Paper Hearts has become one of my favorite episodes since I started watching the series again. I remember watching it earlier on when I was more into the mytharc of the series and wanting to know about the conspiracies and I remember being disappointed that this episode leads you to believe that you would get answers about Mulder's sister and then you don't. But you know after rewatching it and knowing the final outcome and being able to focus on other aspects of this episode it really is great. I love the acting performances both by Duchovny and Gillian Anderson and the guest star performances are just as good. I almost want to like Roche when I first meet him. He acts like he and Mulder are just old friends that haven't seen each other in a while. This works very well for a serial killer because actually the exact opposite is the case. The music was another high point of the episode for me. It doesn't happen often that we get an original score for just one episode but this is done here and it is just eerie enough yet soothing to the point that you actually feel like you are in Mulder's dream with him. All in all this is a great episode and I give it a 10/10.
22 Reviews
Why is a raven like a writing desk?
Muldernscully29 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
After the physically demanding Tunguska/Terma episodes, Mulder continues to get tested in Paper Hearts; this time emotionally. Vince Gilligan, better known for his humorous episodes, shows that he is quite versatile in writing, giving us deep drama and emotion. The teaser immediately grabs your attention with Mulder having a dream of following a laser pointer that gives him clues along the way and leads him to the location of the victim of a serial killer. This episode has never affected me this way before. Tears came to my eyes twice during the episode. Perhaps it is because I am now a father of three young children. But I feel for Mulder and his pain in Paper Hearts. I found it interesting that one dream leads Mulder to finding this victim, while his next dream misleads him into believing that John Lee Roche may have kidnapped his sister. And I must say, Tom Noonan plays this heartless serial killer to perfection. The way he taunts Mulder just to exact a little revenge for Mulder capturing him is cruel. Not only does Vince Gilligan's script tug at your heart-strings, but Mark Snow's score for this episode is brilliant, making the emotion even more poignant. Excellent performances by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson help round out this episode to make it a gem of season four.
Broken Hearts
hellraiser726 January 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Warning do not read unless you've seen the episode.
Time doesn't heal all wounds, no matter how far away in the past tragedy is, like a scar it stays with you forever. This is one of the saddest episodes I've ever seen, this episode is a different kind of episode as it's more of a character drama with Mulder and how much the loss of Samatha has affecting him throughout the years.
Tom Nonnan whom is an underrated actor I like, really does a great job at playing a scumbag villain you just plan hate because villains like him actually exist. This guy just has this sick mockery and self assurance about him, he's so full of BS (he was a salesman after all) and was constant utilizing leverage which just all the more made both Mulder and my blood boil to magma hot.
Your really share his determination into finding the truth of the fate of most of the girls with the paper hearts. And you can also see him emotionally struggling to keep himself together as it seems like every minute and second with the scumbag he's dealing with, he's going to explode and he nearly does. One moment that was crowd pleasing was when the scum sucker pushed a wrong button with Mulder and then Mulder decks the guy, I couldn't help but cheer.
We are in the same boat as Mulder as we are trying to figure out if this guy is telling the truth or just selling more malarkey. From a moment when he clams that he came to their house and solid a certain vacuum to them and of course we find out they have that very vacuum which just gave me a cold feeling and made me wonder if this scumbag really is responsible for his sister's disappearance.
I really liked the dream sequences, as it's surreal but at the same time a sense of reality where with one it was locating a body from that I wondered if Mulder somehow developed some psychic ability. But the one most affecting was where we actually get a glimpse into Mulder's past where we see some of the final minutes with his sister which made the cold feeling grew and wonder if may'be this is a part of Mulder's past that he blocked out and were finally seeing.
It all comes down to a intense final confrontation as Mulder deals with a hostage situation but the scumbag tries to put on the leverage once more as we see one final paper heart unidentified. He of course clams it could be Samantha and if Mulder takes him out he'll never know. We see Mulder is still plagued with uncertainty but despite it, it doesn't cloud his better judgment. This isn't the easiest dilemma as Mulder is faced with the choice of finding the identity of the last paper heart but possibly jeopardizing the life of the hostage in the process. Or taking him out to save the hostage but leaving the last girl unidentified and jeopardizing her life. Of course the choice is made as Mulder sees the scumbag about to pull the trigger as the scumbag continues thinking things are going to still go his way, but he's dead wrong, because Mulder's not buying what he's selling.
The ending I'll admit made me cry as Mulder looks at the heart and puts it away. Despite not being Samatha, it's some other lost girl waiting to be found and just like Mulder there are people that continue to find her.
