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sinkwriterAn experiment in episode recapping continues...
The X-Files season four, two-part story arc begins with "Tunguska" and continues here with "Terma."
Sherry's Standard Warning: This recap is lengthy and therefore will be posted in two parts. I like to paint a picture, so that (as best as possible) the reader can visualize what's happening on screen, even if they haven't actually seen the episode. I hope it's entertaining that way!
The X-Files: "Terma"
Recap, Part One
The Teaser: Should have taken Auntie Janet to Shady Pines. At least their jello doesn't make you ooze black sludge out your eyeballs.
HARROW CONVALESCENT HOME
BOCA RATON, FLORIDA
A nurse draws down the shade to a window on an upper floor, as a van outside pulls up to the front of the convalescent home.
Cut to a young woman sneaking down a dark hallway, using a flashlight as her guide. She slips inside a room marked with the word "INFIRMARY" on the door. The beam from her torch passes over the faces of elderly people sleeping in various beds before it alights on the face of the woman she seeks. She hurries over to the bed, and gently rouses the frail woman: "Auntie Janet? It's time, Auntie Janet. He's... waiting." Janet nods, and moves to sit up.
Cut to Auntie Janet's niece leading her in her bathrobe, out of the building to the waiting van. The niece opens the side door, and a man wearing a stethoscope quickly slides back a curtain. "We should hurry. We have papers to sign." Poor woman. She's about to be euthanized and she still has to deal with paperwork? Lousy health care system. I cringe to imagine how such paperwork would be worded. Janet doesn't mind, though; she nods and enters the van.
Read on...
Cut to the doctor prepping three IV solutions (two that are clear, one that is a strange bright green that eerily reminds me of the alien blood from "The Erlenmeyer Flask" episode). From what I can tell, they're marked KCl, something-enditol, and NaCl. All I remember from Advanced Chemistry is that Na is Sodium. Is Cl Chloride or Chlorine? So the last IV is some form of Sodium Chloride? What do I know? The last chem class I took was well over 15 years ago. I don't even want to talk about what a nightmare that class was for me. Brutal teacher. Let's not go there. Back to poor Auntie Janet...
The doctor asks Janet to tell him when she's ready. Janet's niece chokes back a sob and hugs her aunt. But Janet is ready: "Don't you cry for me, dear. I'm tired of the pain." She picks up the tube and turns the valve to start the green solution that runs into her IV. The doctor observes carefully. Janet breathes deeply and murmurs to her niece, "You're my angel of mercy." The two women continue to embrace.
After a moment, a quiet breath escapes Janet, and her niece asks in a broken voice, "Is she gone?" The doctor moves to check for a heartbeat, when he suddenly says, "Something's wrong here," and pulls his hand away.
Janet's niece pulls back and looks upon her aunt's face. Her eyes and mouth are open, her head tilted back as if she is dead, but there seems to be something moving under her skin. Black oil worms begin to wriggle out of her eyes, mouth, and nose. The doctor is stunned. Janet's niece begins to scream.
As the camera switches to an overhead shot of the outside of the van, her screams continue to echo throughout the night.
***
The X-Files opening credits.
For this episode, the usual "I WANT TO BELIEVE" tagline has been switched to the enigmatic "E PUR SI MUOVE," which apparently means "And yet it moves" in Italian. Huh.
***
ACT 1
SCENE 1
Rebels, Russians and Spies: Vysotsky would've been a way cooler music choice. Just sayin'.
ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA
Night. City lights reflect on the water, colors rippling with each wave. A tall building carved with lovely architecture is dark, save for the neon of the sign at the top. The word is in Cyrillic script. If it's been super-imposed on that building and its meaning is something simple like "Apartment," I'm going to be really amused. Or I may mildly eye roll at the lack of ingenuity on the part of the arts/graphics department.
Nevertheless, that seems to be what this building is because we next cut to a man passing other numbered doors before coming to a stop at an apartment at the end of the hall. He knocks.
Cut to the inside of a small, warm, modest apartment. A hand holds a delicate chain, gently dipping a metal tea ball infuser into a cream-colored cup edged with gold. A mournful violin plays in the background (on the radio or perhaps played from an old record). The tea-sipping, sweater-wearing, gray-haired man notes the soft knocking, but does not get up. Instead, he slowly twists in his chair to face the door and removes his spectacles, squinting suspiciously. He says something left un-translated in Russian that I assume means "Who is it?"
The man on the other side of the door says, "Vassily Peskow?"
The man in the apartment appears thoughtful at this address, and gets up to open the door, which he does cautiously.
The man in the hall asks again, "Vassily Peskow?" His voice is heavily accented. In Russian, he informs Peskow that he has an urgent communiqué from Comrade Arntzen in Krasnoyarsk.
Krasnoyarsk? Hey, isn't that where Mulder and Krycek headed last week? Hmmm... the plot thickens!
Peskow is unmoved. In Russian, via helpful subtitles: "Please, I am retired from all that now."
The visitor continues: "Comrade Arntzen anticipated this response."
Peskow looks a little cranky. "What does he want from me?"
The messenger simply says: "He wants you to know the Cold War isn't over." He then hands Peskow an envelope and walks away.
Peskow seems like he has something else he wants to say, a protest, perhaps, but he frowns and says nothing, instead looking down at the unmarked envelope. He looks up at the retreating messenger, steps backward into his apartment and shuts the door soundly.
***
ACT 1
SCENE 2
What's more torturous: undergoing Black Oil experiments, or transcribing days' worth of mind-numbingly boring wire taps for the F.B.I.? Mulder can't quite decide.
Cut to our hero, Fox Mulder, curled up in a tight ball, lying on his side on the dirty floor of his cell in the Tunguskan gulag. Not sure if he's unconscious or merely sleeping, but apparently, the prototype vaccine the Russian scientists injected him with has proven to be successful, for he has not died from his horrific exposure to the Black Oil.
Instead, he's simply miserable.
He shifts slightly, alerting us that he's waking. His helpful cellie from the other side of the wall is whispering again, trying to get his attention, but Mulder doesn't move. Cellie keeps trying: "Prisoner. Hey. Prisoner!" Dude, can't you tell Mulder's really not in the mood to chat right now? He's traumatized. Leave him alone for a few minutes, okay? Sheesh.
I guess Mulder decides to deal with him, because he finally stirs. He immediately jerks his hands to his face, touching, remembering, clearly feeling for those hideous black wormy things, checking to see if they're still under his skin. When he realizes they're gone, he closes his eyes again and rolls onto his back, wincing and clutching his arm where they injected the vaccine. After a moment, he rolls back to his original position, curled on his side, pressing his forehead to the ground. He makes a choked sound like he might cry, but instead pushes himself up into a sitting position, his legs crossed in front of him, his right hand still gripping his sore left arm.
Cellie: "I thought maybe you were dead."
Gee, thanks.
Mulder's not in the mood to be sarcastic, though. He says nothing at first. He slowly, carefully removes the prison gray, long-sleeved, button-down shirt they must have put him in after they completed his first test. He's wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt underneath, which allows him to take a closer look at his left upper arm. As he peels the gauze off his wound, he asks how long he's been lying there.
Cellie: "Hours. I don't know. The first time is bad. Very bad."
Cut to me shuddering.
Throughout their conversation, we see Mulder completely but only the other man's eyes are visible through the hole in the wall. The mysterious prisoner's eyes are dark, rimmed in black and shadows. In contrast, the hole in the wall shines a section of soft illumination directly on Mulder's face so that his eyes are often framed in a block of light. It's striking. The eyes often tell the truth even when the mouth spouts lies. I momentarily wonder to myself if we can trust the dark-eyed prisoner or what he says any better than anyone else in this hellhole.
Mulder considers the bloody bandage thoughtfully for a moment before tossing it on the ground. "They do this to you?"
Cellie says yes, then adds something ever-so-helpful: "It becomes easier each time... until it kills you." Great. Thanks for the positivity.
Mulder sounds pained as he asks what they did to him. Cellie says: "You have been exposed to the Black Cancer." I would have thought that CSM (Cigarette-Smoking Man) held the copyright for that nickname, but I guess he prefers "Black-Lunged Son of a Bitch."
Mulder asks for clarification: "What cancer?" Cellie explains that the cancer lives in the rock.
Mulder crawls forward toward the hole in the wall until he is eye to eye with his new gulag buddy. He sits and faces the man, asking a very good question: "Who are you?"
