The X-Files - E.B.E.

Mulder, the truth is out there…but so are lies.

Mr. Mulder, if a shark stops swimming it will die. Don’t stop swimming.

When Scully finds a bug in her pen, realizing that her and Mulder are being spied on, Mulder tears apart his home searching for one himself. It reminded me so clearly of The Conversation when a paranoid Gene Hackman leaves practically no stone unturned yet cannot find the device he suspects is hidden somewhere. When you get too close to the truth, to some you become dangerous. And sometimes expendable. That passed through my mind as I watched one of my favorite of the extraterrestrial story arc episodes, E.B.E. [Extraterrestrial Biological Entity], because it involved Scully becoming familiar with Deep Throat, questioning his true motives in regards to Mulder. Even Deep Throat cooks up a fake photograph in order to divert Mulder away from a supposed truth he considers the world not ready for. A Gulf War vet truck driver carrying way more weighted cargo than he was supposed to, with fever, rash, and a bad attitude might know about one such EBE. I really like this episode for its importance in featuring so much of Deep Throat and what might be behind his motivation for supplying Mulder with information (and, in this episode’s case, misinformation) and urging him to seek out the truth. Deep Throat, telling Mulder during a conversation about baseball that he could get him into any ballpark in the country, is high level government. Scully is the first (because supposedly she is the one who knows of him and his connection to Mulder) to question whether or not DT is on the level. Of course for X-Files fans will recognize E.B.E. as the introduction to The Lone Gunmen, with how Frohike talks about how hot Scully is, particularly when she pokes fun at Byers theories on CIA’s connection to Moscow politics and how Langly answers the phone protecting his call from potential listeners deep in the darkest government. But Langly does hook Mulder and Scully up with badges to get into a secret government facility that might house an EBE carried by the truck driver across the country. That path across the country has included heightened UFO activity, stirring up those that believe, out there like Mulder, hoping to get evidence and celebrate their presence. Deep Throat has to have a revealing conversation regarding a terrible act, enforced thanks to a pact made by the major powers (China, Russia, the two Germanys, UK, and the USA) that if an alien lifeform crashes on their native soil, it was to be exterminated.

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January 14, 2016

To me, this could be the most important episode of the first season. It provides some fascinating back story to the enigmatic Deep Throat (Jerry Hardin; never more compelling, I think, than here) in regards to the reasoning behind why he assists Mulder and motivates his pursuit of the truth. Yet the episode also shows how Deep Throat leads Mulder on a wild goose chase and keeps him and Scully at arm's length from the sighting of an E.B.E (Extra-terrestrial Biological Entity).

What I really, really like about this episode is how Scully and Mulder confess to each other that they are alone in their quest for the truth. Scully no longer bolsters such force field skepticism, admitting to Mulder that he is the only one she trusts. Bugs found in Scully's pen and Mulder's house convince them that getting too close to the case of a truck driver traveling through Tennessee who might have had a close encounter, suffering the ill effects of it after shotgun firing at whatever it was. Then their investigation into what the trucker was hauling (E.B.E perhaps?) further complicates their search, with Deep Throat himself giving Mulder a doctored fake photograph of an UFO to thwart the effort of following the trucker possibly carrying evidence of alien life. Hardin's Deep Throat is such an enigma because he provides files and information to Mulder which seems to push him towards evidence of alien life yet prevents him from such encounters when he gets so close. Who wouldn't feel for Mulder and not expect him to be so frustrated and just give up? Yet what I think makes Mulder such a respected and beloved character is his integrity and dogged determination. The show allows us to follow his search and the influx of obstacles that derail his efforts time and again. With Scully by his side (before factors interfere later in the show), Mulder at least has one ally. The paranoid trio known as The Lone Gunman emerges as a government-phobic alien conspiracy team who often help Mulder from this point forward. The show often unveils support in Mulder's cause and his passion for the proof of alien life and its revealing to the outside world certainly is admirable. Scully's affection and respect for Mulder is never more apparent; the episode has a key scene where she convinces him that even Deep Throat could be using his passion and driven desire for the truth against him. Mulder holds Scully's opinion so close to his heart, he looks at the photograph and sees fault in it after she motivates him to do so.

I think at the end of this episode, you can just sense Mulder's disheartening irritation. It is like one step forward, two steps back. When even Deep Throat is undermining him, how could Mulder not be down in the dumps? It won't get any easier, that's for sure. Scully allowing herself to believe in Mulder proves just what he truly means to her. I think those of us who have hitched our ride to his cause understand why. If the conspiracy main theme is responsible for your being a X-File fan, this episode is perhaps a significant reason for that. If anything, Scully's meeting The Lone Gunman alone is a treat for fans of the show, particularly her "hotness" (see the smile on Scully's face when Mulder acknowledges it himself) and disapproval of several of their conspiracy theories (preferably one about the CIA).

Codicil to the reviews above

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I did want to mention the performance of Hardin here. He's clearly in a conundrum that has him trying to have his feet in two worlds. He's deeply entrenched in the government at the highest level and yet guilt-stricken and ashamed at what he sees everyday, seemingly handcuffed within his cage of secrecy. Scully's not trusting of him, for good reason. Mulder is so passionate and driven, Scully tells him, that perhaps he can persuaded to go wherever he's told and never get anywhere he desires to be. When Scully tells him he is the only one she trusts, you see that he doesn't take that lightly but yet wants to prove conclusively that EBEs exist. --