"The X-Files" Recap: "Founder's Mutation"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

I always love when a show gets a big time discussion going and The X-Files seems to have done that with its triumphant return to television because I happily spent a lot of time yesterday talking about the season ten premiere with so many of my friends. From what I've gathered, everyone, myself included, is beyond pleased that Mulder and Scully are back and well...the new conspiracy has all of our attention.

One point of discussion that seemed to be posed by everyone was exactly how the rest of the episodes would deal with said conspiracy. Would the show go back to its classic "Freak of the Week" format of old and bring us some weird and creepy monsters and some quality scares along the way before tackling the conspiracy at the season finale, or would the revelations of what was going on behind the scenes continue along as a central plot line. Turns out the show would combine a couple of those elements for at least one more episode as "Founder's Mutation" gave us a little more on the conspiracy while bringing back some of those classic horror moments. 

It was the horror vibe that I dug the most last night to be honest simply because it was vintage X-Files and because the show delivered on those creepy moments right out of the gate with Sanjay's untimely demise. Everything about those first five minutes or so on the show was absolutely sublime and incredibly uncomfortable. From Sanjay's blood filled eyes, to the horrible noise in his mind that we the audience shared in...it set the tone for this particular tale and while it seemed at first we were shifting from that horror vibe as the conspiracy slowly snuck back in, I'm glad we came back to the terror in the final moments. Genetically enhanced or not, Kyle and Molly were a scary pair and how they handled their father...well that's the stuff of X-Files legend and as Mulder put it, something you simply cannot un-see.

But last night featured one incredible surprise that came out of left field, the fact that we took some time to revisit Mulder and Scully's son William and the decision they both made to give him up. Obviously there's concern now regarding the possibility he too may be genetically enhanced and fighting for his life but there were two powerful scenes where Mulder and Scully took a little time to wonder what their lives would be like had they kept William and well...these little imaginary vignettes were absolutely beautiful pieces of storytelling. It was a touch odd to see these two as mother and father at first but as the moments grew, you really could see the two of them being wonderful parents to William and their respective fears about their work and their life settling in to ruin their fantasies was nothing short of heartbreaking.

The most magical part of last night however is the awkwardness of a reunion was completely removed. This particular episode felt like home through and through. We had our scenes in darkness that required the classic flashlight search and I'm also loving the evolution of Skinner who clearly knows something crazy is going on behind the scenes. This Skinner is not the "company man" of old and it's wonderful to see how much he trusts this duo and how much they trust him and that perfect working relationship is clearly going to get things done. Either way, I am completely and utterly hooked and already I'm finding myself filled with anticipation for next week's episode, this season is already just that damn good. Until next time.

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