"The X Files" Empedocles (2001)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Barry K. Thomas

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator)
Greg Walker (written by)

TV Series:

"The X Files" (1993)

Original Air Date:

22 April 2001 (Season 8, Episode 17)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

When some of us are vulnerable we can let pure evil come inside us, like in the case of a recently fired worker. But does the evil inside him have a connection to the murder of Doggett's son Luke? |

Plot Keywords:

FBI | FBI Agent | Alien | X Files | Conspiracy

Cast

David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Robert Patrick	...	John Doggett
Annabeth Gish	...	Monica Reyes
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dayna Beilenson	...	Roberta Toews
Veronica Brown	...	Payphone Woman
Ron Canada	...	Det. Franklin Potter
Denise Crosby	...	Dr. Mary Speake
Devlin Elliott	...	Pizza Delivery Man
Amanda Fein	...	Mia Dukes
Caitlin Fein	...	Mia Dukes
Jake Fritz	...	Luke Doggett
Wendy Gazelle	...	Katha Dukes
Jennifer Hammon	...	ICU Nurse
Cheryl Francis Harrington	...	E.R. Nurse
Louise Melilli	...	Distraught Woman
Jay Underwood	...	Jeb Dukes
Bruce Wright	...	Gary Garber

Runtime:

Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Certification:

Argentina:13

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Quotes:

Scully: Mulder, you never fail to surprise me. I just wish I felt like eating it right now.
Mulder: That's cool. We can just wait for the cheese to congeal and eat it later. You miss your regular pizza man, don't you?
Scully: Yes. That's okay. He's coming by later.
Mulder: I bet you forgot about that, didn't you?
Scully: No, I didn't, actually. I thought about it a lot, while I was lying in my hospital bed, wondering what on earth you could have given me.
Mulder: And?
Scully: Oh, my God. Oh, Mulder.
Mulder: Is it what you imagined?
Scully: Not even close.
Mulder: Oh, my, that's the wrong doll, actually.
[...]

Movie Connections:

References "Mad About You" (1992)

The pizza man is not above suspicion.

Empedocles is the first, full Doggett episode. Previous episodes hinted at his son's murder, but this is the first one that focuses completely on it.

The teaser is tricky because you see this car accident and the car engulfed in flames. A man then emerges from the burning car, also engulfed in flames. The burning man walks over to Jeb Dukes and into him, disappearing. All the people surrounding Jeb Dukes appear not to notice this occurrence, which is quite puzzling. Later in the episode, it is revealed that it appears that the evil soul of Bob Harvey, or something to that effect, entered him, not a real flaming body that nobody could see.

The special effect of Jeb tearing at his face is hokey because the lines are already on his face that he tears away. There is then some sort of fire underneath, probably symbolic of the evil within him. I think they could have done without it.

I like seeing Mulder's concern for Scully and her unborn child. They have a funny dialogue in her apartment about the pizza man.

Just as Mulder got upset at Doggett in the previous episode and got rough with him, Doggett returns the favor and roughs up Mulder when he discovers Mulder was looking into Doggett's son's case.

Reyes makes her second appearance on the X-Files, the writers hinting at her future regular appearance on the show. She does a fine job in this episode.

In this episode and in the previous episode "Three Words", you can notice that Gillian Anderson is sick with some sort of illness. Her voice is very raspy in both episodes. My wife pointed that out.

Empedocles is a nice, solid episode that explores more in earnest Doggett's back-story. This is the only time that you'll see all four of the agents working on a monster of the week case together, though Scully is in the hospital most of the time. So, enjoy it, because you won't see it again.