TV Review: The X-Files Episode 4, “Home Again”

By Jeffery X Martin

I don’t even know what’s going on anymore. At this point, I feel like the reboot of The X-Files is rick-rolling me.

Never gonna solve this case.
Suck on this mythology.
By now, Mulder and Scully
Are boneheads.

The latest episode, “Home Again,” is such a nut-kicking disappointment, I feel like I may as well go back and start watching old episodes of The Night Stalker again.

Oh, wait. I already do that.

As with every episode of The X-Files, there are two storylines going on. The first one has to do with moving the homeless in Philadelphia off the streets and into an abandoned hospital. But there’s something fighting for the disenfranchised, something that’s not quite human.

Terribly human, on the other side, is Scully’s mother, who is in the ICU after a heart attack. However, someone has changed her Living Will, and Scully isn’t as willing to let her mother go as her mother is to get the hell outta here. Entwined through all of this is both Mulder and Scully’s grief over their son, long given up for adoption, whom they may never see again.

So, let’s break this one down.

The Good

–Someday, the world will realize that Gillian Anderson is not just delicious eye candy, but that she is an amazing actress. She’s got chops, and they are on full display on this episode.
–The angry, jowly Mulder we’ve been handed in this reboot is the Mulder we’ve always needed, even if it isn’t the Mulder we’ve always deserved. Duchovny is in hog heaven with this older version of his definitive character, and we are the better for it.

The Bad

–Wow, Darin Morgan, fuck you for calling this episode “Home Again,” using an old tune to set us up, and then not delivering on the title’s premise. You know we wanted to see the Peacock family, and you screwed us over. Very funny. Get in line with Damon Lindelof for TV Writers I Seriously Dislike.
–Our supernatural villain is Banksy? Really? Exit through the bullshit shop.
–There’s no way Scully’s mother’s situation doesn’t fit into the overarching mythology, but we aren’t told how. Not even a clue. We’ve only got two episodes to go, folks; can I at least get a courtesy flush?

Look. They’re not going to wrap this up. The writers never promised us a rose garden, but they can’t possible answer all the questions they’ve dredged up in the next two episodes. It’s like being contacted on OK Cupid by your ex-wife. There’s a certain amount of comfort there, but you know it’s not going to be what you want it to be. You’re not going to get closure. All you’re going to get is embarassment for taking that risk.

Please.

Prove me wrong.