X Files Episode Guide (Season 2)
Created | Updated Oct 3, 2002
On the ongoing project to complete a thoroughly up-to-date X Files episode guide, I continue with Season 2. May I remind you that input is welcome, especially as I am doing this whole thing mainly from memory and may well be prone to making mistakes with my facts/quotes etc.
Thank you,
R25968.
After the events of "The Erlenmeyer Flask", Season 2 starts as follows:
Little Green Men (2X01)
Writers: Glen Morgan, James Wong Director: David Nutter
The X Files having been shut down, Mulder makes a last ditch attempt to search for the truth, travelling to a SETI centre in Puerto Rico which has received what appears to be a genuine message from extra-terrestrials. The only problem is, there's a military team out to destroy the evidence - and Mulder with it, if necessary...
"Little Green Men" is a term used to describe aliens, especially in the older, cheesier kind of movies.
* * * * * * * * * *
The Host (2X02)
Writer: Chris Carter Director: Daniel Sackheim
Back in D.C., Mulder is sent to investigate a killing aboard a Russian ship - but the killer is not human, and it seems to be trying to reproduce.
The "flukeman" is parasitical in its larval form, and so needs a host to survive at first.
* * * * * * * * * *
Blood (2X03)
Teleplay: Glen Morgan, James Wong Story: Darin Morgan
Director: David Nutter
A series of seemingly unrelated spree-killings have only one factor in common - the destruction of a piece of electronic equipment at, or near to, the crime scene. Mulder suspects secret experiments somehow tied to crop-spraying may hold the answer, but the problem still remains; how do you know who will snap, and when?
The sub-plot running through most of this episode follows a man with a phobia of blood, the importance of which becomes apparent when watching the episode.
* * * * * * * * * *
Sleepless (2X04)
Writer: Howard Gordon Director: Rob Bowman
Mulder investigates a case involving a Vietnam veteran who seems to be able to bridge the gap between his dreams and reality - ultimately holding the power to make anything he imagines become real - and what he is imagining is the death of everyone involved in the war-crimes he witnessed.
"Sleepless" refers to the condition of the ex-soldiers involved in this episode, who are supposed to have undergone experimants negating their need to sleep.
* * * * * * * * * *
Duane Barry (Part 1 of 2) (2X05)
Writer: Chris Carter Director: Chris Carter
A mental patient escapes from his asylum, raving about aliens, implants and proposed abductions. When he then takes hostages, Mulder is sent to do the negotiations - it being assumed he can best relate to the Barry's delusions. Barry is taken out by a police sharp-shooter, but proceeds to escape from hospital in order to track down a suitable "replacement" to offer to the aliens - and Scully is top of his list...
Duane Barry is the eponymous mental patient and hostage taker of the episode.
* * * * * * * * * *
Ascension (Part 2 of 2) (2X06)
Writer: Paul Brown Director: Michael Lange
Mulder pursues Barry as he makes his journey to the top of a nearby mountain to offer his sacrafice to the aliens, but his journey is hindered by the man he thought was his loyal partner - the now infamous Alex Krycek. By the time he reaches the abduction site, Scully is gone, and Mulder is instead forced to track down the people he believes to be responsible for her kidnapping and abduction.
"Ascension" has Biblical overtones, since Christ is often thought of as "ascending" to heaven. Scully ascends to heaven more metaphorically through her abduction, but the title can also be thought of as referring to the sign posted on the road to Skyland Mountain, reading "Ascend to the Stars"
* * * * * * * * * *
3 (2X07)
Writers: Chris Ruppenthal, Glen Morgan, James Wong
Director: David Nutter
Mulder, unable to cope with his loss of Scully, becomes heavily involved in the pursuit of a trio of would-be vampires, falling in love with a woman who could bring him far more trouble than he could imagine.
The vampire cult of this episode consists of "3" members, who think of themselves as "The Unholy Trinity", hence the title.
* * * * * * * * * *
One Breath (2X08)
writers: Glen Morgan, James Wong Director: R. W. Goodwin
As the Scullys plan daughter Dana's funeral, she turns up mysteriously in a hospital bed, with no-one able to tell Mulder how she got there or who admitted her. What they can tell him is that she is close to death, and if she doesn't fight her own way back to consciousness, there is nothing the medics can do...
