Review of Signs and Wonders by Sue Brody


Let me start by saying that I have a bias toward religious eps; they just
don't interest me as much as those dealing w/ the paranormal (sorry), and I
also don't have the background to be able to analyze them as well as others
can. That said, S&W *wasn't* a lite ep, so it automatically gets points
(that do matter, for you Whose Line? fans) for its seriousness. It also
kept me on my toes; I was constantly surprised by the plot twists. I still
wonder, as others have pointed out, if this season's focus on religion
stems from the fact that Millennium was cancelled. Granted, Jeffrey Bell
didn't write for MM, but it just makes me wonder. We used to get one, maybe
two a year...we've already had three this season, and two within three
weeks (and I'm not counting Amor Fati, which would then make four). I also
wonder why this season we continue to see the incarnation of the devil.
Again, that is what we saw in Millennium continually, but why on The
X-Files? Is this just an interest that has moved from show to the other, or
will M&S really have to confront it b/f the end of the season/series, as
well as the existence of extraterrestrial life?

"I'm only happy when it rains..."  Thus the teaser boded well for the ep,
as it does in many cases, Muy Agua Mala notwithstanding. <G>

I think the tagline should have read "The snakes are out there" this week,
however. <g>

High tech equipment they have now. Liked the Real Video clip of the snakes.

Scully: Snakes.
Mulder: Lots and lots of snakes. 

Remember Lots and lots of files? Frankly, I was more interested in the
files than the snakes. I want the files back. And the aliens. Soon, please.
Two weeks will be fine, thanks, but I would like some answers this time...

More Blue!Mulderwear. Looks good...got the solid colored tie, too, which is
Regis' thing these days..

Interestingly, non-believer (presumably) Mulder's theory was correct, and
these serpents *did* represent the devil and evil, though Scully didn't buy
that originally (yep, Skeptical!Scully is back). Well, maybe they didn't
exactly represent the devil, but they were used for his purpose. He is one
hell of a profiler this season. I liked when Scully asked if he was going
to type that on their travel request...sort of a "gotcha", it *could* be
religious-oriented, though of course no reference of Orison was made.

I was completely fooled by Reverend Mackey. Either I am slow or this was
very cleverly handled. He doth protest too much (re: judgement), but I
didn't pick up on it at all.

What the heck is Mulder wearing throughout most of this ep??? UG-LY. Is
that some sort of suit jacket over his odd shirt? Has Mulder even *wore* a
shirt like that before? What year is that suit from?

Ah, the flashlights are back! Yay!

I didn't think Scully was too upset about Mulder's remark regarding high
school girls and snake handling. She just sort of gave a small look.
HOWEVER, Scully took offense at Mulder's, "Is snake handling any harder to
buy into than communion wafers or transubstantiation?"  She answered "Or
believing in flying saucers, for that matter." The difference is that by
this time she OUGHT to believe in them. Maybe Mulder should by now, except
that he didn't see Phaster turn into the devil or understand the signs as
Scully did. His saying, "I'm just saying that your faith and O'Connor's
seem to be based on the same book" was certainly a put down of Scully, and
I would have loved some sort of response from her. I hope we get one in
future eps. When he survives the snake bites at the end, he claims that he
didn't win, but as he lived, Scully believes otherwise. I wonder if this
will have any impact on Mulder's feeling toward faith? He did look
uncomfortable when O'Connor kept touching his heart and saying the feelings
were in there. O'Connor *is* right...the devil *was* nearby the whole time.
But no one actually knew *who* the devil was...

I liked when Mulder and Scully pulled the guns on the rattlesnakes. Arrest
that snake! Put your hands where we can see them!!! ;) And it's not often
that an agent is showing her badge as proof of authenticity while trying to
avoid being bitten by a rattler!!!

Favorite line one: 
O'Connor: You got nothing to fear if you're righteous people.
Mulder: Just in case we're not, we could use a little righteous help here.

