Drive

Mulder is bored in their new assignment, calling it bozo work. He wants to ditch it to chase this case he saw on the news, but Scully is resistant. Mulder pulls out all the stops and deploys the eyebrow wag. Mulder's eyebrows are very convincing, and Scully is on board.

I love this scene when we first see our favorite agents.

It's beautifully shot through the mosquito/fly net, Mulder in the second plan, the landscape -opposite to Vancouver- in the background. By his attitude and his few wit words, we know that Mulder is completely bored, letting Scully do the job.

Cherry on the pie: that little detail being Mulder smashing a mosquito (or another bug?) on his cheek while Scully says "This is just a routine check". Perfect to start the story from Mulder and Scully point of view.

Mulder and Scully have been doing everything they can to figure out what happened to Crump and his wife. They come up with a plan to save Crump, but ultimately their efforts are for naught. Crump dies before Mulder can get to Scully. This scene shows just how futile Mulder feels right now, not just in this case but in his work and in his life, and in his relationship with Scully. Maybe it's this moment that makes him realize he needs to make some changes, take some risks, maybe even tell Scully how he feels...

Every time I watch the episode, I have hope.

Hope that Mulder and Crump would arrive on time, that Scully would sink the big creepy needle in Crump's ear, and that he would survive. Alas... Mulder had this hope too, he wanted to believe, and all he gets is a dead end (literally). The Ocean metaphors -the farthest Western frontier he could reach, the sensation to be so small and insignificant facing the sea- is so great and gives a wonderful shot, Mulder watching the Pacific. We can sense all the deception in his gestures -the walk, the tie, the way he stands. It's so esthetic! Well, I'm almost crying.

The local cop can't understand Mulder's behavior, why he's helping Crump avoid capture, even going so far as to steal a car when they run out of gas. He tells Scully that Mulder has left behind a crazy note. Scully doesn't even question it. She trusts Mulder's judgment without hesitation, as Mulder knew she would.

I like the whole unspoken -or barely spoken- communication between Mulder and Scully in the farmer house at the beginning. By the way they exchange glances in the house, we notice that Scully understands that Mulder is on a potential X Files, and that Mulder knows she knows.

Then, outside, Scully puts words on this, having completely guessed Mulder's intention, and disagrees -of course, she's here to ground them-. But Mulder is a tricky and smart man to convince Scully: irresistible words, a "quick side trip" (and we know what are trips with Mulder, so adventurous), and an eyebrow movement coupled with that smile and that look. Married FBI partners...

This is a very tense episode and there's no single laugh-out-loud-funny moment. But Mulder's sarcastic comments to Crump throughout their journey are very amusing. And they're so very Mulder. Who else would quip that he's "composing a sonnet" when asked what he's doing? Well, possibly David Duchovny.

I like the funny moment when Scully discovers the old deaf woman who watches an interesting movie. It breaks surprisingly and in an enjoyable manner the tension and the horror of the situation, involving a mysterious disease and a lot of dead animals.

The episode starts as "breaking news", as though the local news channel interrupted the regularly scheduled showing of The X-Files to tell us of this developing story. While the opening doesn't have the same impact in subsequent viewings (especially streaming or on DVD/Blu-ray), it's still a surprising twist, especially when we see Mrs. Crump's head "just sort of pop", as though we're watching the events unfold, uncensored.

I adore this creepy moment at the Crump residence, that completely contrasts the previous scene -sweaty Mulder speeding in the car, surrounded by a sunny environment. Here, we are in the dark, the pace is slow, the suits, the decors and the light are amazing. It's completely creepy and thrilling.

We switch from the movie Speed to the movie Alien. Surprising and brilliant!

I tend to focus on American pop cultural references for this item, and this time is no exception. When Mulder asks Crump what caused his wife's nosebleed, Crump responds, "What do I ... I'm-I'm, like, Quincy?" Quincy M.E. was a TV show about a medical examiner who solved crimes. It starred Jack Klugman , aired from the mid 70s through early 80s, and was very popular in syndication.

Moving West until reaching the Pacific: the whole American mythology!

It's a very clever idea from Vince Gilligan for the story, that maybe Mulder and Crump will find hope and resolution going westward. That also takes advantage of the move of the production to L.A.

"You think the government did this to you?" Most people would think Crump sounds like a crazy conspiracy theorist, blaming everyone and everything for his problems. But Mulder understands better than almost anyone that these theories aren't that crazy. In fact, it's hardly a surprise to Mulder or Scully that the government is responsible for Crump's condition.

"Mulder, it's me. You know how to pick'em. I'll tell you that."

Mulder don't know how to pick up women, but weird X Files cases, with great scientific challenge for Scully. She loves that.

Mulder is in a very tense and dangerous situation, being held at gunpoint by an extremely antagonistic person, but he's still investigating the case he came to help solve. He uses his unique position, his observational skills, and his willingness to explore extreme possibilities to figure out an important piece of the puzzle.

I love Mulder's quick hunches. In this scene, it's about the fact that Crump can't stop moving.