A slightly obscure title, it is implied throughout the episode that Scully could be only "one breath" away from death at any time. On the other hand, she could also be one breath away from life.
* * * * * * * * * *
Firewalker (2X09)
Writer: Howard Gordon Director: David Nutter
A volcano research team end up in trouble when their probing turns up a lifeform that, althought sought after by science, could easily mean the horrific demise of anyone exposed to it.
The vulcanologists have been using a robot they call "Firewalker" in order to explore the cone of the volcano, for the reason that it should be able to withstand the temperature inside the caves of the mountain. (Possibly) coincidentally, "Twin Peaks" - for which David Duchovny is well known due to his role as a transvestite - also made a film named "Fire Walk with Me".
* * * * * * * * * *
Red Museum (2X10)
Writer: Chris Carter Director: Win Phelps
When teenagers appear to be experiencing abductions from which they come back "marked", Mulder begins to suspect that the "Purity Control" project experimenting with alien D.N.A. is far larger and more sinister than was previously thought.
Initially the local townsfolk blame the abduction and marking of certain children on the "Church of the Red Museum", from which the episode takes its title. What "Red Museum" actually means is anyone's guess (and if anyone would like to offer an explanation, feel free to post it in the "Discussion" section for this page).
* * * * * * * * * *
Excelsis Dei (2X11)
Writer: Paul Brown Director: Stephen Surjik
A nursing home is plagued by attacks on staff from invisible assailants. Investigation turns up the fact that the patients' "meds" are being supplemented by a drug extracted from halucinogenic mushrooms.
"Excelsis Dei" is Latin, and translates as "Give glory to God". In this episode it is also the name of the troubled nursing home for the elderly - although, for some reason, it is spelt "Excelsius" on screen. Whilst the elderly can be thought closer to seeing God themselves, they are possibly also "giving glory" to Him for the relief from their sufferring the new drugs are giving them.
* * * * * * * * * *
Aubrey (2X12)
Writer: Sara B. Charno Director: Rob Bowman
A policewoman discovers the body of a man killed many years ago in a case her father worked on, but can't explain how. Mulder, though, begins to suspect that the detective has had more passed through her genes than her hair colour...
"Aubrey" is, simply, the name of the town Detective Morrow polices - Aubrey, Missouri.
* * * * * * * * * *
Irresistible (2X13)
Writer: Chris Carter Director: David Nutter
What looked like the work of grave-robbing aliens turns out to be the result of something far more worrying - a death fetishist who has just been sacked from the local funeral parlour, and is now looking for living victims to feed his habit.
One of the most disturbing episodes the series has ever turned in in its nine years, "Irresistible" presumably takes its name from the idea that Donnie Phaster, for whatever reason, finds it impossible to restrain the urges he feels.
* * * * * * * * * *
Die Hand Die Verletzt (2X14)
Writers: Glen Morgan, James Wong Director: Kim Manners
A group of students get involved with dark magic, and their party ends in fatalities. While the real devil worshippers of the area try to cover their tracks, a demon is sent to make sure they will never make the same mistakes again.
The German title translates as "the hand that wounds" and presumbaly refers to the demon the parent-teacher cult are worshipping. It also appears in the prayer they chant at the beginning of the episode.
* * * * * * * * * *
Fresh Bones (2X15)
Writer: Howard Gordon Director: Rob Bowman
When it is suspected that voodoo has been involved in the death of a soldier, Mulder and Scully are called in to a army-run camp for Haitian immigrants.
Fourth in a run of disturbing episodes, "Fresh Bones" prsumably takes its title from the use of bones in voodoo (or, more properly, vodun - and you thought watching "Due South" would teach you nothing) rituals.
* * * * * * * * * *
Colony (Part 1 of 2) (2X16)
Teleplay: Chris Carter Story: David Duchovny, Chris Carter
Director: Nick Marck
A series of disappearances are tied together by the bizarre fact that all the men appeared to be physically identical. As Mulder searches for clues, though, his family is experiencing its own crisis - the return of his, supposedly abducted, sister...
The conspiracy really gets going in this episode which introduces the idea of alien colonisation of Earth - to which the title is a reference - and introduces a major player to the action in the form of the shapeshifting alien bounty hunter. The date is set.