Cellie explains that he used to be a geologist, well known in his field, "...but now I am just a test subject." Mulder realizes that this man helped find the rock in the first place. Stellar work, man. Your discovery is causing nothing but death and misery. The Geologist admits he was there when they brought up the very first fragments. At that time, they didn't mine it. They didn't even know what was in the rock. (You know what they say: Ignorance is bliss.)
Mulder places a hand over his mouth and nose again, as if remembering the gruesome sensation of the rock's very much living things crawling inside merely hours ago. He pauses a moment, digesting this information, then asks: "How many men have died here?"
Geologist: "Hundreds. Maybe more. The search for a cure goes slowly."
Mulder: "Is that what they say the tests are for, to find a cure?"
Geologist: "No, no. They tell us nothing. We are left to guess or imagine the reasons for our torture."
Mulder lowers his head, bracing his arm against the ground.
Geologist: "But what else could it be?" Hmm. I don't know.
Mulder looks up again, his eyes wide now, his voice soft. "What happened to the man who was in the cell with me -- Krycek?"
The Geologist thinks Krycek is dining with the men responsible for their torture. Mulder's eyes momentarily close at this news. He does not look angry or surprised, only weary.
On a side note, I wonder if Mulder would have found it in himself to reconnect with Krycek, maybe forgive him a little bit, if he had learned Alex had been made to suffer the same horror that Mulder has just endured. Shared bond, that sort of thing. In a way, Krycek has, not that Mulder really knows this with absolute certainty -- he didn't see what Krycek went through in the silo.
At any rate, Geologist says he heard them laughing when they left Mulder's cell. Interesting. Krycek wasn't with those men when they came in and took Mulder. I assume he wasn't with them when Mulder was returned, either. Why would the Geologist associate their laughter in any way with Krycek? Does he know something he isn't telling Mulder? That perhaps he heard the guards talking about Krycek, or that he heard Krycek give them the orders to include Mulder in those tests? The Geologist seems awfully forthcoming; I can't imagine him holding back any helpful data. Unless he's not as honest as he seems. Or, unless he wants to stir the pot a bit, get someone else to start a revolution so he can escape, perhaps? I'm not sure why he'd be so buddy-buddy with a complete stranger, an American, no less. Anyway. Moving on from conjecture...
Mulder almost smiles, as he lifts his chin defiantly. "I'm not going to die."
The Geologist challenges him: "No? Why not?"
Mulder: "I have to live long enough to kill that man Krycek."
The Geologist considers this a moment, then glances around his cell (as if he's afraid he's being watched), before passing something shiny to Mulder through the hole in the wall. It's a makeshift blade with protective cloth wrapped in layers around the handle. Mulder admires it for a moment, his facial expression fascinated. He looks like he's thinking about the ways in which he could gut Alex Krycek with it.
Mulder asks him where he got it, and the Geologist explains that he made it... with the intention of killing himself. It took him nearly two weeks to construct, but by that time, he had lost the desire to use it.
Sometimes I feel that way when I bake. I throw my whole energy into the process of it, measuring and mixing and preparing, but hours later, by the time the dessert is complete, I've lost my appetite for eating it. Okay, I suppose that's not exactly the same as a tortured man who's spent two weeks making a knife in which to kill himself, but I do understand the loss of energy after all the effort made. Sorry! This scene is just so grave, I had to say something to lighten the mood at least a little! Back to our somber duo...
Mulder pockets the knife, then asks another good question: "You'd rather suffer the torture?"
The Geologist gets all existential: "It is wonderful, the persistence of life. That rock we found buried so deep in the earth, that anything could survive down there against all reason. No. They will have to kill me themselves."
Mulder nods, understanding.
***
ACT 1
SCENE 3
As long as there are no eggs in the nest...
NASA GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
GREENBELT, MARYLAND
Scully's in protective gear, watching over Dr. Sacks, the victim of the Black Oil from last episode. It seems he's still in a coma state, and they haven't been able to do much for him but provide fluids for the past 48 hours. (Which means Mulder's been gone that long, stuck in the gulag for almost two days, subtracting travel times, of course.)
Scully says they can't risk contamination if Dr. Sacks has been infected by some kind of organism. She's talking to another doctor, who's studying Dr. Sacks' blood under a microscope. He observes that the blood in the carotid artery looks slightly thickened, possibly due to the decreased heart rate and blood pressure. He looks closer, then exclaims, "Now what the hell is this?" Scully looks up from her work and joins him at the microscope. Whatever it is, it's concentrated around Dr. Sacks' pineal body -- according to my trusty-rusty dictionary, the pineal gland is an organ in the brain that secretes the hormone melatonin into the bloodstream -- and it appears to be alive.
Cut to a close-up of what they're looking at, something very sea anemone-like, its tentacles waving in the fluid. It's freaking me out a little bit. That's in his blood? GROSS.
Scully thinks it looks like a nest. That freaks me out even more. A nest in the blood. Ew, ew, eww. Scully explains further: "Some kind of black vermiform organism attached to the pineal gland." Yeah, thanks, Scully; that explains everything. Can we have that in layman's terms, please?
The two doctors share an uneasy look.
And... scene.
Wait -- what? No explanation? You're going to make me look it up? Sigh.
Vermiform = wormlike in shape. Pineal Gland = I already explained that one. But I looked up the hormone melatonin, because I'm just that kind of recapper, and it's apparently derived from serotonin (oh! I know that one!), it produces changes in the skin color of vertebrates, reptiles and amphibians, and is important in regulating biorhythms. Hmm. Really.
So basically, I already said it looked sea anemone-like (kinda wormy) and that it was hanging out in the bloodstream, but Scully had to show me up with her fancy doctor talk. Thanks, Scully. You've been a great help. Let's move on, shall we?
***
ACT 1
SCENE 4
Hey, Chris Carter? Maybe instead we could have used this airtime for an extra Skinner or Krycek scene.
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
Six people standing or sitting by the side of the street, waiting for the bus. A man sits, carving bites of apple with a knife. Hey, it's Vassily Peskow! Wow, he went from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Richmond, Virginia, in a matter of days -- he must have one hell of a talented travel agent. Unless, of course, Comrade Arntzen kindly sent him plane tickets.
He offers a piece of apple to the woman sitting next to him, but she declines, thanking him. The bus pulls up. Nice timing. Peskow boards the bus, pays his fare, and moves to sit.
And that's the end of that very exciting scene. Okay, then. I guess Chris Carter was going for atmosphere with that one.
***
ACT 1
SCENE 5
I say it was the Russian in the barn with the horses. What's your guess?
Night. A woman enters a darkened barn. She turns the lights on, and a horse neighs. Probably bitching at her to shut the lights off and let him and the rest of the stable sleep, like, come on, lady, are you actually thinking of going for a midnight ride? Do you know what show you're on?
Thankfully, she's smarter than that. Apparently, she came into the barn because she heard a noise, and she bravely wants to check it out. But she's not super-smart because 1) she didn't bring a weapon with her, not even a baseball bat or a pitchfork or something, and 2) she came alone. (Sigh.) She looks around, checking out the horses. Making her way to the far end of the stable, she gasps at the sight of a stranger lurking in her barn.
Vassily Peskow looks up at her from where he stands in a shadowy stall.
Peskow: "Oh, pardon me."
Yeah, why am I not buying his 'kindly old man' routine? First, with the grandpa sweater, then the apple offering, and now with the 'pardon me' line as he skulks about this woman's property? Run for your life right now, ma'am. Trust me on this.
She demands to know who he is, but he's not particularly forthcoming. At least, not about that. He starts talking about how, when he was a boy, his father had a farm, but not horses like the ones she's got. He pets the horse with a firm hand. The woman still seems on guard, but softens a little at the familial connection.
Peskow steps out of the stall, encroaching upon her personal space as he introduces himself. The woman tells him he shouldn't be lurking about in her barn. Peskow apologizes, repeatedly, but I'm getting the feeling he's not apologizing for the lurking.
The woman insists he's going to have to leave. She tells him she'll call him a cab. Then she does something incredibly foolish, and turns her back on him as she moves to exit the barn. Seriously?
Peskow: "But I have come here to see you, Dr. Charne-Sayre."
She whips around at the mention of her name and squints at him. "Do I know you?"
Peskow says politely, "No. I don't know how you could." And then he grabs her roughly by the throat.
She gasps and clutches at him, and the horses whinny loudly, disturbed by this sudden chaos. Peskow's expression deadly and menacingly focused now, he forces her back against the wall of the stable, his hand pressing against her, choking her.
***
ACT 1
SCENE 6
Horses and pouches and smallpox, oh my!