To every child lost you will never be forgotten because you are always in our hearts.
Rating: 4 stars
Time doesn't heal all wounds, no matter how far away in the past tragedy is, like a scar it stays with you forever. This is one of the saddest episodes I've ever seen, this episode is a different kind of episode as it's more of a character drama with Mulder and how much the loss of Samatha has affecting him throughout the years.
Tom Nonnan whom is an underrated actor I like, really does a great job at playing a scumbag villain you just plan hate because villains like him actually exist. This guy just has this sick mockery and self assurance about him, he's so full of BS (he was a salesman after all) and was constant utilizing leverage which just all the more made both Mulder and my blood boil to magma hot.
Your really share his determination into finding the truth of the fate of most of the girls with the paper hearts. And you can also see him emotionally struggling to keep himself together as it seems like every minute and second with the scumbag he's dealing with, he's going to explode and he nearly does. One moment that was crowd pleasing was when the scum sucker pushed a wrong button with Mulder and then Mulder decks the guy, I couldn't help but cheer.
We are in the same boat as Mulder as we are trying to figure out if this guy is telling the truth or just selling more malarkey. From a moment when he clams that he came to their house and solid a certain vacuum to them and of course we find out they have that very vacuum which just gave me a cold feeling and made me wonder if this scumbag really is responsible for his sister's disappearance.
I really liked the dream sequences, as it's surreal but at the same time a sense of reality where with one it was locating a body from that I wondered if Mulder somehow developed some psychic ability. But the one most affecting was where we actually get a glimpse into Mulder's past where we see some of the final minutes with his sister which made the cold feeling grew and wonder if may'be this is a part of Mulder's past that he blocked out and were finally seeing.
It all comes down to a intense final confrontation as Mulder deals with a hostage situation but the scumbag tries to put on the leverage once more as we see one final paper heart unidentified. He of course clams it could be Samantha and if Mulder takes him out he'll never know. We see Mulder is still plagued with uncertainty but despite it, it doesn't cloud his better judgment. This isn't the easiest dilemma as Mulder is faced with the choice of finding the identity of the last paper heart but possibly jeopardizing the life of the hostage in the process. Or taking him out to save the hostage but leaving the last girl unidentified and jeopardizing her life. Of course the choice is made as Mulder sees the scumbag about to pull the trigger as the scumbag continues thinking things are going to still go his way, but he's dead wrong, because Mulder's not buying what he's selling.
The ending I'll admit made me cry as Mulder looks at the heart and puts it away. Despite not being Samatha, it's some other lost girl waiting to be found and just like Mulder there are people that continue to find her.
To every child lost you will never be forgotten because you are always in our hearts.
Rating: 4 stars
One of the best episodes of the X-Files
bigblue12331 August 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This is one of my all time favourite x-file episodes for a number of reasons. The storyline is brilliant - maybe Mulder's sister wasn't abducted by aliens but was in fact taken by a child murderer who is now in prison. The bulk of the episode is therefore Mulder interrogating this murderer (who is claiming he abducted Samantha) and the resulting effect that it has on him. The acting is also fantastic. Anderson is great as usual and Duchovny's performance is almost heartbreaking as he desperately tries to seek the truth. However, the best performance comes from the highly underrated Tom Noonan as the child murderer. He creates a character who is both chilling and yet both tragic and pitiful.The psychological mind games that he plays with Mulder are great to watch. The episode is well directed and constantly keeps you guessing. Although the ending is obvious it is a fitting climax. A truly excellent episode.
An OK episode if you disregard a number of previous X-Files episodes.
JaydoDre5 January 2013
Warning: Spoilers
John Lee Roche makes a good serial children murderer with a calm, charismatic and creepy voice.
There is a problem straight away though. The story concentrates around the murder of several children and the search for Fox Mulder's long lost sister. However, from previous episodes we had already established that Mulder's sister was not kidnapped by a serial killer. Never mind the fact that the serial killer claims that he kidnapped the sister of the person who just happens to be the same person who will later arrest the killer for other killings. So, the show loses credibility when it tries to convince that agent Mulder allows himself to be played due to his willingness to believe.
Mulder is having realistic psychic dreams enabling him to find the victims, dreams which are never really explained. This, combined with the killer pretending to be the mad hatter is nicely intertwined into the idea that Mulder is not sure what is and what isn't true.
An OK episode if you disregard a number of previous X-Files episodes.
