12 Important Vince Gilligan ‘X-Information’ Episodes

Pluribus hits Apple TV subsequent week, marking Vince Gilligan’s return to science fiction after his nice successes with crime dramas Breaking Dangerous and Higher Name Saul. He got here aboard The X-Files in season two, initially as a author; his position later expanded into producer and director, and he additionally co-created the Lone Gunmen spin-off.

In celebration of Pluribus’ arrival, we’re wanting again at 12 important Gilligan X-Information episodes, which he both wrote, co-wrote, or wrote and directed—and which embody a number of the sequence’ most notable standouts.

Smooth Gentle (season 2, episode 23)

The primary Gilligan-penned episode was launched in 1995 and options visitor star Tony Shalhoub as a physicist obsessive about darkish matter. When an experiment goes awry, he develops a murderous new energy he can’t management. The case—individuals vanish into skinny air, leaving a scorch mark on the ground—is so perplexing that Mulder (David Duchovny) suspects spontaneous human combustion is in charge, however it’s even stranger: the scientist’s shadows have remodeled into one thing deadly.

A 3rd-act twist brings in Mulder’s labeled informant, X, whose involvement helps cease the scientist’s unintended reign of terror but additionally reveals the federal government has taken an curiosity in his talents for its personal malevolent functions.

Pusher (season 3, episode 17)

Some of the malevolent X-Information villains—and considered one of Mulder’s most formidable foils—will get a showcase in “Pusher,” a couple of raging selfish named Modell (Robert Wisden) with suggestive talents so highly effective he could make individuals soar in entrance of trains and set themselves on fireplace. He additionally mind-controls his manner out of homicide prices, breezes previous safety guards at FBI headquarters, and even induces a coronary heart assault in considered one of Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Mulder’s colleagues by merely chatting with him over the cellphone. The ultimate scene—wherein Modell forces Mulder right into a sport of Russian roulette—is likely one of the most suspenseful X-Information sequences ever. The character later returned within the (considerably much less memorable) season 5 episode “Kitsunegari,” co-written by Gilligan.

Paper Hearts (season 4, episode 10)

A central, ongoing X-Information thriller—the disappearance of Mulder’s sister, Samantha, from their childhood dwelling—will get reinterrogated on this poignant episode. Although the present often favored the concept Samantha was kidnapped by aliens, this entry sees Mulder grow to be satisfied that Roche (eerily performed by Tom Noonan), a toddler molester and serial killer he’d helped catch years earlier than, was concerned as a substitute. The aspect of the unexplained enters the story due to Mulder’s vivid desires, which seemingly reveal new particulars or recollections concerning the lack of his sister—an ache left to proceed, unresolved, when he’s compelled to kill the manipulative, monstrous Roche on the finish of the episode. 

Leonard Betts (season 4, episode 12)

Gilligan co-wrote this episode with fellow X-Information stalwarts John Shiban (who later re-teamed with Gilligan on Breaking Dangerous) and Frank Spotnitz. It has a hell of an elevator pitch—“headless corpse walks out of a morgue”—and stars Paul McCrane as a person who cannot solely regrow physique elements (together with, at one level, creating an total new physique for himself) but additionally can detect most cancers in different individuals. Since he eats tumors to outlive, homicide comes into play with that.

It’s quite a bit, however the episode’s mix of parts—together with some splendidly icky physique horror particular results—holds collectively convincingly. Then comes the knife-twist on the finish: when Betts targets Scully, she will get the higher of him, however not earlier than he tells the agent that she herself has most cancers, a storyline that The X-Information would proceed to discover over an prolonged arc.

Dangerous Blood (season 5, episode 12)

The dueling views of Scully and Mulder whereas investigating an (alleged) vampire stalking a small city are used to nice comedic impact, making “Dangerous Blood” not only a Gilligan standout however an oft-cited fan favourite throughout your entire sequence. The episode begins with the killer’s seeming demise. We then rewind to see Scully’s tackle occasions (the native sheriff, performed by Luke Wilson, is cute; Mulder acts even goofier than normal, with an prolonged Shaft reference), then Mulder’s (Wilson’s character is a buck-toothed fool; Scully is uncharacteristically ditzy and dour). 

Who do you consider? It finally ends up not mattering in the long run as Scully and Mulder’s factors of view realign in time for the ultimate twist, however by then the intelligent format and story have lengthy since cemented “Dangerous Blood” as an particularly glorious monster-of-the-week tour.

Folie à Deux (season 5, episode 19)

This deeply unsettling episode—total, Gilligan was extra recognized for serving to craft the present’s funnier, quirkier entries, however he additionally is aware of easy methods to pull off frights—follows a telemarketer who believes he’s glimpsed irrefutable proof that monstrous bugs are posing as people. Although Mulder will get caught up in a terrifying hostage state of affairs with the person and his co-workers, the always-curious agent begins to consider that the person may very well be onto one thing.

