Destination: Worcester, Massachusetts.
This is a serviceable MOW episode with the right tone of creepy and a touch of claustrophobia.
Dwight and Randall are twins but as sometimes happens with twins they received uneven, maybe even unfair, attributes. Dwight has almost no eyesight while Randall can see in ways that are not usually available to humans. While one might think of all the possibilities this would afford, there seems to be another uneven sharing of skills. Dwight has the brains and the people skills while Randall doesn't appear to be very bright and is quite shy. Dwight exploits Randall and uses him to kill whomever Dwight chooses. While this is quite lucrative if you are taking down drug dealers, it gets troublesome when Randall goes rogue and kills the fence they've been using to sell the drugs they steal. The murder of Carlton Chase unravels the whole business and we find out he wasn't killed for stealing, he was killed for love.
The object of affection is Tammi Peyton, the secretary for this nasty little extermination company. At first I thought that Tammi was a victim. Michael Bowen made Dwight a special blend of creepy and menacing. The scene with the lighter was hard to watch. But she managed to squirrel away over a hundred thousand dollars and use both Dwight and Randall, possibly Chase as well. She knew Randall was in love with her and it was her use of his love that saved her. Even though Randall was a murderer I still felt sorry for him as he shot his brother. He knew she used him, he knew she wasn't coming back for him and still he chose her.
The relationship between Doggett and Scully is an interesting one. I just noticed in this episode that he calls Scully 'Agent,' not 'Scully'. He obviously respects her and cares for her but he is a by the book kind of guy. Even when Scully suggests x-ray vision, he doesn't argue with her, he just gets back to the facts of the case. Scully, in response lays out the evidence and posits rather than declares. Neither of them are Mulder and neither of them are trying to be.
Other Thoughts
Doggett tried out infrared vision in the marines. It weighed ninety pounds and required liquid nitrogen to cool the machine. He even debunks cool gadgets.
As Scully says, Randall could have looked at anything but he chose Tammi. He is even trying to watch her as he sits in an interrogation room.
Ugh to rats. Still I felt sorry for the one rat who had managed to escape poison only to be taken out by Randall and a big piece of wood.
Quotes
Doggett had almost all the snappy lines in this episode.
Police Officer: “Hey buddy, you’ve never been safer in your life, okay?”
Dwight: “Stupid ain’t cute, Tammi. I don’t care what your mama says.”
Doggett: “You know Elvis used to do this to his hotel rooms.”
Doggett: “Calling Clark Kent.”
Doggett: “I hate twins. Twins never rat each other out."
Doggett: “If you’re suggesting he could see into her heart, Agent, I think we’re out of FBI territory on this one.”
Doc:
ReplyDeleteGreat review. I like this one, too. Serviceable is exactly how I'd describe it, as well. Patrick is getting more comfortable by this point in the season and it's pretty delightful to watch.