Elegy is a decent episode about people seeing apparitions of dead people right as they die. What makes this episode extra special though, is the overt mythology of Scully's cancer woven into the storyline. I like it anytime an episode attempts to explore more into Mulder and Scully's relationship with each other. First of all, I like the smile Scully gives when Mulder bowls the strike. It's like he's trying to impress her, and she almost appears to be turned on by it. It's quite a mysterious grin. In the least, she is impressed. Where the story really takes off is when Scully sees a ghost herself and the written words "She is me". She doesn't tell Mulder immediately, but instead, goes and sees an FBI psychologist. Scully is not ready to admit to Mulder that she may have seen something "paranormal", especially when the vision may be related to her own mortality. Mulder's mini-speech to Scully at the end is touching and speaks the truth about all relationships. Kudos to John Shiban for developing Mulder and Scully's relationship a little bit more and writing a decent murder mystery to boot.
11 Reviews
Creepy in a good way
Sanpaco139 July 2007
Warning: Spoilers
This episode is definitely on my list of best creepy episodes. I don't get creeped out easily but one thing that I do have a certain fear of is ghosts. All I can say is that if I saw an apparition of a girl with a slit throat in the ladies room of a mental hospital then I would probably sit down and cry until someone found me. And then you add in a freaking crazy psycho killer posing as a nurse in the mental hospital. That is such a great touch. The poor mental patient just wants to be loved but every girl that is nice to him gets razor bladed by the person who is supposed to be taking care of him. That is messed up. Great episode. 9/10
She is Me
SleepTight6667 December 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Yet another strong Season 4 episode. The episode is both mysterious and has some great acting from Gillian Anderson. I love standalones with a great story and that try to develop the characters.
This episode deals with apparitions and death. A mentally challenged man greatly played by Steven M. Porter keeps seeing the apparitions of dead girls saying 'She is Me'. As it turns out, only people that are dying as some sort of a Death Omen can see them. Which is bothersome because Scully saw the fourth victim after getting another nosebleed.
I love the way Scully's character is handled, she tries so hard to deny the truth out of fear. I loved her final scene in the car where she sees Harold's apparition in the back of her car.
The only thing that I didn't really like was the explanation of the murderer, I didn't really buy it.
But besides that, it was a very well-done episode. Kudo's to the great acting job.
FOUR stars.
This episode deals with apparitions and death. A mentally challenged man greatly played by Steven M. Porter keeps seeing the apparitions of dead girls saying 'She is Me'. As it turns out, only people that are dying as some sort of a Death Omen can see them. Which is bothersome because Scully saw the fourth victim after getting another nosebleed.
I love the way Scully's character is handled, she tries so hard to deny the truth out of fear. I loved her final scene in the car where she sees Harold's apparition in the back of her car.
The only thing that I didn't really like was the explanation of the murderer, I didn't really buy it.
But besides that, it was a very well-done episode. Kudo's to the great acting job.
FOUR stars.
Haunted ME
doreye28 June 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I saw this episode when I was younger, maybe 12 years old. It scared the living bajeezus out of me, like no other X Files ever did. I never saw it again, but the final image of Scully looking up into her rear view mirror and seeing the ghost of Herrald sitting in her back seat seriously haunted my dreams for a long time; which makes this a pretty awesome episode. I'd be interested to know if anyone else found it as scary as I did....... as this is my first IMDb comment, I was unaware that they had to be over 10 lines long. this seems like a stupid rule, because I said all I really wanted to say in seven lines. and now even after commenting about my comment, I've just barely managed to meet the required minimum. sheesh
"And who among us would most likely be able to see the dead?
classicsoncall29 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
It didn't appear that Mulder realized what he was saying when he uttered the line to Scully, noted in my summary above. With Scully's cancer looming in the background, Mulder's comment struck an immediate nerve in his partner, affecting her for the entire rest of the episode. This was a poignant story in which Scully was forced to face her own mortality, reinforced by visions of the dead or about to be dead, a plot element central to the character at the center of the story.
