The X-Files (TV Series) Never Again (1997) User Reviews

"Atta boy, lover. From now on, I'm your right hand gal."

[classicsoncall · 8/10 · 24 June 2017]

More so than most, this episode of the X-Files is full of ambiguity as it relates to the characters. Is Ed Jerse (Rodney Rowland) really losing his mind or is he being affected by the hallucinogenic property of the tattooer's ink? Did Scully actually sleep with him, or did he stay on the couch like he offered? Does Scully have cancer or not, as her demeanor and behavior, especially with Mulder, is conflicted to the point of harming their professional relationship. Is Elvis really dead? I just threw that last one in there to see if you were paying attention. Apparently Mulder's spiritual journey wound up at Graceland.

So with Mulder out on a forced vacation, Scully is left to pursue one of his cases and she reacts negatively. In a moment of rebellion, she decides to pick up a recently divorced man while on assignment, and heads straight into trouble. While watching, I had a hard time reconciling Scully's behavior here because it was so out of character for her to shoot from the hip like that. Getting the snake ring tattoo was the icing on the cake. It was as if she were flaunting her mortality to do something wild and crazy before finding out about her cancer once and for all.

I had forgotten about Jodie Foster's involvement with the story as the voice of the tattoo lady 'Betty'. Bringing in that touch from "The Silence of the Lambs" added an element of malice to the character of Ed Jerse, even if he wasn't acting of his own volition. Winking Betty was a perfect way to establish when he was about to do something violent, a reflection of Ed's own repressed personality whenever he was about to carry out the demands of his 'Never Again' girl.

Never ever again

[hulamoth · 8/10 · 29 December 2007]

This episode is symbolic of the problems confronting Scully in the long-term of season 4, including her relationship with Mulder, but also the position of women in general. The episode has undercurrent themes of domestic violence, infidelity, misogyny, and control, and in true X-Files fashion, none of these are resolved. The episode begins with Scully feeling marginalized by a Mulder who barely notices. When Scully seeks out new male companionship, things go horribly awry.

Some of these problems are addressed subtly through dialogue. When Scully voices her concern in the largely symbolic question, "Why don't I have a desk?", Mulder at first doesn't understand her, then evades her with a series of unlikely reasons such as that he "always assumed" she had a place, or that the room would be too crowded if she had a desk.

Aside from the slightly comical talking tattoo, and Mulder's own humorous Elvis impressions, this is a serious, intense, and at times somber episode. Actually, Mulder's attempts at humor increase the more dramatic tones, especially in the final scene, where his jokes fail to elicit positive responses from Scully. Season 4, in which this episode belongs, is a bleak season anyway, and this episode is a stepping stone as Scully starts to seriously reconsider her life. Her assessment of her and her partner's progress as, "two steps forward, three steps back" encapsulates her despairing outlook, as well as the tone of this episode.

Eenie, meenie, chili beanie, the spirits are about to speak?

[Sanpaco13 · 7/10 · 19 July 2007]

Another Scully hates her job and wants a change episode. You think she'd learn that every time she does that she gets attacked by a psycho. I'm in love with Jodie Foster from Silence of the Lambs and I think that the character of Scully is very heavily influenced by Clarice. That being said this episode is a great one. I used to find it boring until I became a little more interested in character development than mythology storyline. In this episode Scully is out doing some of Mulder's busywork while he is "forced" to go to Graceland. Spiritual journey ha! Mulder kills me. As for the actual story of the episode it is interesting to learn a little more about Scully. She definitely is the type that is drawn to powerful men and as we see she is quite turned on by being overpowered by Jerse. Some of the banter and crazy statements made by Jerse to "the voice" are very entertaining. He was very welled acted. All in all I can only give this episode a 7/10.

Not everything is about you, Mulder

[SleepTight666 · 10/10 · 17 November 2008]

This is not only the sexiest episode of the entire series, but I also think it completely established the relationship between Mulder & Scully better than ever before.