* * * * * * * * * *
End Game (Part 2 of 2) (2X17)
Writer: Frank Spotnitz Director: Rob Bowman
Mulder bargains with a shape-shifting alien bounty hunter for the lives of both Scully and his sister, and finds himself on a trail to the Arctic.
Mulder almost comes close to the "end" of his "game" against the Syndicate when he almsot dies in the Arctic. Traditionally, "end game" refers to the final moves in a game of chess.
* * * * * * * * * *
Fearful Symmetry (2X18)
Writer: Steve De Jarnatt Director: James Whitmore Jr.
A construction worker is killed by an invisible elephant, leading Mulder and Scully to an Idaho zoo on the brink of closure with some very unusual problems.
The title is take form the poem "The Tyger" by William Blake. The appropriate lines are:
"Tyger, tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?"
* * * * * * * * * *
Dod Kalm (2X19)
Writer: Howard Gordon, Alex Gansa Director: Rob Bowman
Mulder suspects that a Navy experiment is responsible for the sudden aging of the crew of a Destroyer, but to prove his theory, he has to find the ship, and once he finds it he needs to know how to get off it alive.
The title is Norweigan for "dead calm", referring to the state of the water around the meteorite impact area, and indirectly to the effect passing through this area has on those who try.
* * * * * * * * * *
Humbug (2X20)
Writer: Darin Morgan Director: Kim Manners
A strange entity is killing circus "freaks" in a Florida town, but whilst they investigate, the FBI agents begin to feel out of place in the performers' midst.
The X Files' first all-out comedy episode takes its name from Barnum's description of untruths made up for the interest of visitors to his circus "freak shows" as "humbug". The episode is referenced in a later Darin Morgan episode (Season 3's "Jose Chungs's 'From Outer Space'") in the title of a Stupendous Yappi video "Alien Autopsy: truth or Humbug?".
* * * * * * * * * *
The Calusari (2X21)
Writer: Sara B. Charno Director: Mike Vejar
A young child's death is attributed to supernatural causes, and Agents Mulder and Scully investigate the possibility a boy may be possessed by the spirit of his dead brother.
"The Calusari" is the name taken by the group of Romanian holy men of the episode.
* * * * * * * * * *
F. Emasculata (2X22)
Writers: Chris Carter, Howard Gordon Director: Rob Bowman
A scientist carrying out research in the rain forest contracts a deadly illness, which mysteriously spreads to the inmates of a Cumberland penitentiary, just in time for an attempted prison break out...
"F. Emasculata" is an abbreviated form of the name of the insect originally found carrying the disease this episode centers on: "Faciphaga Emasculata".
* * * * * * * * * *
Soft Light (2X23)
Writer: Vince Gilligan Director: James Contner
A scientist literally afraid of his own shadow tries to find help, whilst at the same time avoiding those who would track him down for experimentation.
"Soft Light" is difused lighting which causes no concentrated shadows, and so is the only lighting that Dr Banton is happy to be in the presence of.
* * * * * * * * * *
Our Town (2X24)
Writer: Frank Spotnitz Director: Rob Bowman
A small town suffers a statistical anomaly when several of its inhabitants are discovered to be suffering from Crutzfeldt Jakob Disease - more commonly thought of as the human form of "Mad Cow Disease" (BSE - Bovine Spongiforming Encephalitis), leading Mulder to suspect that the people are hidng a secret from the outside world.
"Our Town" is, I believe, a reference to an old American TV show, although I've been unable to track down anything that would back up that suspicion. If anyone out there can offer any insight into this title, please let me know.
* * * * * * * * * *
Anasazi (2X25)
Teleplay: Chris Carter Story: David Duchovny, Chris Carter
Director: R. W. Goodwin
An earthquake uncovers a boxcar buried in the New Mexico desert, the contents of which have a connection to the conspiracy to hide the existence of aliens from the general public. While Mulder tries to track a lead that may give him access to the truth this conspiracy conceals, Scully becomes concerned that her partner is acting less and less rationally in pursuit of his goals.
The "Anasazi" were a race of Native Americans who disappeared mysetriously thousands of years ago. Their name is variously translated as "the ancient aliens" and "the ancient strangers", which can mewan effectively the same thing depending on the connotation you take from it.