Scully walks down a dimly lit hallway, headed for her apartment. As she reaches her door and sticks the key in the lock, a trench-coated man appears at the far end of the hallway and calls to her.
It's Assistant Director Skinner, and he's a little ticked. Seems he's been trying to contact her, but her cell phone was turned off. Oops.
Skinner: "You owe me some answers, Agent Scully, answers I don't have to questions I'm being asked about this missing diplomatic pouch. The pouch presumably being carried by the man who was allegedly pushed off my balcony and whose connection to the known felon I harbored in my house against all good sense, I'm going to have to explain to avoid perjuring myself before a Senate subcommittee tomorrow, which, I might remind you, is a very serious crime in itself, is it not, Agent Scully?"
Wow. That was a mouthful, Skinner. Have you been practicing that indignant retort in your car all the way over to Scully's? All teasing aside, however, he's not exactly out of line to want to know what the hell's going on, especially now that he's been pulled so securely into the thick of it.
Scully tries to explain about the rock, how it was found to contain a potential biohazardous organism, and how all day she's been trying to determine just what in the universe it is.
Skinner baits her, asking if she knows what the pouch's intended destination was. Scully hasn't a clue, but Skinner knows already. He grumps a bit about how he had to bend some rules to find out -- join the X-Files rule-bending club, Skinner; Mulder will make you Treasurer -- but ultimately he reveals that the true destination of that pouch and its contents was to a doctor named Bonita Charne-Sayre. Oh, do tell. Didn't we just see that woman being attacked by Vassily Peskow? And isn't that the same woman who was riding horses and smiling at the Well-Manicured Man in the "Tunguska" episode? So, that lady's background is not so squeaky clean. Fascinating.
Scully doesn't know what we know, though, so she simply explains (with a seeming touch of awe) what she does know about Dr. Charne-Sayre: "She's a well-known physician, a virologist who's looked in on presidents. She's also an authority on Variola viruses." Skinner asks for himself and the rest of us non-science-y types, "Variola?" Thanks, Skinman, I love ya.
Scully goes on: "Smallpox. She's been a vocal proponent of eliminating the last remaining stores of the smallpox virus, destroying the only remaining vials here in Atlanta and in the former Soviet Union."
You don't say... Could it be possible that instead of destroying those vials, she's been keeping them and using the smallpox virus as a good test example, in order to create vaccines or a cure for, say, a totally different sort of virus? Like, maybe, Black Cancer? Just a theory.
Skinner breaks the news to Scully that Charne-Sayre was killed that very night. Scully is stunned. Skinner explains that a horse stepped on her throat in a riding accident in Virginia. Yeah. A horse named Vassily Peskow. Can't they see a hand print bruise on her throat, or did Peskow cover it up by having a horse actually step on her after he killed her? Either way, that is nasty. Yikes.
Scully looks troubled by this turn of events.
***
ACT 1
SCENE 7
Go, Mulder, go!
Back in the gulag. The door to Mulder's cell opens. He rolls over and half-sits up, wary and anxious. Yeah, I wouldn't be so eager to repeat that Black Cancer experiment, either.
A guard stands in the doorway and gestures with his baton, speaking forcefully in Russian. Mulder hasn't a clue what he's saying, so he asks, "Where we going?" The guard doesn't like the question, so he strides forward, yelling at Mulder, and kicks him. Hey, you bully, leave him alone! Gulag Guard ignores me, instead choosing to yank Mulder to his feet and push him out the door.
Cut to an overhead shot of the entire camp. Very institutional-looking, all cement buildings, rough terrain, and stark atmosphere. On a building marked with a 3 and then some Cyrillic lettering, a long line of men are being led outside. Most look filthy, exhausted, malnourished, and broken, as they shuffle along in the cold air, wearing thin t-shirts, prison grey button-down shirts, jeans, and work boots. Men on horseback herd the prisoners like cattle, as other guards on foot hold rifles, keeping watch over their 'stock.'
A green truck enters the arena, backing up to a wooden platform where the balding, wire-rimmed glasses guy (previously seen from the observation deck during the Black Cancer experiments) stands, watching over the proceedings. A man ambles up the ramp to join the Glasses Guy on deck. It's Alex Krycek. He's dressed comfortably and warmly in a thick, military green coat and black gloves. Mulder stares, emotionless. The way this series of moments is edited, I'm not sure if he sees that it's Krycek, or if he's studying the truck as a potential escape route. It seems it's the latter.
We finally see what Mulder's cell buddy looks like. He comes up behind Mulder and gestures to Krycek: "Is that your friend?" The Geologist is a bony man with a wide forehead, thinning, unwashed hair, and a gaunt face. His eyes are still dark as he frowns in the direction of Alex Krycek.
Mulder studies Geologist for a moment, seeing him in entirety for the first time right with us, then looks back in time to see Glasses Guy embrace Krycek in a big, friendly hug. They seem to know each other well already. Curious. Mulder takes in the sight of a laughing Glasses Guy chatting with a smiling Alex as he lights Glasses Guy's cigarette.
Geologist says, "You have but one chance."
Mulder considers this, but if he planned to ask something of his new friend, it's too late because the guard who pulled him from his cell steps up and urges Mulder along. As he continues his shuffle in the line of men, he watches Krycek and absorbs the surroundings, looking for the right angle, the right moment. Watching and waiting.
Mulder inches along, studying Krycek as he talks to Glasses Guy. Finally, Mulder whips out the homemade knife and starts running alongside of the line, advancing toward the ramp, picking up speed until he's running directly at Krycek. Before either Glasses Guy or Krycek can react, Mulder has tackled Krycek, knocking him backwards into the flat bed of the green truck that's parked there. He rapidly punches Krycek once, twice, right in the face, knocking him unconscious. Then he swirls around, protectively holding the blade out in front of him, advancing toward Glasses Guy until the balding man falls backward into the arms of the prisoners in line. (Looks like they were about to start boarding the back of the truck, probably to be transported to the mining area.)
Guards and prisoners are shouting, chaos building. Mulder takes this opportunity to jump down from the deck and hop into the cab of the truck, starting the engine. From another camera angle, we can see that Alex is still out cold on the bed of the truck. Glasses Guy gets up and starts yelling orders, but Mulder is already driving away as fast as he can, given that the truck is quite large and unwieldy and the ground very muddy. (License plate: K 2105 M, for those curious.)
Mulder glances over his shoulder through the rear window. Glasses Guy is pushing prisoners, trying to keep them back, keep them from running, and guards brandishing batons control the group, everyone hollering at each other in Russian.
As Mulder's truck smashes through the gates, men on horseback chase after him. He keeps on driving. Go, Mulder, go.
***
ACT 2
SCENE 1
Where's the damn instruction booklet when you need it?
Commercials are over, and we're right back in the thick of it! Whoo!
Men on horseback continue to chase after Mulder in the green monster truck, and from their vantage point, we can see Krycek is still unconscious in the back of the vehicle, his body jostling with every bump in the road.
As they ride, the guards begin to fire their handguns. (What am I, an expert? I don't know what kind!) Krycek's damn lucky he didn't get shot in the line of fire during all that craziness. Then again, given what he'll experience a few scenes from now, a stray bullet in the arm might have been preferable.
The riders don't seem to be getting anywhere with their shooting, so they turn back. Not sure if they're taking another route in order to cut Mulder off at a point farther up the road, or if they've given up and are heading back to camp.
Mulder checks his mirror, sees they're gone, and keeps right on driving. Go, Mulder, go!
Cut to Krycek in the back of the truck. He's rousing, a bruise already forming on his cheekbone from where Mulder punched him. Mulder must hear him stir, or he's just paranoid and twitchy, because he glances behind him for a moment before focusing on the road again. Krycek rolls over and pulls himself up, kneeling at eye level with the grill that separates him from Mulder in the cab. Furious, he slams his hands against it.
Mulder glances back, sees Krycek peering in through the back window, and makes a face. The truck seems to be a lot for him to handle, so he turns forward again, eyes on the road as he struggles with the steering wheel. He notices a sharp curve in the dirt road up ahead, but can't seem to get the brakes to work properly in order to slow down before the bend. The truck seems to be picking up speed, racing along the road. Mulder can't get it to slow down at all. He pumps the brakes and tries various levers, but nothing's working. He's got no way to stop the truck.
