Review of Trevor by Sue Brody

 Let's start with my favorite part of the ep, which shouldn't surprise
those of you who know I am a Shipper: the scene that took place right after
the teaser (which was also quite effective). How CUTE was Mulder when he
saw Scully proposing spontaneous human combustion? How much was Scully
TRYING to go along with this theory? And I quote: "Dear Diary, today my
heart lept when Agent Scully suggested spontaneous human combustion."
Well, hey, now! How shippy was that?! OHMYGOD. IMHO, that was the best line
since Mulder's "Marry me, Scully" in Chinga, after her list of wiccan and
other ritualistic traditions. And then, after listening to Mulder a bit
more, when Scully said, "Mulder, shut up!" I was hysterical. See, THAT is
what I have been looking for all season! Did my heart good. And Mulder
looked so happy at Scully trying to find an explanation that was both
scientific but that was also *out there*! She's come a long way, that's for
sure. At least this week. <G>


BTW, Mulder is looking fine in his blue, rolled-up shirt and tie (very
FTF-ish), and Scully only wears black pant suits these days, it seems.
Where the heck has Skinner gone, though, not to mention Kersh? Figures that
Scully couldn't be non-skeptical for long <G>, but the nice thing is that
she was looking for scientific reasons to go ALONG with Mulder's theory,
and not just dismissing Mulder outright. And she *was* the one that brought
up the twister as a possible cause of his ability to effect things...and
spontaneous human combustion ("a few somewhat well-documentated cases")...

You can tell that prop master Ken Hawryliw was a co-writer, because the f/x
were so well-done. Unlike in, say, Muy Agua Mala or Alpha, the effects were
very real. It was so gross seeing the former roommate's face taken off.
ICKY. Very Millennium-like, actually.

"I want what's mine." That was so "He is One" from Red Museum or "She is
Me" from Elegy.

"You might want to warn them not to shoot to kill, he seems to find that
annoying." Very deadpan, very nicely played by DD.

Okay, onto the story itself. I'm not sure what to think. I am not sure how
the fact that Pinker could change the composition of things really fit into
this story (aside from the fact that he could get at what he wanted, but
ultimately, could run but couldn't hide). I guess what I'm saying is, Was
it really necessary? It seemed as if the story was really about two things:

a) strange phenomenon, and

2) a father trying to get his son back and start life over (though he
hardly seemed capable of being a good father). I just don't feel as if the
two pieces were woven that well together, however.  Who *was* Jackie (I
mean, I know she was June's sister, but who *was* she) and why she was
willing to raise Trevor's child? Did Trevor ever question the lack of a
father? Did June really think she could leave her life behind? Was she okay
w/ being "Aunt June" b/c the son was Pinker's? I think we can infer why
June gave her child back to Jackie (because she was afraid vis a vis the
robbery, and even more likely, wanted to start her life again). She seemed
so different at the beginning (when she was playing suburban household and
looking at a bridal magazine with the George-on-Seinfeld-like fellow) than
she did after she was "found out," but I guess that was the point: She was
getting a chance to start again, but ultimately, because she wasn't doing
it right (by stealing the money, getting rid of her son, and then assuming
a new identity) and Pinker wasn't either (by killing people ruthlessly and
then trying to *steal* his son), neither would have the chance.

Makes sense. And Pinker was a pretty interesting character: evil, cocky,
even a bit witty (in the scene where he was escaping the security guard),
and certainly pained about his son. Nonetheless, we didn't really get to
*know* these characters, not even Pinker (why did he commit the robbery in
the first place?), and in that sense, I guess I couldn't really *feel* for
these characters the way I would have wanted to (I felt closer to Lucy in
Ouebliette, for example, than I did to June or to Jackie or to...well,
anyone, really, even Trevor, whom I wanted to know more about). I was
surprised that Pinker was after Trevor, and not after June, but that's b/c
we didn't learn who Trevor was until about 3/4 of the way through the
story. Because the ep tried to be scary and X-Filesish, and yet moralistic,
it didn't quite succeed at either. The music was a bit heavy-handed, I
thought (maybe because the co-writer is a composer), and so was the
message. Granted, I'm thrilled that this was a dark ep, but I can't really
say it was a successful one. Perhaps it was b/c Mulder and Scully weren't
in it as much as I would have liked (they sort of slipped in and out of
it), though Scully did save Trevor, or tried to (thank goodness for that
phone booth, and did you get an image of "Emily" in the way she grabbed
Trevor's hand and ran with him?).

So. Certainly one of the better eps this season, but not one of the better
eps overall (IMHO). But I might change my mind on another viewing...and it
was dark, so I can't be too picky...can I?