Thank you,
R25968.
After the events of "The Erlenmeyer Flask", Season 2 starts as follows:
Little Green Men (2X01)
Writers: Glen Morgan, James Wong Director: David Nutter
The X Files having been shut down, Mulder makes a last ditch attempt to search for the truth, travelling to a SETI centre in Puerto Rico which has received what appears to be a genuine message from extra-terrestrials. The only problem is, there's a military team out to destroy the evidence - and Mulder with it, if necessary...
"Little Green Men" is a term used to describe aliens, especially in the older, cheesier kind of movies.
* * * * * * * * * *
The Host (2X02)
Writer: Chris Carter Director: Daniel Sackheim
Back in D.C., Mulder is sent to investigate a killing aboard a Russian ship - but the killer is not human, and it seems to be trying to reproduce.
The "flukeman" is parasitical in its larval form, and so needs a host to survive at first.
* * * * * * * * * *
Blood (2X03)
Teleplay: Glen Morgan, James Wong Story: Darin Morgan
Director: David Nutter
A series of seemingly unrelated spree-killings have only one factor in common - the destruction of a piece of electronic equipment at, or near to, the crime scene. Mulder suspects secret experiments somehow tied to crop-spraying may hold the answer, but the problem still remains; how do you know who will snap, and when?
The sub-plot running through most of this episode follows a man with a phobia of blood, the importance of which becomes apparent when watching the episode.
* * * * * * * * * *
Sleepless (2X04)
Writer: Howard Gordon Director: Rob Bowman
Mulder investigates a case involving a Vietnam veteran who seems to be able to bridge the gap between his dreams and reality - ultimately holding the power to make anything he imagines become real - and what he is imagining is the death of everyone involved in the war-crimes he witnessed.
"Sleepless" refers to the condition of the ex-soldiers involved in this episode, who are supposed to have undergone experimants negating their need to sleep.
* * * * * * * * * *
Duane Barry (Part 1 of 2) (2X05)
Writer: Chris Carter Director: Chris Carter
A mental patient escapes from his asylum, raving about aliens, implants and proposed abductions. When he then takes hostages, Mulder is sent to do the negotiations - it being assumed he can best relate to the Barry's delusions. Barry is taken out by a police sharp-shooter, but proceeds to escape from hospital in order to track down a suitable "replacement" to offer to the aliens - and Scully is top of his list...
Duane Barry is the eponymous mental patient and hostage taker of the episode.
* * * * * * * * * *
Ascension (Part 2 of 2) (2X06)
Writer: Paul Brown Director: Michael Lange
Mulder pursues Barry as he makes his journey to the top of a nearby mountain to offer his sacrafice to the aliens, but his journey is hindered by the man he thought was his loyal partner - the now infamous Alex Krycek. By the time he reaches the abduction site, Scully is gone, and Mulder is instead forced to track down the people he believes to be responsible for her kidnapping and abduction.
"Ascension" has Biblical overtones, since Christ is often thought of as "ascending" to heaven. Scully ascends to heaven more metaphorically through her abduction, but the title can also be thought of as referring to the sign posted on the road to Skyland Mountain, reading "Ascend to the Stars"
* * * * * * * * * *
3 (2X07)
Writers: Chris Ruppenthal, Glen Morgan, James Wong
Director: David Nutter
Mulder, unable to cope with his loss of Scully, becomes heavily involved in the pursuit of a trio of would-be vampires, falling in love with a woman who could bring him far more trouble than he could imagine.
The vampire cult of this episode consists of "3" members, who think of themselves as "The Unholy Trinity", hence the title.
* * * * * * * * * *
One Breath (2X08)
writers: Glen Morgan, James Wong Director: R. W. Goodwin
As the Scullys plan daughter Dana's funeral, she turns up mysteriously in a hospital bed, with no-one able to tell Mulder how she got there or who admitted her. What they can tell him is that she is close to death, and if she doesn't fight her own way back to consciousness, there is nothing the medics can do...
A slightly obscure title, it is implied throughout the episode that Scully could be only "one breath" away from death at any time. On the other hand, she could also be one breath away from life.