Krycek seems to realize that Mulder's going to have to crash the truck in order to stop it, and with no way of protecting himself, knocking around loosely in back like he is, he'll probably be killed upon impact. He rolls to the end of the truck bed, clinging to the edge, looking back like he hopes Mulder can figure it out without having to wreck the truck. So he won't have to jump.
Mulder's very focused on the road, but he shows no signs of veering from their impending course, so Krycek takes a breath and rolls himself off the edge of the vehicle, falling, hitting the ground hard and rolling several times before coming to a rough stop.
Mulder sees he can't make the final turn, so he pulls his arms up to protect his face, dropping his head down, as the truck veers off the side of the road, smashing through a thick veil of tree branches. As the vehicle clears through the branches, we see the ground drops sharply into a ravine of rocks, trees, and hard ground. The momentum of the drop causes Mulder's truck to flip onto its side as it slides down the embankment. It comes to a violent halt. There is no movement from within the vehicle.
***
ACT 2
SCENE 2
Who's the Russian bear and what's the honey in this scenario? Sometimes this show makes me think so hard, my brain starts smoking like one of CSM's Morleys.
Night. Looks like Dr. Charne-Sayre's horse farm. A sedan pulls up to the house, its headlights illuminating the darkened porch. The driver cuts the engine, sending the front of the house into blackness again. It's CSM. He gets out and makes his way up the steps, standing and peering into the darkness for a moment before speaking: "That's a nasty habit. It's bad for the health." Oh, irony, how I love thee.
A man sits on a porch bench in the shadows, smoking a cigarette. At CSM's comment, he stands, dropping the cigarette and stamping it out as he steps into the dim moonlight. It's Well-Manicured Man (WMM), and he's not in the mood for health lectures from a guy whose nickname is Cigarette-Smoking Man, a.k.a. Cancer Man.
CSM is enveloped in complete darkness, that's just how evil he is. But we get an awesome lighting shot, as his face is suddenly and briefly bathed in the orange glow of the cigarette as he lights it. As his lighter snaps shut, his face falls to shadow again and all we see is the burning tip of his cancer stick. Very cool.
CSM takes a lazy drag. "According to reports, your personal physician suffered a serious riding accident here on your property." Oh, so it's WMM’s house, not Charne-Sayre's? I stand corrected.
WMM has a more pressing point to make: "Dr. Charne-Sayre was murdered."
CSM: "By whom?"
WMM: (in that marvelously snooty way of his) "If I knew, do you think I'd be standing here talking to you?"
Given how WMM wasn't particularly interested in CSM's point of view in last week's episode, CSM delights in rubbing it in WMM's face. "So... you need me now. A man of my capabilities, is that it?"
WMM doesn't care about apologies, nor does he have time for it. "This was a professional hit."
CSM is still amused. "Really? And you out here all alone and so vulnerable."
WMM gets a look on his face like he hadn't considered someone might come after him next (and as if for a moment he even thinks it could have been CSM's own doing). He glances into the yard nervously.
CSM's taunting smile slides off his face as he goes in for the kill: "Were you sleeping with her?"
WMM gives CSM a haughty, indignant glare, but I don't hear him denying anything. Fascinating. WMM, you dirty old dog, you.
CSM: "Surely you wouldn't be so foolish as to put the project at risk for the sake of your... personal pleasures."
Oh, CSM, I really, really don't want to imagine 'personal pleasures' when it comes to either you or WMM, so shut up about that, please, I'm begging you. I'm cringing here.
WMM mercifully changes the subject: "Find her killer." Wow, his voice is so intense in this moment. I really love John Neville. He's magnificent. Actually, both of these actors are terrific. William B. Davis is so slippery smooth in his CSM role. No one else could play the two characters as well as these two men do.
Anyway... back to negotiations. CSM wants WMM to call off the congressional investigation. Hmm.
WMM says he can't call off the investigation. "But Senator Sorenson is an honorable man." Really? I was not getting that vibe off of him last episode. Then again, I'm not sure Consortium men are the best ones to say who is or isn't honorable. What do they know of honor?
WMM continues, unsmilingly: "They're all honorable, these honorable men."
I'm guessing he's being sarcastic, because he certainly sounds scathing when he says it. CSM's expression doesn't change and he says nothing, so WMM steps around him and heads for the stairs. After he passes, CSM speaks up: "I heard Mulder was captured in Tunguska."
WMM pauses mid-step, and turns very slowly. The two men face off again. CSM continues, "I hear now he's escaped." Wow, word travels fast!
CSM smiles as he raises his cigarette to his lips. "Wake the Russian bear, and it may find we've stolen its honey."
Ooookay. Is that code or something? How about, 'The dog flies at midnight, but not without an umbrella.' Or, 'the rat may eat the cheese but what he really wants is peanut butter.' No?
Remarkably, WMM seems to understand what CSM is saying. He nods wearily, and exits the porch. Why is he leaving? It's his house! Oh, I see why. It's so CSM can have his creepy, sinister moment: watching WMM go, he stands and sucks down languorously on his cigarette. The end of it sizzles noisily as he exhales and allows himself a thin-lipped smirk. Wicked.
***
ACT 2
SCENE 3
Can I get some waffles to go with that raspberry syrup?
Still daylight in Tunguska.
Horsemen from the gulag come upon Mulder's overturned vehicle. As they ride up, we see blood smeared all over the driver's side window. Not a good sign. (Though the peanut gallery thought in my head is that it looks a bit like brick red syrup, it's so thick. Still, I see they were going for the drama, so I'll shut up now.)
A man jumps off his horse and runs to the window, peering in. The truck is empty, the keys still in the ignition. No Mulder. The man yells in Russian: "He's gone!"
Glasses Guy has saddled up and joined the search party. He looks ticked. He instructs the group to get back on their horses. "We must find him!" They gallop away with urgency.
***
ACT 2
SCENE 4
Are these guys related to the dude from The Fugitive, or maybe that other dude from Twin Peaks?
Alex Krycek runs through the woods, cradling his right shoulder. (I'm guessing he injured it when he fell off the truck.) He stops to rest in a clearing, falling to one knee, clutching his arm, gasping for breath and groaning in pain. There's blood streaking the side of his temple. He's almost hugging himself, he's in so much discomfort.
Oh, Krycek... I hate to break this to you, but it's only going to get worse. Much, much worse.
He doesn't hear my warnings, but he does hear the sound of soft rustling. Footsteps nearby. He looks up in alarm, his eyes scanning the trees. Definitely more than one person out there. He forces himself to get up and keep running. As he reaches another clearing, he sees a group of men standing a few feet in front of him. He turns around, and sees another group of men coming up behind him. He's surrounded now.
We get a close-up of one man -- the sleeve of his sweater is tied in a knot; he has no left arm.
As he catches his breath, Krycek speaks to them in Russian: "What do you want from me?"
We now see all four of the men in front of Krycek are the same -- each man has no left arm. It's a creepy sight. One of the men steps forward; he does all the talking, seems to be their leader. He asks Krycek why he was running.
Krycek tries to say that he has escaped from the prison camp, but One-Armed Leader looks Krycek over and calls him a big fat liar. Given that Alex is dressed like a gulag guard rather than like a prisoner, it's understandable why the guy's not inclined to believe him.
Alex switches to English momentarily, apologizing. He switches back to Russian, explaining that he is an American and that he's been falsely accused of spying. (Interesting that he sticks to the same story he gave Mulder. The men at the camp may very well think of him that way now, seeing that he brought Mulder to them in the first place, and Mulder's escape has caused everything to go to hell.)
The One-Armed Leader considers this for a moment, before responding: "Then your enemy is mine. We can protect you."
Krycek exhales, but he doesn't look relieved. Can't say I blame him. This is a freaky bunch.
***
ACT 2
SCENE 5
How on earth did they not trample all over him with their horses?
Nightfall in Tunguska. The camp guards are still searching for Mulder. Wow. What's one guy? Can't you just let this one go? Sheesh. He's not going to ruin the results of your study. Seriously, it's not like you're going to publish any of this in a medical journal. Can you imagine? "First, we tortured our subjects. 100 of them were splattered with Black Oil, which quickly absorbed into their skin, paralyzing them upon contact; the other 100 received a splash of regular WD40..."
Anyway. Little beads of water are misting on Glasses Guy's... glasses. He looks a little tired and cranky. And I gotta imagine he's getting a little saddle sore. But I digress.
As he and his men ride on through the woods, a pile of leaves shifts on the ground. Mulder pokes his head up -- filthy and shivering, he's been hiding in the damp leaves. He watches them go. The poor man looks exhausted.
***
See Part Two for the rest of this episode's recap! Thank you very much for reading!