There are the crazy fan-girls who hate any episode that feature a love role for Mulder or Scully that isn't each other. But as much as I love those two together, I can always enjoy their great chemistry with other characters.

This episode reminds me of Season 2's '3' where 'David Duchovny' and 'Perrey Reeves' had a great sexual chemistry, in this one it's Scully's turn 'Gillian Anderson' and 'Rodney Rowland' were dating and you could clearly tell from their never-ending fatal attraction. The scene where Eddie was watching Scully get a tattoo was one of the most sexual scenes of the entire series. And the background music made it the more intense.

I adored the passionate atmosphere throughout the entire episode. It was so Gothic and even erotic. I also loved the character of the jealous tattoo, what I didn't get is if it was really a hallucination or if Eddie was plain insane? It's cool that they got someone like Jodie Foster doing the voice. I just wish they could have gotten her to play an actual person in it.

However, despite all the goodness involving the Eddie character. My favorite part of the episode were the scenes between Mulder and Scully. I hugely preferred Mulder over Scully in the first three seasons, but that big gap started to get smaller and smaller from Season 4 onwards. Mulder did always treat Scully like his property, and I didn't like how she always let him. It was nice to see her stand up for herself for once, and deliver that fantastic final line; "All this because I didn't get you a desk?" - Mulder "Not everything is about you, Mulder. This is my life" - Scully

FIVE stars. Not only does it work as a very emotional and character developing episode. But it also works as a fantastic thriller.

Fascinating Insight

[pablohoneyx · 10/10 · 2 October 2006]

One of my favorite episodes because of the way it draws from the often-neglected dark core of the show (yes, many of the story lines are "dark", but I'm talking about the flawed and deep humanity of the characters) - Scully and Mulder's relationship is not all roses, there are deep problems and resentments that must have fostered over the past few years. Sure, it bothers Scully when Mulder ditches her and Mulder hates it when she immediately dismisses his theories, but one would think that over the years, it would cause some type of underlying problem or influence the evolution of their relationship somehow.

Morgan and Wong have a definite gift for writing character development, providing glimpses of our heroes' souls. An exposition of their relationship was sorely needed, whether it be good or bad - a departure from a glossed over hand-hold or icy comment. Mulder's deeply human self-involvement was magnified by the situation but also realized - something I think people have been waiting for - redemption for ditching Scully so much and for generally being inconsiderate (not necessarily a cause for dislike of the character, though). Too bad there weren't more episodes like this!

Episode has ups and downs

[revchuckpoore · 10 November 2008]

One thing that I noticed is that in context, this episode occurs just after Scully hears from Leonard Betts that she has cancer (see previous episode). If she believes him, then it seems logical that she would be in an emotional tailspin, depression and may be vulnerable for a "walk on the wild side".I'm not saying that this is why she "picks up" this stranger, but it does kind of put in perspective for me. Mulder's condescension also may kindle a spark of rebellion. In the beginning of the episode he treats her like she is his lackey, not an equal, and in the last scene he just assumes that her actions are all somehow related to him. I do like the way she puts him in his place with her remark, "not everything is about you". You can almost hear him say, "yes it is". By the way, I agree the talking tattoo is kind of silly, but I guess they couldn't think of any other way of giving Jerse the urge to kill. Not one of the best, but not the worst either.

Never Say Never Again

[Muldernscully · 6/10 · 31 August 2006]

