The X-Files Review: Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-monster (Season 10 Episode 3)
“Detour.” “Bad Blood.” “Quagmire.” “Jose Chung’s From Outer Space.” These are a few of the episodes you will hear any The X-Files fan bring up when asked about their favorite (light-hearted) monster-of-the-week episodes.
I’m now happy to add “Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-monster” to this list.
The X-Files has always succeeded at balancing its intense mytharc with lighter, funnier fare, and this episode continues that tradition in an almost badly needed way. Where the first two episodes of Season 10 toed the line between absurdity and drama (and occasionally slipped in the wrong direction), “Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-monster” dives full tilt into the absurdity and languishes in the rich humor found in a plot that is hilariously relayed through the eyes of Mulder and Scully, Mulder’s poor cell phone skills, and the word of the “monster” himself, Guy.
The story of the episode is a simple one: Mulder and Scully chase a lizard-like monster that seems to be terrorizing and attacking innocent human beings–including an animal control officer–in the woods. However, it’s Scully that has to convince Mulder to take the case–he’s burned out and disillusioned with their return to their cases, finding that many of his old theories often turned out to be pranks or hoaxes. It’s an odd turnaround from the season opener, “My Struggle,” where Mulder was firmly back and ready to believe after the roller coaster he and Scully went on with Sveta.
It is refreshing, however, to see Scully ready to dive back into something she herself calls a monster case–Scully seems happy and re-energized with their office back open, and becomes clear just how much she missed their oddball cases when she and Mulder playfully debate the merits of current cell phone technology (Mulder is, predictably, terrible at it) and his internet consumption while she autopsies the body of one of their newest victims.
SCULLY: Mulder, the internet is not good for you.
The episode gets a surprising turnaround when Scully’s confrontation with their suspected murderer leaves her with a destroyed cell phone store and Mulder standing in a graveyard with the man himself–as Guy helpfully explains, however, he is no murderer, and certainly not a monster. He doesn’t turn into a monster at the full moon. In fact, his natural form is the lizard-like creature that Mulder and Scully have been chasing, and it was only after a bite from a human that he started accidentally turning into a human during the day, and back to his true self under the moon.
Guy is a truly wonderful character. He is earnest and honest, only wanting back the life he had before he came down with the affliction of becoming a human. Much of his retelling of his story occurs while he and Mulder sit and drink in a cemetery, and his sheer incredulity at his own behavior (wanting to wear clothes, eat burgers, get a steady job and a dog, and watch porn) is an absolute delight to watch. Even his false account of his confrontation with Scully is full of off-beat humor, and it’s clear Gillian Anderson had the time of her life acting her way through his fabrication.
GUY: I’m not a reptile. That’s racist.
The episode comes to a close with the familiar ringing of The X-Files theme tune coming from Mulder’s phone. He sits slumped against the grave of beloved and long-time director Kim Manners, who passed away in 2009, and listens as Scully summons him to animal control. She arrests the true murderer of the people found in the woods–the animal control officer, who also bit Guy–and closes out the episode by stealing the dog formerly belonging to Guy and taking it home with her. And Mulder, whose beliefs have been rocky at best, gets a true moment of vindication when Guy transforms back into his true self and bounds off into the woods.
“Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-monster” is a fine addition to the iconic roster of humors X-Files episodes, and one that was badly needed in the middle of a season already so dark and heavy with mythology. It is sure to become an instant classic amongst any X-Phile.
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The X-Files airs Mondays at 8/7c on FOX.
Brittany Rae
Brittany is a writer and avid TV blogger hailing the infamous year of 1989. She trained at Vancouver Film School in screenwriting for television and film, and has gone on to become a graphic designer and blogger in her free time. When she’s not watching the Food Network, she’s trying to consume every bit of sci-fi television she can get her hands on (current favorites include The 100, Person of Interest, and Doctor Who). She’s always up for female-led dramas and, of course, a literal interpretation of the phrase “Netflix and chill."