X-Files 5.19: "Folie a Deux"

Written by Vince Gilligan
Directed by Kim Manners

In which Mulder is assigned to a case involving an office worker claiming that his boss is a monster, but when Mulder starts seeing the same thing, Scully is put in a difficult position…


Status Report

When it comes to making sense of the larger scheme of things, especially in terms of character psychology and some semblance of character arcing, there are two go-to writers for the series: Darin Morgan and Vince Gilligan. While Morgan usually hits Mulder where it counts, at the heart of his obsessive little heart (think “Quagmire”), Gilligan loves to expound on the fact that Mulder and Scully are the only people who can stand and trust each other.

More specifically, Gilligan seems to focus on Scully’s ongoing (and often incremental) journey towards something approaching belief; Mulder, in such cases, becomes the world around which Scully orbits. This episode is practically a summary of how Scully’s journey has progressed over the past five years or so, beginning with a sense of doubt, watching Mulder from the outside, and ending as someone sharing, however reluctantly, in his “delusions”.

It sums up Scully rather well, and if the series had ended with the film as intended, then perhaps it would have resulted in a subsequent conclusion to Scully’s arc, bringing her in line with Mulder’s vision as his partner in life. Of course, that was not to be. It’s not hard to work out that the decision to continue the series forced the relationship and Scully’s journey to remain unresolved.

Even so, the writers were aware of that situation when this episode was written, and so there’s no sense of a last-minute adjustment or change. This episode is simply a standard “monster of the week” episode with some nice character shading along the way. The results can seem a little out of focus, especially coming on the heels of episodes where Scully was led to distrust Mulder and consider the cost of continuing along on his crusade. But this episode may, in fact, explain to a certain extent why Scully does stick with Mulder, even during this long dry patch of little activity.

As far as the “monster of the week” elements go, this episode is a nice riff on the “droning work environment” concept. Yes, indeed, some cubicle jobs do feel like an attempt to suck away the soul, but is there any better example than telemarketing? (Well, staff writer, maybe...) And, as usual, there’s the hot co-worker who falls prey to the soul-crushing, thus representing the tipping point. If that were the totality of the episode, however, it wouldn’t be nearly as interesting. (As it is, the metaphor gets old fast!)

On the face of it, Mulder’s annoyance over assignment to this case seems overdone, if not outright hypocritical. But it should be remembered that very little has happened beyond his undercover work, and Mulder has to be suspicious of why he’s getting certain assignments. Looking back on the fifth season as a whole, Mulder has had very little control over the direction of his work.

More than that, but there’s a difference between seeking and finding hidden truths and being assigned to it. One is a case of personal drive and vision and the ability to claim some sense of control over one’s world. The other is an external obligation, often laced with hidden agendas. Coming within a month or so after the previous episode, where his life was placed in jeopardy for a CIA-sponsored operation, this assignment would definitely get under Mulder’s skin!

Though he does it more politely this time (relatively speaking), Mulder once again leaves Scully behind to uncover the evidence, while his methods lead to personal peril and accusations of insanity. From the perspective of making a statement about Scully, Mulder must be shown to have as extreme a viewpoint as possible. Insanity makes for a fairly extreme viewpoint. Scully is even left to wade through X-Files for some obscure phrasing. All in all, Scully must be wondering what she’s still doing in the basement.

Mulder’s notes about Gary are also rather interesting, if only because he could easily be talking about himself over the past several years. Gary is trying to lead a crusade just as much as Mulder has been, and thinking back on his ravings at the conference in “Patient X”, Mulder has sounded very similar in equally public situations. One is left to wonder if Mulder recognizes that on some level, and if that is why he really seeks Scully’s moderating influence.

In a situation that is not unlike “Duane Barry”, Mulder ends up in the middle of a hostage situation, with Scully left to stand on the outside, wondering if her partner will survive. The hostage situation actually takes quite a while to play out, but there’s a design behind it: allowing Mulder to understand Gary well enough to, in short order, share the delusion of the truth.

And so Scully must face down, once again, one of Mulder’s extreme possibilities. Only this time, it’s linked directly to a man who seems to have killed co-workers because he was seeing monsters. Scully is left to either reject this extreme possibility, and thus reject Mulder, or find an explanation. Even if, as in this case, that means sharing in the delusion herself.

As usual, Scully’s skepticism and concerns over Mulder’s sanity come to question when the physical evidence doesn’t add up. It’s not enough to prevent the rest of the world from thinking Mulder is crazy; just enough for Scully’s trust in Mulder’s judgment, such as it is, to kick in and make her think. Meanwhile, Mulder is doing everything possible to look crazy. It’s something that’s been done forever, but for some reason, it works more organically in this episode as part of the overall commentary.

By the time Mulder is strapped to a bed, Scully has all the reason and opportunity in the world to walk away and be done with it all. Mulder has once again gone deep into left field, and with everything that has happened lately, why wouldn’t she think about walking away? The answer is fairly simple, but worth considering: Mulder can’t imagine life without Scully in it, and more and more, Scully can’t escape the fact that she’s come to the same conclusion over the years.

Even so, people become bound in each other’s orbits and still manage to break away when the relationship becomes destructive. There’s little doubt that Mulder and Scully are not very good for each other. Scully’s relationship with Mulder has allowed her to cling to a psychology that is somewhat disturbing, especially in terms of submitting to a male authority figure. Thus one must look into that psychology for an answer. How is Scully’s psychology influencing her at this point in her life?

Scully finds evidence to support Mulder’s claim, however tenuous, within the boundaries of her science. This triggers, as one would expect, a reaction that brings Scully’s perspective in line with Mulder’s perspective. Not completely, perhaps, but it overcomes her growing doubts about her decision to stick with Mulder through thick and thin. Which, of course, leads to the question: what would it take to overcome that subconscious desire to fall in line with Mulder?

The obvious answer is that the fifth season finale, leading into the feature film, lays out the ground work for that. While there are issues with such a late addition of someone else important to Mulder’s life and crusade (as will be discussed at length in the review for “The End”), it does strike at the heart of why Scully has remained, even after her personal thoughts in “All Souls”. Scully must be tempted and even given a reason to leave, so as to make her eventual decision to remain with Mulder all the more meaningful.

As “monster of the week” episodes go, this is a pleasant episode. It has a creepy factor to it, and whenever there’s psychological character exploration, it’s worth the time. There’s not much new in this episode, but by this point in the series, the occasional introspective catch-up episode was practically tradition. It’s not an episode to watch often, but it’s certainly not a complete waste of time.


Memorable Quotes

MULDER: “Have I finally reached that magic point in my career where every time somebody sees Bigfoot or the Virgin Mary in a tortilla, I get called to offer my special insight on the matter?”

MULDER: “Scully, at the risk of you telling me ‘I told you so’…I think it’s time for you to get down here and help me.”
SCULLY: “I told you so.”

GARY: “What are you doing here?”
MULDER: “Applying for a job.”
GARY: “Oh, man…did you come to the wrong place!”

MULDER: “I saw it, too. Does that make me disturbed? Demented? Does that make me sick, too?”
SCULLY: “No…no…I mean…”

MULDER: “Five years together, Scully. You must have seen this coming.”

MULDER: “Scully, you have to believe me. Nobody else on this whole damn planet does or ever will. You’re my one in five billion.”

MULDER: “What did you tell him?”
SCULLY: “The truth…as well as I understand it.”
MULDER: “Which is?”
SCULLY: “Folie a Deux…a madness shared by two…”


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode is the traditional late-season summary of the evolving character dynamic, with a disposable metaphor about office work environments and monsters. This episode puts Scully’s psychology in the limelight again, though not in a manner that emphasizes Scully herself. As the final installment before the launch into the feature film, this is a pleasant enough diversion.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 7/10

Angel 1.21: "Blind Date"

Written by Jeannine Renshaw
Directed by Thomas Wright

In which Angel is shocked when Lindsey comes looking for a way to escape Wolfram and Hart, but as they work together to save some children, the firm engages in aggressive negotiation…


Status Report

If the previous episode covered the character introduction aspect of preparing for the second season arc, then this episode covers the plot aspect. Not only does it bring Wolfram and Hart back as a primary antagonist, something missing from much of the first season, it sets the stage for the plot elements that drive Angel’s conflict. This is especially true in terms of Angel’s growing frustration with the struggle against evil.

This episode also goes a long way towards demonstrating why Angel’s decision to support Faith’s turnaround was so important. Angel showed a great deal of patience and fortitude to stand against several threats (and Buffy, for that matter) to protect someone who tried, hours earlier, to kill him and his friends. Yet, in the end, did it bring him any closer to a sense of accomplishment?

Angel wearies of the battle, because as he notes in this episode, there’s more of the enemy than him. He has allies, he has purpose, but so do they. And he can fight one head of the Hydra, but there’s always more, and they tend to grow back. So what is there for him to look forward to? What hope does he have in staying the course, when he’s not even sure why he’s still fighting?

Enter the Prophecies of Aberjian, which almost immediately suggest to him a sense of purpose and context. This, of course, becoming a bit more specific in the next episode (and then subsequently a lot more complex in the fifth season), but the point is that Angel no longer has the luxury of wondering if his actions are just a waste of time and energy. He sees that there is a purpose, a grand design.

