THE X-FILES: The Trash Man Cometh in “Home Again”

Spooky Case Experience

Tonight’s episode, “Home Again” was much better than last week’s. It fell back to asking the big questions, and had our characters asking much the same. It was originally scheduled to run as the second episode, but I agree with the change. It was much better placed as the fourth because it introduced new fans to Mulder and Scully as individuals, and enabled them to work their way up to the complexities of Mulder and Scully’s relationship, which was explored to a deeper level tonight. It was interesting to see how far the feelings of guilt run for Scully in regards to their son. A parallel can be drawn between Scully and the Trash Man tonight, right down to the camera work focused on each character in various sections of the episode. Also, because William was again a big focus in Scully’s decisions, and based on how much the character has been touched upon this season, it will be interesting to see if Mulder and Scully end up face to face with their son by the end of the mini-series.

Additionally, it was great to see how much Mulder and Scully still care about each other. It’s clear that these two lost each other over the years, but as they are now back working with each other, their relationship is growing stronger, and they are leaning on one another for support.

The storyline of government conspiracies, and tests with alien DNA were once again absent in this episode, but because of the shift in episodic order, we may return to that arc next week. It’s clear to see however that our two favorite characters are enjoying being back on the “spooky” cases, and we can only hope that the next two episodes feature more of Skinner. He’s the only piece missing at this point.

Next week’s episode (which was originally scheduled to run as the fourth episode) will force Mulder and Scully to examine their own beliefs as two new FBI agents come into the picture to assist on a case. Are we seeing the attempt to introduce new characters to the X-Files? It will be interesting to see since we’re now officially more than half-way through the mini-series.