Favorite line two:
Scully: Tennessee. Snakes. Thank you, Mulder. Thank you *so* much.

I liked the contrast between the churches vis a vis John's comments about
lukewarm followers. Such different interpretations of the text, and yet
terrific irony here. Again, I was completely fooled here, b/c I really
thought that O'Connor was responsible for Iris's death and *not* Mackey,
even though Mackey finds out how Iris was involved w/ Jarid at the end.
Turns out he *was* the righteous one, or at least the believer...

Favorite commercial: Cherry Poppin Daddies for February on Fox. Way cool,
cats.

I was very surprised that O'Connor was Gracie's father. Excellent plot
twist that I hadn't seen coming. How did Mulder guess that, however?

Tonight featured the return of Mulder!Rescue.

When the snakes turn up in the prison cell, I believed that O'Connor had
summoned them, not that Mackey had, although why he would want to kill
himself was not clear to me. I didn't really think the "test of his own
righteousness," as Mulder proposed, seemed accurate, but I did buy that
Gracie might have done it, as Sculy suggested.

Very telling dialogue about Mulder and Scully vis a vis the church of Signs
and Wonders doctrine, and actually for me the most interesting part of the
entire episode.  Mulder actually *defends* the church and its strict,
literal intepretation of the Bible, but it's easier for him, I should
suspect, as a non believer, than it would be for Scully. Scully isn't
buying that Fox Mulder would buy the black and white thinking of the
church, although Mulder claims that "in a society where hard and fast rules
are harder and harder to come by, I think some people would appreciate
that." I agree w/ him that "Someone offering you all the answers could be a
very powerful thing." And I think there is, deep w/in him, a part of Mulder
that *wants* that guidance, that doesn't want to have to provide the
answers all the time, that is tired and wants some clear cut direction,
though ultimately, he couldn't live w/ himself if he blindly accepted what
others told him (as we've seen time and time again). That dialogue about it
providing answers reminded me of the COTR from Quagmire, when Mulder spoke
about his always wanting a peg leg.  In that instance, Mulder argued that
if you're already different, you don't have to be judged and it's just
enough to be alive; there is no need to be a superhero, basically, or to
feel personally responsible for the outcome of others (as he always had b/c
of his sister's abductions). In this case, perhaps Mulder is saying that if
you believe, you don't have to think, and of course O'Connor has already
accused him twice of being a smart but foolhardy man. Perhaps a part of him
wishes he *were* a believer.

Another surprise...the birth of what we think is Gracie's baby, but in fact
is the birth of snakes (i.e., the devil's handiwork). I was surprised to
hear that O'Connor was Gracie's father, but even more shocked to see that
Mackey was responsible. I am still not certain how Mackey was able to
escape from the hospital when he was on his deathbed, unless that was
Mackey's doing as well. And again, I truly believed that Mackey was
innocent, right up until the end, when Mulder pulls the gun on him (b/c
even prior to that, we don't realize that O'Connor isn't the villain, but
is in fact casting out the devil). The scene in which Mackey asks Mulder if
*he* is the righteous man (using O'Connor's words), and then attacks him w/
snakes, is scary and effective. Mulder does in fact pass the test,
according to Scully ("proud and fancy free," jokes Mulder), and it's sort
of a reconcilation between the two of them. Again, whether this will come
up again in future eps remains to be seen.

The ending of the episode was rather disgusting, although not surprising,
considering what we had already learned about Mackey (i.e., the snake
coming out of his mouth and eating the rat). It reminded me of Travelers
(w/ the spiders coming out of the men). His disappearance and reappearance
in Connecticut was reminiscent of Folie a Deux (when the boss shows up at
another telemarking location to zombify more employees).

Finally, as we see in the promos, the next ep, Sein Und Zein (part one)
brings back Samantha (thank God)...I couldn't be more excited. Scully says,
"You're personalizing this case...you're identifying w/ your sister." It's
a return of Ouebliette, but I don't mind at all. Two weeks...only two
weeks...*sigh*