Apocrypha is a great follow-up to Piper Maru. Skinner has been shot by Luis Cardinal and is now in the hospital. I think Mitch Pileggi does some excellent acting in his scenes of being injured in the hospital. It doesn't appear fake at all. This episode brings the digital tape back into play from the season opening episodes 'The Blessing Way' and 'Paper Clip'. But it still plays a minor role to the new development of the Black Oil. Apocrypha has a few scenes with the Syndicate, which I absolutely love. The Well-Manicured Man and the First Elder are great to see, especially when they are upset with the Cigarette Smoking Man and his handling of the situation. One thing that bugs me about this two-part myth/arc is that if Luis Cardinal is the killer of Scully's sister, why are they having him go around shooting Skinner and showing his mug everywhere? It's partially explained in one of the Syndicate scenes that it's CSM's error, but it still doesn't make any sense on his part. I like the mention of the UFO's nickname, the Foo Fighter, by the Well-Manicured Man. It's an interesting coincidence that the lead singer of the band of the same name makes a cameo in the next episode, Pusher. Finally, this episode has an appearance by the Lone Gunmen, always a treat in my view. Although Mulder upstages them with a pencil.
Review of Apocrypha
