Wine and an X-Phile #X-01002: Deep Throat

“Let’s just say this case has a distinct smell to it. A certain paranormal bouquet.”

Air Date: September 17, 1993
Directed by: Daniel Sackheim
Written by: Chris Carter

Filed Under: Mythology

I would be a terrible fan not to take a second to mention Gillian Anderson’s Emmy win for The Crown (her first Emmy was for The X-Files back in 1997). While I haven’t watched the show, I’m sure it’s wonderful and she’s always deserving of the praise she gets for her acting. And her dress! With the tiny penises! All I ever wanted to be was Gillian Anderson when I grew up and still do.

Synopsis:

Mulder and Scully travel to Ellens Air Base in Southwest Idaho to investigate the disappearances of test pilots at the base and uncover secrets about special aircraft and experiments being conducted by the military. In his pursuit of information for the investigation, Mulder meets a secretive informant.

Review:

Here we are at the second episode and already being dumped with a slew of information, a lot of what sets up for continuing storylines for the rest of the series. We also are introduced to a major reoccuring character who is tied to not only what the government has been hiding but also Mulder’s family secrets: Deep Throat! This is a major episode in the general mythology of the show, and while I respect that…it isn’t one of my favorite episodes. Monster of the Week will forever and always have my heart, I love the creepy and spooky. Conspiracies aren’t generally my thing. But I think one of the reasons why this specific episode just didn’t click with me is that I feel like a lot of this information is rushed. Not necessarily within the episode, but where we are in the series. I mean we’re only in the second episode and we are getting major confirmations about UFO testings and government (and military) coverups.

I also felt like the episode was competing with two different stories: the test pilots and Mulder’s UFO search. Neither work that well with each other. The pilots get regulated to the back for most of the episode as almost an afterthought and only serve as the purpose to get Mulder and Scully there. I understand that the only reason Mulder wants to take the case is for the reason to get to see the air craft and have a purpose to be there, I just feel like we still should have spent a bit more time on the case itself. The episode does show how much Mulder is willing to do to find the truth even to the determinate of his health, and it foreshadows some of the further issues with Mulder’s insistence creating an unsafe environment for not just him, but Scully as well. But maybe dial that back a bit during this episode so we can talk more about weird air craft test pilots who pluck their hair to use in fishing lures, you know? We breeze past so many things and then all of a sudden the missing pilot is back, then he’s weird, and then normal.

I do respect what the episode does to set up Deep Throat’s character, and do think that it worked well to have it introduce how influential and connected he really is. We spend several episodes wondering if he’s truly there to help and why, but I don’t think they drag it out unnecessarily and this episode kind of helps that along. We get to see Deep Throat in more of his morally grey role and not a villain. The foreshadowing from Deep Throat about how this all has been something much more deeper than Mulder can and will ever know is so much more impactful now after seeing the full series and knowing how things play out with Mulder’s father and his part in the greater conspiracies and coverups. While I don’t know if it was intentional at the time they wrote this episode as a story arc they knew they were going to incorporate, it’s fun that the show does eventually play that out.

“Mr. Mulder, they've been here for a long, long time.” - Deep Throat

Extras:

This is not Daniel Sackheim’s only directing credit for the series, as he’s also worked on a handful of episodes. He also worked as consulting producer for 23 episodes of the series as well as working as a director or producer on a slew of great series such as: Lovecraft Country, True Detective, and The Americans. This episode also marks the first episode of the wonderful and amazing Mark Snow as composer. The scenes where Mulder infiltrates the air base were shot at a real US air base. We also see more of the number Easter Eggs with Scully’s report being #DF101356.

Favorite Prop(s):

Not much goes on this episode to really have a favorite prop, so this week we are focusing on a set. I love a good diner scene, especially in The X-Files and especially one with UFO sightings printed out for purchase. The show is no stranger to these types of places, and it’s always fun when one shows up. And the picture that Mulder eventually buys is still ingrained into my brain as the iconic look of an UFO.

MSR:

Should I do this? I don’t know. Maybe? I guess I will. Because I am me and a deep and long time shipper we’re adding a new section second episode in that highlights some good MSR moments. There were just so many good ones in this episode that I had to share some of them, and I know there will be more in future that I’ll want to highlight so might as well make them their own section. They truly loved each other from the very beginning. My personal favorites of the episode is the first scene at the bar and the lovebirds watching the lights of the air show. Sigh.

Rating:

3.5/5 wine glasses. While I don’t think the central story was fleshed out and felt like filler, I do respect the importance of this episode for the general lore of the show. I’ll also give a 1/2 point to the appearance of stoner Seth Green.

I realized last week that I didn’t really explain my rating scale, and that might be something that should be known. I kind of don’t like ratings because they can vary from person to person and what I think is important and that can impact a rating might not necessarily reflect what you would.

To help out I’ve made a handy chart that’s very much on theme:

5 - My glass is still full it was so good.
4 - Good binge, finished the glass but it took the full episode.
3 - Average, mostly a reason to drink wine. I went up to refill at least once without pausing.
2 - More wine, please. Nevermind, just bring the bottle over here.
1 - At least there was wine?

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