There is a problem straight away though. The story concentrates around the murder of several children and the search for Fox Mulder's long lost sister. However, from previous episodes we had already established that Mulder's sister was not kidnapped by a serial killer. Never mind the fact that the serial killer claims that he kidnapped the sister of the person who just happens to be the same person who will later arrest the killer for other killings. So, the show loses credibility when it tries to convince that agent Mulder allows himself to be played due to his willingness to believe.
Mulder is having realistic psychic dreams enabling him to find the victims, dreams which are never really explained. This, combined with the killer pretending to be the mad hatter is nicely intertwined into the idea that Mulder is not sure what is and what isn't true.
An OK episode if you disregard a number of previous X-Files episodes.
Despite one or two flaws, it's a great episode.
Sleepin_Dragon6 August 2022
A serial killer taunts Mulder, claiming knowledge of his sister's death.
I really did enjoy this episode, despite its incredibly macabre plot, it really did with a bleak and nasty theme. It's the first episode for some time, I thought that felt like a straight up thriller. The twist that came, I wasn't totally sold in it, but it was interesting enough, it felt a little contrived to make in an X File.
Not my aim at all to have a downer on this episode, I really did enjoy it, plus it managed to unnerve and make me feel very uncomfortable.
Once again we're teased with a resolution about Sarah, but of course, no cigar.
Tom Noonan was awesome as John Lee Roche, I think that's one of my favourite performances to date, boy the guy was chilling.
8/10.
I really did enjoy this episode, despite its incredibly macabre plot, it really did with a bleak and nasty theme. It's the first episode for some time, I thought that felt like a straight up thriller. The twist that came, I wasn't totally sold in it, but it was interesting enough, it felt a little contrived to make in an X File.
Not my aim at all to have a downer on this episode, I really did enjoy it, plus it managed to unnerve and make me feel very uncomfortable.
Once again we're teased with a resolution about Sarah, but of course, no cigar.
Tom Noonan was awesome as John Lee Roche, I think that's one of my favourite performances to date, boy the guy was chilling.
8/10.
Unforgettable
aurrora_australis12 December 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I agree with muldernscully, and I think this was X-Files perfection from start to finish. The music was haunting and eerie, probably one of my favorite scores of all of the series. Seeing Mulder have those dreams and being manipulated by the pedophile was extremely spooky, but equally endearing was how Scully had his back and empathized with him throughout the ordeal as he tried to reconcile his sister's abduction with the activities of the pedophile during that same time. On a completely superficial note, I loved when Mulder sank the basketball in the prison gym, further serving to emphasize him as the hero in contrast to the scumbag child killer. This is classic X Files, before the movie and before they moved to L.A.; it is one of the best and one of my favorites from season 5. The ending was definitely suspenseful, and it's one I wouldn't mind seeing again.
Step in Closer and View the Episode On its Own Terms
jlewis-616 April 2016
Warning: Spoilers
To my mind "Paper Hearts" is one of the better episodes in the series, with great performances, great original music, and a genuinely uncanny psychic connection between two characters, Mulder and the serial killer John, not to mention a great display of empathy between Mulder and Scully. It also has what looks like an inconsistency: despite three and a half seasons that have made it a virtual certainty that Mulder is correct in believing that his sister was the victim of an alien abduction, in this episode he adopts a contrary view, namely that John murdered Mulder's sister. Consider the facts. First, John has been sentenced to prison for life without possibility of parole, a horrific sentence for anyone, serial killer or not. Second, Mulder's gift for profiling involved "getting inside" the minds of serial killers, and here's where the uncanny or sci-fi aspect of the series kicks in. Mulder's vivid dreams establish the psychic "nexus," which John tries to downplay but which is plainly at work. What happens is that John manipulates Mulder's dream to achieve his goal in this episode, which is to terminate his incarceration in a way that will give him maximum satisfaction. Like most of us, John is much smaller in real life than in his self-image.
A nice, emotional character study
SleepTight66614 November 2008
Warning: Spoilers
What a great episode, i've never given it the praise it deserves. The one thing that always used to bug me was the stupidity of Mulder in this episode. Because he practically let John on the loose, and because he was portrayed soo weakly.
But really, I get that know. He wanted to find his sister so badly that he made some wrong choices. It's entirely believable.
Some of my favorite scenes were the dreams. They were so well-done, especially the intro with that little girl being sucked into the ground.
This episode is a nice, emotional character study full of cute Mulder/Scully moments.
FIVE stars, great stuff!
But really, I get that know. He wanted to find his sister so badly that he made some wrong choices. It's entirely believable.
