The X-Files season 11 episode 4 preview: The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat

The latest episode of The X-Files airs this Wednesday. Will “The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat” be the next very strange, very comedic episode?

Generally speaking, there are two flavors of The X-Files: the serious, interconnected “mytharc”, and the standalone “monster of the week” episodes. Both, when done well, can be equally satisfying. When they go off the rails, however, it’s often due to different reasons.

Mythology-focused tales can be mysterious and satisfyingly creepy, but they are also prone to being bogged down by their own history. After a certain point in the seasons, you start to think you need a cheat sheet detailing all of the characters and conspiracies involved.

Standalone episodes face their own particular brand of peril. While their lonesome nature can free writers and directors up to play with the concept, it can also be isolating. Moreover, it can sometimes feel like a different show entirely. The Scully and Mulder of alien-lousy “Little Green Men” are markedly different from the duo found in “Bad Blood” or “Small Potatoes”.

Beyond those broad distinctions, however, are the many, many ways an episode can go. Now I’m not here to take you on an ultra-nerdy breakdown of every type of X-Files tale. Thankfully, this gives me an opportunity to talk about one of my favorite types — the self-aware comedy.

For some fans, this is the antithesis of The X-Files. They came here for aliens and government conspiracies, and just grit their teeth through the goofy episodes where Mulder and Scully fight a giant fungus.

That’s fine, but some of the best episodes in the series skillfully mix self-referential jokes, scares, and a surprising wistfulness. Take ”Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose,” in which the agents track a killer and get help from the titular reluctant life insurance salesman/psychic (played by Peter Boyle). It’s creepy, thanks to the killer.

Sad humor — that works

However, it’s also darkly funny and sad, as when a laconic, haunted Bruckman describes a family man’s looming death in order to sell him a policy. He doesn’t make a sale, by the way. He later warns Mulder about the dangers of auto-erotic asphyxiation, though he eerily tells Scully that she will never die. Even when he confronts the killer, Bruckman is tersely resigned.

What’s the common thread in many of these episodes? It’s Darin Morgan. In fact, he won an Emmy for writing the teleplay of “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose.” Peter Boyle also won an Emmy for his pitch-perfect performance.

So, what are we to expect from this latest episode? With a preview like that above, “The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat” looks firmly goofy. There are plenty of strange costumes in the previews, for one. This includes one where Mulder looks like he’s really into The Swamp Thing cosplay.

Next: The X-Files season 11: How evil twins and swords made a solid episode

It even looks like we’ll get a call back to “Small Potatoes.” That’s the 20th episode of season 4, where a go-nowhere, shapeshifting janitor with a tail (played by Darin Morgan, no less) tries to take over Mulder’s life. But how did we get there?

Summaries mention a group of people experiencing the perception-warping “Mandela effect“, but it’s not clear how Mulder and Scully will interact with this. And what does it all have to do with the X-Files themselves?

It’s hard to tell just how self-aware this episode will be, however. Should we expect references to The X-Files itself, or will the story contain itself within a fictional universe? Will there be a tinge of sadness or wistfulness, as in “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose”? Or will this entry draw on the smart silliness of “Jose Chung’s From Outer Space”? We’ll have to tune in to find out.

“The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat” airs Wednesday on FOX, at 8:00 p.m. ET.