The X-Files season four, two-part story arc begins with "Tunguska" and continues here with "Terma."
Sherry's Standard Warning: This recap is lengthy and therefore will be posted in two parts. I like to paint a picture, so that (as best as possible) the reader can visualize what's happening on screen, even if they haven't actually seen the episode. I hope it's entertaining that way!
The X-Files: "Terma"
Recap, Part One
The Teaser: Should have taken Auntie Janet to Shady Pines. At least their jello doesn't make you ooze black sludge out your eyeballs.
HARROW CONVALESCENT HOME
BOCA RATON, FLORIDA
A nurse draws down the shade to a window on an upper floor, as a van outside pulls up to the front of the convalescent home.
Cut to a young woman sneaking down a dark hallway, using a flashlight as her guide. She slips inside a room marked with the word "INFIRMARY" on the door. The beam from her torch passes over the faces of elderly people sleeping in various beds before it alights on the face of the woman she seeks. She hurries over to the bed, and gently rouses the frail woman: "Auntie Janet? It's time, Auntie Janet. He's... waiting." Janet nods, and moves to sit up.
Cut to Auntie Janet's niece leading her in her bathrobe, out of the building to the waiting van. The niece opens the side door, and a man wearing a stethoscope quickly slides back a curtain. "We should hurry. We have papers to sign." Poor woman. She's about to be euthanized and she still has to deal with paperwork? Lousy health care system. I cringe to imagine how such paperwork would be worded. Janet doesn't mind, though; she nods and enters the van.
Read on...
Cut to the doctor prepping three IV solutions (two that are clear, one that is a strange bright green that eerily reminds me of the alien blood from "The Erlenmeyer Flask" episode). From what I can tell, they're marked KCl, something-enditol, and NaCl. All I remember from Advanced Chemistry is that Na is Sodium. Is Cl Chloride or Chlorine? So the last IV is some form of Sodium Chloride? What do I know? The last chem class I took was well over 15 years ago. I don't even want to talk about what a nightmare that class was for me. Brutal teacher. Let's not go there. Back to poor Auntie Janet...
The doctor asks Janet to tell him when she's ready. Janet's niece chokes back a sob and hugs her aunt. But Janet is ready: "Don't you cry for me, dear. I'm tired of the pain." She picks up the tube and turns the valve to start the green solution that runs into her IV. The doctor observes carefully. Janet breathes deeply and murmurs to her niece, "You're my angel of mercy." The two women continue to embrace.
After a moment, a quiet breath escapes Janet, and her niece asks in a broken voice, "Is she gone?" The doctor moves to check for a heartbeat, when he suddenly says, "Something's wrong here," and pulls his hand away.
Janet's niece pulls back and looks upon her aunt's face. Her eyes and mouth are open, her head tilted back as if she is dead, but there seems to be something moving under her skin. Black oil worms begin to wriggle out of her eyes, mouth, and nose. The doctor is stunned. Janet's niece begins to scream.
As the camera switches to an overhead shot of the outside of the van, her screams continue to echo throughout the night.
***
The X-Files opening credits.
For this episode, the usual "I WANT TO BELIEVE" tagline has been switched to the enigmatic "E PUR SI MUOVE," which apparently means "And yet it moves" in Italian. Huh.
***
ACT 1
SCENE 1
Rebels, Russians and Spies: Vysotsky would've been a way cooler music choice. Just sayin'.
ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA
Night. City lights reflect on the water, colors rippling with each wave. A tall building carved with lovely architecture is dark, save for the neon of the sign at the top. The word is in Cyrillic script. If it's been super-imposed on that building and its meaning is something simple like "Apartment," I'm going to be really amused. Or I may mildly eye roll at the lack of ingenuity on the part of the arts/graphics department.
Nevertheless, that seems to be what this building is because we next cut to a man passing other numbered doors before coming to a stop at an apartment at the end of the hall. He knocks.
Cut to the inside of a small, warm, modest apartment. A hand holds a delicate chain, gently dipping a metal tea ball infuser into a cream-colored cup edged with gold. A mournful violin plays in the background (on the radio or perhaps played from an old record). The tea-sipping, sweater-wearing, gray-haired man notes the soft knocking, but does not get up. Instead, he slowly twists in his chair to face the door and removes his spectacles, squinting suspiciously. He says something left un-translated in Russian that I assume means "Who is it?"
The man on the other side of the door says, "Vassily Peskow?"
The man in the apartment appears thoughtful at this address, and gets up to open the door, which he does cautiously.
The man in the hall asks again, "Vassily Peskow?" His voice is heavily accented. In Russian, he informs Peskow that he has an urgent communiqué from Comrade Arntzen in Krasnoyarsk.
Krasnoyarsk? Hey, isn't that where Mulder and Krycek headed last week? Hmmm... the plot thickens!
Peskow is unmoved. In Russian, via helpful subtitles: "Please, I am retired from all that now."
The visitor continues: "Comrade Arntzen anticipated this response."
Peskow looks a little cranky. "What does he want from me?"
The messenger simply says: "He wants you to know the Cold War isn't over." He then hands Peskow an envelope and walks away.
Peskow seems like he has something else he wants to say, a protest, perhaps, but he frowns and says nothing, instead looking down at the unmarked envelope. He looks up at the retreating messenger, steps backward into his apartment and shuts the door soundly.
***
ACT 1
SCENE 2
What's more torturous: undergoing Black Oil experiments, or transcribing days' worth of mind-numbingly boring wire taps for the F.B.I.? Mulder can't quite decide.
Cut to our hero, Fox Mulder, curled up in a tight ball, lying on his side on the dirty floor of his cell in the Tunguskan gulag. Not sure if he's unconscious or merely sleeping, but apparently, the prototype vaccine the Russian scientists injected him with has proven to be successful, for he has not died from his horrific exposure to the Black Oil.
Instead, he's simply miserable.
He shifts slightly, alerting us that he's waking. His helpful cellie from the other side of the wall is whispering again, trying to get his attention, but Mulder doesn't move. Cellie keeps trying: "Prisoner. Hey. Prisoner!" Dude, can't you tell Mulder's really not in the mood to chat right now? He's traumatized. Leave him alone for a few minutes, okay? Sheesh.
I guess Mulder decides to deal with him, because he finally stirs. He immediately jerks his hands to his face, touching, remembering, clearly feeling for those hideous black wormy things, checking to see if they're still under his skin. When he realizes they're gone, he closes his eyes again and rolls onto his back, wincing and clutching his arm where they injected the vaccine. After a moment, he rolls back to his original position, curled on his side, pressing his forehead to the ground. He makes a choked sound like he might cry, but instead pushes himself up into a sitting position, his legs crossed in front of him, his right hand still gripping his sore left arm.
Cellie: "I thought maybe you were dead."
Gee, thanks.
Mulder's not in the mood to be sarcastic, though. He says nothing at first. He slowly, carefully removes the prison gray, long-sleeved, button-down shirt they must have put him in after they completed his first test. He's wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt underneath, which allows him to take a closer look at his left upper arm. As he peels the gauze off his wound, he asks how long he's been lying there.
Cellie: "Hours. I don't know. The first time is bad. Very bad."
Cut to me shuddering.
Throughout their conversation, we see Mulder completely but only the other man's eyes are visible through the hole in the wall. The mysterious prisoner's eyes are dark, rimmed in black and shadows. In contrast, the hole in the wall shines a section of soft illumination directly on Mulder's face so that his eyes are often framed in a block of light. It's striking. The eyes often tell the truth even when the mouth spouts lies. I momentarily wonder to myself if we can trust the dark-eyed prisoner or what he says any better than anyone else in this hellhole.
Mulder considers the bloody bandage thoughtfully for a moment before tossing it on the ground. "They do this to you?"
Cellie says yes, then adds something ever-so-helpful: "It becomes easier each time... until it kills you." Great. Thanks for the positivity.
Mulder sounds pained as he asks what they did to him. Cellie says: "You have been exposed to the Black Cancer." I would have thought that CSM (Cigarette-Smoking Man) held the copyright for that nickname, but I guess he prefers "Black-Lunged Son of a Bitch."
Mulder asks for clarification: "What cancer?" Cellie explains that the cancer lives in the rock.
Mulder crawls forward toward the hole in the wall until he is eye to eye with his new gulag buddy. He sits and faces the man, asking a very good question: "Who are you?"
