EBE is one of the more beautifully pieced together episodes of this season. In watching I was struck by the notion that it’s not the existence of aliens that is the central theme of this episode, or even of the X Files themselves. It’s the existence, the fact, of not one government lie but of all of them. That even in Mulder’s belief, the government is perpetrating another lie.

The “Majestic” documents, referenced briefly here, were less about aliens and UFO’s than they were about supporting a structure of a government cover up. In creating a framework whereby UFO hunters and those that claimed to see them were silenced by shadowy government agents, the belief in aliens is strengthened, while any that would expose the lie are painted as lunatics. Continue reading →

“An agent died because I screwed up.”

There was a time when a young agent Mulder played by the rules, fresh out of the academy at 28 years old. It got a man killed and let a monster go free, something Mulder has been haunted by. It goes a long way towards explaining why Mulder plays fast and loose with those same rules.

Within his own limits.

Continue reading →