When Angel doesn’t have that sense of direction and purpose, he can let despair eat away at his moral resolve. And in a way, that is exactly what happens in this episode. Angel had the perfect opportunity to stake claim on the enemy, to steal away one of their own. And Lindsey was on the fence, ready to make a change. If Angel had seen the same potential in Lindsey that he had seen in Faith, it might have made a difference. It might have prevented much of what happens later (though the fourth season suggests it was all engineered by an outside agency).

As much as this episode appears to be about Vanessa, a very attractive blind assassin, it’s really about Angel, Lindsey, and Wolfram and Hart. Vanessa is just an example of what Wolfram and Hart, represented by Holland, will happily foster in the name of bringing about the apocalyptic vision of the Senior Partners. Holland is more than happy to set aside his conscience for personal gain and the appearance of power; Lindsey is far less certain.

Lindsey can set aside ethics and align himself with the corporate vision statements so long as the consequences on perceived innocents are kept carefully out of view. Lilah, at one point, notes that Lindsey has taken to avoiding a lot of the grunt work, as if he prefers to keep his attention on the big picture and away from the details. Once forced to see the details, to know the consequences, Lindsey runs up against his own internal moral barriers.

The problem is that Angel has convinced himself, not unlike Buffy in regards to Faith, that those who work for Wolfram and Hart are unable or unwilling to consider the consequences. So he doesn’t take it seriously when Lindsey comes to him with a desire to change things. He says a lot of the same things he said to Faith, but without the supportive promises that came with the stern moral assessments. In short, Angel doesn’t have the faith in Lindsey that he had in Faith, and in turn, Angel loses sight of what he should be doing, above and beyond preventing the assassination.

The infiltration of Wolfram and Hart, beyond giving Angel a chance to grab the Scrolls of Aberjian, also serves as a follow-up on the previous episode. Angel told Gunn that he might need help, and sure enough, now’s the time. Gunn’s scene was completely unexpected, and it puts on display a racial edge to the character that would disappear rather quickly over the course of the second season. Even so, it’s one more step towards making him a regular, which is entirely the point.

The “interrogation” scene clearly indicates the message of the episode: Wolfram and Hart will no longer be a simple shadow in the background of the series. The writers take their time to expose the depth of the cutthroat self-interest that permeates the organization. Holland isn’t simply giving the staff a demonstration when Lee is killed; he’s showing Lindsey what happens to someone who isn’t of use to him and his personal designs.

Holland may speak in terms of potential, in this case, Lindsey’s, but the fact is that Holland needs someone under him who has a reason to deliver. Lindsey has demonstrated what he can do when he stops letting morals get in the way; Holland just needs to make him even more reliant on his good graces. It frames things for Lindsey: if he plays his cards right within the organization, Holland will protect him for as long as it’s in his interests…and success fits the bill.

So Angel is placed in a position to counter that offer, whether he knows it or not. Angel does a good enough job of countering the assassination (a great action scene, with lots of beautiful shots of Vanessa), but beyond that, he doesn’t put on the full press sales pitch that he gave to Faith. He leaves it all up to Lindsey, and in this case, Holland has all the influence. Lindsey knows how he can survive with Wolfram and Hart; he has no evidence to how he might survive or thrive on his own or with Angel.

Angel also creates an even more fervent enemy in the process. Lindsey is a man searching for direction and meaning. Holland seems to give it to him, but the lingering doubts remain. Lindsey has and will have plenty of reasons to hate himself for what he does and allows. All of that anger needs to be applied to something, and it’s easy to transfer his self-hatred onto Angel. Of course, that level of self-deception can only last so long.

This episode is the perfect prologue to the season finale, which takes “Angel” into a completely different direction and sets the stage for more epic storytelling. The first season began as something of an experiment: could Angel be used as the centerpiece of a televised “comic book” hero, ala Batman, complete with relatively self-contained adventures? To a certain extent, the answer is “yes”, but eventually, an audience hungers for something more substantial. This episode is the end of the process of transformation; from this point, the series would return to the epic storytelling format that worked so well for “Buffy”.


Memorable Quotes

LEE: “Is it me, or is there something kind of hot about her? Well, I’m just saying, I wouldn’t say no. I’d be too scared to…”

ANGEL: “I’m sorry, I nodded off. Did you get to the part where you’re evil?”

GUNN: “Give me one good reason.”
ANGEL: “It’ll be extremely dangerous.”
GUNN: “OK!”

GUNN: “Whoo-ooo! My God! They told me it was true, but I didn’t believe them. Damn, here it is! Evil white folks really do have a Mecca! Now, now, girls, don’t get all riled up. OW! Did you just step on my foot? Is that my foot you just stepped on? Are you assaulting me, up in this haven of justice? Somebody get me a lawyer, because my civil rights have seriously been violated. Oh, I get it, I get it…y’all can cater to the demon, cater to the dead man…but what about the black man?”

WESLEY: “There is a design, Angel. Hidden in the chaos as it may be, but…it’s there…and you have your place in it.”


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode is the perfect ending to the prologue for the second season’s more epic storytelling aspirations. The writers manage to set the stage for the season finale while also developing Wolfram and Hart as more substantial antagonists, which works for the series’ overall benefit. A strong blend of plot and character exploration, this continues the process of redefining the series.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10

X-Files 5.18: "The Pine Bluff Variant"

Written by John Shiban
Directed by Rob Bowman

In which Mulder seems to aid a domestic terrorist during a sting operation, a fact that only Scully recognizes, and her search for answers uncovers a cover assignment and a conspiracy…


Status Report

A lot of fans find John Shiban to be one of the bottom-tier writers for the series. In particular, his more light-hearted episodes tend to run counter to the continuity and logic of the series. Episodes like this one, however, make one wonder if the problem is the writer or the executive producers with a set of restrictions a mile long and no sense of direction.

Whatever the case, this is one of the few episodes by Shiban with a focus on conspiracy, and that serves to mask some of the fundamental problems that typically arise in a Shiban script. In general, the characterization is very strong. Continuity is used to explain why Mulder has been in deep cover (something that explains what Mulder has been doing over the past few months), Scully is driven and using her acquired paranoia and medical knowledge to question authority, and Skinner actually gets to show some range.

This episode highlights the fact that Mulder and Scully have been drifting apart. For all that “The Red and the Black” helped to bridge some of the divide that had come in the aftermath of “Redux”, something that film production schedules drove more than creative concerns, there are still issues of trust and individual purpose. Mulder is trying to figure out what kind of truth he should be looking for, while Scully has very recently come to question how much she’s willing to sacrifice. Both play an enormous part in the psychology of both characters in “Fight the Future”.

Skinner’s allegiance continues to shift incrementally, which is to say, his allegiance still feels like a matter of episode-specific convenience. It’s important for Skinner to be shown as an emerging ally for Mulder and Scully ramping up to the film, because his judgment must also be questioned to push the agents into less certain territory. It’s also rather telling that Mulder’s assignment is related to domestic terrorism, which of course, is where the agents will eventually spend a short tenure.

This episode therefore provides an interesting and subtle context for the months leading into “Fight the Future”. Scully is more or less on her own, with investigations few and far between. Mulder is undercover and obviously not working with Scully very much. Scully still knows Mulder better than anyone else in the world, but his crisis of faith has made it difficult to trust in his motives. In short, the conspiracy has managed to sidetrack Mulder while the Syndicate works out internal issues.

Being almost entirely a side venture, a smokescreen to deflect Mulder from pushing his investigations into the Skyland Mountain and Ruskin Dam incidents, this episode’s conspiracy is rather simple in execution. Mulder is assigned undercover within a domestic terror group with aspirations to use biological agents to kill people. The leader of the terror cell is actually a US deep cover agent, working for the CIA, who wanted to take a great deal of money and lace that money with a quick-killing biological agent. For purposes of deniability, Mulder’s task was to legitimize the fact that the contamination of the money was a terrorist act.

All of which fits within the convoluted nature of the conspiracy and its satellite operations. Why not use money laced with a biological agent that doesn’t spread easily to eliminate foreign opponents, all in the name of covert national security? If anything, this situation ought to make Mulder wonder why certain enemies manage to escape that fate.

For all that the episode is a neat little conspiracy tale devoid of the usual Shiban mistakes, there are still a number of silly plot holes that rely on rather convenient gaps in logic. They begin to crop up rather early in the episode. For instance, if the CIA agent and Skinner were aware of Mulder’s deep cover status, why would they include him on an FBI assignment where it would be all too easy for him to be seen helping the suspect that must, according to the plan, escape? At the very least, Scully should have been far away from the case to ensure that Mulder’s behavior wasn’t highlighted as unusual.

Not only that, but why risk Mulder’s credibility with Haley by including him on the operation? Haley came to Mulder after the press conference in “Patient X”; why not keep Mulder on the back burner during open operations and ensure that the deep cover agent isn’t compromised on either side. Of course, that would have prevented the central drama between Mulder and Scully.

It only gets worse as Scully is informed of Mulder’s cover assignment. At that point, she should have either been brought into the fold completely, to help Mulder maintain his cover, or she should have been ordered to stay away from Mulder and remain behind the scenes in the ongoing investigation. If anything, Scully helps to add to the risk to Mulder by becoming a distraction.

The police knew that two boys survived at the theatre, but they don’t seem to be able to work out the rather obvious reason for that. It’s hard to believe that the boys would keep silent under the circumstances. But that mystery is necessary to keep the story moving until the big revelation at the end. With repeated viewing, it’s too much of a plot contrivance.

