'The X-Files' Recap: 'Kitten'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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I cannot even begin to imagine just how difficult it must be for writers and producers and showrunners in general to keep a television series fresh and exciting when it runs for a fair number of years. But, if there is one saga out there that always finds a new way to make those all-important elements happen on a regular basis, it would be The X-Files. Because time and time again it finds a way to reinvent itself and keep us intrigued and it often accomplishes such a feat by way of its characters.
 
Case in point, last night’s episode of the show, ‘Kitten’, which took the time to truly explore the life of Walter Skinner and well, this ended up being quite the compelling episode when all was said and done, thanks to the compelling mystery that allowed for Skinner to take the center stage since he went AWOL from the FBI for a bit in order to investigate some strange circumstances surrounding an old friend from Vietnam and while it was supremely cool to see Haley Joel Osment to pop in for a guest appearance to help advance the plot, what mattered most here is what we learned about Skinner.
 
Because, we truly came to understand that he is a man of honor and one who is deeply haunted by his past. Because John ‘Kitten’ James and the suffering he went through in Vietnam, thanks to an experimental gas known as MK-Naomi, is enough to compel Skinner to walk away from the job to try and help his age-old friend and own up to the mistakes he made in not speaking up for said friend when he should have and honestly, this was simply beautiful to see in a series like this. In a world surrounded by monsters and conspiracies, it’s rare to see a character take the time to reflect on days gone by, much less do something to right a wrong, and oddly enough, Skinner’s plight in this tale, led to the resolution of a nagging plot thread in season eleven.
 
After all, I think it’s safe to assume that everyone has been concerned greatly when it comes to Skinner appearing to align himself with the Cigarette Smoking Man and well, it was wonderful to learn that he is still loyal to Mulder and Scully after all, and that every tough decision he makes is to protect them and that he does all of that for them, because they completely and utterly changed his life. Because before they came into his life, he was a soldier that took and executed orders without question. But Mulder and Scully taught him to challenge the system, to look beyond the surface of any matter, and with this now out in the open, the trio finally made peace with any tension that’s been lingering this year.
 
In the end, this was just a lovely and intimate character study revolving around one the most enigmatic characters in the history of the series and well, I loved this episode through and through. The wonderful performances from Mitch Pileggi and Haley Joel Osment are what sell this tale and while it may not have advanced the mythology or the greater conspiracies hanging over this show, who cares? It was just great to finally get to know Skinner a little better and understand exactly what makes him tick and most importantly, it was simply wonderful to finally see this trio bury the hatchet, period. Until next time. 

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