XF: Deep Throat (1x02)
I love this episode. Love, love, love. It has everything! Government conspiracies, humour, and a high Seth Green. Also, terrible clothing. It's so fantastic it makes me want to sing with joy.
- First of all, the conspiracy. It follows a pattern that reoccurs in many, many other episodes: the government is hiding something extra-terrestrial related from the people for their own sakes. It brings up the important morality question that becomes the basis of the 'Mulder-and-Scully vs The Consortium' battles, which is 'what sacrifices are acceptable for the sake of humanity?' Also, this scene:
I just. I can't. The look in his eyes when he sees it kills me every time. It's like in 'Field Trip' when dream!Scully sees the alien, the wonder and the curiosity and the joy in her eyes, that's what Mulder looks like when the ship hovers over him. Jesus, these dumb fools, why do they make me feel so many feelings?
- Mulder and Scully are so fucking flirty in this episode, I can't even handle it. Their first scene together, he just, like, swoops in on her, and she looks up and smiles and they're off. I think one of the best things about the M&S relationship is the way it evolves over the years. In season one, they haven't yet formed the deep attachment that grows with the years, and that's clear in the way they interact, imo. They're friendly, certainly (see aforementioned flirtation), but they're not quite comfortable yet; the arguments in the first season always strike me as somehow more vicious than in the later seasons, and that comes down to trust. Mulder doesn't trust Scully's 'agenda', and Scully doesn't trust Mulder's impulses.
Even so, you can see hints of their future closeness even in this episode ( - THE SECOND FUCKING EPISODE ----->
HEY RIB: THIS IS HOW YOU WRITE RELATIONSHIPS. THEY GROW AND DEVELOP AND CHANGE AND IT MAKES SENSE AND DOESN'T COME FLYING OUT OF NOWHERE LIKE THOR AFTER SLAMMING HIS HAMMER TO STOP BEING DONALD BLAKE.
<------- so yeah that's super awesome and actually good writing, i think i might faint - ). Scully's desperation to find Mulder is realistic within the context of the episode; despite the fun flirtiness occasionally, it's been a pretty stressful trip what with the Men In Black and the UFO and finding out that his phone has been tapped, so her panic is very believable. It's also a very important step towards the Scully we know appears later, still sceptical but loyal to a fault. Mulder's reaction when she appears to rescue him is sweet: while completely dazed, he looks almost shocked to see her there, like he couldn't really believe she was there. IDK, but I think that's definitely going to help the 'maybe I can trust Scully not to betray me to the government' argument I imagine is going on in his head.
- Actually, can I take a moment to talk about Scully? And how much I love her? Because I really do, but in this episode especially (although I'm sure I say that about every episode after watching it.) The events of this episode mark the first time she sees how their investigations could be dangerous to their lives. In the pilot, their evidence got destroyed, but neither of them were truly threatened or hurt. This time things are different, and you can see how this affects her; after the encounter with the MIB she seems to lose her nerve, she becomes (even more) short-tempered, and despite the curiosity we know she feels (if not about aliens or UFOs, at least about the truth of what she saw up in the sky that night) she insists on going home. She's rattled, but eventually she comes back stronger than ever, kidnapping a government agent (Scully! Kidnapping someone official! Like, legit official! And this is before she realizes how evil the government is!) and going to save her partner. I love her so much, you don't even know.
- Seth Green. As a stoner. My life is made.
So yeah. LOVED IT.
Further stuff of note that is not related to Deep Throat:
Click to viewI lose it when he does the falsetto "Shaft!"