Far worse is the scene where Mulder and Scully openly discuss the case and Mulder’s true mission in his apartment. Given the sensitivity of the mission and Mulder’s precarious situation, it makes no sense at all for Scully, a relatively seasoned agent with more than a little experience with the paranoid mind, to initiate and continue that conversation. This is followed by a conversation with Skinner, meant to be private, during which Skinner openly speaks in a way to communicate fully the context!

The next set of plot contrivances come during the bank robbery. The terrorists use an aerosol spray to apply the biological agent to the money. Without protective covering to prevent the aerosolized weapon from, say, wafting back onto their hands, clothing, masks, etc. Then there’s the small matter of Haley screaming at Mulder to shoot the wounded teller. He hesitates far too long to maintain cover, and illogically Bremer seems to give Mulder an excuse not to act. It doesn’t make sense, and worse, it’s clearly designed just to maintain tension as long as possible.

The result is an episode that helps to flesh out the context of the late fifth season in a very good way, leading into the feature film, but doesn’t quite pass muster on its own merits. The progression of the plot relies on staging each revelation as another layer of lies and deception, and while that works well enough, the structure is often left bare for all to see. That lack of depth makes this an intriguing yet frustratingly average installment.


Memorable Quotes

SCULLY: “Our best indications are that exposure was limited and that the toxin was transmitted directly and not contagious.”
CIA AGENT: “How do you know that?”
MULDER: “We’re not all dead?”

MANAGER: “Are you the wife?”
SCULLY: “Not even close…”

MULDER: “I want people to know the truth.”
CIA AGENT: “Well, sometimes our job is to protect those people from knowing it.”


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode brings to light some interesting aspects of the latter half of the fifth season, but the internal logic of the story is often suspect. While there are a number of scenes that presage the feature film and point out important character dynamics, there are also too many plot contrivances and conveniences to count.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 6/10

Buffy 4.21: "Primeval"

Written by David Fury
Directed by James A. Contner

In which Buffy reconciles with her friends just in time to face Adam’s master plan at the Initiative, which requires the Slayer to tap into resources she never knew she had…


Status Report

The very fact that this episode is not the season finale, yet wraps up the fourth season arc, should be an indication of how fragmented the development of the arc truly was. The explanation for Adam’s behavior makes a certain amount of sense, especially the first time around, but it’s vague and convenient enough to be forgettable. It’s actually quite easy, watching episodes earlier in the season for the second or third time, to forget how the writers wrapped it all together.

In essence, Adam planned on making more of his own kind, super-soldiers created through the melding of human and demon parts. This was supposedly a twisted version of Maggie Walsh’s original intention for the Initiative’s work in Sunnydale, which would seem to link the original progression of the season arc with Adam’s emergence.

The problem is that it only makes sense if one tries to forget that Maggie’s work was primarily behavioral modification. The original arc, based on Riley’s character and its designed nature, seemed far more psychological and social in nature. It was meant to be a question of Maggie’s programming vs. Buffy’s influence. The Initiative commandoes were supposed to be conditioned to obey, thus providing a commentary on how one’s identity can be buried beneath the programming of authorities in life.

Adam’s quick inclusion into the season arc took that concept and turned it into something less defined and less applicable to the theme of the season as a whole. Sure, Adam manages to control Riley, forcing Riley to make one final choice to exert free will and help Buffy, but it doesn’t have the resonance that an entire season of psychological conflict would have provided.

The writers do everything possible to make this episode a strong enough ending to the season arc, and while it’s still quite clear that the budget wasn’t nearly large enough to provide the scale desired, the final battle is impressive. The score is just perfect, and the implied chaos actually manages to shine through on more than one occasion. It sounds and feels like a much bigger battle than it is; it’s a good bit of production.

Still, Adam’s plan is more or less thrown together (note that Buffy, meant to lead humans in Adam’s plan, never actually does that, which seems to point to a flaw in the plan). It doesn’t take much analytical ability (or attention span) to realize, just based on the hints from the writers, that Adam’s plan was basically worked out around the time of “This Year’s Girl”. For this reason, it is somewhat unsatisfying, and since it doesn’t quite lead into the theme of the fifth season as readily as the original concept would have, the writers wrap up the action early and rely on a finale that deals almost entirely with character development.

The end effect of this structure was a weak transition between the fourth and fifth seasons, because it never quite feels like the questions raised in the fourth season are adequately answered. If anything, the questions transform, as seen in the season finale. It’s also a quick reversal from the fractured Scooby Gang concept in the previous episode. It’s so fast and loose that it actually highlights the fact that the overall journey to that fracturing of the gang doesn’t quite hold up to scrutiny.

In terms of the season arc, this episode is what it is: a means to an end. It’s a way to close the door on Adam and the Initiative so they are unlikely to return again in any meaningful form. Joss, on the other hand, used this need to introduce the means of transition between the fourth and fifth season themes for Buffy: who Buffy really is, and how much of Buffy comes from the Slayer.

This is achieved by giving Buffy only one meaningful option for defeating Adam. The idea is that Buffy has a great deal of untapped power, all tied to the source of the Slayer’s true origins. In this case, Giles, Willow, and Xander use the grounding elements of mind, spirit, and heart to summon forth the primeval power of the Slayer and grant it to Buffy.

This, in turn, becomes the trigger for an exploration, at least in some vague sense, of what it means to be a Slayer in the fifth season. It also opens up a number of questions about the nature of the Slayer’s power. In retrospect, after the seventh season finale, this episode makes a lot of sense. The end of the seventh season revealed that the Slayer’s true origins were tied to the female aspect of magical energy, in effect a Goddess figure. This was then corrupted by the First Watchers through the melding of demonic power with that feminine energy.

While Buffy’s later explorations in the fifth season seem tied more closely to the negative, demonic side to the Chosen line, Buffy’s abilities while fighting Adam seem a lot more aligned with the feminine power aspect. Simple demonic power wouldn’t explain transformative abilities to manipulate matter on a subatomic level. The brute strength could be demonic in source, but it could also be like the Force: tapping into the general energy of Life itself to enhance existing strength and speed.

One interesting question is whether or not the emergence of the First Slayer in subsequent episodes, as a result of the spell in this installment, was always meant to coincide with the early fifth season. It’s not necessarily the case. If the original concept for the season arc was more psychological, it could have been a more subversive finale with hints that Buffy is, in fact, just as controlled by outside forces as Riley had been. That would have been a rather clever way to segue into the fifth season.

As the need for a big action finale came along, so did the introduction of Buffy’s Chosen legacy as a primal influence return as a big action concept. It wasn’t just another turn of Buffy’s psychology stemming from the questions raised by Faith’s personality in the third season; it was an excuse for “cool” special effects. If “Restless” hadn’t salvaged the idea in unusually strong form with the next episode, it would have been a waste of an idea. Sure, the special effects are neat, but it just doesn’t feel as nuanced as it could have been.

One other problem with this episode is that Riley Finn, a character designed for the sole purpose of tying the season’s theme to the Initiative arc, actually survives. There’s no compelling reason for that to happen, especially since ripping out something connected to one’s central nervous system ought to be rather fatal. The writers resist the proper urge to give Riley a fitting end, and thus the character would wander without purpose in the fifth season, losing much of his integrity and relevance in the process.

This is the perfect example of a problem that plagued the latter seasons of the series: characters that outlived their intended use for far too long. Riley is only the first example. Had he died in this episode, the character would have been remembered as a great character. Later examples are Tara and Dawn, both of which lingered in perplexing and even illogical extensions on their original plot purpose. (Tara, at least, merely received a stay of execution of debatable value; Dawn spent two seasons of absolutely no redeeming value as a near-complete nuisance.)

This episode stands as the culmination of the first season without Joss Whedon as a primary showrunner. More and more responsibility was handed to David Fury and Marti Noxon, and as the subsequent seasons would demonstrate, the less Joss was involved, the less the seasonal themes were able to shine through. With Joss spending so much time and effort on giving “Angel” a more focused and serialized structure in its second season, the lessons of the fourth season and this plot arc finale would only partially be learned when approaching the fifth season arc.


Memorable Quotes

SPIKE: “Slightly stiffer than usual. Subtle, but I like it…”

ANYA: “You said you wanted to check the board at the unemployment office this morning. You can’t go like that. They won’t even interview you if you’re naked.”

GILES: “Well, Spike can be very convincing when…when, uh…I’m very stupid…”

XANDER: “Spike’s working for Adam? After all we’ve done…nah, I can’t even act surprised…”

XANDER: “Does anybody else miss the Mayor? ‘I just wanna be a big snake’?”

GILES: “Xander, just because this is never gonna work, there’s no need to be negative.”

BUFFY: “Xander!”
WILLOW: “Oh, wonderful Xander!”
BUFFY: “You know we love you, right?”
WILLOW: “We totally do!”
XANDER: “Oh God…we’re gonna die, aren’t we…”

WILLOW: “It’s a gourd.”
GILES: “A magic gourd.”
COLONEL: “What kind of freaks are you people?”

ADAM: “Interesting…very interesting…”


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode is a functional if somewhat disappointing conclusion to one of the less satisfying season arcs. The budget simply wasn’t big enough to give the cobbled-together concept the scope desired, and while the producers did what they could with the limitations, it was the constant revisions to the arc itself that proved most challenging.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 6/10

Godspeed, Leo McGarry...

