Flukeman
Is there any more frightening thought than something alien invading the body?
We objectify cancer, the great John Wayne famously calling it the "Big C". But cancer is not an invader, not a parasite using the internal organs for food or incubation. Cancer occurs for several reasons - inherited or an error in cell division or as a result of damage to the DNA from environmental factors.
Environmental factors can be created by the advance of science, whether deliberately or as the aftermath of some man-made disaster. The people of Flint, Michigan have first-hand experience of this. As do those Russians unfortunate to be living around Chernobyl in 1986.
When Mulder is sent to investigate the finding of a decomposing corpse, he initially believes it to be another 'shit' job (the body is found in the New Jersey sewers); all part of the punishment meted out after the closure of the X Files.
The complexity of the X Files timeline is as much due to its cancerous growth on the zeitgeist as any forethought. There is plenty of evidence that the mythology was built haphazardly rather than carefully thought out. While not a part of the mythology, Season Two's second episode, The Host, demonstrates a degree of this less than joined-up thinking. As someone able to make connections between the most far-fetched ideas and concepts, Mulder should have been made to pause and consider the last time he was in New Jersey - Season One's 'The Jersey Devil'. Not once, throughout the duration of this episode, does he wonder what it is about Jersey that makes it a hot-spot for such occurrences - and this is a man who knows every UFO hot-spot in the country.
Of course, he is feeling under-appreciated and even contemplates leaving the FBI to pursue his interests independently. So maybe we should cut him some slack and assume he is not at his best, but it doesn't take him long to get excited and fully invested in the chase.
What he discovers, with Scully's help, of course, is that environmental factors that result from humanity's misadventures with science can create more than just cancer. Where the United States came within three miles of a full-blown nuclear disaster, Russia went all the way to Chernobyl.
We objectify cancer, the great John Wayne famously calling it the "Big C". But cancer is not an invader, not a parasite using the internal organs for food or incubation. Cancer occurs for several reasons - inherited or an error in cell division or as a result of damage to the DNA from environmental factors.
Environmental factors can be created by the advance of science, whether deliberately or as the aftermath of some man-made disaster. The people of Flint, Michigan have first-hand experience of this. As do those Russians unfortunate to be living around Chernobyl in 1986.
When Mulder is sent to investigate the finding of a decomposing corpse, he initially believes it to be another 'shit' job (the body is found in the New Jersey sewers); all part of the punishment meted out after the closure of the X Files.
The complexity of the X Files timeline is as much due to its cancerous growth on the zeitgeist as any forethought. There is plenty of evidence that the mythology was built haphazardly rather than carefully thought out. While not a part of the mythology, Season Two's second episode, The Host, demonstrates a degree of this less than joined-up thinking. As someone able to make connections between the most far-fetched ideas and concepts, Mulder should have been made to pause and consider the last time he was in New Jersey - Season One's 'The Jersey Devil'. Not once, throughout the duration of this episode, does he wonder what it is about Jersey that makes it a hot-spot for such occurrences - and this is a man who knows every UFO hot-spot in the country.
Of course, he is feeling under-appreciated and even contemplates leaving the FBI to pursue his interests independently. So maybe we should cut him some slack and assume he is not at his best, but it doesn't take him long to get excited and fully invested in the chase.
What he discovers, with Scully's help, of course, is that environmental factors that result from humanity's misadventures with science can create more than just cancer. Where the United States came within three miles of a full-blown nuclear disaster, Russia went all the way to Chernobyl.
In a series that thrives off conspiracy theories, it is only inevitable that the Russians be the cause of at least some of America's problems. Without pointing fingers, which maybe they wouldn't be so reluctant to do today, it is clear that, while we should understand this episode as an advisory against careless science, we shouldn't miss the message - Russia inflicts damage upon the United States at every opportunity. The decomposing body that Mulder is sent to investigate is that of a Russian merchant seaman.
Let's not forget for a minute that America wouldn't do the same given the opportunity, which, we must assume, they are as actively seeking as the Russians. And they wouldn't hesitate to adopt the same insidious methods implied in this episode. Of course, the plot puts it down to an accident and without intent but, in essence, what we have here is a foreshadowing of the surreptitious meddling of the Russians in American affairs with the aim of causing as much harm as possible. It is to the writers' credit that they are able to weave a story that asks questions rather than posits answers.
Let's not forget for a minute that America wouldn't do the same given the opportunity, which, we must assume, they are as actively seeking as the Russians. And they wouldn't hesitate to adopt the same insidious methods implied in this episode. Of course, the plot puts it down to an accident and without intent but, in essence, what we have here is a foreshadowing of the surreptitious meddling of the Russians in American affairs with the aim of causing as much harm as possible. It is to the writers' credit that they are able to weave a story that asks questions rather than posits answers.
The flukeman is of Russian origin and, just as Russian hackers seek to find a way into American systems, it found its way into an American sewage system. Could it be more clear what America thinks about their Russian counterpart?
What is surprising about this episode is that the flukeman, or its offspring, escapes. While Mulder rarely acquires tangible proof in the mythology episodes, in the monster-of-the-week episodes, even Eugene Tooms is first incarcerated then, eventually killed. So, for the flukeman to escape is significant. A recognition, maybe, that the war between the United States and Russia, precisely because it is not open, has no end.
What is surprising about this episode is that the flukeman, or its offspring, escapes. While Mulder rarely acquires tangible proof in the mythology episodes, in the monster-of-the-week episodes, even Eugene Tooms is first incarcerated then, eventually killed. So, for the flukeman to escape is significant. A recognition, maybe, that the war between the United States and Russia, precisely because it is not open, has no end.
Comments
Post a Comment