It always impressed me how the X-Files writers researched subjects for their story lines, especially the ones dealing with the paranormal. They always came up with something grounded in science or medicine to make the oddball seem plausible. In the case of Harold Spuller (Stephen M. Porter), his condition is diagnosed as autistic with ego dystonic obsessive compulsive disorder, prompting him to constantly rearrange and reorganize things, as evidenced by the obsessiveness with the bowling shoes. Though it wasn't mentioned, there seemed to be a bit of the idiot savant in his character as well, with the memorization of bowling scores of countless players.
Though he didn't have a large role, it was cool to see Sydney Lassick in the role of mental patient Chuck Forsch. He had a similar role as a manic depressive patient in an asylum named Cheswick in the 1975 picture, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". I haven't seen him in any other roles, but the type of character he played here seemed to be his forte, and I have a mind to look up some of his other pictures.
Continuing with the 'Cuckoo's Nest' connection, wasn't Nurse Innes (Nancy Fish) just a perfect substitute for Louise Fletcher's Nurse Ratched from that picture? Man, it's hard to believe people with her kind of disposition could be in a position of authority dealing with mental patients who already teeter on the edge of sanity. I just wanted to punch her out when she called Harold an ugly toad and a retard. Scully's bullet could possibly have been better placed.
The topper for this episode as in many of the X-Files occurs right at the end when Scully gets into her car. Seeing Harold in the back seat after he already passed on was both a shocking and sympathetic ending to a story that confronted Scully's condition in a very direct way. For her, the words 'She is Me' as it related to doomed victims in the story was something Scully now had to consider as part of her possible future.
It always impressed me how the X-Files writers researched subjects for their story lines, especially the ones dealing with the paranormal. They always came up with something grounded in science or medicine to make the oddball seem plausible. In the case of Harold Spuller (Stephen M. Porter), his condition is diagnosed as autistic with ego dystonic obsessive compulsive disorder, prompting him to constantly rearrange and reorganize things, as evidenced by the obsessiveness with the bowling shoes. Though it wasn't mentioned, there seemed to be a bit of the idiot savant in his character as well, with the memorization of bowling scores of countless players.
Though he didn't have a large role, it was cool to see Sydney Lassick in the role of mental patient Chuck Forsch. He had a similar role as a manic depressive patient in an asylum named Cheswick in the 1975 picture, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". I haven't seen him in any other roles, but the type of character he played here seemed to be his forte, and I have a mind to look up some of his other pictures.
Continuing with the 'Cuckoo's Nest' connection, wasn't Nurse Innes (Nancy Fish) just a perfect substitute for Louise Fletcher's Nurse Ratched from that picture? Man, it's hard to believe people with her kind of disposition could be in a position of authority dealing with mental patients who already teeter on the edge of sanity. I just wanted to punch her out when she called Harold an ugly toad and a retard. Scully's bullet could possibly have been better placed.
The topper for this episode as in many of the X-Files occurs right at the end when Scully gets into her car. Seeing Harold in the back seat after he already passed on was both a shocking and sympathetic ending to a story that confronted Scully's condition in a very direct way. For her, the words 'She is Me' as it related to doomed victims in the story was something Scully now had to consider as part of her possible future.
A series classic
SyndicateFreeorDieHard3 September 2007
Warning: Spoilers
One of the best episodes in Season 4 in my opinion. Most of the monster of the week episodes are awesome. Especially the crazy ones such as "Miracle Man," "Fresh Bones," "Syzygy," "Avatar," "Quagmire," among many others. But this one is one of the best. It has Scully's cancer tightly tied into this episode, which make this episode very interesting than would have been without it. "She is me," which is the message scene where the victim's apparitions are seen was very confusing to me at first, but throughout the course of the episode it becomes clear. This episode is one of the best. If you like the pure paranormal episodes, this is the episode for you.
Even when she sees it, she won't believe it.
Sleepin_Dragon19 August 2022
Young women are being killed by a serial killer, but just as they die, their spirit is being seen by various people.
