ello and welcome back to the miniseries which is at its midway point. Despite not having been aired continuously for 25 years, the show is in its 11th Season and has spawned two blockbuster films.
Before this current season aired, there were rumours that Anderson would not return for the next season and this would be her last.
What I’m most interested in is to see how they end her story arc this season. I’d be interested to see if her character became a reccuring character, however, if her Character is killed off, that is something I need to prepare myself for. Anyway, let’s get to it.
During the Vietnam war, a platoon of U.S. Marines including Skinner and young John ‘Kitten’ James (Haley Joel Osment), are tasked with escorting a crate marked MK–NAOMI to its rendezvous point. They come under fire and are forced to take shelter with a group of civilians in a hut. As Skinner goes to help a wounded soldier, the crate is damaged by gunfire and Kitten is exposed to a yellow gas. When he returns to the hut, Skinner finds Kitten has murdered the civilians.
In the present day, Mulder and Scully are called to a meeting with FBI Director Alvin Kersh (James Pickens Jr.) He insults the agents and informs them that Skinner has gone missing. He also adds that he’d be on a fast track to have his job if it wasn’t for his support for the X Files.
The agents investigate Skinner’s apartment finding that he’d been sent a severed human ear. Finding out where the package came from – Mud Lick, Kentucky – the agents head out to start their investigation. Scully then realises that Skinner’s records and the records of his platoon are classified.
Mulder and Scully then find a body in the morgue missing an ear. Mulder identifies the cause of death as being a punji stake – a Vietnam War era booby trap – Scully questions the sheriff about what he thinks is happening throughout the town.
The body of Banjo, another veteran, is found the next day at the bottom of a punji pit. A camera used to record deer in the area, recorded Banjo’s death. Skinner is seen approaching the pit shortly after Banjo fell in. The agents lose the support of local authorities when they realise Skinner is their boss. They are unable to convince the sheriff of his innocence. As Mulder continues to watch the video, he notices a hooded and cloaked figure in the woods but initially chalks it up to someone in a costume.
Skinner approaches the cabin of Kitten’s son, Davey James (Haley Joel Osment). Davey accuses Skinner for failing to help Kitten. After being exposed to MK–NAOMI, Kitten became increasingly violent and was court martialled upon his return home. He was committed to a mental facility where Skinner’s testimony helped to imprison Kitten.
Davey reveals that all the soldiers that were exposed to the gas were sent to the same facility where the experiments continued, implying that Kitten’s initial exposure was orchestrated by the government. This was an attempt to turn soldiers into more efficient weapons of war.
I liked this episode. This is one of a few episodes where Skinner’s character is explored. This is done throughout the series a few times, whether verbally in a monlogue, visually in flashback sequences or as an entire episode. At the end of Season 2/beginning of Season 3, Skinner gives a monologue which is reminiscent in this episode as he’s telling the story from when he was in Vietnam.
I give this episode an overall rating of 7 out of 10. Stay tuned for episode 7 (‘Rm9sbG93ZXJz’) next week. We only have four weeks left how will this end?