Some of my favorite scenes were the dreams. They were so well-done, especially the intro with that little girl being sucked into the ground.
This episode is a nice, emotional character study full of cute Mulder/Scully moments.
FIVE stars, great stuff!
Simple but gripping, one off the best-drawn villains
meerm3 May 2022
Couldn't take my eyes off the screen. X-Files had a tendency towards complicated plots, but this one follows a relatively simple story with a deep focus on the characters. Vince Gilligan showing some real dramatic genius here with very few wasted moments. An almost likeable villain balanced the darkness of the subject to some extent, and there were some great moments between Mulder and Scully. The music tied it together perfectly. I might not have appreciated this episode in the 90s as a teenager, but it sure had an impact on me now.
I'm insulted at the ratings
NatashaJAmos201518 April 2021
Great episode but...
david_hokey_1614 March 2016
So this was a good episode, but it wasn't without its flaws. Duchovny and Noonan do a great job with their roles, and the premise of the serial killer with the paper hearts - as well as Mulder's dreams about them - is good. Still, we have some issues. First of all, we are to believe that Mulder could possibly believe Samantha was kidnapped and murdered by this guy instead of abducted by aliens? The latter was practically confirmed to him by his informants and his own investigations. Furthermore, he went with one of the social security working aliens to a farm where alien clones of his sister - identical to her at the age she was taken - were being used to work by the alien/government alliance. This was explained to him. I doubt a few dreams could change all that. Second, we as viewers are supposed to be wondering was she or wasn't she. We have seen even more evidence than Mulder that she was abducted by aliens. It's outright stated that she was due to the syndicate. Mulder is known to make mistakes and act rashly due to his beliefs and his spirit but what he did in this episode was beyond stupid. So we have a good story, good performances, and some good suspense but it ultimately fails in writing due to what I described previously. And because of this the ending fails as well since we know that paper heart does not belong to Samantha Mulder.
Continuity issues
soph_ia3 August 2015
Warning: Spoilers
I feel that this episode would have worked better in the 1st season than the 4th. While I enjoyed the emotional aspect of the episode's story, the continuity errors were simply too big to ignore. The story contradicted what has been established in previous episodes. We've seen proof and hints of what happened to Samantha. Again and again it was confirmed that Samantha was in fact abducted. Mulder even saw CLONES of her. The possibility of Samantha being murdered by a child murderer after all just contradicts that WAY too much.
So I don't find it believable that Mulder would suddenly buy this guy's story. We've seen Mulder make some irrational choices when his emotions get the best of him, but I think that he'd ignore all he's previously seen to such an extent If it was in the first season, sure, but as a 4th season episode it just doesn't really tie to the storyline.
So I don't find it believable that Mulder would suddenly buy this guy's story. We've seen Mulder make some irrational choices when his emotions get the best of him, but I think that he'd ignore all he's previously seen to such an extent If it was in the first season, sure, but as a 4th season episode it just doesn't really tie to the storyline.
"What are you saying you believe now?"
classicsoncall22 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I'd have to go on record seconding the reviews of a handful of writers on this board regarding the dismantling of prior episodes if we're to believe the disappearance of Mulder's sister had anything to do with something other than an alien abduction. The idea did form the basis of an intriguing counter-theory, and the story was written in a clever enough manner to give the viewer pause regarding the previous stories in the mythology arc, but when all was said and done, the Samantha killer premise wasn't going to work for a lot of fans.
With all that said, and if you disregard the stuff that had gone before, this was a pretty intense psychological drama played out between Mulder and child killer John Lee Roche (Tom Noonan). The way the Roche character was written as a 'friendly' adversary only made you want to hate the guy more, conducting himself as if he was just a regular guy instead of a monster who deserved execution instead of life imprisonment. Showing no remorse, Roche toyed with Mulder's emotions to such a degree, it would have been appropriate for Scully to step in at some point and give the guy a couple of whacks just for the sheer satisfaction of it.
Aside from the inconsistency with prior stories in the series, there did appear to be one plot hole here if this were to be treated as a stand alone story. Considering Roche's exceptional power of recall in remembering what type of vacuum cleaners he sold and to who, it didn't seem credible to me that he wouldn't have recognized the home Mulder brought him to as being the wrong one. It worked in the story to discredit Roche's ability to string Mulder along, but it seems he should have been sharp enough to see the ruse Mulder was trying to pull off.