Cellie explains that he used to be a geologist, well known in his field, "...but now I am just a test subject." Mulder realizes that this man helped find the rock in the first place. Stellar work, man. Your discovery is causing nothing but death and misery. The Geologist admits he was there when they brought up the very first fragments. At that time, they didn't mine it. They didn't even know what was in the rock. (You know what they say: Ignorance is bliss.)
Mulder places a hand over his mouth and nose again, as if remembering the gruesome sensation of the rock's very much living things crawling inside merely hours ago. He pauses a moment, digesting this information, then asks: "How many men have died here?"
Geologist: "Hundreds. Maybe more. The search for a cure goes slowly."
Mulder: "Is that what they say the tests are for, to find a cure?"
Geologist: "No, no. They tell us nothing. We are left to guess or imagine the reasons for our torture."
Mulder lowers his head, bracing his arm against the ground.
Geologist: "But what else could it be?" Hmm. I don't know.
Mulder looks up again, his eyes wide now, his voice soft. "What happened to the man who was in the cell with me -- Krycek?"
The Geologist thinks Krycek is dining with the men responsible for their torture. Mulder's eyes momentarily close at this news. He does not look angry or surprised, only weary.
On a side note, I wonder if Mulder would have found it in himself to reconnect with Krycek, maybe forgive him a little bit, if he had learned Alex had been made to suffer the same horror that Mulder has just endured. Shared bond, that sort of thing. In a way, Krycek has, not that Mulder really knows this with absolute certainty -- he didn't see what Krycek went through in the silo.
At any rate, Geologist says he heard them laughing when they left Mulder's cell. Interesting. Krycek wasn't with those men when they came in and took Mulder. I assume he wasn't with them when Mulder was returned, either. Why would the Geologist associate their laughter in any way with Krycek? Does he know something he isn't telling Mulder? That perhaps he heard the guards talking about Krycek, or that he heard Krycek give them the orders to include Mulder in those tests? The Geologist seems awfully forthcoming; I can't imagine him holding back any helpful data. Unless he's not as honest as he seems. Or, unless he wants to stir the pot a bit, get someone else to start a revolution so he can escape, perhaps? I'm not sure why he'd be so buddy-buddy with a complete stranger, an American, no less. Anyway. Moving on from conjecture...
Mulder almost smiles, as he lifts his chin defiantly. "I'm not going to die."
The Geologist challenges him: "No? Why not?"
Mulder: "I have to live long enough to kill that man Krycek."
The Geologist considers this a moment, then glances around his cell (as if he's afraid he's being watched), before passing something shiny to Mulder through the hole in the wall. It's a makeshift blade with protective cloth wrapped in layers around the handle. Mulder admires it for a moment, his facial expression fascinated. He looks like he's thinking about the ways in which he could gut Alex Krycek with it.
Mulder asks him where he got it, and the Geologist explains that he made it... with the intention of killing himself. It took him nearly two weeks to construct, but by that time, he had lost the desire to use it.
Sometimes I feel that way when I bake. I throw my whole energy into the process of it, measuring and mixing and preparing, but hours later, by the time the dessert is complete, I've lost my appetite for eating it. Okay, I suppose that's not exactly the same as a tortured man who's spent two weeks making a knife in which to kill himself, but I do understand the loss of energy after all the effort made. Sorry! This scene is just so grave, I had to say something to lighten the mood at least a little! Back to our somber duo...
Mulder pockets the knife, then asks another good question: "You'd rather suffer the torture?"
The Geologist gets all existential: "It is wonderful, the persistence of life. That rock we found buried so deep in the earth, that anything could survive down there against all reason. No. They will have to kill me themselves."
Mulder nods, understanding.
***
ACT 1
SCENE 3
As long as there are no eggs in the nest...
NASA GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
GREENBELT, MARYLAND
Scully's in protective gear, watching over Dr. Sacks, the victim of the Black Oil from last episode. It seems he's still in a coma state, and they haven't been able to do much for him but provide fluids for the past 48 hours. (Which means Mulder's been gone that long, stuck in the gulag for almost two days, subtracting travel times, of course.)
Scully says they can't risk contamination if Dr. Sacks has been infected by some kind of organism. She's talking to another doctor, who's studying Dr. Sacks' blood under a microscope. He observes that the blood in the carotid artery looks slightly thickened, possibly due to the decreased heart rate and blood pressure. He looks closer, then exclaims, "Now what the hell is this?" Scully looks up from her work and joins him at the microscope. Whatever it is, it's concentrated around Dr. Sacks' pineal body -- according to my trusty-rusty dictionary, the pineal gland is an organ in the brain that secretes the hormone melatonin into the bloodstream -- and it appears to be alive.
Cut to a close-up of what they're looking at, something very sea anemone-like, its tentacles waving in the fluid. It's freaking me out a little bit. That's in his blood? GROSS.
Scully thinks it looks like a nest. That freaks me out even more. A nest in the blood. Ew, ew, eww. Scully explains further: "Some kind of black vermiform organism attached to the pineal gland." Yeah, thanks, Scully; that explains everything. Can we have that in layman's terms, please?
The two doctors share an uneasy look.
And... scene.
Wait -- what? No explanation? You're going to make me look it up? Sigh.
Vermiform = wormlike in shape. Pineal Gland = I already explained that one. But I looked up the hormone melatonin, because I'm just that kind of recapper, and it's apparently derived from serotonin (oh! I know that one!), it produces changes in the skin color of vertebrates, reptiles and amphibians, and is important in regulating biorhythms. Hmm. Really.
So basically, I already said it looked sea anemone-like (kinda wormy) and that it was hanging out in the bloodstream, but Scully had to show me up with her fancy doctor talk. Thanks, Scully. You've been a great help. Let's move on, shall we?
***
ACT 1
SCENE 4
Hey, Chris Carter? Maybe instead we could have used this airtime for an extra Skinner or Krycek scene.
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
Six people standing or sitting by the side of the street, waiting for the bus. A man sits, carving bites of apple with a knife. Hey, it's Vassily Peskow! Wow, he went from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Richmond, Virginia, in a matter of days -- he must have one hell of a talented travel agent. Unless, of course, Comrade Arntzen kindly sent him plane tickets.
He offers a piece of apple to the woman sitting next to him, but she declines, thanking him. The bus pulls up. Nice timing. Peskow boards the bus, pays his fare, and moves to sit.
And that's the end of that very exciting scene. Okay, then. I guess Chris Carter was going for atmosphere with that one.
***
ACT 1
SCENE 5
I say it was the Russian in the barn with the horses. What's your guess?
Night. A woman enters a darkened barn. She turns the lights on, and a horse neighs. Probably bitching at her to shut the lights off and let him and the rest of the stable sleep, like, come on, lady, are you actually thinking of going for a midnight ride? Do you know what show you're on?
Thankfully, she's smarter than that. Apparently, she came into the barn because she heard a noise, and she bravely wants to check it out. But she's not super-smart because 1) she didn't bring a weapon with her, not even a baseball bat or a pitchfork or something, and 2) she came alone. (Sigh.) She looks around, checking out the horses. Making her way to the far end of the stable, she gasps at the sight of a stranger lurking in her barn.
Vassily Peskow looks up at her from where he stands in a shadowy stall.
Peskow: "Oh, pardon me."
Yeah, why am I not buying his 'kindly old man' routine? First, with the grandpa sweater, then the apple offering, and now with the 'pardon me' line as he skulks about this woman's property? Run for your life right now, ma'am. Trust me on this.
She demands to know who he is, but he's not particularly forthcoming. At least, not about that. He starts talking about how, when he was a boy, his father had a farm, but not horses like the ones she's got. He pets the horse with a firm hand. The woman still seems on guard, but softens a little at the familial connection.
Peskow steps out of the stall, encroaching upon her personal space as he introduces himself. The woman tells him he shouldn't be lurking about in her barn. Peskow apologizes, repeatedly, but I'm getting the feeling he's not apologizing for the lurking.
The woman insists he's going to have to leave. She tells him she'll call him a cab. Then she does something incredibly foolish, and turns her back on him as she moves to exit the barn. Seriously?
Peskow: "But I have come here to see you, Dr. Charne-Sayre."
She whips around at the mention of her name and squints at him. "Do I know you?"
Peskow says politely, "No. I don't know how you could." And then he grabs her roughly by the throat.
She gasps and clutches at him, and the horses whinny loudly, disturbed by this sudden chaos. Peskow's expression deadly and menacingly focused now, he forces her back against the wall of the stable, his hand pressing against her, choking her.
***
ACT 1
SCENE 6
Horses and pouches and smallpox, oh my!