Past its horrifying depiction of workplace violence and creepy paranoia, “Folie à Deux,” which initially sees Mulder poking into the case on his personal, underlines simply how vital the working relationship is between the brokers, even when they very not often come to the identical conclusion. io9 did a full retro lookback at this episode, which you’ll be able to learn here.

Drive (season 6, episode 2)

A decade earlier than he started his acclaimed run as Walter White on Gilligan’s Breaking Dangerous, Bryan Cranston guest-starred on The X-Information as an apparently deranged man who kidnaps Mulder and drags him on a wild police chase. In the meantime, Scully searches for a medical trigger behind the person’s want for pace and uncovers proof that secret authorities experiments is perhaps the rationale as a substitute.

The top of “Drive” sees Mulder and Scully known as on the carpet for barging into the case, a part of a rising rift between the characters and their FBI bosses that, all through the sequence, escalated from “you guys higher watch it” to Mulder getting outright fired in season eight.

Monday (season 6, episode 14) 

On this episode co-written with John Shiban, Mulder and Scully reside, die, and repeat as a part of a time loop that solely Pam (Carrie Hamilton)—the girlfriend of a bomb-toting financial institution robber (Darren E. Burrows)—is conscious of… a minimum of till Mulder begins to step by step awaken to what’s taking place. The enjoyment of “Monday” is in seeing the occasions play out many times with slight variations (all the time starting with Mulder having the worst morning ever); the Groundhog Day plot could also be a well-known one, however it’s successfully used on this framework, making time itself into the episode’s monster of the week.

Discipline Journey (season 6, episode 21) 

Gillian and John Shiban co-wrote the teleplay from a narrative by Frank Spotnitz, which tweaks the “it was all a dream” trope, X-Information-style, with a heavy dose of “we’re in a simulation inside a simulation” too. Whereas investigating perplexing skeletal stays in North Carolina, the brokers come beneath the affect of hallucinogenic spores that make them think about the world has taken a wildly surreal flip: individuals who had been clearly very lifeless return, claiming to have been kidnapped by aliens. Mulder meets an alien. And Scully, who briefly believes Mulder has perished beneath unexplainable circumstances, is confronted by a string of colleagues who parrot her acquainted skeptical response to all issues X-Information.

Whereas not understanding what’s actual from second to second makes “Discipline Journey” an entertaining watch, it additionally makes use of its premise to forge a deeper understanding between Scully and Mulder (shared hallucinations will do this to you) as they very almost escape the episode’s exceptionally freaky villain—an enormous fungal organism that feeds on dwelling tissue.

The Wonderful Maleeni (season 8, episode 8) 

Gilligan, John Shiban, and Frank Spotnitz co-wrote this episode starring the charismatic Ricky Jay—it additionally occurs to be the second episode involving a severed head on this listing. Jay performs a magician whose unimaginable phantasm of turning his head fully round appears to go sideways when he’s later found decapitated. A twisty script leads the viewer by means of a whodunit with a number of suspects (together with the magician’s twin brother), main as much as a scheme that entails sleight-of-hand and an extended con topped with Mulder assembling all of the puzzle items collectively for a satisfying climax.

X-Cops (season 8, episode 12) 

The brokers head to Los Angeles to research an (alleged) werewolf, solely to search out themselves caught up in an episode of Cops (a fellow Fox sequence on the time) that occurs to be filming in the identical neighborhood. The episode leans wholeheartedly into the gimmick, opening with the unmistakable Cops theme and filming within the precise fashion of the ride-along sequence—shaky hand-held digicam, pixelated faces on sure witnesses, and so forth. It’s deeply unserious, however it’s additionally lots of enjoyable. What you gonna do once they come for you?

Je Souhaite (season 8, episode 21)

Gilligan not solely wrote the script, however he additionally made his TV directorial debut with “Je Souhaite,” which imagines what would possibly occur if a magical genie—you recognize, able to granting three needs—abruptly surfaced in center America. (The title interprets to “I Want.”) There’s lots of comedy baked into the storyline, emphasizing the concept individuals confronted with sudden, limitless energy would possibly make horrible selections, or a minimum of phrase their requests in methods so imprecise they arrive out as disastrous—together with Mulder, whose try at asking for peace on Earth backfires spectacularly. Paula Sorge brings a wry, oddly endearing tone to her efficiency as “Jenn” that makes for an ideal Mulder foil; there’s additionally a cute bit the place Scully can barely disguise her delight at discovering an invisible corpse, the results of one other wish-maker’s misguided fantasy.

All seasons of The X-Information are streaming on Hulu. Pluribus premieres its first two episodes November 7 on Apple TV.

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