With all that said, and if you disregard the stuff that had gone before, this was a pretty intense psychological drama played out between Mulder and child killer John Lee Roche (Tom Noonan). The way the Roche character was written as a 'friendly' adversary only made you want to hate the guy more, conducting himself as if he was just a regular guy instead of a monster who deserved execution instead of life imprisonment. Showing no remorse, Roche toyed with Mulder's emotions to such a degree, it would have been appropriate for Scully to step in at some point and give the guy a couple of whacks just for the sheer satisfaction of it.
Aside from the inconsistency with prior stories in the series, there did appear to be one plot hole here if this were to be treated as a stand alone story. Considering Roche's exceptional power of recall in remembering what type of vacuum cleaners he sold and to who, it didn't seem credible to me that he wouldn't have recognized the home Mulder brought him to as being the wrong one. It worked in the story to discredit Roche's ability to string Mulder along, but it seems he should have been sharp enough to see the ruse Mulder was trying to pull off.
John Lee Roche: That one? You're sure you want that one?
bombersflyup20 February 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Paper Hearts is about Mulder's dream leading him to the burial site of one of the victims of John Lee Roche, a man he put away. Roche claims Mulder's sister, was one of the many victims.
Paper Hearts is an emotionally fueled and engrossing episode, tugging at the heart strings. Mulder hoping to have resolution to what happened to his sister, regardless of how painful it may be. Scully by his side. Tom Noonan's so good in this role, he was typecast to being a pedophile. Ha ha, as he's in "The Pledge" with Jack Nicholson. Mulder having seen his clone sister at the start of this season, really contradicts his reasoning here and the whole dream/laser thing is a bit random and never explained. Possibly something to do with "Alice in Wonderland?", which I've never seen or read. I didn't like that Roche was caught so easy, I mean he's right next to Mulder talking to the little girl, wasn't a stretch. Despite the flaws, I still love it.
Scully: Mulder... let's get a team out here. Let somebody else do this. Mulder: Help me, Scully.
Scully: Tell us the name of that girl. John Lee Roche: It was Karen Ann Philiponte. She lived in a green rancher in... East Amherst, New York. Mint grew outside her window. I stood outside her window atop sprigs of mint. It smelled wonderful. Scully: What year? John Lee Roche: July... 1974. I had her mother on the hook for an Electrovac Argosy, but at the last minute, she said "thanks but no thanks." Oh, well.
Paper Hearts is an emotionally fueled and engrossing episode, tugging at the heart strings. Mulder hoping to have resolution to what happened to his sister, regardless of how painful it may be. Scully by his side. Tom Noonan's so good in this role, he was typecast to being a pedophile. Ha ha, as he's in "The Pledge" with Jack Nicholson. Mulder having seen his clone sister at the start of this season, really contradicts his reasoning here and the whole dream/laser thing is a bit random and never explained. Possibly something to do with "Alice in Wonderland?", which I've never seen or read. I didn't like that Roche was caught so easy, I mean he's right next to Mulder talking to the little girl, wasn't a stretch. Despite the flaws, I still love it.
Scully: Mulder... let's get a team out here. Let somebody else do this. Mulder: Help me, Scully.
Scully: Tell us the name of that girl. John Lee Roche: It was Karen Ann Philiponte. She lived in a green rancher in... East Amherst, New York. Mint grew outside her window. I stood outside her window atop sprigs of mint. It smelled wonderful. Scully: What year? John Lee Roche: July... 1974. I had her mother on the hook for an Electrovac Argosy, but at the last minute, she said "thanks but no thanks." Oh, well.
Good episode, but in the end, completely pointless.
corbettc-232598 September 2022
Warning: Spoilers
A good episode, but I have to agree with some other reviewers on here. This storyline would have worked much better in season 1 or early season 2 before the whole mythology arc began with Mulder's sister in "Colony/End Game". This entire episode is completely pointless since the writers go right back to the Samantha-abducted-by-aliens storyline. Season 2 could have opened with this but after what was established just a few episodes earlier in "Herrenvolk", there's no way an audience is going to buy that Roche was actually responsible for Samantha's abduction. The only good thing to come from this episode is that Mulder's dreams helped find the remains of the other little girls.
The trend of the audience getting no answers to anything continues
dave-4871124 October 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This is the first episode in a long while that legitimately made me feel all bets are off, that this show might actually resolve at least one of its many plot threads. No such luck, for now at least. Sigh.
8/10. It was a fantastic episode until that letdown of an ending.
8/10. It was a fantastic episode until that letdown of an ending.