Scully walks down a dimly lit hallway, headed for her apartment. As she reaches her door and sticks the key in the lock, a trench-coated man appears at the far end of the hallway and calls to her.
It's Assistant Director Skinner, and he's a little ticked. Seems he's been trying to contact her, but her cell phone was turned off. Oops.
Skinner: "You owe me some answers, Agent Scully, answers I don't have to questions I'm being asked about this missing diplomatic pouch. The pouch presumably being carried by the man who was allegedly pushed off my balcony and whose connection to the known felon I harbored in my house against all good sense, I'm going to have to explain to avoid perjuring myself before a Senate subcommittee tomorrow, which, I might remind you, is a very serious crime in itself, is it not, Agent Scully?"
Wow. That was a mouthful, Skinner. Have you been practicing that indignant retort in your car all the way over to Scully's? All teasing aside, however, he's not exactly out of line to want to know what the hell's going on, especially now that he's been pulled so securely into the thick of it.
Scully tries to explain about the rock, how it was found to contain a potential biohazardous organism, and how all day she's been trying to determine just what in the universe it is.
Skinner baits her, asking if she knows what the pouch's intended destination was. Scully hasn't a clue, but Skinner knows already. He grumps a bit about how he had to bend some rules to find out -- join the X-Files rule-bending club, Skinner; Mulder will make you Treasurer -- but ultimately he reveals that the true destination of that pouch and its contents was to a doctor named Bonita Charne-Sayre. Oh, do tell. Didn't we just see that woman being attacked by Vassily Peskow? And isn't that the same woman who was riding horses and smiling at the Well-Manicured Man in the "Tunguska" episode? So, that lady's background is not so squeaky clean. Fascinating.
Scully doesn't know what we know, though, so she simply explains (with a seeming touch of awe) what she does know about Dr. Charne-Sayre: "She's a well-known physician, a virologist who's looked in on presidents. She's also an authority on Variola viruses." Skinner asks for himself and the rest of us non-science-y types, "Variola?" Thanks, Skinman, I love ya.
Scully goes on: "Smallpox. She's been a vocal proponent of eliminating the last remaining stores of the smallpox virus, destroying the only remaining vials here in Atlanta and in the former Soviet Union."
You don't say... Could it be possible that instead of destroying those vials, she's been keeping them and using the smallpox virus as a good test example, in order to create vaccines or a cure for, say, a totally different sort of virus? Like, maybe, Black Cancer? Just a theory.
Skinner breaks the news to Scully that Charne-Sayre was killed that very night. Scully is stunned. Skinner explains that a horse stepped on her throat in a riding accident in Virginia. Yeah. A horse named Vassily Peskow. Can't they see a hand print bruise on her throat, or did Peskow cover it up by having a horse actually step on her after he killed her? Either way, that is nasty. Yikes.
Scully looks troubled by this turn of events.
***
ACT 1
SCENE 7
Go, Mulder, go!
Back in the gulag. The door to Mulder's cell opens. He rolls over and half-sits up, wary and anxious. Yeah, I wouldn't be so eager to repeat that Black Cancer experiment, either.
A guard stands in the doorway and gestures with his baton, speaking forcefully in Russian. Mulder hasn't a clue what he's saying, so he asks, "Where we going?" The guard doesn't like the question, so he strides forward, yelling at Mulder, and kicks him. Hey, you bully, leave him alone! Gulag Guard ignores me, instead choosing to yank Mulder to his feet and push him out the door.
Cut to an overhead shot of the entire camp. Very institutional-looking, all cement buildings, rough terrain, and stark atmosphere. On a building marked with a 3 and then some Cyrillic lettering, a long line of men are being led outside. Most look filthy, exhausted, malnourished, and broken, as they shuffle along in the cold air, wearing thin t-shirts, prison grey button-down shirts, jeans, and work boots. Men on horseback herd the prisoners like cattle, as other guards on foot hold rifles, keeping watch over their 'stock.'
A green truck enters the arena, backing up to a wooden platform where the balding, wire-rimmed glasses guy (previously seen from the observation deck during the Black Cancer experiments) stands, watching over the proceedings. A man ambles up the ramp to join the Glasses Guy on deck. It's Alex Krycek. He's dressed comfortably and warmly in a thick, military green coat and black gloves. Mulder stares, emotionless. The way this series of moments is edited, I'm not sure if he sees that it's Krycek, or if he's studying the truck as a potential escape route. It seems it's the latter.
We finally see what Mulder's cell buddy looks like. He comes up behind Mulder and gestures to Krycek: "Is that your friend?" The Geologist is a bony man with a wide forehead, thinning, unwashed hair, and a gaunt face. His eyes are still dark as he frowns in the direction of Alex Krycek.
Mulder studies Geologist for a moment, seeing him in entirety for the first time right with us, then looks back in time to see Glasses Guy embrace Krycek in a big, friendly hug. They seem to know each other well already. Curious. Mulder takes in the sight of a laughing Glasses Guy chatting with a smiling Alex as he lights Glasses Guy's cigarette.
Geologist says, "You have but one chance."
Mulder considers this, but if he planned to ask something of his new friend, it's too late because the guard who pulled him from his cell steps up and urges Mulder along. As he continues his shuffle in the line of men, he watches Krycek and absorbs the surroundings, looking for the right angle, the right moment. Watching and waiting.
Mulder inches along, studying Krycek as he talks to Glasses Guy. Finally, Mulder whips out the homemade knife and starts running alongside of the line, advancing toward the ramp, picking up speed until he's running directly at Krycek. Before either Glasses Guy or Krycek can react, Mulder has tackled Krycek, knocking him backwards into the flat bed of the green truck that's parked there. He rapidly punches Krycek once, twice, right in the face, knocking him unconscious. Then he swirls around, protectively holding the blade out in front of him, advancing toward Glasses Guy until the balding man falls backward into the arms of the prisoners in line. (Looks like they were about to start boarding the back of the truck, probably to be transported to the mining area.)
Guards and prisoners are shouting, chaos building. Mulder takes this opportunity to jump down from the deck and hop into the cab of the truck, starting the engine. From another camera angle, we can see that Alex is still out cold on the bed of the truck. Glasses Guy gets up and starts yelling orders, but Mulder is already driving away as fast as he can, given that the truck is quite large and unwieldy and the ground very muddy. (License plate: K 2105 M, for those curious.)
Mulder glances over his shoulder through the rear window. Glasses Guy is pushing prisoners, trying to keep them back, keep them from running, and guards brandishing batons control the group, everyone hollering at each other in Russian.
As Mulder's truck smashes through the gates, men on horseback chase after him. He keeps on driving. Go, Mulder, go.
***
ACT 2
SCENE 1
Where's the damn instruction booklet when you need it?
Commercials are over, and we're right back in the thick of it! Whoo!
Men on horseback continue to chase after Mulder in the green monster truck, and from their vantage point, we can see Krycek is still unconscious in the back of the vehicle, his body jostling with every bump in the road.
As they ride, the guards begin to fire their handguns. (What am I, an expert? I don't know what kind!) Krycek's damn lucky he didn't get shot in the line of fire during all that craziness. Then again, given what he'll experience a few scenes from now, a stray bullet in the arm might have been preferable.
The riders don't seem to be getting anywhere with their shooting, so they turn back. Not sure if they're taking another route in order to cut Mulder off at a point farther up the road, or if they've given up and are heading back to camp.
Mulder checks his mirror, sees they're gone, and keeps right on driving. Go, Mulder, go!
Cut to Krycek in the back of the truck. He's rousing, a bruise already forming on his cheekbone from where Mulder punched him. Mulder must hear him stir, or he's just paranoid and twitchy, because he glances behind him for a moment before focusing on the road again. Krycek rolls over and pulls himself up, kneeling at eye level with the grill that separates him from Mulder in the cab. Furious, he slams his hands against it.
Mulder glances back, sees Krycek peering in through the back window, and makes a face. The truck seems to be a lot for him to handle, so he turns forward again, eyes on the road as he struggles with the steering wheel. He notices a sharp curve in the dirt road up ahead, but can't seem to get the brakes to work properly in order to slow down before the bend. The truck seems to be picking up speed, racing along the road. Mulder can't get it to slow down at all. He pumps the brakes and tries various levers, but nothing's working. He's got no way to stop the truck.
Krycek seems to realize that Mulder's going to have to crash the truck in order to stop it, and with no way of protecting himself, knocking around loosely in back like he is, he'll probably be killed upon impact. He rolls to the end of the truck bed, clinging to the edge, looking back like he hopes Mulder can figure it out without having to wreck the truck. So he won't have to jump.