Never Again was Glen Morgan & James Wong's attempt to do a personal story on Agent Scully. It's a good episode, but I don't think it was the best way to do a Scully-centered episode. The teaser is different because usually you have something paranormal happen in it. In this one, Ed Jerse gets a tattoo and then faints in his apartment. What's so special about that? I thought Ed Jerse being a paranoid telemarketer is an interesting parallel to a later x-files episode, Folie a Deux. It's interesting to see Mulder treat Scully as a supervisor, telling her what to do, when they are just partners. And then later, when Scully tells him that the case is resolved, he doesn't trust her and wants to come see for himself. The music for this episode is quite abnormal, especially during the Scully getting a tattoo scene and the final climax; very un-xfiles-like. Here is an interesting thing to look for. Before she talks, the tattoo is winking. After she starts talking to Ed, both of her eyes are open. A couple of questions: Why doesn't Scully's tattoo "hiss" at her? and, why would Ed write "XO Ed" on a letter to Scully after one night with her? I think it was a good idea to show Scully's inner-conflicts with her current lifestyle. I just don't think it was pulled off just right. I guess it's a little unsettling to me to see Scully act as she does during this episode. I recommend to see Never Again, but it's not a solid recommendation.

Beauty is only skin deep, baby. I go all the way to the bone.

[DWilliams1089 · 9/10 · 23 August 2010]

"Never Again" is Glen Morgan and James Wong's swan song for The X-Files (despite their "farewell" episode, "Die Hand Die Verletzt" having aired two seasons prior) and reassures that after three and a half years two of the series's best scribes still had not lost their magic touch. Much like earlier Morgan and Wong outings, this episode is all about the character development, and who better else to put into the forefront than Scully, whose previous centric episodes are often lauded as some of the show's finest hours.

When Mulder is dragged into taking a vacation, an embittered Scully is dispatched to investigate a potential X-File in Philadelphia, where she bumps into heartsick divorcée Ed Jerse. The set-up for the plot makes perfect sense in the context of the series, and the frustration that hangs over Scully like a rain cloud is perfectly relatable to anyone who has been pushed into close quarters with someone for a lengthy time. This frustration makes even more sense given the events that took place in "Leonard Betts," in which Scully discovered that she had developed cancer as a result of her abduction (a fact that, due to unfortunate scheduling changes, was not referenced in this episode; nonetheless it does not disrupt the flow between that episode and the subsequent one, "Memento Mori").

Jerse suffers from auditory hallucinations that take physical form in the tattoo of "Betty," voiced brilliantly by none other than Jodie Foster. Whether the hallucinations stem from Jerse's psychosis or a chemical poisoning is not made clear, but it leads to a cool ambiguity throughout the episode. When he meets Scully at a tattoo parlor he persuades her to get a tattoo of an Ouroboros. The sexual chemistry in this episode is unrivaled by most and "Never Again" remains notable not only for its frustratedly handsome performance from Rodney Rowland, but also for one of the most widely circulated Scully screenshots of the entire series.

Quentin Tarantino was reported as having been contracted to direct this episode, but DGA red-tape prevented this from happening. Irregardless, Rob Bowman does wonders behind the camera, making a brooding jungle out of a claustrophobic apartment building. The directing in this episode feels quite different from his other works, but makes for some neat moments, including a rose petal that segues into a bloodstain on Jerse's bandage. With enough amount of rich character study for the "philes" to sink their teeth into, "Never Again" remains a highlight.

10/10

Scully the rebel

[devonbrown-90649 · 7/10 · 30 May 2023]

Scully is now coming to terms with inner rebel in this episode. It's almost like she is re living her teenage years. I'm sure all teenage girls liked dangerous guys and got random tattoos that may cause auditory hallucinations.

Mulder was forced to take some time off this episode but still was in the weeds of any investigations. Can't believe the guy didn't take any time off for the last 4 years. Not when his dad died, not when he caught multiple infectious alien diseases, Not when he got shot etc. This obviously breeds some plot holes here.

Scully has come so close to death multiple times and miraculously got out of it last minute it's astounding. She was seconds away from being burnt to a crisp but managed to save herself somehow.

Nevertheless this was an okay episode. That gave some character development and shun a light on scullys slow decline.

Mulder: So.... all this, because I've ... because I didn't get you a desk?

[bombersflyup · 10/10 · 27 February 2018]

Never Again is about Scully meeting a man who has recently gotten a tattoo causing hallucinations, she decides to get a tattoo of her own. Meanwhile, Mulder's on vacation.

