UNCUT - The X-Files S2E22 - F. Emasculata

Josh, while you are 100% on the media deciding what gets covered, and their incentives don't always align with what is important for people to know, the reason why SARS, Swine Fly, etc. kept getting major news coverage and then turning out to be a storm in a teapot is because doctors where trying to impart to the media the potential crisis that could happen from them. Doctors were aware that a Spanish Flu equivalent pandemic was definitely going to happen eventually, and so they raised alarm bells every time something looked like it might be the one. It unfortunately created a "boy cries wolf" scenario when COVID happened.

I'm pretty well in line with Josh on this one. It's objectively an A in that it's a very well made episode all around, but not necessarily a favourite of mine. I think it's largely down to the subject matter. I worked in the garbage industry for years, so I'm not very squeamish about gross stuff, but it's also not something I tend to seek out. I would also say some people's decisions were somewhat baffling. The guy at the beginning goes out of his way to pop that giant zit right in his face, and then he frickin licks it to get a taste?!?! Not that it would have made a difference but I'd be spitting in like 1/4 of a second if that happened. Also Scully is a medical doctor, and she sees bodies wrapped up in plastic bags next to an incinerator and her first thought is "let me expose myself to this with nothing but a face mask on"? Real talk she got Osborne killed. I do really like the scene with Cigarette Man, because you can't really argue with what he's saying. In the Fukushima disaster in 2011, only 1 person died of radiation exposure, but 51 died in the evacuation process. Thankfully the disease in this episode doesn't actually seem to be all that contagious outside of direct exposure to the infected or contaminated materials like the bedsheets. You'd think if someone knew to avoid people with those boils of they could be dead 36 hours later would be useful information, and therefore a public advisory is warranted. It all goes back to Kay's line in Men in Black, "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." So yeah Cigarette Man kinda walked all over Mulder in that exchange, and Scully agreed. Gotta say though, Skinner kind of takes an L in this one. I understand the need to avoid a panic while the outbreak is ongoing, but once it's contained, and especially with Osborne warning that it wasn't an isolated incident, this absolutely should have been exposed. Osborne was the only one aside from Mulder who really took a stand here. Again, it sucks that Scully got him killed being uncharacteristically stupid. The thing with Skinner is, his line about standing at the line Mulder keeps crossing is kind of his whole character. He's trying to do his job, and Mulder keeps putting him between a rock and a hard place. The thing is, he HAS crossed that line before. It may be begrudgingly, but he's stepped up and done the right thing enough times at this point. Here he just surrendered to the machine. Lastly, always great to see Dean Norris. Hank was hands down my favourite Breaking Bad character.

Question when does Covid stop being comedic fodder?

unison "DEAN NORRIS!!!" (jinx!) I had never made the Tooms connection before, but that's a great comparison - mostly ostensibly monster of the week, but with just a spinkle of lore (and smoking man is still my favorite part of this)

What a banger. Yeah it's gross but it's just superb in every area. Love the cigarette smoking man scene. The claustrophobic scenes with Scully. All just excellent. Damn X-Files was a good show - they don't make em like this anymore sadly.

Always loved this one. I never understood in the opening scene the guy is like cupping and pushing the wound of the dead pig so it would explode on him, like how stupid are you. Also huge cranberry sauce fan here! Every year I make my fresh Cabernet Cranberry Sauce!!! It’s so good!

C-tier for me, well done episode, just not a story I was interested in.

"Mulder, if we tell people, they could panic and start hoarding toilet paper and bottled water." "That seems unlikely, Scully." Oh, Fox. If only you knew....

Eeww, gross. Solid episode, feel bad for the 'CDC' doctor. Crackle, crackle.

This story seems to have been inspired by some real-life events in the late 80's involving discovery of the Reston virus in Reston, Virginia, not far from Washington DC, at Hazelton Research.

Without going into details, this story is right up my alley. Rated A for Absolutely entertaining.

Yeah, Wichita can be a dicey place, so I'd buy something weird would come from there.

I love this episode, maybe especially because of the way they split Mulder and Scully up with parallel investigations. It's great the way it flips back and forth between the Scully quarantine story and the Mulder manhunt story, each playing off the other. It feels like one of those supernatural-lite X-files, where they dip into a more bureau true-crime case vibe. Obviously the pathogen itself is the "supernatural" element, but I dig when it's a more grounded domestic-terror level plot with flourishes of the weird. But yeah, to echo the other comments, it's fuckin gross, haha, and I'm here for it. Also, this episode came out in April of 1995, and "The Hot Zone" was published in September of 1994, and was a best-selling real-life docu-thriller about the threat of Ebola spreading from sub-Saharan to the United States. I wouldn't be surprised if this was their riff on it, as it would have been well known at the time.

Major accolades to the makeup and art department for this episode. They did a great job Its just gross

Remember always wear your face shield. That’s outbreak protocol 101.

If you've never had fruitcake before.... keep it that way. They're revolting. People who get them over the holidays use them for doorstops and people who give them are never invited back. The Geneva Convention prohibits their use as food items for prisoners of war

thank god i made myself a big grilled chicken salad for dinner while watching this..... I think I have found a new effective diet. Watch some of the X files eps when about to eat.

Another great episode, but overall it does not appear to be a fan favorite. I really like it though. The only thing that bothers me is the lack of masks/protection by certain people (Scully included) when being around individuals having those nasty things. Same goes for the first infection where the guy is literally not wearing a mask and practically "pops" that huge thing right into his face. I mean... we're talking about doctors and scientists here. Other than that, great episode from start to finish. And your discussion after the analysis of the episode was very interesting and entertaining, too.

This episode is gross lol