The X-Files season 11 episode 8 preview: Familiar
Mulder and Scully encounter some seriously creepy masked figures in Familiar, the latest episode of The X-Files. Will they make it out of the woods alive?
Has all the talk of alien viruses and technological horror on The X-Files gotten you down? After all, it’s nice to have a little variety, even where Mulder and Scully are concerned. If that’s the case, then it could be that Familiar, the eighth episode of the eleventh season will work for you.
At least, it might work for you if you have a strong constitution. According to the episode synopsis on TV Guide, a child suffers from an apparent animal attack, signaling that there could be some serious gore ahead.
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If that isn’t bad enough, there have also been hints of demons and supernatural spookiness for Familiar. The title alone hints at the concept of a witch’s “familiar,” which is historically an animal-shaped spirit or lesser demon. A familiar is said to be sent by the devil in order to help a witch as thanks for said witch’s devotion.
Will we get some old-fashioned dark magic, then? Ideally, yes. Though, without going offensively tone-deaf about peaceable real-life witches in the modern world.
In the teaser for the episode, that seems to be the theme everyone is following. It’s not as if all of those creepy human-like figures wearing masks are reassuring, anyway.
Throughout their careers, Mulder and Scully have encountered a bevy of strange events, from ominous extraterrestrials to suburban devil worshippers. Though this season has tended to focus on themes of aliens, extraterrestrial viruses and conspiracy theories, it’s good to see that there’s still room for scares of a different kind.
Die Hand Die Verletzt
Familiar brings to mind the second season episode, Die Hand Die Verletzt. It’s an interesting take on the 1980s and 1990s “satanic panic” that wracked the United States and beyond. However, in this case, the panic is seemingly warranted. In the local high school, the substitute teacher is suspicious indeed. Meanwhile, none of the kids really want to see what’s hiding in the basements.
That episode opens with a darn good twist on a group of concerned parents that’s worth watching at least once. And, in the real world, there is no evidence of satanic ritual abuse. However, the allegations derailed lives and left many, including the accused, with lasting trauma.
What will we deal with in Familiar? Will there be some bumbling individual or group at the heart of it all, having summoned forces that are more than they can handle? Has this area of Connecticut always hosted demonic strangeness? Or could the show completely pull the rug out from under us and do something really crazy?
Next: The X-Files season 11: Let’s all be nice to robots, or else
Perhaps those masked figures really are aliens or, heck, even just the Cigarette Smoking Man’s family reunion. That’s unlikely to happen, though, given the dark nature of the preview and the subject matter, too.
Familiar airs this Wednesday on FOX, at 8:00 p.m. EST.