Scully shines in this darkishly moody, out of the norm episode exposing the underbelly of the relationship between our favourite duo. It's on the back of Scully finding out via Betts that she has cancer, which Mulder's not privy to. Ed's good at times, but he's essentially only retracting from the episode's greatness, as the highlights are the engagements between Scully and Mulder. Jodie Foster doing the tattoo voice is cool, but that's about it. Love it!

Mulder: Okay, so we'll have them send down another desk and there won't be any room to move around her but we can put them really close together face to face, maybe we can play some Battleship.

Scully: "Refusing an assignment?" It makes it sound like you're my superior. Mulder: Do what you want. Don't go to Philadelphia, But let me remind you that I worked my ass off to get the files reopened. You were just assigned. This work is my life. Scully: And it's become mine. Mulder: You don't want it to be. Scully: This isn't about you. Or maybe it is, indirectly. I don't know. I feel like I've lost sight of myself, Mulder. It's hard to see, let alone find, in the darkness of covert locations. I mean, I wish I could say that we were going in circles, but we're not. We're going in an endless line, two steps forwards and three steps back. While my own life is standing still.

Scully: Not everything is about you, Mulder. This is my life.

Best episode yet

[sollyharv · 10/10 · 7 February 2020]

The first episode of the show that I feel comfortable calling perfect. Everything is absolutely top notch; the themes, the direction, the acting, the dialogue... I have no idea why this isn't one of the highest rated episodes of the show.

One of my Least Faves

[loudprincess · 3/10 · 29 March 2007]

Never Again is one of the episodes I can't stand to watch anymore. As much as I am a total junkie for The X-Files, the second I see the guy getting a tattoo of a woman's winking face, I turn the channel. Why? Well, it's probably one of the more hokey episodes of the series. God love Jodie foster, but her vocal performance is cheesy, and the plot is pretty unbelievable. ***SPOILER**** The story revolves around a down-on-his-luck guy who gets a tattoo tainted ergot, which makes him hallucinate and think that the girl on his arm is telling him to kill any woman who gets in his path. Scully meets him while on vacation, after getting her own tat, and trouble ensues.

While ergot poisoning is an interesting plot point, it probably would have been better explored in a Salem Witch Trial-related episode, but instead, the writers chose to do a dippy story about a talking tattoo. ***Spoiler End***

Not only is the dialog clunky, even for an Oscar-winning actress, but but this is also another episode where Scully finds herself borderline helpless without Mulder as a result of a poor choice on her part.

Go watch "War of the Corporphages" instead.

Great episode, with a very different flavour.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 7 August 2022]

What a brilliant episode this was, my favourite for a little while. I loved the wonderfully unique story, but best of all was the different dynamic between Mulder and Scully.

It's a super slick production, it looks wonderful, I did love that tattoo. The scenes in that trashy bar looked hugely atmospheric.

Great to see Scully behaving in a different way, so serious at times, here we see her prioritise her personal life for a change. Mulder's reaction is so interesting, his behaviour here is as interesting as Dana's.

So imaginative, I loved the concept of that tattoo, a time where tattoos were about, but leap forward thirty years, and we'd all be hearing Betty.

I thought that voice was familiar, Jodie Foster, she did an incredible job, she made a small part feel pretty big.

Impressive, 9/10.

Great Scully-centred Episode

[meerm · 9/10 · 6 May 2022]

A slower paced episode focused more on character development, without the distractions of the wider mythology. The balance of dark moments and humour was about right. Gillian Anderson's acting talents are put to good use in this Scully-centred story. She's dialled back a bit, and we get a chance to see the woman behind the agent.

XXX-files (dvd)

[leplatypus · 10/10 · 9 December 2012]

With that title, I don't intend to say that Mulder & Scully are doing hardcore but to underline their obsession with the body. It's not my idea because it comes from the very interesting (but hard to read) book "Deny all knowledge".