My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of John Spencer tonight. I greatly admired his acting; indeed, it was his portrayal of Leo McGarry that was the cornerstone of my initial draw to "West Wing". I have no idea how they will incorporate this into the season arc (if it can even be salvaged without him), but I hope to see a suitable sendoff to a real class act.

Godspeed, Leo...Godspeed...

Alias 5.9: "The Horizon"

Written by Andre Nemec and Josh Appelbaum
Directed by Unavailable

In which Sydney, in search of the reason for the theft of Vaughn’s CIA logs, is captured by Prophet Five and forced to remember key moments from her past and her life with Vaughn…


Status Report

When the topic of this episode was announced, there was a great deal of anticipation for Vaughn’s return, however short-lived it might be. But while the writers did a great job of using Vaughn and his history to suggest a link between Prophet Five and SD-6, thus tying the series mythology into a more cohesive structure, that wasn’t the best moment of the episode. What made it all worth the time was a very short but crucial moment near the very end, when one of the architects of Prophet Five revealed herself.

For quite some time, one question has been left unanswered: while several groups have emerged over the years with connective threads between them all, the identity of Irina’s organization was never revealed. This episode could very well answer that question once and for all. It would make a lot of sense, especially in light of Vaughn’s previous revelations in the season premiere, if Irina’s organization was Prophet Five.

Why does this make sense? Because Prophet Five was supposedly operating with relative ease on its own program related to someone who sounds a lot like Rambaldi. Things were working well for Prophet Five until SD-6 came along and things got a lot more complicated when Sloane’s endgame finally emerged on the scene. Shortly thereafter, Yelena’s Covenant rose to prominence. Members of the Magnific Order of Rambaldi seemed to have reason to oppose all three initiatives.

Does it make sense for Irina to run Prophet Five, in light of her previous actions? Certainly Irina had a desire to see the Rambaldi legacy fulfilled. At the same time, she had reason to stop Sloane (who used the Alliance and Omnifam) and Yelena (who used the Covenant) from taking control of that legacy. At the same time, she would have wanted to protect Sydney to ensure that the Chosen One remained in play.

Irina’s organization would have access to the genetic engineering necessary to create a cure to Nadia’s condition, especially since Irina would have the necessary genetic similarities. Irina would have a vested interest in keeping Sydney in the dark about Prophet Five until the right moment, when all opposition to her plans had been undermined or eliminated.

Of course, there are small questions (though none on the level of the continuity issues present in the third season timeline!). For instance, why would Irina have Vaughn executed? Especially since Irina was the one who insisted that Vaughn tell Sydney the truth? This certainly explains how Irina knew Vaughn’s secret (in fact, it’s rather obvious in retrospect). One possibility is that Irina knew that Sydney was pregnant, and thus recognized that Prophet Five’s goal was finally within reach.

It seems rather clear by now that “Full Disclosure”, standing at the center of the series as a whole and Sydney’s five-season evolution, provided the obvious roadmap for Prophet Five’s endgame. Rambaldi was supposed to be reborn in a child with Sydney’s DNA, and Prophet Five now has the means to transfer consciousness into another body. The question is where they would get the consciousness of Rambaldi to “download” into Sydney’s child. If that piece of the puzzle (Rambaldi’s consciousness) is revealed in relatively short order, then this theory will be even more viable.

What is perhaps best about this plot twist is how well it fits with the overall thrust of the mythology to date. While the writers sometimes abandon continuity in the desire to complicate things, this actually helps to explain some of the complex plans initiated and carried out by Irina Derevko. Each faction seems to have had a slightly different goal. Sloane wanted to achieve world peace through pacification, rebuilding the world under his apparent control. Yelena wanted to decimate the population and take control of the remnants, thus rebuilding the world in her image. This episode, and everything leading to this point, seems to suggest that Irina’s goal is actually the true culmination of Rambaldi’s endgame: a world with the mad prophet firmly in control.

That 30-second cameo, along with the growing evidence that Vaughn’s connections to Prophet Five did, in fact, bring the series full circle (even more than the events of the fourth season). It’s enough to all but overshadow the temporary return of Vaughn to the storyline. Granted, he’s only a figment of Sydney’s mind, but this episode reminds the audience that he remains incredibly important in terms of her psychology and the overall mythology.

The end of this episode also leaves the series at the perfect resting point. The plans of Prophet Five are coming together, Sydney seems rather likely to have her child in the worst possible place, and the time has definitely come for her to get out of the field. There are still a number of episodes left (at least 13), so there’s a lot of story left to tell.

Some of those elements have potential. The animosity between Peyton and Rachel promises to explode in the future, and Renee is actually beginning to get interesting. (In point of fact, when Renee does action material, it’s great; it’s the dramatic moments that trip her up.) The one problem is still Thomas Grace. The hints of a secret and dangerous past are not at all compelling, and in the interests of not replicating Vaughn, the writers may have created a completely needless character. He really exists solely as a plot device, an experienced pair of hands to get things done.

The upside is that this episode is a good test of the viability of the season as a whole. Vaughn’s exit was fraught with considerations above and beyond the plot itself, and that hurt the concept. Bringing Vaughn back could have reminded the audience of those troubled times, but instead, it demonstrated that the story has found its own place in the “Alias” universe. The transition has been far from seamless, but it has been successful.


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode finally puts to rest the many concerns about Vaughn’s exit by demonstrating why it works within the tapestry of the series’ mythology. A key moment near the end of the episode also places Prophet Five in a consistent and even clever context, something that should lead to a fulfilling culmination of the Rambaldi endgame, if the writers manage to stay on task. A good episode to close out this side of the maternity hiatus.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10

(Season 5 Average: 6.6)

X-Files 5.17: "All Souls"

Written by Billy Brown, Dan Angel, Frank Spotnitz, and John Shiban
Directed by Rob Bowman

In which Scully is asked to speak to a family who lost a daughter under unusual circumstances, but her investigation takes her into spiritual territory with unexpected personal overtones…


Status Report

Central to the evolution of the series mythology is the exploration of “spiritual warfare”. While it does not always take on a specifically Christian aspect, a number of Christian themes and metaphors underscore major events. From a more universal point of view, the strict Christian interpretation of spirituality doesn’t quite encompass the breadth of the mythology. A less defined approach is necessary to explain events.

For that reason, this episode has certain strengths and weaknesses. The strengths are fairly obvious. This episode focuses almost entirely on the psychological aftermath of “Emily” on Scully’s world, and how her faith has evolved since the third season. Scully has plenty of reason to believe that there is a higher power and a higher purpose. The question is: what does that mean for her?

At the same time, because the situation must have meaning for Scully, the spiritual warfare in question takes on a rather traditionally Christian perspective. This is only problematic because the mythology doesn’t suggest a strict battle between Angels and Demons. So the Nephilim don’t quite fit into the idea of a generalized spiritual war. Nor does the devil himself, for that matter.

But there are ways to reconcile the events of this episode with the mythology as a whole. Spiritualism on “X-Files” has enough depth to allow for a wide range of motivations within the general context. Mulder and Scully have been aided on more than one occasion, most recently in “Christmas Carol”, by the benevolent “angelics”, the spiritual forces fostering a benign and more natural evolution of the human species.

Purity itself is an extension of the very opposite force, the malevolent opposite to the “angelics”. This can be demonic in nature, as in episodes like this and “Empedocles”, but the general idea is that they are agents of chaos, seeking to subvert humanity’s progress to their own ends. It only stands to reason that Mulder and Scully (and their allies) would occasionally run into those agents of chaos in a form other than Purity or the conspiracy.

Not only does this provide a framework for the spiritual activities within the mythology, but it helps to ascribe a long-term goal to the intervention of those forces. Unlike the real world, where it’s easy to be comfortable with the apparent random nature of spiritual dealings (and debate their existence), a fictionalized universe with the suggestion of consistency must, by definition, avoid the pitfalls of convenient intervention from on high.

Therefore the big question becomes: what was the point of this episode’s events? Why exactly did they take place? Was it all about Scully and bringing her further along her own psychological and spiritual evolution? Or was there some other goal in mind, some function of the Nephilim that fits within the overall mythology?

If this entire situation is viewed as a lesson for Scully, it seems rather extreme. At the same time, Scully needs to be in a certain psychological space to proceed as the endgame dictates. If Scully doesn’t find meaning in her faith, if she doesn’t find a reason to search for answers on her own terms, then how far will she go with Mulder as things seriously degrade? The goal of this effort with Scully is found in “all things”; Scully must eventually come to terms with her own identity and overall purpose, so she can recognize where Mulder fits in her life.

Yet that journey must take place almost in spite of Mulder, because Mulder is taking a journey of his own in counterpoint. Mulder is discovering that his strength is not in the cold, hard facts of “the truth”. More to the point, as he should have recognized from the beginning, his answers are a question of faith. Yet he cannot bring himself to believe in a world ruled by spiritual influences. It’s far easier to accept the idea of alien plots and military experiments than the idea of a non-corporeal intelligence seeking dominion over all life.

It takes Mulder more than a decade to realize that the truth lies beyond the material. Scully, on the other hand, must reconcile her faith and her strict viewpoint of the world with the idea that science is just an explanation. It doesn’t provide meaning. When the world fit within her science, she could mold her science within the precepts of her faith. Once Mulder came along with evidence of something outside of her science, it forced adjustment. And sooner or later, that adjustment must also trigger an adjustment and consideration of faith.

