Our summer binge is long over but The X-Files is a show that I never stop thinking about. While not perfect, it’s a groundbreaking show that’s influence can be felt and seen in so many shows that followed it. So, because of that and because I’ve had so much fun doing this rewatch, I’m keeping the fun going and will keep on going until I hit the final episode of the revival. This time I’m going to do things slightly differently though as some weeks we’ll be combining episodes and in time, when we reach the movies and spin offs I’ll get into those as well. This week, we’re looking at both “The List” and “2Shy.” Each of these episode have solid concepts that just don’t quite reach the heights that they should. Let’s jump into this.
1. Prison Justice
Of the two episodes I looked at this week, I probably like “The List” more than “2Shy” which is probably slightly controversial since many like “2Shy.” “The List” only touches the surface of how ugly the prison system is but I think that’s what elevates the episode a bit more than “2Shy” does, which plays out like a monster movie. “The List” has a really good premise and it’s very tense because it’s super easy to hate everyone working at the prison. Neech is a former prisoner who was executed and has effectively come back from the dead via reincarnation (he was obsessed with it and apparently learned how to do it) and is now killing off everyone he believes had a hand in his execution. Through this, we get to watch Mulder and Scully navigate through a doomed investigation. There was never anything they could really do here because everything was set in action. Mulder fully believes that’s Neech has been reincarnated and we are literally shown that in the last shot when the warden dies but there’s nothing they can do. Fate has stepped in and this is a kind of justice that only exists in a system as truly twisted as the US prison system. It’s a mess of abuse, neglect and eye for an eye style justice. They just got a front seat to it.
2. Guest Star Fizzles
The biggest problem with “The List” and really “2Shy” as well is that neither episode really soars in regards to the guest stars taking up the antagonist roles. A lot of these episodes don’t feature big stars and they don’t need to but when you start getting deeper into individual seasons and hit these stretches of one off cases, you start to notice when things don’t quite work. With both of these episodes, you get Mulder and Scully constantly shining but everyone else just doesn’t quite feel memorable as they should. In “The List” all the leadership roles at the prison are meant to be disposable cause they’re getting offed real quick but they’re flat caricatures. It doesn’t make you hate them less but because Neech is not a character we spend any time with, it’s hard to get super invested in what he’s trying to do. Morally you understand it and you start thinking about what happens in prisons every day but as a single story, it doesn’t completely work because you’re not invested in these characters. With “2Shy” the issue is with Incanto himself because while he’s creepy, he’s not all the way there. There’s still something missing when you compare him to other characters that have come before him. He just doesn’t totally have that spark there to make him an all time memorable villain and it’s a shame.
3. Dating Disasters
I think the best thing about “2Shy” is that it’s an episode about blind dates and internet dating at a time where that was just becoming a thing. Now we have Tinder, eHarmony and all kinds of apps and sites that can get us dates or just laid. Now it just seems like everyone is doing it and it’s normal but there’s always some inherit risk in meeting anyone you don’t know. I think we’re just used to it now and we don’t think about that but for some of us who are old and remember when the internet was just a baby, this was a big deal and there was fear here. What if you went out on a date with a serial killer?? Or what if you went on a date with a guy who was literally going to kill you and eat your fat so he could survive? That’s what “2Shy” taps into but it does it with a monster and it works really well as a concept. It’s very timely for when the show came out and it still holds up pretty well.
Continued below4. The Charm!
One of the things I really did enjoy about both of these episodes are the Scully one liners. She has a couple great moments in these episodes that just acts as evidence as to why everyone loves her and wanted to grow up to be her (in my case I’m still waiting). In “The List” there’s a great back and forth between her and Mulder when he asks what five people she’d come back to life and murder for making her life difficult and she replies back “only five?” and he comes back at her by saying he remembered her birthday this year. In “2Shy” she goes at it with a cop who doesn’t think she should be involved in the case because he doesn’t think women should be involved in cases where women are being targeted. Scully is not here for it and she handles it the way Scully handles anything – with a single look and a sarcastic comment. Never change.
5. Concrete Endings
One of the things both these episodes do in the end is basically tell us that all the weird things that we saw and were led to believe were real are real. Incanto in “2Shy” was really eating body fat to keep his skin condition under control and Neech really did come back from the dead to kill everyone that wronged him. I love when this show ends like that because this show is crazy and in this world, all these things are real and are happening and Mulder and Scully can’t always find the proof. I especially like how they’re already long gone by the time the warden gets killed in “The List.” These kinds of endings do a lot for me but ultimately both episodes don’t completely work despite having some strong pieces within them.
