The X-Files season 11: Mother and son

Monsters and trouble-causing teenagers led back to some personal drama for Mulder and Scully on “Ghouli,” this week’s episode of The X-Files.

At first glance, it was hard to tell what, exactly “Ghouli” was going to be. On the one hand, the synopsis indicated a one-off episode, what with the weird monster visions and potentially psychotic teenagers. In fact, it sounded a bit like the third-season episode “Syzygy”. That’s the one where two teenage girls gain psychic powers (thanks to the alignment of a few planetary bodies) and wreak havoc in their hometown. Even the local high school jock, played by a young Ryan Reynolds, doesn’t stand a chance against them.

So, were we going to get an updated version of this episode? The murderous teenage girl thing was a bit troublesome, so this could have been an opportunity for an interesting update. Women and girls, after all, have recently had some very public reasons to become angry en masse.

But then, the synopsis also included William, Scully’s long-lost and (probably) alien hybrid son. Given the extraterrestrial connection, William (his adopted name is Jackson Van de Kamp) is firmly in the territory of the long form mytharc story within the series.

There’s also plenty of interpersonal drama to be had. Scully is vocally guilty about “giving up” baby William, even though he was being tracked by menacing super soldiers and conspiracy figures.

Mulder presumably feels bad, too, though both “Ghouli” and the series in general focus more on a mother’s love and her crushing guilt. As far as we know, neither of them suspect that Mulder may not be William’s biological father. Other candidates include alien geneticists or (shudder) the Cigarette Smoking Man. Alas, there is no exploration, however brief, of William/Jackson’s relationship with his adoptive parents.

Supernatural motherhood

What’s with the interest in motherhood, by the way? There’s no denying that a mother-child connection (or, for that matter, any halfway decent parent-child connection) is a strong one. Scully has quasi-mystic connections with her child, having prophetic dreams of him and his role in the potential devastation of the human species. She even claims that William is leading her and Mulder to him, though William himself seems confused as anyone else.

Anyway, why does Scully dream of William, but Mulder doesn’t? Sure, there’s the possibility that Mulder isn’t William’s father, but you can’t deny that the show is more focused on the mother-child connection. Is this some vague idea about a connection built within the womb? Is it because Scully is more involved in her son’s fate, be it thanks to biology, psychic phenomena or social conditioning?

It would have been nice to have seen this notion interrogated in the episode. If that’s still too much for one hour of TV, could we at least see Mulder get teary-eyed over his probable son?

Strange bodies also proved to be another interesting, if largely unexplored theme. There are definitely hints of the teenage body as something monstrous. The girls at the beginning seem to turn into monsters (physically and mentally). William himself has all these strange new mental powers, apparently forgotten from his infant days.

He also has some unfortunately shaky notions about consent and honesty, given that he’s got two girlfriends. Even worse, he thought it would be funny to have them finally meet in an abandoned ship, armed with knives, and convinced that the other was a many-armed beast.

Pacing

William’s appearance, by the way, was rather abrupt, as were his powers. It would have been nice to have seen William come into his abilities, perhaps. We get hints of this experience, from his mention of headaches to the anti-seizure medication in his room, but that’s it. The story may have been more powerful if we had experienced this a more thoughtfully-paced fashion.

Don’t think that this was a bad episode, however. Generally, it’s hard to come down on “Ghouli”. Nothing horribly convoluted happens, though there’s plenty of violence and emotional drama. It moves the story along if nothing else. There are also some interesting moments, from the opening Ghouli scene to Gillian Anderson’s dramatic monologue in a morgue.

Then again, neither is someone likely to call it the best episode of season 11. The exciting bits, like the Ghouli monster or the reveal of William, are tempered by odd character choices and lumpy plotlines. I wonder if the episode may have worked better if we had focused more on the Ghouli/Slenderman plot, assuming it didn’t immediately turn into another topical Law & Order episode.

We could have used a somewhat slower buildup to William’s reveal. As it stands, his debut was a little lackluster. He just sort of shows up, doesn’t he? Mulder and Scully practically stumble into his path. Yes, you could make the argument that he’s been leading Scully to him for a while now, but that doesn’t necessarily make for good TV. A steadier reveal, in the right hands, would have made for a more satisfying moment.

You never call

Also, William, you should just say hi to your mom. I know you’re being pursued by scary government agents and all, but you can take a minute to reassure her, right? And I mean face-to-face, though François Chau was a good choice otherwise. He’s got the kind of gravitas that, no offense, a teenage boy just can’t muster.

Even though William drove off at the end of the episode, chances are good that we’ll be seeing him again. Hopefully, Scully and Mulder will be able to get a little more cheer from that encounter than seeing their son on a gas station surveillance video.

Next: The X-Files season 11 episode 5 recap and review: Ghouli

Next week is “Kitten,” featuring Assistant Director Walter Skinner. Though Skinner has been an ally to the X-Files in the past, he’s also occasionally been their opponent. The appearance of the Cigarette Smoking Man in his office in “Ghouli” hardly comes across as a good sign.

“Kitten” will delve more into Skinner’s past and his complex relationship with Scully and Mulder. It’s also got Haley Joel Osment, who looks to be someone from Skinner’s time in the Vietnam War.

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