To put it another way: Scully managed to explain her science as a model or human explanation of the divine. Chemistry and biology were the result of a clear spiritual source. Her faith was the foundation of that understanding. Her work with Mulder, on the other hand, required her to consider aspects of science and nature that fit outside of the boundaries of her spiritual understanding. So how does she reconcile the differences?

It’s a fairly accepted precept that “science explains how, not why”, and Scully needs to understand why. Why Emily had to die, why she almost died herself, why all these things surrounding her life have been necessary. Science leads to the conspiracy, but that is not enough. For that matter, it’s not really enough for Mulder, either; he’s just not sure what to do about that yet.

What would happen if Scully couldn’t reconcile the recent past with her faith? Would she continue to believe that there was a reason for her partnership with Mulder? Would she question that, perhaps move on to protect herself from further loss? That is a question that ultimately plays into the feature film, but this episode frames the question rather nicely. Faith is a means of accepting and dealing with loss; Scully must decide if that will be enough.

If the “angelics” are essentially hoping to manipulate Scully into a certain psychological space, an acceptance of her loss to carry her through to the planned healing of her barren state (with the understanding that the “angelics” are the ones behind William), then it makes sense that they would contrive a situation that aligns with some aspect of her faith. The events also serve to communicate the true nature of the central conflict: a spiritual war over “all souls”.

Of course, that also brings up a disturbing side to spirituality: even the “good” side of the conflict will allow or provoke terrible personal tragedy to achieve a larger goal. Regardless of how it is interpreted, the audience is asked to accept that God or “angelics” (take your pick) ensured that Scully would suffer but survive, that Emily would be brought into her life and that Scully would therefore suffer through the loss, and that the Nephilim would be born and then hunted down for Scully to learn this lesson, and so on.

So to a certain extent, it’s not very satisfying to make this episode all about Scully. It may be more realistic to think of the situation as something that was already happening, but was also useful in helping Scully along in her spiritual evolution. At the same time, Scully is critical to the overall endgame, as the mother to humanity’s savior. So why wouldn’t the “angelics” take the necessary measures to ensure that all angles are covered?

From the larger point of view, the mythology strongly suggests that there is a genetic goal in the plan of the “angelics”, a natural means of accomplishing the evolution of humanity into a more spiritually aware shared consciousness. The conspiracy was a means of artificially “upgrading” humanity in a way that would achieve a similar goal, only twisted to allow Purity to take control of the artificially evolved form.

The key to the victory of the “angelics” would be the “sentinels”, humans on the cusp of the next stage of evolution, with many of the abilities that the evolved humanity would possess. William is a perfect example. But since William is the end of a natural evolutionary process, however artificially began by the “angelics” (essentially, “intelligent design”, after a fashion), the process of evolution to get to the desired endpoint would have certain drawbacks.

Many of the genetically diverse creatures and humans throughout the course of the series can be explained in this way: flawed “dead legs” in the evolutionary works. But there’s also every reason to suspect that the process would be maintained. The involvement in Mulder and Scully’s lives, for instance, is evidence of this ongoing maintenance. Why, then, wouldn’t there be regular removals of dangerous evidence of their intervention? The Nephilim, in this case, seem like a periodic product of the activiation of certain inactive human genes.

This would be the only way to explain the Nephilim logically. Why else would something so clearly out of legend exist and yet still be relevant? Again, the same two choices emerge: that it was contrived for Scully’s sole benefit, or that the Nephilim is a recurring phenomenon, which the “angelics” must remove when the enemy gets wind of them and tries to take possession. The more expansive explanation is, in the case of “X-Files”, often the more satisfying.

With all of these larger considerations in mind, it would be easy to overlook the fact that this is a showcase for Scully as a character. Gillian does her usual brilliant job of giving the character depth beyond what exists on the page, and the presentation of this tale does much to overcome some of the more obvious questionable creative decisions. Emily and her life and death are placed in context, which was a major drawback with the earlier episodes, and there’s even an evolution of Scully’s approach with Mulder on topics of faith.

The direction and cinematography were also stunning. With one exception (a dead person moving rather obviously while on a coroner’s table), the effects are compelling and draw the viewer into the story. There’s a general theme of perception and seeing things through filters (windows, boards, etc.). This provides a great reason to frame shots with unusual and exciting lighting choices. When the story drags here and there, the presentation shines through.

Until “all things”, about two seasons later, the writers would avoid any deep discussion of Scully and her faith. It would be a topic discussed in passing now and again, but as the writers fell into familiar patterns and weren’t sure where to take the mythology, they avoided anything too drastic in terms of deep character development. Only when the series looked to end did the writers take the chance at bringing Scully further along the path, and so “All Souls” stands as a rare example of Scully’s post-cancer character exploration.

As a final comment: this episode seems to take place at least two months after “The Red and the Black”. Mulder seems to have very little to do, and Scully has a bit of free time on her hands as well. This continues to suggest that the agents were sidelined while the conspiracy considered what to do about Mulder’s recent activities. In fact, Mulder and Scully seem to have plenty of time on their hands until the season finale, when the conspiracy finally makes up its mind.


Memorable Quotes

MULDER: “I’m, uh…I’m kinda tailing a suspect right now…”

MULDER: “Scully…aren’t you the Secret Squirrel!”

GREGORY: “Unless you accept the truth of God’s teachings that there is a struggle between good and evil for All Souls and that we are losing that struggle…you are but fools rushing in.”

MULDER: “I know people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, blah blah blah, but that guy is paranoid!”

SCULLY: “I was raised to believe that God has his reasons, however mysterious.”
MULDER: “He may well have his reasons, but he seems to use a lot of psychotics to carry out his job orders.”

GREGORY: “I am immune to your mockery. You’re not interesting in the truth.”
MULDER: “I am only interested in the truth.”

PRIEST: “Has it occurred to you that maybe this, too, is part of what you were meant to understand?”
SCULLY: “You mean, accepting my loss?”
PRIEST: “Can you accept it?”
SCULLY: “Maybe that’s what faith is.”


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode is one of the last strong Scully-centric episodes for quite some time, and as such, it is a stunning exploration of her questions of faith. A number of important psychological questions are addressed, and the stage is set for her decisions in “Fight the Future”. Some aspects of the plot don’t mesh too well with the overall mythology, but the direction and cinematography is stunning. Another gem of the fifth season.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 1/2
Style: 3/4

Final Rating: 8/10

Angel 1.20: "War Zone"

Written by Garry Campbell
Directed by David Stratton

In which Angel takes on a rich client with a taste for a little demon tail, but along the way, he encounters an army of homeless kids fighting an urban war against vampires…


Status Report

After a long first season with a general lack of direction, the writers had to take stock of what was working and consider how the series could be revised towards a more serial format. While growing apart from Buffy and getting more comfortable with his redemptive mission were very important, the series wasn’t quite hitting all cylinders without the familiar arc structure that had dominated “Buffy”.

In particular, the writers began to focus on the idea of Angel as the “apocalyptic warrior”. Expanding the cast was important to that goal, because Angel’s actions had to be seen from an outside perspective in the second season. Wesley and Cordelia had already demonstrated an ability to rationalize Angel’s choices. Adding someone completely unrelated to Angel’s past was an important step, especially in the post-Doyle days.

“Prodigal” had taken Kate’s involvement in Angel’s life in a completely new direction. In essence, his ability to use law enforcement contacts as a means of information retrieval disappeared in short order. Angel was forced further into the shadows. Yet he still needed to find a connection with real people. A close look at the series after the first season makes it clear that Angel has a wealth of blind spots that make him psychologically vulnerable.

“Five by Five” and “Sanctuary” also made it clear that Angel believes that he’s on the right track. He wants to believe that, because among other things, it makes Doyle’s sacrifice more meaningful. Giving Faith a chance at redemption, even at the risk to his own existence, was a way to tie up the larger themes of the first season.

But in the wake of “Sanctuary”, the writers had to focus on the more obvious task of preparing for the second season arc, which meant setting up the new characters and solidifying the antagonism between Angel and Wolfram and Hart. The Faith situation was the first step in the latter process; this episode introduces two of the three characters that were meant to enliven the second season.

Perhaps as a means of drumming up confidence and interest in the series during its critical growth phase (the series was still struggling to find its identity, after all), the producers were more than happy to trot out the new characters in the same manner that they praised Bai Ling and made her seem like a solid new addition to the cast. As it turns out, between David Nabbit and Charles Gunn, only one would ultimately be viable.

David was meant to be a source of financial and technical support, if memory serves. It’s actually hard to be sure, because his character and his role never truly materialized as more than a momentary solution to larger problems. In retrospect, his role in the episode is a bit intrusive, given his later lack of involvement. But it does serve to place Angel in the right place at the right time to meet Charles Gunn.

Gunn is a character that had equal potential for a quick exit, but the character fulfills a very important role: someone completely non-privileged with no connections at all to Angel and his past. In other words, someone with plenty of incentive to keep an eye on Angel. Such a character is more likely to view Angel and his allies with an objective point of view, at least initially, and as the progression of the series would demonstrate, change in that perspective can also be compelling.

For that to be true, such a character needs to come at Angel from a position of strength. Spending so much time on Gunn and his world provides the necessary background. Gunn is also given a set of flaws, very important in the interests of keeping him grounded. Gunn lives with an amazing amount of fatalism, and he has just lost the one good thing left in his life. He has a death wish, something that changes as he finds hope as the season unfold. But for now, he is also someone in search of something to believe in, which makes him the perfect companion in Angel’s journey.

