I think I'm in a minority in that I didn't love this episode. It's not that I disliked it - there were a lot of good moments, especially the climax - I just wouldn't rank it as one of my favourites. I liked it better the second time I watched it thoughJ

The concept of immortality always fascinates me and the idea that it's not the blessing it may appear to be is interesting, if not original. This idea has been raised many times in vampire stories and the like, I've seen countless films that touched on it but the only example I can think of to quote right now is a song from Tanz der Vampire (a German musical with music by Jim Steinman - click here for a synopsis). Translated, the song Ewigkeit (Eternity) describes eternal life as "a miserable cycle, no beginning, no end." I can accept that living forever could become mundane, repetitive and boring and that mere mortals may be, as Fellig said, lucky. So dying may be lucky - but dying young is most definitely not, and that is why I had such a problem with Fellig. He stood by expressionlessly and photographed the dying instead of helping them to fight which, in my opinion, makes him cold and uncaring. I originally wondered if his lack of interference was because it was their destiny and therefore unchangeable, but he disproved that little theory when he saved Scully. So I found Fellig's philosophy a little hard to accept, but maybe if I'd lived for the last 149 years I might feel differently

Mulder and Scully began this episode running "routine background checks," still doing the FBI's drudge work. Paranoid person that I am (and no, that's not because I watch The X Files, I was paranoid well before that) I wondered who they were checking and why. Can they just check anyone, or do they have to be someone associated with, or potentially associated with, the FBI? Way off topic, sorry. Anyway, the point I was about to make was that Mulder is still unprofessional even when he's doing this boring job - he talks to Scully while he's on the phone and lets someone overhear him reminding to Scully not to forget her toilet brush. And then he starts spending time looking at the photos from Scully's case, and finally allows his computer to "inadvertently intercept" Ritter's reports. That really isn't the way to ingratiate yourself to the powers that be, and right now Mulder has quite a lot of ingratiating to do if he ever wants to get away from background checks.

Another thing - Mulder pretty much demonstrated why Kersh didn't want him involved on this, or any other, case when he said "I'm thinking murder by telekinesis, I'm thinking maybe a shamanistic death touch, I'm thinking about the Muslim superstition that to photograph someone is to steal their soul." Yeah, that'll be it, Mulder. There are so many possible rational explanations and he goes for the paranormal. Sometimes, things just happen. No aliens, no ghosts, no bizarre genetic mutants, they just happen. What's that? Not in this episode? Oh yeah…

It was nice to be reminded that Scully once had a promising career ahead of her - she is an agent in her own right, not just Mulder's partner. I did like the fact that she told Kersh that "Agent Mulder and I will begin immediately" though. On the one hand, I thought that if they're going to close the X Files it's something that at least Scully is going to be allowed to retrieve her career. On the other, I realised that if she was to accept many of these assignments it would be as good as admitting defeat. Kersh seems to be trying to divide and conquer. Realistically, Scully and Mulder should be pessimistic about ever being reassigned to the X Files, but I can't see either of them accepting this or allowing themselves to be separated. As long as they are working together, they can at least hope that they'll be able to continue their work. Of course, we as the viewers know the files can't possibly stay closed forever…

A quick point about Kersh. I really don’t like the way he calls people "Agent." He did it to Scully and Ritter in this episode and he's done it before. Maybe this is some kind of managerial tactic to ignore the fact that all the employees have their own identities - in Mulder and Scully's cases, he's probably quite keen to get them to be more like everyone else.

 It would have been very easy to make Peyton Ritter two-dimensional, easy to hate and "the enemy." I was glad they didn't - we've seen all that before. Ritter was civil to Mulder - when Mulder phoned him looking for Scully, I was ready for Ritter to get angry, territorial or both - although I thought Mulder's "Peyton" after Ritter called him Fox was a little petty. Ritter also, according to Mulder, was mostly positive about Scully in his reports to Kersh (although you have to wonder what he said that wasn't so good, or maybe Mulder was just teasing). And I did think he was justified in going off at Scully. She jeopardised the surveillance without authorisation for reasons which would not seem valid to anybody else (except maybe Mulder…) and put herself in danger by getting into a car with a man who Ritter believed to be a murderer (even I thought that was pretty stupid - he obviously wasn't a murderer but there was something weird about him). For all that, I liked the way Scully pretty convincingly defended herself.

