Duane Barry

The episode is set on David Duchovny's birthday, a nice little detail.

In this picture from the teaser, two details.

First, this brown bedspread from the 80s resembles incredibly to those we had at home when I was a kid. There are still some in my father's house. Was it a worldwide trend, back in the days? Will I be afraid to be abducted next time I'll go visit my father?

Second, I've read that the dog has played in Ice and is the father of David Duchovny's dog Blue. Don't know if it's true, but here a reference: http://cleigh6.tripod.com/CTP/CTP-duanebarry.html

In this scene Duane Barry tells Mulder not only that he's been abducted by aliens multiple times but also that a secret corporation within the government knows about it, participates in it, and has chosen to keep the truth from getting out by cooperating with the aliens. Here is the whole mythology spelled out for us, from the lips of a man who is certainly disturbed and possibly a pathological liar. What a brilliant move by Chris Carter.

I find the final scene of the hostage situation very powerful.

Mulder sees the red light on Duane Barry -so he will be shot very soon-, and just wants to have a final discussion with him. He wants to know if he really can trust him and believe his story. There are tense arguments about trust and lies, the two men are close, eyes in the eyes. Then, Mulder has to send him back to the red light, pretexting the unlocked door... It's heartbreaking! Look at sad puppy Mulder in the final pic.

This scene foreshadows and parallels the one in the next episode Ascension, when Mulder confronts Duane Barry after his arrest on Skyland Mountain, and almost strangles him. So tragic!

Mulder and Scully are apart more than they're together at this point, but they're still close enough that they need only say "it's me" for the other to know exactly who's calling.

Mulder didn't have time to tell Scully where he was going, but somehow, she knows.

Maybe she has an app to track his cellphone? Argh... no, it was the 90s!! Maybe this is pure magic MSR? Or, if you don't believe in it, maybe it's because everybody in the Bureau had spread the news: "Hey, Spooky Mulder has been sent to an hostage situation. The abductor is nuts, he thinks he's an abductee!".

I just love seeing Rat Boy put in his place! Krycek serves no purpose in this situation, he can at least get everyone some coffee.

Sorry, but I laugh out loud everytime I watch the supermarket scene.

First, I can't buy that the cash register barcode scanner could ever scan the "square that is only ten microns across", and no way that there could be those letters and numbers appearing -possibly some error message, but not that-!!

Second, LOL at Scully's attitude, lying like a little girl, answering "Uh... I don't know what happened" at "Did you touch something?", and who sneaks out with her surprise look.

I don't think words are necessary here.

I'm always surprised that the episode continues after the resolution of the hostage situation (and after been overwhelmed by Mulder: see Best Mulder moment below).

Mulder too is surprised to have been called by Agent Kazdin not to be reprimanded.

There's more surprise to finish the episode: the implants and the tiny holes in the teeth that had been found in Duane Barry.

And of course, there's also the very end, Scully's screaming for help.

All that in the last seven minutes.

I had trouble coming up with an answer for this one, so I'll go with the old reliable American fondness for acronyms. Here we have "BS" as a verb.

The way to handle hostage situations seems very American to me. After doing researches, I've found that the first hostage negotiation unit ever created in the world was the Hostage Negotation Team of the NYPD in 1973.

"I believe you, Duane!" Really, this is Mulder's entire character arc in one line. He believes in the abductions and conspiracy and cover up and cooperation. It's what drives him, and the show. Mulder believes Duane, despite the apparent unreliability of the source, because he's seen just enough to know the truth.

"Wanna know what they do to your ovaries?"

"Not particularly."

Yeah, we know that Chris Carter, who has written this episode, is a bit obsessed about the women's reproductive system.

And wanna know what Mulder do with Scully's ova? He puts them in the pocket of his coat... Better not to know...

Mulder has been called in to help with a hostage negotiation, something with which he has no experience. He soon learns it's because the man they're dealing with claims to be an alien abductee. Although he's told to stick with the standard hostage negotiation script, Mulder understands that won't work. His intuition and profiling abilities help him see what needs to be done, and he proceeds, successfully bringing the situation to an end with no loss of life. His unconventional approach is just what the situation called for.