Paper Hearts
lassegalsgaard17 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
A show has balls when it decides to throw a wrench in the wheel of its own basis halfway through and change up everything that we thought we knew. The entire show began with Dana Scully being introduced to Fox Mulder who had been assigned to the X-Files due to his interest in extraterrestrial activity, all of which because he wanted to figure out more about his sister's disappearance, which he thought had happened because of aliens. That has been the story that we have gone with for the last three and a half seasons, so it wouldn't make sense for the creatives to do something that would make us question everything at this point, would it? That's why this show is so brilliant, because it decides to do just that and gives us an alternative option for Samantha's disappearance; one that is way more possible, but also way more morbid and crazier. Leave it up to Vince Gilligan to brilliantly shake up things with an episode that is so overwrought with emotion that gets some of the best performances out of our leads in a long time, as well as giving us a creepy "monster-of-the-week" that is so different than anything we've seen before.
The episode simply asks us to put aside the alien abduction idea and proposes that maybe she was abducted and killed by a serial killer. This doesn't necessarily fit in with the show's overarching narrative, but it paints a very painful picture for Mulder and his personal development, giving him an episode that ups the ante for him as a character. It's a brilliant piece of storytelling and character development for someone who has had a great season, but has needed some closure for the entire show, so to tease him with it here is both cruel and morbidly brilliant.
Gilligan has always been great at the cat-and-mouse game between protagonists and antagonists, so to utilize this here - like he did in the brilliant "Pusher" episode - seems right up his alley, and it achieves such amazing results here. The play between Mulder and John Lee Roche is delicious and adds tension to every scene that the two share, which are a lot. It builds the momentum for the episode throughout and leads the audience to an incredible climax that serves up some sweet justice for a character who simply got what was coming to him and what he deserved.
Tom Noonan does great work in his appearance as Roche, constantly delivering his lines with such chilling effects, making me uneasy every time he appears on screen. We didn't get a large sample of him here, but he sold all of his scenes with great effect. At the same time, David Duchovny deserves a lot of praise, not just for his performance here, but for what he's doing this entire season. He has added a lot to his emotional register over the last season and it comes to play here, in which he has definitely delivered his best work so far.
"Paper Hearts" changes up the storyline for a well-directed entry that maybe doesn't add to the overall mythology, but introduces a nice hypothetical to the mix. It's full of great emotional stakes, while also featuring some great tension, mostly because of the incredible cat-and-mouse game between Duchovny and Noonan who both excel with their performances.
The episode simply asks us to put aside the alien abduction idea and proposes that maybe she was abducted and killed by a serial killer. This doesn't necessarily fit in with the show's overarching narrative, but it paints a very painful picture for Mulder and his personal development, giving him an episode that ups the ante for him as a character. It's a brilliant piece of storytelling and character development for someone who has had a great season, but has needed some closure for the entire show, so to tease him with it here is both cruel and morbidly brilliant.
Gilligan has always been great at the cat-and-mouse game between protagonists and antagonists, so to utilize this here - like he did in the brilliant "Pusher" episode - seems right up his alley, and it achieves such amazing results here. The play between Mulder and John Lee Roche is delicious and adds tension to every scene that the two share, which are a lot. It builds the momentum for the episode throughout and leads the audience to an incredible climax that serves up some sweet justice for a character who simply got what was coming to him and what he deserved.
Tom Noonan does great work in his appearance as Roche, constantly delivering his lines with such chilling effects, making me uneasy every time he appears on screen. We didn't get a large sample of him here, but he sold all of his scenes with great effect. At the same time, David Duchovny deserves a lot of praise, not just for his performance here, but for what he's doing this entire season. He has added a lot to his emotional register over the last season and it comes to play here, in which he has definitely delivered his best work so far.
"Paper Hearts" changes up the storyline for a well-directed entry that maybe doesn't add to the overall mythology, but introduces a nice hypothetical to the mix. It's full of great emotional stakes, while also featuring some great tension, mostly because of the incredible cat-and-mouse game between Duchovny and Noonan who both excel with their performances.
An Emotional Journey for us and Mulder
devonbrown-9064916 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
John lee Roach the antagnist in this Xfiles case which has been previously closed has come into light as Mulder gets a tip off in his dreams on the body of a missing child.
Mulder pulls out all stops of for this case as he monster John actually spoke to his father and was eyeing up his sister for capture. This leaves mulder in search for answers from John and manages to get him out of prison somehow. John uses this opportunity to escape and search for a fresh victim using mulders credentials.
