"You have no rights, only orders to be carried out." – The Smoking Man.
Episode 6, 'Ascension', original air date October 21st, 1994. Written by Paul Brown, directed by Michael Lange. Mythology episode count, 9. Paul Brown penned the follow up to 'Duane Barry' in his first of only two episode as lead writer that feels more like the second act in a three episode arc, it would have been appropriate to end this episode with a 'To be concluded
'. Scully is essentially absent from this episode barring two short scenes, a necessity to allow Anderson to give birth to her child while off work. The following episode, '3', is the only one in the series in which she does not appear at all. As stated, nothing is resolved by the episode's conclusion and the whereabouts of Scully are a matter of debate. Is it an Alien abduction or are the military involved? It's certainly insinuated that Krycek and the Smoking Man are involved in the disappearance of Scully. In retrospect we now know that it was a government conspiracy under the guise of Alien abductions that was responsible for her capture but it's still speculation in season 2. This episode marks the official re-opening of the X-Files unit, thanks to A.D. Skinner, who is edging ever closer to the side of good despite his resistance to Mulder's more extreme theories. This is a tense, race against time thriller that moves along at an unrelenting pace so that by the 44 minute mark we're left wanting more, not least because of our, and Mulder's, desire to find Scully.
'Deny everything' replaces the regular tag-line at the beginning of the episode, the second time this has been done in the series since the season 1 finale. The phrase echoes the mantra of the shadow government in which the Smoking Man holds a prominent position. The episode kicks off with Mulder listening to Scully's cry for help on his answering machine which leads in to the F.B.I investigation to find her. The plot hole from the previous episode is addressed quite early on here. Mulder questions how Barry could possibly have known of Scully's whereabouts, surmising that either the alien implant led him there telepathically, or that someone provided him with her address. That 'someone' is suggested to be Krycek or the Smoking Man. This explanation makes sense when considering that it is the same shadow government group that performs the tests on Scully. It's almost undeniable, though never definitively revealed, that the Smoking Man lead Barry to kidnap Scully. Feeding in to his belief that the Aliens would take her as a trade for him, he blindly followed their instructions. The Smoking Man's group then took Scully from him to perform the experiments. It's satisfying to see the writer's address this issue from the previous episode and the criticism of this story element may have been premature. Mulder tracks Barry to Skyland Mountain where Krycek's sinister motive is revealed. He delays Mulder in reaching Duane Barry, thus insuring that the plan to capture her was not impeded. Krycek is almost certainly responsible for Duane Barry's death, before disappearing for some time. Nicholas Lea will not return to the show until the season 2 finale. Mulder discovers cigarette butts in his car and realises who Kyrcek is really working for. He brings this information to Skinner who, despite being unable to be of any real help to the investigation, announces that he's re-opening this X-Files, stating that "That's the thing these people fear the most." Cue the audience cheer.
'Duane Barry' felt more like a standalone episode, while 'Ascension' is much more in the vein of previous mythology episodes. What the writer, Paul Brown, does here is firmly establish both Krycek's position as a series villain and the extent of the Smoking Man's power and influence. Up until now the character had been used predominantly as background decoration, uttering only one or two lines per appearance, if that. While the Smoking Man still hasn't been given much of an opportunity to speak, his actions and the actions of Kryceck working under him, make it clear that he will play a pivotal role in the series from now on. There's a nice sense of urgency throughout and Mulder's sense of desperation is evident. This is probably one of the only episodes in which we don't miss Anderson's presence, due to the fact that her character plays such an integral role in the story, despite not appearing on screen. It's a similar effect to what happens in season 8 when Mulder is abducted and Duchovny is absent for more than half the series, but his character still feels like an important part of the story since there is so much time devoted to finding him. For a while at first it doesn't really feel like he's gone.
One thing I've always wondered about, concerning the Smoking Man, is his tendency to butt out cigarettes prematurely. He seems to waste quite a lot of the cigarette as we see can see from the ash tray in Skinner's office. This has always struck me as odd, the idea that a chain smoker would waste so much tobacco. It's unknown whether this was simply the work of an art department unaware of the cigarette smokers etiquette, or in fact a conscious and intentional character trait designed by the writer's. Possibly this says that the Smoking Man is in such a privileged position of power and that he's so used to getting whatever he wants that he can afford to be wasteful in this way. It could also be like a calling card, that he leaves behind to indicate his presence. Then again it's possibly just an oversight.
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