The stabbing of Fellig was, I wouldn't use the word graphic, but it was getting towards it. (I'm not complaining though, I hate it when TV programmes present violence in a cosy, cuddly, harmless way.) When he lifted his shirt in the interrogation room, there were at least 6 clear wounds, but I think we only saw him get stabbed three times. Continuity error? BBC editing? Or am I just too darn picky? Answers on a postcard please…

During that interrogation scene, I liked Scully's open-mindedness. She was doing what a good law enforcement officer should do, that is, ask unbiased questions to establish the truth. She didn't seize any chance to prove Fellig's innocence or to lead him to incriminate himself, she just asked pertinent, relevant questions. Unfortunately, this ethic wasn't quite the same as the one Ritter was working according to:

Ritter: I thought we were trying to bust this guy, not looking for reasons to let him go.

Scully: I thought we were looking for the truth.

 It seems to sometimes get lost that the point of the justice system is not merely to convict somebody, but to convict the right person for a crime they actually committed.

Now. The ending. I liked this. There were a few bits I didn’t quite get, but I did like it. I would assume that Fellig took Scully's phone to stop anyone reaching her and warning her about his convictions as Louis Brady or to call her away from his home. So here he stops being simply an observer of death and takes an active part in it, stopping Mulder and Ritter from getting Scully away from him. I liked the way Scully tried to turn off the camera as if it was that that would cause her death - I saw this as an attempt by Scully to stay in control, we've already seen in several episodes, such as Irresistible, that not being in control is one of her fears.

The shooting of Fellig and Scully was well-staged, making the viewer wonder "Why is she looking like that?" for a split-second before they realised that she had been shot too. I thought that Fellig bleeding through the shattered camera lens was great, and the way the blood flowed so quickly out of Scully's wound as Ritter desperately tried to staunch it was very effective too. It would be easy to say that Ritter over-reacted and shouldn't have shot Fellig, and he probably shouldn't, but it could have looked to him like he was holding Scully against her will or posed some other threat to her.

Throughout the episode, I wasn't really sure whether or not I liked the black and white images of people about to die. As Fellig held Scully's hand, though, and his own hand lost its colour, I definitely liked the effect.

The next time we saw Scully, she was back to her usual, rational self, saying that she didn't know how she could even have "entertained the thought" that Alfred Fellig was immortal. Mulder's comment that "death only looks for you once you seek its opposite" had me confused for a while. Basically, he said that you'll only die if you want to live - which would explain why Fellig couldn't die. But if this were true, it would mean that, at the end of the episode, Fellig did want to live. I wondered why, until I realised that it was probably simply because he wanted to save Scully. It wasn't clear whether or not Mulder's idea works in reverse - if you want to die, you'll live. Logically, I don’t think even Mulder would believe that, otherwise everyone on the planet must have a death wish. Unless you can avoid it by accepting that you'll die eventually without actually looking forward to it. Anyway, if this does work, it would mean that Scully wanted to die. I can believe that Scully would accept death (after a near death experience and a terminal illness we've seen that she has accepted it) but not that she would actually want to die. But then I don't think the idea does work in reverse so it's all academic really.

I'm not really sure why I didn't enjoy this episode more. I think almost everything I've said is positive, and it did keep my undivided attention throughout the entire episode. But somehow I wasn't completely satisfied. I think maybe it's a grower. Definitely one to rewatch.

Mulder: Hey Scully, maybe if we get really lucky, next time they'll let us clean toilet bowls.

Scully: Are you ready to quit?

Mulder: No. That would make way too many people way too happy.

Kersh: Agent Mulder's a lost cause. I'm taking a chance you're not.

Scully: If New York passes a Good Samaritan law we might be able to nail him on that, but other than that I doubt we're going to get him for murder.

Ritter: Are we clear Dana?

Scully: Scully. And we're done with this conversation.

Mulder: We're talking about a guy for whom the phrase "life in prison" carries some seriously weighty connotations.

Scully: Most people want to live forever.

Fellig: Most people are idiots - which is one of the reasons I don't.

Back to Episode Reviews