Just after Duane Barry has been shot, there's this little moment of sad puppy Mulder, confessing to Scully that he really believes him.

Mulder has always so much empathy, it breaks my heart. It's my best overwhelming Mulder moment! And look at his final jaw clenching while he looks away... Don't you want to hug him? What are you doing, Scully?

Scully joined in the investigation when Mulder asked for her help, finding background information on Duane Barry. Once Barry was in custody and the implants were recovered, she continued to investigate. Ballistics weren't able to identify the implant, but Scully didn't give up. I love this "what the heck" attempt by her to gain information. I mean, there's no reason to believe a grocery store scanner could tell her anything about the implant, but it couldn't hurt, right?

Scully makes her own investigation, and as soon as she understands that Mulder could be fooled by Duane Barry, she flies to the situation location (is she allowed by the Bureau to do that?). And don't mess with Scully!! She has to give all the scientific explanations to everybody, no matter what.

Yeah, badass scientific Scully trying to protect reckless Mulder!

Duane Barry refers to himself in third person ("You think you know what Duane Barry is going through?"), a way of dissociating from what has happened to him, like he's an outside observer. Chris Carter uses a similar device in Irresistible, having Scully speak in second person when describing her experiences to the therapist ("You think you can look in the face of pure evil"), to detach herself. It's an effective reminder that both characters have been impacted by similar trauma.

I link this episode to the awful scenes of Without where Mulder is tortured.

Think of Mulder listening to Duane Barry telling his abduction story, describing the terrible tests, and saying "Sometimes it hurts real bad, and uh, you just want to die, you know?". Look at how upset Mulder is, and imagine him, years later, in the same situation as Duane Barry, screaming "Scully!", who is so close. And he would die (spoiler!), after having been hurt so badly.

I can't bear it, I'm crying, I'm dying.

This is an intensely powerful episode, packing an incredible amount of drama into just 44 minutes. The brilliant performances from Steve Railsback and David Duchovny ratchet up the tension so that we're on edge the entire time. The flashback scenes throughout the episode are absolutely terrifying, setting the stage for the terrifying final scene with Duane Barry breaking into Scully's apartment, while we hear her screams over Mulder's answering machine. This is probably the best cliffhanger the show ever did, and it's the very first one!

Also, the Speedo scene.

It's a great episode, what else to say?

I like the tense hostage situation, Mulder being reckless, obstinate, and wanting to believe. I like the Duane Barry character (the actor is amazing), I like that he speaks of himself in the third person, and I'm likewise the woman in the travel agency, I believe him. In the end, there's a lot of tension, twists and surprises, and there's the upsetting Scully's vocal message on Mulder answering machine. Damn, Mulder, why aren't you at home!!

And there's a lot to watch in it for a DD's fangirl... er... no, for a great admirer of Mulder's skills, spirit and emotions... such as this pic above where he shows us his... tongue. See what I mean?

Having Mulder dress up as a paramedic seems to be a waste of time. If it was supposed to fool Duane Barry it completely failed. And how could it have worked? Mulder had been talking on the phone with him--surely Duane Barry would recognize that distinctive voice. And Mulder made no attempt to keep up the pretense once he was in the room with the hostages. But, we did get to see how cute Mulder looks in uniform. Maybe that's what Chris Carter wanted all along.

There's a first serious thing I dislike: in the teaser (and also further in the episode), we see too much aliens!! We are supposed to be have doubts about Duane Barry's abduction story, so why showing us the aliens and the spaceship from the beginning? The abduction scene could have been as much powerful without these elements (remember the Samantha abduction scene). It would have worked better for me.

Second, in the (in)famous swimming pool scene, how it comes that -in summer time- there's nobody inside but Mulder? Does Mulder has a key or a special pass to come here when it's closed? Is he so hot that the water is boiling and that nobody can swim but him? Did all the women -and the men- pass out when they saw the red speedo? Readers, it's an X File we must resolve!