The X-Files - John Doe

I’m not an X-files fan who is inconsiderate towards Patrick or his FBI Agent, John Doggett. I quite like him, even when he’s at odds with Mulder and Scully over all things extraterrestrial/supernatural. One day I plan to write about the oil rig / black oil episode which had Mulder losing his position in the FBI, canned while Doggett is put in charge, but for now I have had John Doe on the backburner, planning to eventually get to it because I wanted to discuss a non-Mulder episode (it is almost exclusively about Doggett). Doggett awakens in a warehouse in a Mexican border town with no recollection of who he is. Immediately, we are stuck with the familiar thought of, “Yet another amnesia plot?!?!” But the “memory vampire” gimmick where a cartel “protector” uses a unique power to “siphon” memories from those that pose a threat to his bosses (named Caballero, played by Zitto Kazann) is quite a creative way to tell an amnesia story! Patrick is so good in this episode, to complain that Mulder’s journey (which the show was so often a proprietor of) has been silenced I just felt would be problematic. And Patrick’s dark-circled eyes and confusion, encountering a psychological/mental impasse, entrapped in a locale uncertain to him, when cartel members, Domingo (Frank Roman), for whom he met in jail when the local police find no identification on him, and lackey, Nestor (Ramón Franco), offer him a job, sure does present the suffering FBI agent with quite a dilemma. And the memories gradually coming back, both the good and bad regarding his deceased son, offer us a Doggett we can relate to and sympathize with. When Caballero questions how Doggett could withstand (or even want to) such pain, we ourselves realize just what kind of baggage he carries around with him. If anything, Doggett becomes a more intimate character to us. He’s personalized, I guess. He’s a strong-willed but compassionate man. But he’s practical and pragmatic. Yet when he refuses to do anything illegal for the cartel, just willing to work on vehicles and machines, Doggett’s integrity never wavers…a sense of dignity remains because he won’t lower himself. Caballero is a fascinating character, I thought. He had this overpowering presence, an enigmatic figure in the dark of a bar, at a lonely table, looking to drain another victim that happens upon misfortune for being a threat to those he protects. Frank Roman, as Doggett’s chief nemesis (Nestor really operates poorly in his targeting of the agent, unable to discreetly kill him when the opportunity appeared available), is always willing to exploit his amnesia, going so far as to claim he’s a serial killer being hunted. The local police being tied to the cartel just piles on Doggett’s bad situation, but never fear, his allies will come to the rescue (Scully is able to trace a phone call from Doggett, locating Reyes who soon tracks Doggett which leads to Skinner and the federales finding him). Patrick’s ache (continually reinforced throughout the episode) and eventual recovery of all his memories, as he escapes a gunfight, using a bus to try and get away (with Reyes in tow) closes the episode (baked in dire, sweltering sun when outside, foreboding dark when inside), well directed (by Michelle MacLaren, with help from veteran Kim Manners) and written (by Breaking Bad scribe, Vince Gilligan). The setting is elaborated with great effect, and Doggett’s survival against the odds remains a dramatic powerhouse. To me, a real gem. Worth checking out even if it isn’t the typical X-files outing.

4/5