- Mulder as a loner. . . -- Islandgirl, 08:59:20 07/26/03 Sat
  - Re: Mulder as a loner. . . -- CW, 20:48:06 07/30/03 Wed