Mulder's very focused on the road, but he shows no signs of veering from their impending course, so Krycek takes a breath and rolls himself off the edge of the vehicle, falling, hitting the ground hard and rolling several times before coming to a rough stop.
Mulder sees he can't make the final turn, so he pulls his arms up to protect his face, dropping his head down, as the truck veers off the side of the road, smashing through a thick veil of tree branches. As the vehicle clears through the branches, we see the ground drops sharply into a ravine of rocks, trees, and hard ground. The momentum of the drop causes Mulder's truck to flip onto its side as it slides down the embankment. It comes to a violent halt. There is no movement from within the vehicle.
***
ACT 2
SCENE 2
Who's the Russian bear and what's the honey in this scenario? Sometimes this show makes me think so hard, my brain starts smoking like one of CSM's Morleys.
Night. Looks like Dr. Charne-Sayre's horse farm. A sedan pulls up to the house, its headlights illuminating the darkened porch. The driver cuts the engine, sending the front of the house into blackness again. It's CSM. He gets out and makes his way up the steps, standing and peering into the darkness for a moment before speaking: "That's a nasty habit. It's bad for the health." Oh, irony, how I love thee.
A man sits on a porch bench in the shadows, smoking a cigarette. At CSM's comment, he stands, dropping the cigarette and stamping it out as he steps into the dim moonlight. It's Well-Manicured Man (WMM), and he's not in the mood for health lectures from a guy whose nickname is Cigarette-Smoking Man, a.k.a. Cancer Man.
CSM is enveloped in complete darkness, that's just how evil he is. But we get an awesome lighting shot, as his face is suddenly and briefly bathed in the orange glow of the cigarette as he lights it. As his lighter snaps shut, his face falls to shadow again and all we see is the burning tip of his cancer stick. Very cool.
CSM takes a lazy drag. "According to reports, your personal physician suffered a serious riding accident here on your property." Oh, so it's WMM’s house, not Charne-Sayre's? I stand corrected.
WMM has a more pressing point to make: "Dr. Charne-Sayre was murdered."
CSM: "By whom?"
WMM: (in that marvelously snooty way of his) "If I knew, do you think I'd be standing here talking to you?"
Given how WMM wasn't particularly interested in CSM's point of view in last week's episode, CSM delights in rubbing it in WMM's face. "So... you need me now. A man of my capabilities, is that it?"
WMM doesn't care about apologies, nor does he have time for it. "This was a professional hit."
CSM is still amused. "Really? And you out here all alone and so vulnerable."
WMM gets a look on his face like he hadn't considered someone might come after him next (and as if for a moment he even thinks it could have been CSM's own doing). He glances into the yard nervously.
CSM's taunting smile slides off his face as he goes in for the kill: "Were you sleeping with her?"
WMM gives CSM a haughty, indignant glare, but I don't hear him denying anything. Fascinating. WMM, you dirty old dog, you.
CSM: "Surely you wouldn't be so foolish as to put the project at risk for the sake of your... personal pleasures."
Oh, CSM, I really, really don't want to imagine 'personal pleasures' when it comes to either you or WMM, so shut up about that, please, I'm begging you. I'm cringing here.
WMM mercifully changes the subject: "Find her killer." Wow, his voice is so intense in this moment. I really love John Neville. He's magnificent. Actually, both of these actors are terrific. William B. Davis is so slippery smooth in his CSM role. No one else could play the two characters as well as these two men do.
Anyway... back to negotiations. CSM wants WMM to call off the congressional investigation. Hmm.
WMM says he can't call off the investigation. "But Senator Sorenson is an honorable man." Really? I was not getting that vibe off of him last episode. Then again, I'm not sure Consortium men are the best ones to say who is or isn't honorable. What do they know of honor?
WMM continues, unsmilingly: "They're all honorable, these honorable men."
I'm guessing he's being sarcastic, because he certainly sounds scathing when he says it. CSM's expression doesn't change and he says nothing, so WMM steps around him and heads for the stairs. After he passes, CSM speaks up: "I heard Mulder was captured in Tunguska."
WMM pauses mid-step, and turns very slowly. The two men face off again. CSM continues, "I hear now he's escaped." Wow, word travels fast!
CSM smiles as he raises his cigarette to his lips. "Wake the Russian bear, and it may find we've stolen its honey."
Ooookay. Is that code or something? How about, 'The dog flies at midnight, but not without an umbrella.' Or, 'the rat may eat the cheese but what he really wants is peanut butter.' No?
Remarkably, WMM seems to understand what CSM is saying. He nods wearily, and exits the porch. Why is he leaving? It's his house! Oh, I see why. It's so CSM can have his creepy, sinister moment: watching WMM go, he stands and sucks down languorously on his cigarette. The end of it sizzles noisily as he exhales and allows himself a thin-lipped smirk. Wicked.
***
ACT 2
SCENE 3
Can I get some waffles to go with that raspberry syrup?
Still daylight in Tunguska.
Horsemen from the gulag come upon Mulder's overturned vehicle. As they ride up, we see blood smeared all over the driver's side window. Not a good sign. (Though the peanut gallery thought in my head is that it looks a bit like brick red syrup, it's so thick. Still, I see they were going for the drama, so I'll shut up now.)
A man jumps off his horse and runs to the window, peering in. The truck is empty, the keys still in the ignition. No Mulder. The man yells in Russian: "He's gone!"
Glasses Guy has saddled up and joined the search party. He looks ticked. He instructs the group to get back on their horses. "We must find him!" They gallop away with urgency.
***
ACT 2
SCENE 4
Are these guys related to the dude from The Fugitive, or maybe that other dude from Twin Peaks?
Alex Krycek runs through the woods, cradling his right shoulder. (I'm guessing he injured it when he fell off the truck.) He stops to rest in a clearing, falling to one knee, clutching his arm, gasping for breath and groaning in pain. There's blood streaking the side of his temple. He's almost hugging himself, he's in so much discomfort.
Oh, Krycek... I hate to break this to you, but it's only going to get worse. Much, much worse.
He doesn't hear my warnings, but he does hear the sound of soft rustling. Footsteps nearby. He looks up in alarm, his eyes scanning the trees. Definitely more than one person out there. He forces himself to get up and keep running. As he reaches another clearing, he sees a group of men standing a few feet in front of him. He turns around, and sees another group of men coming up behind him. He's surrounded now.
We get a close-up of one man -- the sleeve of his sweater is tied in a knot; he has no left arm.
As he catches his breath, Krycek speaks to them in Russian: "What do you want from me?"
We now see all four of the men in front of Krycek are the same -- each man has no left arm. It's a creepy sight. One of the men steps forward; he does all the talking, seems to be their leader. He asks Krycek why he was running.
Krycek tries to say that he has escaped from the prison camp, but One-Armed Leader looks Krycek over and calls him a big fat liar. Given that Alex is dressed like a gulag guard rather than like a prisoner, it's understandable why the guy's not inclined to believe him.
Alex switches to English momentarily, apologizing. He switches back to Russian, explaining that he is an American and that he's been falsely accused of spying. (Interesting that he sticks to the same story he gave Mulder. The men at the camp may very well think of him that way now, seeing that he brought Mulder to them in the first place, and Mulder's escape has caused everything to go to hell.)
The One-Armed Leader considers this for a moment, before responding: "Then your enemy is mine. We can protect you."
Krycek exhales, but he doesn't look relieved. Can't say I blame him. This is a freaky bunch.
***
ACT 2
SCENE 5
How on earth did they not trample all over him with their horses?
Nightfall in Tunguska. The camp guards are still searching for Mulder. Wow. What's one guy? Can't you just let this one go? Sheesh. He's not going to ruin the results of your study. Seriously, it's not like you're going to publish any of this in a medical journal. Can you imagine? "First, we tortured our subjects. 100 of them were splattered with Black Oil, which quickly absorbed into their skin, paralyzing them upon contact; the other 100 received a splash of regular WD40..."
Anyway. Little beads of water are misting on Glasses Guy's... glasses. He looks a little tired and cranky. And I gotta imagine he's getting a little saddle sore. But I digress.
As he and his men ride on through the woods, a pile of leaves shifts on the ground. Mulder pokes his head up -- filthy and shivering, he's been hiding in the damp leaves. He watches them go. The poor man looks exhausted.
***
See Part Two for the rest of this episode's recap! Thank you very much for reading!
