The X-Files: Tempus Fugit (Part 1/2) Rewatch

May 26, 2020 8:48 PM - Season 4, Episode 17

Scully's birthday celebration is interrupted by Max Fenig's sister, who approaches Mulder and Scully to tell them that Max was on a plane that crashed. No one seems to understand why the plane crashed, or why the passengers' watches have stopped at a time ten minutes past the time of the crash.
posted by orange swan (2 comments total)

Why would the guy assigned to kill Max try to do so *on a airplane*? That's not a particularly good place to be firing a gun, and you don't stand much chance of getting away. It's not like Max had a security detail or something and was hard to access on a daily basis.

Mulder makes a bit of a fuss over Scully's birthday for the first time in four years, and then she doesn't even get to so much as taste her birthday cake before the two of them have to go off chasing aliens again. It's not much wonder Mulder is single.

Why doesn't Mulder know better than to announce to a room full of emergency response people that Max was a "multiple alien abductee"? He surely must know no one will take him seriously and that he's just going to lose all credibility. Then he asks the motel manager if her insurance policy covers acts of extraterrestrials. Does the guy like being a joke?

The airplane crash scene was horrifying and apocalyptic.

Fun fact: I used to have a zippered fair isle cardigan exactly like the one the motel manager was wearing. It came from Jacob, a Canadian retail clothing chain. I bought mine at a thrift store circa 2001/2002 for $10 and must have had it for ten years or so before I eventually wore it completely out.

And then when Mulder calls Scully in her hotel room:

Mulder: Hey, Scully, it's me. I, I just realized something. The, the voice of the air-traffic controller, I've heard it before.
Scully: Mulder, we've been up for over thirty-six hours, can't it wait...
Mulder: No, I know, I know, I know, I know, I just need you to come over and listen to this right now, okay?
Scully: I'm on my way.

I suppose after 36 hours it at least wasn't her birthday anymore.

Louis Frish did NOT need to grab Scully like that. She'd seen him just a few hours before, and would have recognized him and been willing to talk to him if he'd approached her civilly.

Mulder: How deep is it here?
Bruce Bearfeld: Fifty, sixty maybe. Have you worked at this depth before?
Mulder: Not exactly.
Bruce Bearfeld: What exactly is your experience?
Mulder: Once, I, uh... I got a quarter off of the deep end at the "Y" pool.

Alas for Agent Pendrell. I suppose he at least gets to die with Scully by his side.
posted by orange swan at 6:06 PM on May 27, 2020 [2 favorites]

Max! Poor Max.

The airplane hit was probably to show off a prop plastic gun.

Are handheld Geiger counters routine for crash site investigations? Only after finding the seatmate do they realize that the burns were likely from ionizing radiation but there was a guy with one from the get go.

I found the body bag visuals striking, all the night hanger shots generally, in a very iconic X Files aesthetic.

Glad to see Mulder's taste in shades improve with his hair.

Drunken jackass in front of your crush? Been there with you, Pendrell. If you're going to get shot, having a few shots in you already couldn't hurt.
posted by porpoise at 6:35 PM on May 27, 2020 [1 favorite]