Mulder allowed this peadophile to get inside his head, he believes him and the killer have some psychic connection. Hence how john knew about his sister kidnapping and linked it to the final paper heart.
This leaves an unopened question for the viewers was Mulders sister captured by John or aliens?. Well the clones of his sister in previous episodes says otherwise.
Mulder pulls out all stops of for this case as he monster John actually spoke to his father and was eyeing up his sister for capture. This leaves mulder in search for answers from John and manages to get him out of prison somehow. John uses this opportunity to escape and search for a fresh victim using mulders credentials.
Mulder allowed this peadophile to get inside his head, he believes him and the killer have some psychic connection. Hence how john knew about his sister kidnapping and linked it to the final paper heart.
This leaves an unopened question for the viewers was Mulders sister captured by John or aliens?. Well the clones of his sister in previous episodes says otherwise.
Beyond the Sea Redux
wtw-9230215 December 2023
I'll start by saying I think this is a pretty good episode. I like Tom Noonan as a character actor (love him in Hell on Wheels). There's a fun wink wink line in here about his role as the serial killer in Manhunter that I find fun. But like other reviewers have said Mulder's behavior in this episode is a little hard to square with his other beliefs and what he's already seen about his sister (but he's nowhere near as out of character as in Field Where I Died). Now you could say he was maybe playing the long game against Tom Noonan the whole time, but if that's true the show definitely made no efforts to let us in on that. I'd say my biggest gripe is just that this episode somewhat rehashes the ideas in Beyond the Sea but with a far less compelling plot and, nothing against Tom Noonan, but he's no Brad Dourif. Obviously there are some differences between the two, but in terms of "the team is caught in a tricky investigation and a convicted serial killer seems to be their only hope" they're pretty similar. I watched Season 1 about 2 months ago and I feel like that episode is much crisper in my mind, Dourif's scene command and menace much more captivating, and it's mystery more satisfying yet just as unexplained as this episode.
I don't think it's a bad episode, I just think this is another case of X-Files failing to one up itself on its own concept. We've run into that already and based on some episode synopses it looks like I'll be seeing it again in other episodes.
I don't think it's a bad episode, I just think this is another case of X-Files failing to one up itself on its own concept. We've run into that already and based on some episode synopses it looks like I'll be seeing it again in other episodes.
Never Would Have Happened
malagutigrrl-103-57844619 December 2011
Warning: Spoilers
I thought this episode was the worst one I've seen in the series. For 4 1/2 seasons, Mulder has been convinced that his sister was abducted by aliens as a kid. HE'S EVEN SEEN CLONES OF HER. Now why, after all the evidence to the contrary he's found, would he suddenly change course and even consider that she might have been simply abducted and killed by a serial killer --no matter how convincing and charming that serial killer might be? Even Scully, who has been skeptical about the alien abduction theory from the beginning, is not buying this guys story and yet Mulder places himself on an emotional roller coaster, taking great chances to give this man a chance to prove his story. The Mulder I have grown to know and love would never have given this guy a second glance when said he killed Samantha.
An Interesting Idea for Another TV Show, But a Silly One for The X-Files
frankelee9 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I started watching the X-Files from when it premiered, it had the 9 o'clock slot after Brisco County Jr. At 8. But after all these years, I really don't remember much of anything concerning specific episodes, it has been too long and I was too young. However, this episode was one of the few I did remember the ending of. Fortunately that didn't spoil a thing for me, BECAUSE THE STORY IS NONSENSICAL AND YOU KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN THE ENTIRE WAY.
One just really has to question the concern and craft the showrunner had to allow this story to air. It's an unquestionable indictment of the show makers' total lack of concern for what they threw up there on the screen. This is a show about a big, silly, stupid alien conspiracy, that's what they went with, it's long ago decided, and part of all that silliness is that Fox Mulder's sister got abducted by aliens as collateral to ensure the cooperation of the Syndicate, the human collaborators. We know this happened, because even the Syndicate admitted it to us. They filled in all the blanks too: Bill Mulder was a founding member of this shadowy organization designed to handle the transition to an alien invasion where they rule over the remaining humans as slaves, with their Men in Black helpers at the top of this lesser social order.
Meanwhile Fox himself found a farm run by clones of his sister. Yup, clones, literal clones, of his sister. He didn't get evidence of it, he found it, he was there, he spent time with a clone. The mystery is LONG over.
But now maybe this serial killer did it. Hey why not?