Mulder is a voyeur, running after alien bodies and craving pornography. Scully, she, is turned on by the inside body, explaining her eagerness to dissect bodies! Thus, this organic bond sublimates intimate relationships and it's interesting to see that this year, Scully is having a tattoo before having a real sexual experience.

An annoying consequence is that our heroes flirt a bit with eugenics: As the show deals with paranormal, the body is clearly modified, bruised, exploded, mutated. But as it's also an investigation, the abnormal body is tied with criminality and as federal agents, our heroes are defending the healthy norm.

This clearly shows in this fourth season, as it's the gorier so far: "home", "teliko", "sanguinarium", "el mundo gira", "leonard betts" offer really strong content. But it's also a great one, better than the 3rd, as i always found even seasons (2,4,6) to be better than the uneven ones (1,3,5). The fresh air this year comes from there are a lot of episodes which deepen each characters ("paper hearts" for Mulder, "Never again" for Scully, "Musings" for the Cigarette man, "Zero sum" for Skinner). But if the shows deep personal, it also scratches the underbelly of America: the reclusive sect ("field where I died"), the 60s assassinations ("musing"), cold war ("tunguska"), and even prefigures the flight 93 crash ("tempus fugit"). Unlike the third season that was a bit flat, this fourth season founds a new dynamic (as with Scully's abduction in the 2nd) with Scully's cancer. The funny episode ("small potatoes") is one the best ever with an exceptional story (at last, the kiss!) and great comic performances from Duchovny and Morgan is a better actor than writer! My stinker would be "Kaddish" as the dubbing was too low and it's happens in darkness!

It was hard to pick a favorite because a lot of episodes where really challenging but i finally pick "never again". For one time, Scully goes into danger by her own (it's not Mulder who sent her like in "Unruhe") but it tells a sad story between two lost souls!

Cinematic Masterpiece

[dannymcgrath · 10/10 · 19 April 2023]

I am currently burning through X Files in 2023 and this episode made me create an IMDB account so I could leave this review. The cinematography in the opening sequence alone was masterful. The episode then carried in to an impactful sequence which allowed Dana Scully to show her true agency as a detective to the audience, especially new Hulu fans. It especially stretches the true lengths that Scully is able to go. I am a huge fan of Mulder crossing boundaries to get to answers but this is truly the first time we see Scully reach deep in to playing the detective role. It is a surprising development of character but a great leap for the show.

Never Again

[lassegalsgaard · 10/10 · 19 April 2024]

A lot of people know how it feels to be in a situation that has such an impact on your life that you want to somehow commemorate it. It may be as a reminder of how good a time you had in your happiest moments alive, or something that constantly tells you not to make the same mistakes again and learn from them. However, it's rare that the things you do to commemorate it actually ends up trying to kill you or tell you to kill others. I know a lot of people who got a tattoo as a reactionary thing, but never anyone who was then inspired to go and kill someone because of it. However, since it is "The X-Files," it would be reasonable to suggest that such a thing could happen and would be the basis of an episode, and maybe even one written by series veterans Glen Morgan and James Wong. And this is an episode that continues to give a little more focus to Scully and work on her character, giving David Duchovny a backseat, in a story that is directly influenced by things she learned about herself earlier, which might have given her impulses to explore a new side.

Apparently, this episode was originally supposed to air before the "Leonard Betts" episode, which would have been a fatal mistake. It would have definitely put a lid on Scully's motivations here, and it would have made her feel very out-of-character. However, with that decision in place, the cancer reveal in the previous episode primarily serves as the basis for her more human approach this time, which is a perfect way to give us some of Scully's darker impulses and it provides a nice clean pallet for a character who has been very by-the-books so far, and gives her some edge.

It also provides some of Gillian Anderson's most interesting work as this character in a while. She has some very good emotional moments in the previous episodes, but she is given an onslaught of those moments here, in particular a scene where she gets a tattoo, which may have actually been the most emotionally resonant moment of the episode. She's a great actress and can do a lot more than what she's allowed to on the show, so it's nice to see that they're giving her a good trajectory like this, allowing for more emotions to finally emanate from her.

