'The X-Files' Recap: 'Rm9sbG93ZXJz'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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​The beauty of horror and science fiction, is that these two genres can explore the darkest parts of our imagination in poignant fashion. Because not only will these two genres scare us or explore the impossible, they leave us thinking when it comes to our greatest fears or the unknown and last night, The X-Files combined both genres once again to explore a part of our world that indeed keeps people up at night, the rise of artificial intelligence.
 
However, rather than give us a story that could play out in far more traditional fashion, the kind where robots rampage and murder because they deem us unworthy, the show instead took quite the original route, allowing for ‘Rm9sbG93ZXJz’ to take some chances and tell a standalone X-Files story in the most unique of fashion. Starting with how the episode was designed because this particular tale was nearly devoid of dialogue. Instead we were privy to Mulder and Scully’s reactions to the strange events surrounding them and their fine acting helped sell these wild moments through and through.
 
As an added bonus, this episode was also filled to the brim with fun homages. I was particularly fond of the Stanley Kubrick-esque shots that took place in the Sushi Bar since they set the tone for this tale in that Mulder and Scully were on their own this time around, and the tributes didn’t end there. After all, this episode did pepper in some fine humor to accompany the more intense moments in this tale and with robots coming to life and pestering this duo in chuckle-worthy fashion, I couldn’t help but notice that this one was slightly reminiscent of Stephen King’s Maximum Overdrive from time to time.
 
But really, what stole the show in this episode were the robots themselves and kudos to the special effects team for making these baby ‘bots as memorable as possible since every single one of them had their own unique look and personality and most important of all, I adore the fact that minus a single exception, their goal wasn’t to murder with impunity, they simply wanted to belong and feel like they mattered and well, that was a refreshing take on artificial intelligence as a whole and it spoke to a larger message on the topic as well.
 
In essence, the takeaway here is that we have nothing to fear from A.I. if we treat it with respect and show it we are capable of great things and it was quite lovely to see The X-Files fire off such a positive ending and hopeful message for a change. Either way, this episode really was a blast through and through, and I really am enjoying the fact that season eleven of this iconic show continues to take risks and try new things and with only three episodes left in the season, here’s to hoping more unique episodes like this come our way before we return to the whole matter of saving the world from the Cigarette Smoking Man. Until next time.  

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