'The X-Files' Recap: 'Ghouli'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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Whether we like to admit it or not, sometimes our favorite television shows become a tad predictable after they’ve been on the air for a few years. That’s largely in part due to the fact that formulas work, and sometimes it’s the best way to tell a transitional story when the powers that be want to give the audience a break from the overall story arc, and if there is one show that has used a predictable formula in successful fashion time and time again, it would have to be The X-Files, by way of the show’s ‘Monster the Week’ storylines. 
 
You know which ones I’m talking about, wherein Mulder and Scully head off to some exotic or out of the way place to investigate some freakish being from the depths of our nightmares and we are treated to a story that resembles our favorite horror movies before our intrepid agents move on to their next case and last night’s episode, ‘Ghouli’, seemed as though it was going to follow that prototypical mold since Mulder and Scully were dispatched to investigate a pair of teenage girls who tried to kill one another all in the hopes of saving themselves from the monster that shared the namesake of this tale, but it ended up being so much more.
 
Because it didn’t take long for our dynamic duo to discover that these two girls, who didn’t know one another in the slightest, shared a common thread, a boyfriend named Jackson Van De Kamp and a courtesy visit to Jackson’s home is where this episode took quite the left turn. Because the arrival of Mulder and Scully revealed that the Department of Defense was looking to clean up anyone involved in something known as Project Crossroads, which turned out to be the experiment that helped the Cigarette Smoking Man create Scully’s son, William, and while that alone could have served as the most interesting part of this episode, this tale had an even bigger surprise up its sleeve.
 
The twist in question? The fact that Jackson was not Jackson, he was William, and we learned over the course of the hour that Scully’s son has some incredible powers, in that he can influence people with his mind and thanks to his powers, he and Scully inadvertently shared the vision of the end of the world that wrapped up season ten and his control of his newfound gifts is becoming so strong, that he was able to influence his girlfriends to see only Ghouli when they took the time to attack one another and well, this revelation and the time we spent with William made this episode far more heartfelt and intimate than one might expect.
 
Much of that comes courtesy of one particular moment in this tale, wherein Scully was able to say everything she ever wanted to say to her son, and this was, quite frankly, the highlight of the night thanks to Gillian Anderson’s incredible performance in that moment. But really, when all is said and done, this was quite the quality episode. It truly put a spin on the formula this show has made use of time and time again, and more importantly, Scully finally met her son and it’s wonderful to know that he’s safe for the time being, and it was just awesome to see The X-Files show off a little bit of heart for a change. Until next time.  

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