Meanwhile Mulder is a ridiculous dope the entire episode, and the writers have literally no concern for providing us any sense of reality. Mulder running around crazed, cutting into a guy's car with a knife (literally illegal, it's silly, but really takes you out of the episode because it's absurd behavior that only comes from a TV "cop"), and then he "checks" the serial murderer out of prison? To take a commercial flight with him as his guard, and him alone. I was rolling on the floor laughing. Yeah, next Scully and Charlie Manson will take a day trip alone to San Bernardino Mountains so he can show her where he hid the bodies of the original Brady Bunch. She'll probably even let Charlie pack their picnic lunch.
It's not gripping, it's cartoonish. And people are giving this a 10 out of 10? Yeah this and the better episodes of Inspector Gadget really compete for greatest episode of a crime drama ever! Bwahahaha!
And then guess what happens next? ...HE GETS AWAY! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Yeah, you know the guy with a life sentence for raping and murdering 16 little girls, yeah, he managed to slip out of the Motel 6 one sleeping FBI agent was securing him in. AAAHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Oh my God, Barney Fife would pistol whip Mulder for incompetence. So yeah, the rapist/murderer, he quickly abducts a little girl using Mulder's FBI credentials, and now Mulder, Scully, Skinner, and 20 other agents have to manhunt him down before it's too late. Fox manages to save her, I don't know before he raped her or not, but she's going to have PTSD for the rest of her life either way. Her life is destroyed. There's literally no way Fox Mulder COULDN'T be fired after this.
Yes this episode is terrible, yes it's insulting stupid, yes it's directly contradictory to everything established in previous episodes, but really it's the total lack of respect the creators have for their audience that earns this episode my charitable rating of 2/10. And this is one of those episodes where you really have to look at the people giving it 10/10 and go, why are you here? You don't deserve to be here wasting other people's time with your trolling ratings. They should be deleted, truly.
One just really has to question the concern and craft the showrunner had to allow this story to air. It's an unquestionable indictment of the show makers' total lack of concern for what they threw up there on the screen. This is a show about a big, silly, stupid alien conspiracy, that's what they went with, it's long ago decided, and part of all that silliness is that Fox Mulder's sister got abducted by aliens as collateral to ensure the cooperation of the Syndicate, the human collaborators. We know this happened, because even the Syndicate admitted it to us. They filled in all the blanks too: Bill Mulder was a founding member of this shadowy organization designed to handle the transition to an alien invasion where they rule over the remaining humans as slaves, with their Men in Black helpers at the top of this lesser social order.
Meanwhile Fox himself found a farm run by clones of his sister. Yup, clones, literal clones, of his sister. He didn't get evidence of it, he found it, he was there, he spent time with a clone. The mystery is LONG over.
But now maybe this serial killer did it. Hey why not?
Meanwhile Mulder is a ridiculous dope the entire episode, and the writers have literally no concern for providing us any sense of reality. Mulder running around crazed, cutting into a guy's car with a knife (literally illegal, it's silly, but really takes you out of the episode because it's absurd behavior that only comes from a TV "cop"), and then he "checks" the serial murderer out of prison? To take a commercial flight with him as his guard, and him alone. I was rolling on the floor laughing. Yeah, next Scully and Charlie Manson will take a day trip alone to San Bernardino Mountains so he can show her where he hid the bodies of the original Brady Bunch. She'll probably even let Charlie pack their picnic lunch.
It's not gripping, it's cartoonish. And people are giving this a 10 out of 10? Yeah this and the better episodes of Inspector Gadget really compete for greatest episode of a crime drama ever! Bwahahaha!
And then guess what happens next? ...HE GETS AWAY! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Yeah, you know the guy with a life sentence for raping and murdering 16 little girls, yeah, he managed to slip out of the Motel 6 one sleeping FBI agent was securing him in. AAAHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Oh my God, Barney Fife would pistol whip Mulder for incompetence. So yeah, the rapist/murderer, he quickly abducts a little girl using Mulder's FBI credentials, and now Mulder, Scully, Skinner, and 20 other agents have to manhunt him down before it's too late. Fox manages to save her, I don't know before he raped her or not, but she's going to have PTSD for the rest of her life either way. Her life is destroyed. There's literally no way Fox Mulder COULDN'T be fired after this.
Yes this episode is terrible, yes it's insulting stupid, yes it's directly contradictory to everything established in previous episodes, but really it's the total lack of respect the creators have for their audience that earns this episode my charitable rating of 2/10. And this is one of those episodes where you really have to look at the people giving it 10/10 and go, why are you here? You don't deserve to be here wasting other people's time with your trolling ratings. They should be deleted, truly.
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