I am seeing a change in the relationship between Mulder and Scully, something is definitely going on there, I'm not sure if it's to do with her illness, or just time bringing them closer together, but things are changing. She's still not willing to believe what she sees with her own eyes though, she is still the eternal pessimist.
I think the writer did a great job, putting together quite a unique episode, I loved the tone, and I especially loved the whodunnit vibe it had going on.
I thought Steven M. Porter put in a hugely credible performance as Harold, clearly an actor with some skills, and the ability to make you feel a degree of empathy.
8/10.
I am seeing a change in the relationship between Mulder and Scully, something is definitely going on there, I'm not sure if it's to do with her illness, or just time bringing them closer together, but things are changing. She's still not willing to believe what she sees with her own eyes though, she is still the eternal pessimist.
I think the writer did a great job, putting together quite a unique episode, I loved the tone, and I especially loved the whodunnit vibe it had going on.
I thought Steven M. Porter put in a hugely credible performance as Harold, clearly an actor with some skills, and the ability to make you feel a degree of empathy.
8/10.
Take your poison!
injury-6544722 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Welcome back Scully after your one episode break. Wow this is a hard episode to rate because there are things I love about it and things I hate about It, so 6/10 seems reasonable.
Loves:
Hates:
More time should have been spent on building a coherent narrative & character motivations rather than shoehorning Scully's cancer arc into an episode where it didn't need to be.
Loves:
- the opening is great and really intrigued me to learn what the hell was going on (sadly not explained properly)
- scully's performance, emotional and real and touches on some deep issues
- Scully's various facial expressions to indicate her disdain or frustration
- the Portrayal of mentally challenged people is done tastefully
- " I'm just a human Being!" That guy is great
- the cat fight between Scully and the psycho nurse Is very entertaining
- the effects look decent
Hates:
- the confusing story that jumps all over the place then attempts to answer everything in the last few minutes and really isn't able to
- throwing the nurse in as a surprise villain without examining her motivations properly (I still don't really understand why she killed those girls)
- what the hell is "she is me", does Mulder just shrug? What the hell
- the lack of explanation about the logic behind these apparitions or death omens
More time should have been spent on building a coherent narrative & character motivations rather than shoehorning Scully's cancer arc into an episode where it didn't need to be.
Well there you have it! I'm just a human being.
bombersflyup5 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Elegy is about the recently deceased appearing as apparitions.
A decent episode, though the resolution a little sudden and the murderer's reasoning unexpanded on. It's a sort of slice of life piece though, intertwining Scully's cancer arc as well. All the guest performances are good, aside from the Nurse. They kind of repeat the "Tempus Fugit" opening, with Mulder interrupting the briefing and the investigator again involved. The scenes with he, Mulder, Harold and attorney are humorous.
A decent episode, though the resolution a little sudden and the murderer's reasoning unexpanded on. It's a sort of slice of life piece though, intertwining Scully's cancer arc as well. All the guest performances are good, aside from the Nurse. They kind of repeat the "Tempus Fugit" opening, with Mulder interrupting the briefing and the investigator again involved. The scenes with he, Mulder, Harold and attorney are humorous.
Soooo.....
james-7970212 December 2018
Call ghostbusters
devonbrown-9064920 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Elegy is a average episode. It explores ghost of the recent dead person appearing to another person who will die soon. An autistic bowling alley assistant is at the core of suspicious in this episode, but I some how winds up to me a sadistic career who's the real villain.
One of the reasons this was a weak episode was the story telling. There was more emphasis on scully and her doomed future than the unravelling of the prime suspect. And the suspect was only found by scully by chance.
I didn't understand who scully didn't tell mulder about the ghost much earlier on, he would have probably solved the case much sooner.
But hey. It was an ok episode.
One of the reasons this was a weak episode was the story telling. There was more emphasis on scully and her doomed future than the unravelling of the prime suspect. And the suspect was only found by scully by chance.
I didn't understand who scully didn't tell mulder about the ghost much earlier on, he would have probably solved the case much sooner.
But hey. It was an ok episode.
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