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The X-Files: Badlaa

Case: A small mystic man kills in an unusual and extremely unpleasant way.

Destination: Mumbai, India and Cheverly, Maryland

Okay, what to say about an episode that featured a mystic man who basically crawls up inside a person, kills them from the inside, and then wears their body around like an ill-fitting suit? I have to admit that this one does have some jump scares and some creepy scenes, but I would not call this an episode to rewatch very often, if at all.

I discovered some fun nick-names for this bizarre story: The Butt Crawler, The Butt Genie, and The Butt Munch. What else do you need to know? I suppose I can write about Deep Roy who plays the legless but oddly quick and sneaky mystic. He was an ape in one of the Planet of the Apes movies, he played all the Oompa-Loompas in the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie with Johnny Depp, he played in the house band as Droopy McCool in Jabba the Hutt’s palace, and he played Keenser in the new Star Trek movies with the adorable Chris Pine.

Keenser

What else… let me think… I know, we have two actors from Stargate SG-1 that are joining in the mayhem. Bill Dow, who played Dr. Lee on Stargate, is guest starring as Dr. Burks here. I like him better as Dr. Burks, who really seems to know his science better than Dr. Lee — he never seemed to solve anything until Carter stepped in to help him. Michael Welch plays the bully kid who was picking on the other kid. He also played Young Jack O’Neill in a great episode of Stargate that is one of my favorites. Little Jack was so cute.

Michael Welch as the Young Jack

I also enjoyed Scully’s turmoil as she tried to put on a brave face while spouting wacky theories at Doggett. Poor Scully; she doesn’t like chasing scary monsters in the dark all by herself. Even though Doggett is with her, and to his credit, not contemptuous about her ideas, she is still very alone.

Doggett is not being rude to Scully; he's just being his usual pragmatic self. How can he believe the impossible? We the audience believe, but Doggett is going to have to peer into the dark himself and find out his own truth. John does get lots of great lines, like usual, and he is physically there for Scully, even though he is not giving her the support that she really needs.

At the end, Scully gets pretty messed up over shooting the young boy that she saw with her eyes, even when her gut told her that the boy was wrong and that the real murderer scooted before her. She shot him, she tells Doggett, because that is what Mulder would have done. Scully shouldn’t emulate Mulder too much; he could be really reckless at times. At least the boys are still alive, even though they will probably have nightmares forever and will jump at every little squeaking noise.

Other Thoughts:

For a dude with all that power, you would think that the Fakir mystic would make a better life for himself, but then again, I guess that’s against his religion.

OMG, Scully… what are you poking at back there as Doggett calmly watches you dig around the victim’s ample backside? Eww, gross.

Holy Stomach Alien! That was a scary moment when Scully cuts into the distended belly of a dead man and a hand reaches out for her.

That ending scene reminded me of "Kitsunegari,” when Robert Modell’s sister was projecting mind images at Scully and Mulder and was trying to get them to kill each other. (I wish I was reviewing “Pusher,” now that was a great episode.)

Quotes: (John Doggett edition)

“The things that land in your inbox; huh, Agent Scully?”

“So what do you think, Agent Scully? Haunted hotel room, alien invaders, or sloppy vampires?”

“In my experience, dead men don’t tip, Agent Scully.”

“Unless he jumps up and does something mystical in the next ten minutes, we’re releasing him.”

Final Analysis:

What makes an episode worth watching again and again, but other ones not? This one was scary at times and had some bloody scenes, if you are into that, but it didn’t really come together for me in any profound way. I did like some of the creep factor, but most of this one is just not memorable.

One and a half stomach-bursting aliens.

Mallena loves her DVR, her Pug, almost anything in the sci-fi, fantasy, or supernatural genres, and her family.  Also Stargate SG-1.  Well, maybe not in that exact order.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the review. I loved the bits of other shows you threw in. I would have found this one hard to review as well. I think if they had done more with the reason for the murders, i.e..revenge for the death of his son, it would have made more sense. As it is, it is just too gruesome, as you say.

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  2. Thanks! Even if an episode of a show isn't to my taste, there should be some interesting factoids to mention. Thanks goodness for wiki/wikia and fandoms.

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