Beyond the introduction of Charles Gunn, this episode is also notable for showing Wesley in a more confident position. Wesley changes after his experience with Faith, and while he never completely loses the awkward side of his nature, competency does finally arrive. In this case, he has a certain droll response to Cordy’s sarcasm that wasn’t present in quite the same degree in previous episodes.

In fact, having faced down the temptation of doing what he was told to get some vague sense of reward in “Sanctuary”, Wesley has taken ownership of his alliance with Angel. The arrangement is no longer a temporary means of survival or self-confidence; Wesley made the choice to stick with Angel and be a true member of the team. As later seasons would demonstrate, Wesley’s sense of responsibility would make him a flawed leader at best, bringing out his dark side when his efforts aren’t so appreciated.

Cordelia also shows signs of personal growth. Faced with David and the chance to be some rich man’s toy, she does little more than wistfully entertain the notion. She’s not nearly as serious as she would have been in “City Of…” or the episodes immediately thereafter. In terms of a character arc, it carries forward the process that the pain of the visions would ultimately complete: conversion of Cordy from self-centered to selfless.

If there is one weakness in this episode, it’s Alonna. Not the concept of the character, since it is a simple way to get Gunn into the right psychological space, but the actress who plays the character. It’s never a good thing when the supporting character, slated to die by the end of the episode, actually acts as if they don’t have plans to be around. Alonna wasn’t very convincing in terms of communicating her own tragedy, and that was a slight miscue.

But in terms of setting the stage for the second season, this is an important part of the process. Gunn would be an important character right until the end of the series (and beyond, in fact), and Wesley’s increased confidence is another step in a direction that makes the character far more interesting in later seasons. While this forces Angel into the background to a certain extent, the effect is minimal and the episode succeeds in its appointed task.


Memorable Quotes

CORDY: “I like the smell of money every once in a while.”
ANGEL: “She’s not just saying that. Hide some in the office sometime and watch her. It’s uncanny!”

NABBIT: “Are you familiar with Dungeons and Dragons?”
ANGEL: “Yeah…I’ve seen a few.”
WESLEY: “You mean the role-playing game.”
ANGEL: “Oh…game…right…”

CORDY: “Did someone find out you were a big nerd?”
NABBIT: “No, that’s actually public record.”

WESLEY: “Certainly not something one would want framed.”
CORDY: “How does it feel?”
WESLEY: “I can’t imagine it’s pleasant…”

ANGEL: “Can I just see that check again?”

WESLEY: “You go ask this gentleman if he’s seen anyone that fits the description of our young vampire killers, while I check the power line for any taps.”
CORDY: “Why don’t you ask him and I check for taps?”
WESLEY: “Because…you can imagine him as a scantily-clad, buff, young stud, while I am stuck with the naked truth.”

WESLEY: “You should’ve tried to call us on your cell phone. You probably forgot you had it.”
ANGEL: “Those things hardly ever work. Besides, it was a lot easier and quicker to just…look, I’m the boss here, I say when we use the cell phones and people are gonna die and – I have to go…”

KNOX: “Who the hell are you? You know who you’re talking to, fool?”
ANGEL: “The name’s Angelus. And I wasn’t actually talking to you…”

GUNN: “That’s it? You ain’t gonna talk at me, be all daddy figure?”
ANGEL: “What am I gonna tell you, that you haven’t already learned?”

ANGEL: “I’ll be around.”
GUNN: “I don’t need no help.”
ANGEL: “I might.”


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode serves to introduce an important new character, one that has a massive impact on the future of the series. Wesley also shifts into a more confident persona, which serves to widen the appeal and range of the character. Some of the disparate themes of the season are finally coming together, and while not everything in this episode would eventually work in the long run, it is an important part of the transition to the second season.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 7/10

West Wing 7.9: "The Wedding"

Written by Josh Singer
Directed by Max Mayer

In which Bartlet must juggle an international crisis and his daughter’s wedding, while unexpected turns in the polls lead to questions about Josh and his ability to run the Santos campaign…


I don’t pretend to be an expert on this series; others have lived and breathed every second of every episode (at least, the Sorkin years) to a far greater degree. I just love watching these characters and this stylized, idealized version of how the American presidency should be. And I’ve also been a political junkie in my day, and so there’s this little thrill I get when I see an Electoral College map. Seriously!

So when it comes to this episode, I can’t help but appreciate the fact that this White House wedding provides a nice distraction from the slow but steady decay of the Bartlet administration. I enjoy that on a certain level, because there is a hint of realism in it all, but I do love symbolism. In this case, Bartlet handing off his daughter in marriage in the White House. Chance for comedy and some nice little character work? Sure, but the metaphor is hardly lost.

But for me the heart of this episode was Josh. I remember reading in more than a few places that this was originally supposed to be the “Josh and Sam Show”, back in the development days, and I think that Josh has remained at the center of the action in a very real and consistent way over the years. (Others may argue that, but hey, it’s just my opinion.) So it makes sense that this election is as much about Josh and his failures as it is about Santos and his improbable rise to the presidency (I’m still sure that’s what will happen).

Looking back over the course of the season, the season premiere all but told us that this moment would come. Josh and his judgment was under fire for much of the sixth season, and Santos’ win at the convention only put his strategy under more scrutiny. He’s made some missteps in the past, but as the race tightens and each decision counts more and more, Josh can’t help but miss some of the details.

Part of that is his inability to let go of control. He wants to be the one who makes it happen, who puts his man in the Big Chair, the student who has become the master. But Josh often forgets that even Leo had a staff, people he trusted to give him honest and divergent opinions. It’s what made Leo such a damn good Chief of Staff, even if the man took too much on his own shoulders at times. More to the point, as much as Bartlet trusted Leo and his judgment, he also had a rapport with his senior staff before they officially took power.

Who does Santos have, beyond Josh? Nearly everyone else is still essentially a temporary fixture. Josh has never let go of the reins long enough to build a powerful and diverse team. And yet, it’s too much to take him out of the game and leave him out of the room. It’s not so much that he needs to go; he just needs someone to keep him from isolating his decision-making process. Leo can help him with that, and if that is indeed the direction the writers take, it will be a reasonable and logical progression of the season thus far.

More than that, it could serve to give Leo a more substantial plot thread. He has been largely absent this season, probably because of contractual purposes with the network, and that is not the preferable situation. Far better for him to step in, help Josh reorganize and focus. Leo has shown a remarkable loyalty to Josh in terms of support, and so he’s the one person who Josh can trust to point him in the right direction. In fact, this is how I see Santos winning.

It also means that Leo, in a more prominent role, will be more exposed. Enter more complication, since his past will be even more fair game. But since the struggle must escalate between now and, say, episodes 14-16 (the likely timing for the election itself), this is the most obvious and interesting direction to take. Meanwhile, it certainly looks as if Bartlet will be dealing with one, final international crisis. All of which, in my opinion, is more than worth the time.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10

Smallville 5.9: "Lexmas"

Written by Holly Harold
Directed by Rick Rosenthal

In which Lex is shot while setting up a campaign smear against Jonathan and is shown a glimpse of a future that could be, if he makes the right choice, but no future is without tragedy…


I actually forgot that this episode was on this past week, so with the holiday shopping and snowstorms to contend with, it took a little time for me to catch up. In the meantime, I’ve noticed a rather negative response to this episode within the fandom. In fact, one could call it loathing. Perhaps it’s a question of anticipation, but I don’t necessarily agree. I think the main plot of the episode was quite good and entertaining.

Recently, “Dead Zone” aired a Christmas episode, which met a more divided opinion. While that episode had its share of sugary holiday goodness, it was also effectively outside of normal continuity. What could have been an annoying departure became instead a flight of fancy. One didn’t have to worry over character arcs or motivations. That left the audience to enjoy the episode on its own terms, divorced of the usual “mythology”.

This is where the writers of “Smallville” trip themselves up. The central premise is a lot of fun, and while it includes a great deal of Christmas-related themes, it also works as a simple character piece. Knowing that Lex is destined for a future of immorality and power-mongering leaves the entire tale with an ongoing sense of tragedy. Clearly, something must go wrong, and Lex must make the choice in line with his future. Seeing that play out may be annoying for some, but since I love the character and the exploration of his psychology, I found it quite good.

It makes perfect sense for Lex’s plot thread to interconnect with the season arc and the larger concerns of the series mythology. Had the episode been nothing but Lex’s moral dilemma, then it would have probably worked as a departure from the norm. But the writers couldn’t focus exclusively on the “A” plot, and as a result, we have a subplot that tosses the series’ logic to the winds in some vague attempt at Christmas relevance.

It’s never a good thing when writers try to suggest that, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus in the (insert series here) universe”. At least, I’ve never seen it work well. It comes across as needlessly cloying and sentimental. More than that, but there’s usually a certain set of rules at work, and having Santa Claus in the mix typically doesn’t fit within those rules. This is a perfect example of that problem.

I was slightly annoyed when the writers were trying to turn Clark into some pseudo-Santa. Sure, it made sense to a certain extent, but it was also rather cheesy. It all went downhill from there. Of course Clark must meet someone with suicidal tendencies and play the angel, and then of course it must turn out to be the worst of clichés: the stranger in need who is, in fact, the real Santa. (Never mind how often Chloe and Clark openly discuss his true nature, within earshot of several strangers!)

