The X-Files Season 5 (1997)
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The X-Files Season 5 Review
The fifth season of The X-Files is one of the weakest of the entire show’s run. It has its stellar episodes, but they are in the minority unfortunately.
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“I never underestimated Mulder. I still don’t“
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This is one of the shortest seasons with twenty episodes in total and it’s one of the most awarded seasons overall, but to me it’s not great. Redux is the first episode is a solid episode, but Redux II is better as the more thrilling conclusion. This story is solid, but far from the best two-parters the show did. Unusual Suspects is basically a Lone Gunmen origin story. I never cared for these guys and I find them best used as comic reliefs in very minor roles, so them getting top roles here obviously led to a very weak installment.
Detour is one of the better episodes of the season as its invisible monster premise is great and it was ripe for some fun action sequences. The Post-Modern Prometheus is famous for its black-and-white cinematography and the show’s take on the ‘Frankenstein’ mythos, but though visually dazzling, it was too different and too goofy for this particular show, which makes it overrated in my book.
Christmas Carol has a terrific premise and it is one of the best Scully-centric episodes out there. Gillian Anderson is phenomenal here and the storyline is both moving and very engaging. Emily is again great for Anderson’s acting, but overall this daughter of Scully storyline from this season was rather uninteresting and played out way too seriously.
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Kitsunegari spelled the return of the Pusher character. It’s a solid episode, but this villain was served better before than in this somewhat uninspired late outing. Schizogeny features very unlikable and dull teenage characters and a story that is very forgettable. Chinga starts off very strong with memorable imagery and a solid hook, but ultimately the story did not go in any more meaningful territory.
Kill Switch is memorable for its emphasis on A.I. and some very strong visual effects. It’s not great, but at least it’s something different and something that worked to a large degree. Bad Blood is a very silly vampire episode that is saved by its more comedic and interesting multiple angles storytelling. Patient X and The Red and the Black does feature a memorable protagonist in the form of this troubled Cassandra woman and the episodes work well as alien conspiracy stories, but this is all familiar territory for the show by now, thus it lost some of its edge in the process.
Travelers is actually pretty good and underrated. It has a great usage of Mulder’s father character and a solid thriller storyline. The highlight is the suitably gory and creepy alien spider. Those scenes with the spider were superb. Mind’s Eye features a fantastic main character in the form of this blind woman who witnessed a crime and tried to help the victim. She’s very well developed and the show’s treatment of blind people was quite powerful.
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All Souls is actually my favorite episode of this season. It’s an underappreciated gem as it’s very powerful in its Christian imagery that is surprisingly unambiguous and potent. The devil is very creepy and the whole story plays out in such a thrilling, highly entertaining fashion. The most overrated episode of this bunch, The Pine Bluff Variant is well written, but it’s hardly a fun time to be had with biological weapons and environmentalism. It’s overly political. Folie a Deux is a solid creature feature with a great use of Skinner while The End is a messy finale that works in some areas, but fails in others, most notably in its overly familiar, ineffective final stretch.
Overall, the fifth season of The X-Files has its great installments, but for the most part this is a subpar season full of uninspired and familiar episodes that either don’t quite work or are just solid and far from great. It’s short and thus quite forgettable.
Worst Episodes: Unusual Suspects, Schizogeny and The Pine Bluff Variant.
Best Episodes: Detour, Christmas Carol and All Souls.
