The Gift has one of the coolest teasers of the X-Files. You see this man walking up to a house on a stormy night but you don't see his face. This mysterious man walks into a house of a couple, and shoots a third, deformed man. He then leaves the house and returns to his car. Who is this mystery man that just shot another person in cold blood? Fox Mulder, the missing FBI agent. What a cool setup.
We then find out that this occurrence happened several months ago, right before Mulder's disappearance. Doggett investigates it, hoping that it will give him clues as to Mulder's whereabouts. Doggett finds that Mulder lied about his trip to this small town, and that Scully signed off on the falsified case reports. Doggett takes Skinner along to investigate.
The Gift is a very fine mystery written by Frank Spotnitz and directed by Kim Manners. We, as viewers, are puzzling throughout what Mulder has to do with all this. This episode showcases Doggett's excellent investigative skills. Kim Manners does some fine camera work. I like the shot when the husband says that he and his wife had an argument and "patched things up" and the camera moves to a shot of their wall with 3 holes plastered over and "patched up".
We see that Skinner still doesn't completely trust Doggett and is quick to accuse him of trying to find Mulder just so he can advance. As a nice bit of continuity from the season opener "Within", Doggett feeds Mulder's fish.
The Lone Gunmen are brought in purely for exposition. And it appears that Doggett is on a friendly basis with them, even though this is only the third time we've seen them with him.
It seems like these small towns are always guarding secrets in the X-Files. The underground scenes of the creature vomiting the people into the molds reminds me of the underground scene from season one's "Gender Bender".
There is no Scully in this episode, and I don't even miss her. It has to be a good episode to not make me miss the presence of my favorite female FBI agent. Doggett and Skinner carry the episode well, making a good combination. The mystery surrounding Mulder and the creature keeps you drawn in and in suspense the whole time.
Also of note, I was surprised to see the amount of partial nudity that The Gift was able to show, including a close shot of female breasts covered in slime.
The Gift is a fine solo effort by Frank Spotnitz and wonderfully directed by Kim Manners. It's a little bit gross at times, but ends up showing us that it is better to give than to receive.
We then find out that this occurrence happened several months ago, right before Mulder's disappearance. Doggett investigates it, hoping that it will give him clues as to Mulder's whereabouts. Doggett finds that Mulder lied about his trip to this small town, and that Scully signed off on the falsified case reports. Doggett takes Skinner along to investigate.
The Gift is a very fine mystery written by Frank Spotnitz and directed by Kim Manners. We, as viewers, are puzzling throughout what Mulder has to do with all this. This episode showcases Doggett's excellent investigative skills. Kim Manners does some fine camera work. I like the shot when the husband says that he and his wife had an argument and "patched things up" and the camera moves to a shot of their wall with 3 holes plastered over and "patched up".
We see that Skinner still doesn't completely trust Doggett and is quick to accuse him of trying to find Mulder just so he can advance. As a nice bit of continuity from the season opener "Within", Doggett feeds Mulder's fish.
The Lone Gunmen are brought in purely for exposition. And it appears that Doggett is on a friendly basis with them, even though this is only the third time we've seen them with him.
It seems like these small towns are always guarding secrets in the X-Files. The underground scenes of the creature vomiting the people into the molds reminds me of the underground scene from season one's "Gender Bender".
There is no Scully in this episode, and I don't even miss her. It has to be a good episode to not make me miss the presence of my favorite female FBI agent. Doggett and Skinner carry the episode well, making a good combination. The mystery surrounding Mulder and the creature keeps you drawn in and in suspense the whole time.
Also of note, I was surprised to see the amount of partial nudity that The Gift was able to show, including a close shot of female breasts covered in slime.
The Gift is a fine solo effort by Frank Spotnitz and wonderfully directed by Kim Manners. It's a little bit gross at times, but ends up showing us that it is better to give than to receive.