So on the one hand, I could have easily bought the “A” plot with Lex as within continuity. Lex has always been interested in Lana, even if that interest has sometimes been jealousy more than pure emotion, and his father would use tragedy to teach Lex a lesson about power. Lex would also choose to defeat Jonathan the easy way, rather than risk an increase in power. It all flows well with the season and character.

But the “B” plot is a horrible mishmash of Christmas clichés that don’t even work on sitcoms anymore. It betrays a lack of confidence. Why not go against the grain and keep the tale dark, avoid the easy sentimentality? I would rather have seen more substantial glimpses of the future than one single hint that Clark had run into some other “mythological hero”.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 6/10

X-Files 5.16: "Mind's Eye"

Written by Tim Minear
Directed by Kim Manners

In which a blind woman with a colorful record seems to have killed a man with uncanny precision, leading Mulder to believe that some other ability might be at play…


Status Report

Even as the series mythology was undergoing a questionable transition, the writers were doing everything possible to keep the stand-alone episodes fresh and interesting. Of course, that also meant dealing with the constant interruptions and scheduling nightmares caused by reshoots for “Fight the Future”. This episode had similar challenges, but in the end, they were handled well.

One advantage was the superior casting of Lily Taylor as Marty. Much ado had been tossed around over the “guest writing” by Stephen King and William Gibson during sweeps, so it was a surprise to see this episode with such a strong and well-regarded guest star relegated to a relatively quiet part of the season.

The series had started with the sensibilities of a cult show, and while the focus shifted more and more to its place within the popular culture, there were many on the writing staff who still thought of themselves as outsiders. Lily Taylor was one of the better “independent film” actresses of the time, with a very distinctive look, and casting her in an episode was a brilliant move to maintain credibility. (Much of which was quickly lost by the end of the season, when Mimi Rogers was cast in a thankless role in an attempt to jumpstart dramatic elements.)

This episode was one of the few written by Tim Minear, who would later collaborate with Joss Whedon on a number of projects, most notably “Firefly”. Minear has a proven track record as a solid showrunner and story editor, and it’s probably no mistake that the most popular and consistent period for “X-Files” coincided with his tenure as story editor on the production. This episode is largely a capstone to that tenure, as it would end shortly thereafter.

One thing that works well for the episode is the chemistry between Duchovny and Taylor. The two work well together, to the point where the story actually works better when Scully is out of the picture. Marty is a character with a great deal of depth, and Taylor manages to make the character seem real. In short, the point of the episode is the character this time around, not simply the paranormal ability that drives the action forward.

That being the case, there are no connections between this episode and the larger contextual concerns of the season arc as a whole. Unlike the fourth season, which was clearly designed to take the mythology into darker territory and explore those themes independent of the conspiracy, the fifth season was hobbled by the demands placed on it by the film and the desire to extend the series beyond its natural endpoint. Thus the fifth season becomes, in retrospect, an example of a season where strong pieces dominate a weaker whole.

For instance, one of the themes in the fifth season, in terms of arc, was the journey of personal faith experienced by Mulder. He was meant to lose his faith, only to have it slowly but surely restored in time for the film to complete the circle. That never materialized in the scripts themselves, and this episode is a good example. If Mulder’s faith has been partially restored by the events of “The Red and the Black”, then why does that inner struggle not materialize in the episodes that followed?

If anything, Mulder is right back to where he began. He approaches his theories about Marty with a bit more maturity than, say, he would have circa “Deep Throat”, but he’s still the same old Mulder. Scully is back to tossing out rationalizations that seem more ludicrous and unlikely that psychic ability, which similarly serves to undermine the overall point of Scully’s side of the journey (which was a more balanced approach to exploring extreme possibilities).

Some will argue that much of what makes the “X-Files” work, as a concept, is the amount of context and character development that takes place off the screen, within the mind of each audience member. Within the fandom, there are character traits and even histories that, in retrospect, were more part of the fandom’s collective unconscious than anything derived from an on-screen revelation.

When it comes to the mythology, that’s not a bad explanation. The audience was invited to develop a rationale for the “mere pieces of the whole” that were tossed out, season after season, and never really seemed to come together. The series, to a certain extent, evolved with the emergence of the internet as a pop culture icon, a place to share and debate to the nth degree. (In today’s world, this has further evolved into the kind of multi-level experience that “Lost” offers: the series is the cornerstone of an entire multi-media conceptual immersion, with clues and world-building buried on “secret” websites.)

However, should that happen with character development? Should the audience have to piece together a character arc that should have been more closely maintained? Minear is not to blame for that decision, since Chris Carter famously didn’t even bother to have a series bible to maintain consistency. The intent was more iconic: create two leads and a concept that can, week by week, reinvent and re-energize itself within its own mythos.

This is a strong example of a successful use of that philosophy. Self-contained almost to a fault, one doesn’t need to know much about Mulder or Scully to understand where they’re coming from, what they’re all about, and how much Mulder cares about those who live in the world he seeks to understand. This could have easily been a film in and of itself, which may explain why Taylor is able to give Marty such nuance. Imagine this as a film centered on her character, with Mulder and Scully as supporting characters; it’s not very far to jump.

All of which may sound like an odd way to praise an episode. But it should be noted that many episodes over the course of nine seasons failed due to lack of context. Left with only a central theme or concept, isolated by the episodic nature of the series’ structure, episodes rise and fall based on the strength of the idea and character work. This episode has both.

More than that, there’s a neat exploration of predetermination vs. free will. Marty found her life caught in a prison not of her making on two levels: her blindness and her psychic connection to her father. One prison she could overcome, but the other was impossible to avoid; thus, her insistence on dismissing anything that might suggest that her blindness was a weakness.

Given the chance to choose, to make her own fate, she took it. There is an irony in the fact that she wound up in prison, but for her, that’s not what it was. She had given herself a freedom that she would otherwise have been denied. Where she was had little to do with it, because for her, it was breaking free of a curse, the real disability. Mulder gives her choices a tragic empowerment, and as a result, this episode manages to rise above its contextual weaknesses and succeed on its own.


Memorable Quotes

SCULLY: “Mulder, don’t make me state the obvious. She’s didn’t see anything.”
MULDER: “Not with her eyes.”
SCULLY: “Well, how else did she see? Bat vision?”

MARTY: “Let me guess…your killer is OJ Simpson.”

PENNOCK: “Looks to me like it fits.”
MARTY: “Somewhere, Marcia Clark weeps.”

PENNOCK: “You are one skeptical guy, Agent Mulder.”
MULDER: “I’ve been called a lot of things. Skeptical, however, is not one…”

MARTY: “I hate the way you see me.”


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode is a strong stand-alone installment. The chemistry between Duchovny and Taylor is powerful enough to overcome Scully’s relative absence from the story, and there are some interesting philosophical themes at work. The lack of context within the season arc itself could have worked against it, but the episode manages to stand on its own.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 1/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10

24: Season 5 Trailer

Even though they present an opportunity for silliness, the entire concept of a DVD-only “prequel” between seasons is a marketing coup. I really love the fact that fans are rewarded with a taste of “24” as it continues to evolve, and it looks like this spring will be a good one for “24” fans. Not only will there be the fifth season, but the more I see of “24: The Game”, the more I salivate!

As far as the new “Season 5 Trailer” goes, it’s a lot more straightforward than the mash of scenes put together for the “Season 4 Trailer” in the previous DVD set, which is good and bad. Last season’s trailer had the benefit of a wider cast; it gave the audience a feel for the scope of the season to come. This was something a bit more targeted.

I suspect that had something to do with the Toyota sponsorship. Half of the trailer was a car chase between Jack, in his brand-new Toyota (way to blend, Jack!) and someone with evil intent in a BMW. All well and good, especially since this seems to be a growing trend. I still cringe at that “Alias” episode that doubled as a Ford commercial, but it’s par for the course in the TiVo/DVD world.

We did get some plot information, which is a good thing. A year after he faked his own death, Jack is running around Chicago, trying desperately to look like an expatriate from South Jersey (seriously, that mullet is scary!). It turns out that Chloe has been helping him, but someone has figured out that she’s up to something and they want to know the truth. So despite the fact that Kim doesn’t know about her father, someone connected to the Logan administration might. Bad news all around.

One good thing is Chloe’s makeover. I have a bit of a thing for smart women with unusual looks, and while Chloe is not entirely of the hotness, she certainly looks like she found the softer side of Sears. Actually, in a few promo shots, she’s looked even better. Considering how little I liked the character when she first appeared, I love the fact that I can’t wait to see what she does next.

So this provides a hint as to how Jack gets dragged kicking and screaming back into his old life, which makes a certain amount of sense. The plot was hastily constructed, and it wasn’t too smart to have Chloe or anyone else at CTU helping him in his new life. Be that as it may, the series was renewed for two seasons, so there’s still a lot of story to tell. With the inclusion of Manny Coto and David Fury to the writing staff, I can’t help but get excited at the potential for this next horrible, terrible day.

Trailer Rating: 7/10

Alias 5.8: "Bob"

Written by Monica Breen and Alison Schapker
Directed by Don Thorin

In which Rachel, while undercover, meets a man named Bob and has an impulsive fling, leading to some uncomfortable moments when her new friend turns out to be Sydney’s old enemy…


Status Report

Since the previous episode aired, a great deal of information has come forward regarding the “cancellation” of the series and the plans for the final 10 episodes or so. In terms of timing, it sounds like the decision was made after a few more episodes were already in the can or at least written. What that means for the season arc is unclear, but there’s plenty of reason to believe that the writers were already on the path towards a likely series finale. The current news only makes it more imperative that the writers develop a strong exit strategy.