The episode was originally supposed to be directed by Quentin Tarantino, but Rob Bowman ended up helming it, and he gives the show some much-needed flare in an episode that is darker in terms of its lighting than usual, but also has some very impressive cinematography, utilizing long shots that often take us between many different rooms and up and down apartment stairs, really giving us a rollercoaster ride through the filmmaking. It's nice to see show switch up the style sometimes and give us these interesting rides instead of doing the same old, same old for every single episode.

"Never Again" is a great Scully-centric episode that wonderfully works off of the development that she went through last episode and Anderson truly shines through. It's a darker depiction of the character, but it's one that truly shows her as a real human being and not as the classic suit-wearing agent that we've been following.

One of the worst--if the not THE worst--episode of all time

[bringmehere · 1/10 · 24 January 2009]

Everything about this episode is awful! I just got the whole series for Christmas and have been going back and watching episodes I haven't seen for a while and when I came to "Never Again" I thought, "Ah, I'll give it another chance." It was almost painful to watch! It is especially disappointing because Scully has just found out that she has cancer and this episode is an insult to the gravity of her response to this news. The man Scully goes on the date with was a terrible actor and completely uninteresting. Plus, her getting that tattoo with him was so...blech. And the way the tells the tattoo artist that she wants the same red--cheesy! And I know that Scully was "rebelling" but with this guy? Come on, she has better taste (even in desperate times) than this.

Terrible, terrible, terrible--all around.

Poorly timed good character study

[wtw-92302 · 8/10 · 16 December 2023]

I think this is poorly slotted into the subplot about Scully finding out she has cancer. I think the writers intended this as Scully's "midlife crisis" upon finding out about the cancer, but I think it feels hollow on that end. Which is a shame because on its own it's a fairly good study of Scully, her backstory, how she engages with her work and the stresses it places on her. It's natural for her to have this rebellion and personal crisis regarding this cancer diagnosis, but this episode is halfway between that actual diagnosis. I think this episode would have benefitted from either taking place before Leonard Betts, or from having an additional buffer before it to give Scully more time to settle into this depression. Much like Mulder in '3' X-Files seems to be okay with directly plunging a character into their own side story about their depressive spiral without enough context. Fortunately this episode is not nearly as confusing and lackluster as '3' was.

Very Tales from The Crypt

[mleveringham · 4/10 · 29 August 2023]

Very Female Fantasy based epsiode. It's Tales from the Crypt meets 1940's Detective Noir meets 50 Shades of Grey. Especially when the detective scene rolls around, with Scully answering the guy's apartment door (with little on) but what looked like his shirt.

The fact that these detectives had nothing more to ask about a barely dressed FBI agent being in their suspect's place before handing over case info, was laughable to say the least. It sure didn't do much for suspending one's disbelieve.

I did enjoy the bits of humor with Mulder visiting Graceland, and the end was a bit of a gritty relief from the otherwise boring "Scully has a Darkside" theme, though.

Other than the above, it was a slow-paced bit of a snore, that was at least fairly well cast. Even If you like the stand alone episodes, as I do; I can't honestly recommend this entry as one of the better ones.

Morgan & Wong's greatest miss

[klotzilla-1 · 3/10 · 1 April 2024]

Some good stuff with Scully & Mulder at the beginning and ending, but this is a powerfully dumb episode based on a spooky talking tattoo that makes a loser turn into a killer of women.

Who should breeze into his loser life? Agent Scully, on a week of duty solo, as Mulder has mandatory time off.

In the previous episode Scully learned she likely has cancer. But when love walks in the room, who cares about cancer?

Gillian Anderson appears miserable throughout despite gamely going along. She's a pro's pro, after all. The next episode, Memento Mori, is one of the best. Hit the skip button past Never Again.