I liked this episode a lot for a number of reasons.
Firstly, the storyline is great and almost Terminator-esquire with a religious element. Essentially it is the old classic battle between good and evil and involves a stigmatic boy who is being pursued by the forces of evil. As expected, Mulder and Scully are brought in to protect the boy.
Secondly, the characters are brilliant. Mulder and Scully undergo a role reversal where Mulder is the sceptic and Scully is the believer. This episode also gives us a greater insight into the depths of Scully's religious beliefs. The supporting characters are also brilliant. Notably Simon Gates, who represents evil and has the unique ability to burn with his hands, and Owen Jarvis who represents the forces of good.
Thirdly the casting is a stroke of genius. Kenneth Welsh is wonderfully creepy as Simon Gates and Michael Berryman is both heroic and tragic as Owen Jarvis. Part of the reason this episode works so well is because of the casting of these actors in their respective roles. When we first meet the character of Owen Jarvis we assume (because of his appearance) that he is evil, but we could not be more wrong. How true is this of real life - making premature judgements about people purely based on the way they look. This episode also offers us a wonderful performance by Gillian Anderson as Scully.
This episode has the perfect blend of action and tension and the ending, where Scully and the boy part, is actually quite sad.
My only criticism is that R. Lee Ermey has such a short role. He is such a terrific actor and is only in a blink-and-you'll-miss it part. Nevertheless he is great as always.
Overall a great episode and worthy of 7/10.
Firstly, the storyline is great and almost Terminator-esquire with a religious element. Essentially it is the old classic battle between good and evil and involves a stigmatic boy who is being pursued by the forces of evil. As expected, Mulder and Scully are brought in to protect the boy.
Secondly, the characters are brilliant. Mulder and Scully undergo a role reversal where Mulder is the sceptic and Scully is the believer. This episode also gives us a greater insight into the depths of Scully's religious beliefs. The supporting characters are also brilliant. Notably Simon Gates, who represents evil and has the unique ability to burn with his hands, and Owen Jarvis who represents the forces of good.
Thirdly the casting is a stroke of genius. Kenneth Welsh is wonderfully creepy as Simon Gates and Michael Berryman is both heroic and tragic as Owen Jarvis. Part of the reason this episode works so well is because of the casting of these actors in their respective roles. When we first meet the character of Owen Jarvis we assume (because of his appearance) that he is evil, but we could not be more wrong. How true is this of real life - making premature judgements about people purely based on the way they look. This episode also offers us a wonderful performance by Gillian Anderson as Scully.
This episode has the perfect blend of action and tension and the ending, where Scully and the boy part, is actually quite sad.
My only criticism is that R. Lee Ermey has such a short role. He is such a terrific actor and is only in a blink-and-you'll-miss it part. Nevertheless he is great as always.
Overall a great episode and worthy of 7/10.