The inclusion of Sark in this week’s episode was another good move towards weaving this season’s plot arc into existing series mythology. While very little was mentioned regarding his past activities, and how exactly his involvement with Yelena in the fourth season and subsequent escape translated into this episode’s gambit, there’s every reason to believe that this is a step in the right direction.

Another big step is taken in terms of the shift in character focus. Sydney was firmly in the background for the majority of the episode, with the lion’s share of the plot revolving around Rachel and her growing comfort with field work. Rachel Nichols continues to do a great job as the naïve yet resourceful young agent, though it’s clear that enjoyment of this episode will hinge greatly upon enjoyment of Rachel’s performance.

From that point of view, there are good and bad points. Jennifer Garner was always able to toss out accents in a convincing manner, even if purists would cringe and point out mistakes. The point is, the vast majority of viewers were able to suspend disbelief. Rachel, at least with a British accent, does a good job, but now and then, her accent slips. The same is true for David Anders, though, so as usual, it comes down to personal preference.

Was the audience ready for a Rachel-heavy episode, right down to a love scene between her and Sark? Were they ready for the possibility that Sark would, in fact, want to step outside of his typical role and, even for a little while, find comfort in the arms of a stranger? The odd part is not that this happened, but that the writers were willing to show that side of Sark this late in the game. (No doubt, it will appeal to those with the “he’s not really that evil!” philosophy.)

A lot of emphasis will be on Sark’s appearance in this episode, and not only because it betrays a certain lack of background training for Rachel. Wouldn’t it be expected that the new agent would be briefed on the activities of the past several years, and wouldn’t that include Sark? Whatever the case, the emphasis is also based on his popularity with women and his presence as a character and the fact that this series can have no excess of morally questionable support characters.

The other side of the episode had the potential to be quite interesting. Jack’s background has always been one of the better aspects of the series, even if it was radically changed between the end of the third season and the beginning of the fourth, when that third season finale threatened to overturn too big a cart. In this case, it makes sense; Jack’s old contacts would be a logical source of information regarding the infiltration of intelligence agencies by Prophet Five.

It was even interesting to see Jack and his old friend in a situation that would usually involve someone like Sydney and Vaughn in previous seasons. But it was a bit too easy for the Prophet Five personnel to discover Jack’s plan and counter it. It suggests that those intelligence agencies are not just infiltrated, but rather, that they are overwhelmingly staffed by Prophet Five personnel. It just doesn’t come together as well as it could (or it just wasn’t clear enough this time around).

Of course, it would be easy to dismiss this episode, and the next few after it, as filler. After all, the real fun will come when the writers finally stop avoiding the Rambaldi references and fully embrace the series mythology, now that there’s little point in simplifying the story for new viewers. But is that the case? For those episodes to work within the structure of the series as a whole, Rachel and the other newer characters will need to be “up and running” by the time the endgame comes down.

This episode is another step in that process, and while it had its weaker moments (sometimes the “witty” dialogue can be annoying, for instance), it also continued the process of integrating past plot and character elements into the fifth season arc. No doubt, that process will continue with the next episode, which promises to focus more strongly on the season arc and its larger implications. It may be a few episodes until the audience gets to see how the writers step up to the plate for the final swing, but in the meantime, the groundwork should not be overlooked.


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode continues to incorporate elements from previous seasons into the fifth season arc while taking Rachel that much farther down the road towards competent field work. In light of the cancellation news, the pacing may seem hard to justify, but this is important groundwork for the final arc. At the same time, some plot elements fell flat, and the writers are still trying too hard to be witty, leading to groan-worthy moments.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 7/10

Dead Zone: "A Very Dead Zone Christmas"

Written by Karl Schaefer
Directed by James Head

In which Johnny gets a surprise visit for the holidays, which quickly leads to a mystery involving a trio of brothers and a confused man in red, while family and friends gather for dinner…


I’ve never been a fan of Christmas episodes, largely because they tend to fit within certain traditional boundaries that have become unbearably cliché. The most egregious sin in this category would be the “overly serious retread”. Take strong characters, slide them into a traditional Christmas tragedy scenario, and forget to make it work within the setting of the series.

But there are good examples of a Christmas episode. One that comes to mind is the Christmas episode of “My So-Called Life”, which was a modern classic. A more genre-related example would be “A Roswell Christmas Carol”, from the series of the same name. But not every Christmas tale needs to be deadly serious to get the point across. Sometimes whimsical is the right way to go.

In this case, whimsical is the watchword. The mistake would be taking this episode too seriously. Sure, there’s a story, and it’s not even a bad story, in and of itself. But it’s perfectly suited to “very special episode” that doesn’t concern itself with continuity beyond the most basic of timeline considerations. It should be interesting to see where it most correctly fits with the overall scheme of the season 4/season 5 dynamic.

A lot of my enjoyment came with the return of Jennifer Finnigan. “Double Vision” was my first exposure to this goddess, and I’m glad to see her back. Seriously…I’ll sit through “Close to Home” just to see her in action. She’s just plain gorgeous, and I really like her character and how she interacts with Johnny. They are very good together. At least, they’re better together than Johnny ever was with Rebecca. If her own series wasn’t picked up for a full season, it might have been worth it to add her to the cast.

The plot itself has some clever moments, but it’s not the kind of story that lends itself to deep contemplation. It’s simply not the point. It’s all about the holiday and the interaction between the characters. There are some tense moments here and there, but they don’t drag the episode down. Everything from the performances to the score has this self-aware nature to it, which usually doesn’t work but actually helps the story from taking itself too seriously.

There were some minor glitches here and there. I find it hard to believe that Bruce wouldn’t know about “turducken”; there was a time, not so long ago, when they were a hot topic of conversation. Also, the constant references to “Ratchet: Deadlocked”, a game that was released well before the air date and wouldn’t be that hot an item on the day before Christmas, made me wonder if product placement is getting a bit out of hand. (Ironically, the kids who were wondering if JJ would get the game were, in fact, playing that game so it would be on-screen!)

As critical as I was of the fourth season thus far (or the whole thing…the season designations are getting confusing!), I was just as surprised to find that I enjoyed this episode. It wasn’t a piece of brilliance, but it was exactly what it needed to be. It touched on the lighter side of the series, and it even focused on Johnny’s complex relationship with JJ and the extended family. If things wrapped up a bit too conveniently, it’s something easily forgiven. After all, isn’t that the point of the season?

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 7/10

West Wing 7.8: "Undecideds"

Written by Debora Cahn
Directed by Christopher Misiano

In which Santos finds himself in a delicate situation when a campaign stop coincides with a racially charged shooting incident, while the White House deals with escalating Asian conflicts…


In an interesting move, it looks like the campaign wasn’t changed too much by the debate. I was under the impression that it was meant to represent a massive sea change in Santos’ favor, but I suppose that would have been too obvious for this series. There was something positive for Santos, but it’s not like he’s in the lead all of a sudden.

The real change might be this episode. Ever since the campaign started, Josh has been all but carrying the burden of this effort on his shoulders. It was almost as if he wanted to make a president more than he wanted his candidate to be president (if that makes any sense). Sure, Santos showed some strong moments over the past year, but Toby strikes right at the heart of the problem: Santos didn’t want the presidency. He had to be convinced to run, and that carries a certain stigma.

But even as Josh has his worst fears aired out by someone who is working through some serious transference issues, Santos is finding his voice. Every now and then, Santos demonstrates that deep down, he does want to win. He resists the call to offer simple solutions to complex problems, but at the end of the day, he can step up to the plate. As manufactured as the final act was (it just didn’t feel as natural as, say, a Bartlet speech), it reinforced the message that has been brewing all season thus far: let Santos speak for himself and things can go quite well.

This reminds me of something noted time and again, right from the premiere: Josh doesn’t seem to trust Santos to know what to say or when to say it. And sometimes, he didn’t trust Bartlet so much either. Contrast that with Bartlet and his team during his initial campaign. The team was there to present Bartlet in the best possible light, but at the end of the day, it was (eternally) “Let Bartlet Be Bartlet”.

The Santos team has struggled time and again with the notion of letting Santos be Santos. But how many of their victories have come with the moments when Santos deviates from their script? Nearly all of them. And why? Because that’s when the man comes out and communicates. If Santos is going to win, I believe it will be in the moments when his sincerity overpowers the slick platform messages of the Vinick campaign. That’s why this episode is called “Undecideds”…what inspires them to vote is often a sense of personal resonance, and that’s what Santos needs.

As usual, the White House elements are the weaker link, especially since there was a distinct lack of balance. The material with Will the Wedding Planner was a nice counterpoint to the more serious dealing of the Santos campaign, but the problems in Asia didn’t gel well. Clearly there’s an ongoing plot thread at work there, but it’s not quite so compelling as the writers seem to think it is. It’s not just this season, though; Sorkin also struggled with this sort of plot arc in the fourth season.

Despite the weaknesses, I thought it was a solid episode. One thing did strike me, however, because my wife brought it up. She noted that Bartlet was in the episode, and with the scenes between Josh and Toby, it suddenly struck her that this really could be the end. It left her with a true sense of loss, which I found rather remarkable. For one thing, she once avoided this show like the plague. Now, it has become a cornerstone of our shared viewing experience, and a continual example of what American politics should be. Hopefully they will get everyone back for one final farewell, as planned.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 7/10