This is sort of a wishes-granted to me as there had been precious few alien conspiracy government episodes in the fourth season up to "Tunguska", with the returning heel, Alex Krycek, once again making Mulder's life a living hell...while also stirring shit up with the Cig Man and Manicure Man.
Extending out of the US, Mulder heading to Russia (with Krycek, who speaks fluent Russian) where a gulag (hence, the title of "Tunguska") contains possible rock from outerspace (that landed in Russia in 1908). However, Mulder is dumped in a prison, subjected to a black oil alien body invader (from that rock), while Krycek seems quite at home with the doctor responsible...even lighting the doctor's cigarette. I love how Mulder runs right up to Krycek, punches him right into the back of a truck he capably steals and drives off without any real interference, later crashing that truck off a road due to trouble handling the brake/accelerator. Krycek, wisely, dumps himself out of the truck, conveniently "rescued" by Russian lab projects (peasant locals who later cleave his left arm with heated blade since injections by the doctor's gulag henchmen go into that arm!) and is able to escape to St. Petersberg (in Russia) to meet up with his hired assassin, former KGB, sent to America to cover up a "rock that escaped". If all this seems clear as mud, the actual two-part, mid-season "cosmic rock" black-oil arc is one of the simpler offered up by Chris Carter's Creative. Mulder gets away a bit too easily, for my liking, honestly, but that is par for the course...he's helped by Russian allies who are royally pissed at the doctor and his associates for torturing their people with the "black cancer", the gulag slaves forced to use pickaxes to cut into rock to secure the black oil, and imprisoned used as test animals for the black oil.
"Tunguska" sets up quite a journey for Mulder and Scully. While Mulder is away, Scully is called into a meeting with Congress to answer, "Where is Mulder?" What makes Scully curious is why the Congressman aren't asking her about what the rock was, carried in a pouch by a man later thrown off the balcony of Skinner's apartmen. And, furthermore, a scientist is paralyzed by the black extraterrestrial life freed from the rock when it was cut...that might be something Congressman might want answers for.
The story would seem to get murky, when old folks in a convalescent home are being used as guinea pigs to help find an antidote by a doctor with a horse ranch, later killed by Krycek's assassin. How this starts with Scully before Congress and Mulder and Scully with SWAT encountering terrorists (later determined to have been confronted by Krycek, not saved by him as he lies to Mulder) in a shakedown to stop a bomb from being used...explosive devices whose materials were provided by Krycek.
Here's the thing: Krycek is that scumbag who will use anybody to secure power and stature. He would be dead if he wasn't resilient at escaping handcuffs and encroaching crises. Mulder does, at the very least, get to punch Krycek some while making fun of his "stupid haircut". I LOVED that. Mulder mocking him and punching him, that fucking bastard. Even Skinner gets some licks in on that asshole. Krycek still leads the agents on a wild goose chase and his hired assassin is able to kill a scientist (virologist) and make it look like a horse accident, "bury" the rock that was in the possession of NASA by sticking the paralyzed scientist working in concert with Scully (how he gets in there is a question worth raising!), and murder all the old people who were being used as labrats without their knowledge. How "Terma" opens with an aunt helped to a van where a doctor injects her with poison to "take her pain away" by her relative as the "black cancer" oozes out of her (and into them? This is never mentioned again in the episode)...we certainly don't need that hazard running rampant throughout the world. Looks like Cig Man and Manicure Man want that rock, though. I guess Krycek made sure they couldn't get that rock, either. However, Krycek also made sure Manicure Man didn't have the doctor (his lover), nor a cure. So Krycek actually seemed as if he was as much a player as the very Syndicate powers so often yielding their might.
All the Well-Manicured Man and Cigarette-Smoking Man exchanges were just fun to me. You can see these two power players (working the government and behind a lot of moves that Mulder and Scully seem to often frustrate) often engaging with each other in mind games. Like with Cig Man has that big smile on his face when he mugs at Manicure Man in regards to the death of the horse ranch virologist he was in love with...Manicure Man often yells at Cig Man to do this or do that. With Cig Man retorting, "You need me now, aye?" It is like we have these Syndicate members supposedly unified in their mission, and yet they seem to oppose each other as well. Mulder going to Russia, investigating the location where the rock (now in the US) was found, an unneeded problem Manicure Man considers a foul-up by Cig Man is yet another one of those times I can't help but enjoy if just because this one FBI agent seems to always serve as a monkey wrench that annoys them. And as Mulder continues his crusade, the likes of Cig Man and Krycek land some blows but never quite seem to vanquish him. Meanwhile, Scully and Skinner try to understand just why the law is being undermined by the likes of "those who would get away with lawlessness", bringing this up to the Congressman wanting to know where Mulder is. Once Mulder addresses them about extraterrestrial life, none other than Cig Man is in the back of the gallery, perhaps none too pleased this agent once again serves as a reminder that he has a foe not so easy to get rid of. But it always seemed like Cig Man enjoyed Mulder out there as a nuisance, as if this crusader kept his intellectual juices flowing. It is one big chess game, really. 4/5 for both episodes.
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| A canister is found with some of the black ooze in a rock, released accidentally by this idiot at the airport in a room, as the carrier can't escape. Seems the rock comes in from not just one pouch. |
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| Rock found in pouch as instructed by Krycek, only to be destroyed later by Krycek's Russian assassin |
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| CSM tells Skinner he wants the pouch's contents, threatening Skinner's professional safety |
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| Krycek acting confused about Mulder's mission, though he knows exactly where they are in Russia |
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| Plenty of Mulder/Krycek tension. |
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| Fritz Weaver guests as a Congressman wanting Scully to tell them where Mulder is |
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| Marita Covarrubias will get Mulder what he needs to visit Russia |
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| Dr. Sacks isn't prepared for what comes out of the rock. |
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| Scully isn't a target of Vassily Peskow |
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| Krycek without an arm now |
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