We can appreciate smart!Mulder switching in action!Mulder doubled by a stunt-driving!Mulder, with a final wit!Mulder touch, "I think I saw that movie". The whole in handsome!Mulder outfits, the classical rolled sleeves shirt.

Keanu Reeves can just go back to the locker room or in his bus. I'm keeping multi-talented!Mulder in his rental car.

Like Mulder, Scully is using everything at her disposal to discover what happened. Her scientific knowledge, observational skills, and--yes--an intuitive leap help her figure out another key puzzle piece.

While Mulder is driving, Scully manages a lot of things, investigating the scientific aspects of the case, but also dealing with a bunch of people, some that are hostile or to be convinced. There's the sheriff, a first Kersh intrusion, the scientific colleagues, the military guy, Mulder by phone and then once again Kersh.

Scully is impressive and to resume the improtance of her role in the story, I choose the final scene, where she stands like a badass against a completely unfair Kersh -Boo!! You're a villain, Kersh-.

And she has the final line: "Big piles of manure". I am proud of Scully!

In both this episode and Kaddish, Mulder is asked whether he's Jewish, based on assumptions about his looks and his name. In neither episode does Mulder respond. Mulder's ancestry isn't the point. The point is to call out the characters' racism, which is based on prejudgment and hatred regardless of any factual basis.

We cannot put sounds or music on this website, but in this item I would like to laud Mark Snow.

In Drive, the soundtrack is very clever, the so specific sound/music I'm not able to describe, that emphasizes and punctuates so wonderfully the story, in particular Scully's scenes at Crump's residence (here's a link to listen to the part of the score I refer to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wyrxfjMGAE).

This leads me naturally (and it's just an example, there are more) to Paper Hearts where the music, especially the part accompanying the red light, is so characteristic and amazingly matches the plot and the visuals. I cannot think of this episode without its soundtrack (here's a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ye99vwLBZM ).

This episode does a wonderful job of showing what a great team Mulder and Scully are. That may seem odd, since they're hardly together. But what we see is each of them investigating, putting their particular skills and circumstances to use. Mulder questions Crump, going through his story over and over, searching for significant details. Scully examines the victims and searches for physical clues. They each make crucial observations, but it's only when they're able to put their pieces of the puzzle together that they figure out what's going on.

The performances by David Duchovny and Bryan Cranston are superb. Their scenes involve almost no action, yet they're riveting. Their progression from hostility to begrudging understanding is a highlight of the episode.

Duchovny is also brilliant in showing us bored Mulder when investigating big piles of doo-doo, re-energized Mulder when investigating something more significant, frustrated Mulder when dealing with Crump, demoralized Mulder when his efforts prove futile, and seething, resentful Mulder when getting his ass chewed by Kersh.

This episode in my top list: it's a masterpiece.

I like the teaser -very original and which ends with an horrific head's blow-, the creepy X Files case -which is almost plausible and that fits in the classical thematic about the hypothetical government experimentations on people-, the way Mulder and Scully get involved in the case, that they work on the case separately -but resolve it as a team- and in a totally different ambiance and pace -sunny and speedy for Mulder, darker and slower for Scully-.

I love how the thematic of 'communication' is handled in the episode: the TV show to present the case -to us and to Mulder-, all the cell phones events between Mulder and Scully -I adore when Mulder's one is thrown out the car-, the messages on papers -Scully to the Sheriff, Mulder to Scully-, Scully's interactions with so many people -including the deaf woman-, and of course all the conversations between Crump and Mulder -the evolution of their relation being very realistic and moving-.

I love the direction by Rob Bowman, the script by Vince Gilligan, the music by Mark Snow, and all other technical aspects by the crew.

The actors are at their best, David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Bryan Cranston. Other characters are interesting: the Sheriff -I like his interactions with Mulder than Scully-, and Kersh as the great opponent to Mulder and Scully in the FBI.

What can I add? That it's also very pleasant to watch it, Mulder being so hot in it (in every sense of the term).

This is one of my favorite episodes, and I have no criticism to offer of the way it was written, performed, or shot. It may not be perfect, but there's nothing I dislike.

That being said, I don't enjoy seeing Mulder and Scully off the X-Files, wasting their time and talents doing scut work, with Kersh doing his best to humiliate them in hopes that they'll quit. I think it's an effective storyline, though, as it provides some tension and direction for the season to come.

This episode is so wonderful, it's hard to find something to dislike.

Though, I'm always disturbed by the end of the drive. I want so hardly to believe that Mulder and Scully would save Crump (see the most powerful scene), that I cannot understand why Scully is waiting Mulder there, at the almost very far end of the road. So illogical! Time is crucial, and they waste it so obviously! Scully could have been waiting for him miles ago (and I'm pretty sure on the highway), there's plenty of room for that (at least at the top of the hill!).

But, if so, we wouldn't have the beautiful shot of Mulder facing the Ocean, and that is priceless. So, Vince Gilligan and Rob bowman, I forgive you.