To put it simply, episode five of the six part X-Files miniseries is, without a doubt, the best outing the series has seen thus far this year.
For me “Babylon” works because it plays with the partnership of Mulder & Scully almost to the point of parody. In the audience’s minds, Mulder & Scully have been doing what they do for over 20 years now so it’s great to see the series decide to mix things up a bit. This parody comes in the form of Agent Miller (Robbie Amell) and Agent Einstein (Lauren Ambrose) who are virtual clones of the Mulder & Scully that first met in the beginning of the series. We are introduced to Miller & Einstein in the aftermath of a bombing that leaves a suspect brain dead, but potentially reachable (depending on who you ask).
While it would have been fairly easy for the writers to decide to partner each of the two with their respective “clone”, they went with a much more interesting (and entertaining) grouping of characters. While Scully decides to partner with Miller to learn more about the bombing, Mulder independently contacts Einstein to try out more unconventional methods of investigations.
These methods lead Mulder and Einstein on a quest to find away to communicate with the brain dead suspect. While their methods aren’t exactly by the book or even sensible, they lead to quite possibly the most ridiculously entertaining scene of the season. These methods leads Mulder on a trip that involves dancing, whipping, cigarette-smoking, cowboys, and the infamous Lone-Gunmen.
Scully, still reeling from the loss of her mother, takes this case quite seriously as it has obvious parallels to her mother's death in the prior episode. Because Scully was unable to talk with her mother before her passing, Scully wants to help the family of the brain dead suspect communicate with him one last time, even when it would seem completely and totally impossible. In short, she "wants to believe".
Overall, this is an episode for newbies and veteran fans alike. It’s funny, dramatic, and just enjoyable to watch.
Rating: 8.7/10
A Few Quotes from the Episode:
“Rodeo’s over cowboy.” - Skinner
“Dude, I was on fire.” - Mulder
“You were 50 shades of bad.” - Mulder
“Wonders never cease with you.” - Scully
Tune in to the fifth episode of The X-Files six part miniseries on Monday, February 15th. Be sure to come back here to SpoilerTV to let everyone else know what you thought of the episode.
