SGG Commentary on "Herrenvolk"
Shanna Swendson
Okay, here we go with yet another season (and yet another late review!).
It's the Stealth Geek Goddess' Commentary on "Herrenvolk."
SPOILERS if you haven't seen it yet (and if you haven't, what are you
waiting for? Unless you're Philip, the computer guy in my office, and you
won't get the tape until my computer is upgraded.)
First impression: Oh my!
Second impression: Huh?
As usual, they've left us with more questions than answers, and added a
few new ones. Not that that's a bad thing, but there are now so many
threads to this conspiracy that it will take a massive effort to tie
everything together eventually. I'd love to see the white board that's
tracking this sucker.
First of all, a Big Chase Scene, complete with Action Mulder. Nice and
gripping, and good music to add to the mood, but how many times did they
run up and down the stairs? What a workout!
Mulder's rising from the wood chips to stab the MMPA (Mighty Morphin'
Power Assassin) in the neck was kind of cool. Perhaps an homage to the
horror genre, where we've seen plenty of villains pull that stunt? I
imagine Mulder missed the one perfect spot to effectively kill, and that's
why it didn't work.
And once again, Mulder takes off cross country. Scully was probably
better off left behind, once the MMPA left her alone. But I have to agree
with those who have asked what Mulder and Jeremiah talked about all that
time. That's the kind of plot hole that strains credulity. Sure, it
might have made more sense once Mulder saw all that stuff, but considering
they didn't know how long they'd have before the MMPA caught up with them,
you'd think Smith would have taken the chance to spill the beans. Maybe
there was a good baseball game on the radio. :-)
Those who have been on this group for a while know that I'm a fan of CSM,
one of the founders of The Smoke Ring and a devoted William B. Davis fan
(one of the most charming men I've ever met). So, it should come as no
surprise that I loved the little glimpses we got of him in "Herrenvolk."
We may be seeing his weakness, the one thing he really cares about -- and
it's Ma Mulder! I think the scene where he holds her hand, only to quickly
let go and back away when the door to the room opens, is one of my
favorites in the episode. :-|_~
I've heard lots of talk about how awful it was that Mulder ditched Scully,
etc., etc., but look at it this way: they each did what they do the best.
Mulder went off on a whild goose chase, coming close to the Truth, but
just missing it. Scully went into the lab and came across something
concrete. (Kind of reminds me of "The Erlenmeyer Flask")
Which brings me to another favorite part of the episode: Pendrell!!! All
hail the new poster boy of the Stealth Geeks. And he finally got out of
the lab, and got to wear a suit coat instead of a lab coat. I'm afraid
for Scully he falls into the category of "He's a nice guy, but ..." but I
wouldn't mind seeing him get a little bolder about maybe inviting her to
get a cup of coffee. Yep, he's definitely a coffee date kind of guy. (I
wonder if he's busy this weekend ...)
Then there's poor X. It's highly ironic that the FBI and company showed
up at the hospital not because of his warning, but because they wanted to
get their hands on Smith. Too bad, he got shot anyway, and fortunately
had time to give Mulder the one bit of useful information he's really
managed to provide in all this time. I wonder how they got those stains
out of the wood floors ... Mulder's landlord (and neighbors) must love
him.
The final scene, in which CSM convinces the MMPA to heal Ma Mulder, really
got me. Again, we see CSM's weakness as he does some fast talking. And
it's another irony. Mulder went through all that he went through in the
hopes of finding a way of healing his mother, and ultimately she is healed
through the efforts of the people he had been trying to evade all that
time. You've got to wonder, though, how Ma is going to explain this to
her son. I'm guessing along the lines of, "I just woke up." You can bet
she won't tell him about CSM.
I'm not sure what to say about the Samantha clones and the bees, etc.
That's the part that made me go "Huh?" It's hard to tell where they fit
in, and for me that was the least interesting part of the episode. As for
the so-called UNiblonder, I'm kind of neutral. It does make it a lot less
fun that Mulder knows who she is and how to find her -- unless next time
he goes looking for her, they've never heard of her. I don't know about
the love interest thing, but I must say that if they've got to give him a
love interest, I like the idea of it being one of his sources or someone
possibly involved with the conspiracy. Meanwhile, Scully can work her way
up to lunch, and then maybe dinner, with Pendrell. :-)
Someday I'm going to go about tracking the various threads of the
conspiracy. I think they've reached the point where something's going to
have to be eliminated as irrelevant or untrue or it's going to get
unwieldy if they add anything else.
That's enough for now. Tonight (Friday), the return of Morgan and Wong.
Welcome back, gentlemen.
Shanna
The Stealth Geek Goddess