S1 E4: Conduit
"You know when I was a kid, I had this ritual. I closed my eyes before I walked into my room because I thought that one day when I opened them my sister would be there...just lying in bed like nothing ever happened. You know, I'm still walking into that room...every day of my life."
Conduit is in my opinion a mythology episode as it hits the most basic criteria for connecting to the larger story arcs:
1. Does it involve alien abduction?
2. Does it invoke the name of Samantha Mulder?
3. Is there any sign of a cover-up or various government obstruction?
4. Does an F.B.I. official give a stern and/or ominous warning to Mulder or Scully?
5. Does Scully deny obvious signs of extraterrestrials despite having them in front of her face?
Conduit hits all of these beats and oh man does it hurt.
In this episode the agents investigate the disappearance of Ruby Morris, a teenage girl who was abducted while camping with her mother Darlene and younger brother Kevin at Lake Okobogee, near Sioux City, Iowa. Mulder becomes emotionally involved in the case as the details bear resemblance to the disappearance of his own sister two decades ago.
The emotional beats of this episode are much stronger than the story itself. The investigation into Ruby's disappearance has a big red herring that involves a character named Tessa whose motivation for approaching the agents is entirely unclear. As it turns out, Tessa murdered the man believed to have been with Ruby the night she disappeared so why she sought out Mulder and Scully in the first place makes zero sense. Introducing a character for the sole purpose of misdirection is fine but having them wind up implicating themselves simply because the script calls for it is bad writing.
The strength of this episode is Mulder and the connection he feels to Darlene and Kevin. Darlene believes her daughter was abducted and Mulder is the only one who believes her. I really enjoyed all of her scenes. When the agents have their first meeting with the Morris family at their home, Darlene delivers this line to Scully that I found particularly effective:
"You know, I've told this story so many times now, oh to the newspapers and the police. And every time I tell it, people get this look in their eye...just like the look that you've got right now."
I do like this episode for what it does for Mulder. We understand his motivations better and see a much more vulnerable side to his character. There's a moment at the end that encapsulates this beautifully. Ruby is returned and while hospitalized tells the agent she was warned by her abductors not to disclose any details of her disappearance. Before Ruby can elaborate further the agents are ushered out by Darlene and tells them her family would prefer to put all of this behind them. Mulder pushes the issue:
"She should be encouraged to tell her story, not to keep it inside. It's important that you let her."
"Important to who?"
Even those that Mulder feels kinship with have to sacrifice their desire for the truth if it means protecting loved ones.
The disappearance of Samantha Mulder comes up a lot but this is the first time we truly see Mulder's grief. The closing scene to this episode is powerful. In the closing scene, Scully is listening to recordings of Mulder's hypnosis therapy tapes. While the recordings plays, the scene cuts to Mulder sitting in an empty church eventually breaking down in tears while holding a photograph of him and Samantha. On the tape, Mulder describes a voice in his head telling him to not be afraid, that one day Samantha will return. Mulder is asked if he believes the voice, to which Mulder responds as the episode fades to black:
"I want to believe."
Arbitrary Episode Rating: 3/5
(Don Gibb of Bloodsport and Revenge of the Nerds fame makes a cameo as the bartender. I will always plug any reason to reference Bloodsport)
Conduit is in my opinion a mythology episode as it hits the most basic criteria for connecting to the larger story arcs:
1. Does it involve alien abduction?
2. Does it invoke the name of Samantha Mulder?
3. Is there any sign of a cover-up or various government obstruction?
4. Does an F.B.I. official give a stern and/or ominous warning to Mulder or Scully?
Conduit hits all of these beats and oh man does it hurt.
In this episode the agents investigate the disappearance of Ruby Morris, a teenage girl who was abducted while camping with her mother Darlene and younger brother Kevin at Lake Okobogee, near Sioux City, Iowa. Mulder becomes emotionally involved in the case as the details bear resemblance to the disappearance of his own sister two decades ago.
The emotional beats of this episode are much stronger than the story itself. The investigation into Ruby's disappearance has a big red herring that involves a character named Tessa whose motivation for approaching the agents is entirely unclear. As it turns out, Tessa murdered the man believed to have been with Ruby the night she disappeared so why she sought out Mulder and Scully in the first place makes zero sense. Introducing a character for the sole purpose of misdirection is fine but having them wind up implicating themselves simply because the script calls for it is bad writing.
The strength of this episode is Mulder and the connection he feels to Darlene and Kevin. Darlene believes her daughter was abducted and Mulder is the only one who believes her. I really enjoyed all of her scenes. When the agents have their first meeting with the Morris family at their home, Darlene delivers this line to Scully that I found particularly effective:
"You know, I've told this story so many times now, oh to the newspapers and the police. And every time I tell it, people get this look in their eye...just like the look that you've got right now."
I do like this episode for what it does for Mulder. We understand his motivations better and see a much more vulnerable side to his character. There's a moment at the end that encapsulates this beautifully. Ruby is returned and while hospitalized tells the agent she was warned by her abductors not to disclose any details of her disappearance. Before Ruby can elaborate further the agents are ushered out by Darlene and tells them her family would prefer to put all of this behind them. Mulder pushes the issue:
"She should be encouraged to tell her story, not to keep it inside. It's important that you let her."
"Important to who?"
Even those that Mulder feels kinship with have to sacrifice their desire for the truth if it means protecting loved ones.
The disappearance of Samantha Mulder comes up a lot but this is the first time we truly see Mulder's grief. The closing scene to this episode is powerful. In the closing scene, Scully is listening to recordings of Mulder's hypnosis therapy tapes. While the recordings plays, the scene cuts to Mulder sitting in an empty church eventually breaking down in tears while holding a photograph of him and Samantha. On the tape, Mulder describes a voice in his head telling him to not be afraid, that one day Samantha will return. Mulder is asked if he believes the voice, to which Mulder responds as the episode fades to black:
"I want to believe."
Arbitrary Episode Rating: 3/5
(Don Gibb of Bloodsport and Revenge of the Nerds fame makes a cameo as the bartender. I will always plug any reason to reference Bloodsport)
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