UNCUT - The X-Files S2E9 - Firewalker

Just joined the Patreon as this is my favorite episode. I agree that it is Ice and Darkness Falls rolled into one, but those are my two favorite episodes of season 1 so that in no way is an issue for me. But just wanted to point out that Leland Orser is a pretty well known character actor, probably most remembered in Seven for his "get this fucking thing off me" freak out, but he's also in The Guest, Alien Resurrection, the Taken movies, The Bone Collector and many more.

I kept thinking of Ben Stiller in Zoolander, lol. I love ending narration, but it's just preference as you say.

I was going to comment on the Ice and Darkness Falls comparisons, but with so many comments mentioning it, I see it's a common observation. I think these could be classified as an X Files sub genre of episodes. You could call them "road trip" or "isolation" episodes. Any time Mulder and/or Scully are off somewhere remote investigating something, cut off from any direct help or resources and facing some mystery or danger along. Little Green Men was also like this. I like the kind of vibe these episodes have, and they bridge the MOTW and mythology episodes. I gotta say though, I seriously question Mulder letting Trepkos go. Sure, you can justify him killing Ludwig as he was already infected and would have died anyway. Pierce wasn't on site to be infected though. Trepkos just straight up murdered him for no reason, and Mulder let him go. That doesn't sit right with me. Not as good as Ice, but I'd put it on par with DF.

I think Bradley saying "no one can leave" isn't just for the audience. He believes he as to kill these people because of the parasite inside them, however these people were still his friends, so explaining to one of them why he is killing them as he is doing it feels like something he might do to give them a little "peace" or something, or at least feel a bit less guilty murdering his friends. Like, he wouldn't want to say it to the flare gun guy because he doesn't want to risk the guy dodging the shot or something, but with the prolonged nature of a strangulation he has time to justify himself to his friend during the murder without the friend getting away or anything. Do I think it was largely for the audience? Yes. But I think there is a believable in universe reason for him to say it too.

Firewalker's a decent episode, but I find it incredibly frustrating. After everything Scully (and Mulder!) went through from Ascension through One Breath, all we get is a couple lines in passing about how Scully's doing just fine, thank you, now let's get on with the damn case already. Remove that blink-and-you'll-miss-it exchange and this episode could have taken place anywhere in Season 1. It's disappointing imo.

I'm surprised nobody mentioned it yet, so I guess I get to, but in some special features somewhere, they mention that the neckburster spores were made from condoms stuffed full of cotton balls X3 but if you don't want to sleep, look up "cordyceps", the real-life fungus that inspired the premise behind this one. Not a personal favorite, but the floor is so high with this series, still great entertainment, and the analysis you add always makes a fascinating new perspective.

Leland Orser and Brad Dourif are 2 of my favorite character actors. always bringing the heat to every role they are in.

The X-files is like... we WANT you to watch this show in the dark

Looked like a dicx

It’s a Horta !

Piper Maru is “the kid’s” name and she’s pretty cool. You may see her name referenced in future episodes.

Glad you guys enjoyed this episode. C-tier for me, not one I ever re-watch.

how much do you want to bet this is where Last of Us got it's idea from. pretty accurate about the spore explosion when it bursts from the body. when insects get infected with fungal spores... as it festers inside them they go mad... eventually the spore bursts out of them like in the show. before this happens the "zombie insects" will climb to a elevated position - the top of a flower or a branch - so when the spore bursts out of them - the spore spread gets maximum exposure. the spore takes over the mind as well as the pody and its only goal is to reporduce and spread. (last of us covered this a little bit in the early episodes)

I wanted to see some weird volcano creature that can survive extreme temperatures. Instead we got spores.

My only criticism of this Ice remake is that coming off her near death experience, Scully should have made a contribution, but not be In the field so soon. Maybe if Mulder had said it had only been a couple months ...

A very average episode really. Too much like Ice and Darkness Falls, not a patch on those two episodes, except this time it's a volcano. Still you are getting closer to what some fans believe is the true start of The X-Files.

Clearly they encountered a Horta

I always compared this to 'Ice' for some reason. Having watched it again, I absolutely agree with you that it's 'Ice' mixed with 'Darkness Falls'. I like it fine! The body-horror is on-point. I do consider 'Ice' the best out of this little 'trilogy', but this is still a fantastic Monster of the Week!

I don't think I've said this before, but I personally am unable to compare standalone vs. mythology when rating episodes. At least I find it very difficult. That's unless the difference in quality is really extreme, only then I can say [standalone X] I find terrible compared to [mythology Y]. I don't know if this makes sense, but... for example I can't say "The Host" is worse than "One Breath", because they are two entirely different types of episodes. The former is IMO one of the better standalones and the latter is one of the better mythology ones so far. But I wouldn't be able to compare them and then say one is better than the other. Unless, as I said, the difference in quality is huge, but that's also a very subjective thing. And then we have "mythology-lite" episodes like "Sleepless" which are not strictly mythology but they advance the mythology further, and IMO also cannot be judged as purely standalone stories. So while I can definitely name my favorite vs. least favorite eps, I do have difficulty comparing one "type" of episode with one that is entirely different. There are exceptions, yeah, but in most cases this is how I perceive it.

To answer your question about Sheila Larkin and R W Goodwin, they were married before X-Files began.

I'm happy that you enjoyed this episode and you do identify many positives that I failed to detail in my patron take which I appreciate. It's great watching you enjoy the show for the first time and how you react. Perhaps the reason I think it's a bit mid story wise is that I've watch the entire series more times than I can remember, so over multiple rewatches I guess it loses its shine. I do recall really enjoying it first time round especially (showing my age...). Interestingly, having looked this up, the importance of the military badge the camera lingers on at the end mission mission " implies the military-industrial complex was aware of the deadly fungal contagion, suggesting the expedition was potentially part of a covert bioweapon experiment rather than a purely academic mission". Make of that what you will. Oh, and I hope you do fix the microphones. A headphone warning would have been appreciated ;)

Yeah, strong Last of Us vibes from this episode. I think I like it more now than I did when it aired because of that. Glad you commented on the perfectly coherent flashlight beams, because there'll be a lot of those.

It's always interesting to see how opinions differ. I consider this one of the show's weakest, together with episode "3" (the vampire one), whereas I really like season one's "Fire", the one Alex seems to strongly dislike. Either way I'm really glad you could enjoy this one.

Loved watching your reaction to the body horror. Bradley Whitford was in the Revenge of the Nerds II Nerds In Paradise.

Let's see...