* * * * * * * * * *
Firewalker (2X09)
Writer: Howard Gordon Director: David Nutter
A volcano research team end up in trouble when their probing turns up a lifeform that, althought sought after by science, could easily mean the horrific demise of anyone exposed to it.
The vulcanologists have been using a robot they call "Firewalker" in order to explore the cone of the volcano, for the reason that it should be able to withstand the temperature inside the caves of the mountain. (Possibly) coincidentally, "Twin Peaks" - for which David Duchovny is well known due to his role as a transvestite - also made a film named "Fire Walk with Me".
* * * * * * * * * *
Red Museum (2X10)
Writer: Chris Carter Director: Win Phelps
When teenagers appear to be experiencing abductions from which they come back "marked", Mulder begins to suspect that the "Purity Control" project experimenting with alien D.N.A. is far larger and more sinister than was previously thought.
Initially the local townsfolk blame the abduction and marking of certain children on the "Church of the Red Museum", from which the episode takes its title. What "Red Museum" actually means is anyone's guess (and if anyone would like to offer an explanation, feel free to post it in the "Discussion" section for this page).
* * * * * * * * * *
Excelsis Dei (2X11)
Writer: Paul Brown Director: Stephen Surjik
A nursing home is plagued by attacks on staff from invisible assailants. Investigation turns up the fact that the patients' "meds" are being supplemented by a drug extracted from halucinogenic mushrooms.
"Excelsis Dei" is Latin, and translates as "Give glory to God". In this episode it is also the name of the troubled nursing home for the elderly - although, for some reason, it is spelt "Excelsius" on screen. Whilst the elderly can be thought closer to seeing God themselves, they are possibly also "giving glory" to Him for the relief from their sufferring the new drugs are giving them.
* * * * * * * * * *
Aubrey (2X12)
Writer: Sara B. Charno Director: Rob Bowman
A policewoman discovers the body of a man killed many years ago in a case her father worked on, but can't explain how. Mulder, though, begins to suspect that the detective has had more passed through her genes than her hair colour...
"Aubrey" is, simply, the name of the town Detective Morrow polices - Aubrey, Missouri.
* * * * * * * * * *
Irresistible (2X13)
Writer: Chris Carter Director: David Nutter
What looked like the work of grave-robbing aliens turns out to be the result of something far more worrying - a death fetishist who has just been sacked from the local funeral parlour, and is now looking for living victims to feed his habit.
One of the most disturbing episodes the series has ever turned in in its nine years, "Irresistible" presumably takes its name from the idea that Donnie Phaster, for whatever reason, finds it impossible to restrain the urges he feels.
* * * * * * * * * *
Die Hand Die Verletzt (2X14)
Writers: Glen Morgan, James Wong Director: Kim Manners
A group of students get involved with dark magic, and their party ends in fatalities. While the real devil worshippers of the area try to cover their tracks, a demon is sent to make sure they will never make the same mistakes again.
The German title translates as "the hand that wounds" and presumbaly refers to the demon the parent-teacher cult are worshipping. It also appears in the prayer they chant at the beginning of the episode.
* * * * * * * * * *
Fresh Bones (2X15)
Writer: Howard Gordon Director: Rob Bowman
When it is suspected that voodoo has been involved in the death of a soldier, Mulder and Scully are called in to a army-run camp for Haitian immigrants.
Fourth in a run of disturbing episodes, "Fresh Bones" prsumably takes its title from the use of bones in voodoo (or, more properly, vodun - and you thought watching "Due South" would teach you nothing) rituals.
* * * * * * * * * *
Colony (Part 1 of 2) (2X16)
Teleplay: Chris Carter Story: David Duchovny, Chris Carter
Director: Nick Marck
A series of disappearances are tied together by the bizarre fact that all the men appeared to be physically identical. As Mulder searches for clues, though, his family is experiencing its own crisis - the return of his, supposedly abducted, sister...
The conspiracy really gets going in this episode which introduces the idea of alien colonisation of Earth - to which the title is a reference - and introduces a major player to the action in the form of the shapeshifting alien bounty hunter. The date is set.
* * * * * * * * * *
End Game (Part 2 of 2) (2X17)
Writer: Frank Spotnitz Director: Rob Bowman
Mulder bargains with a shape-shifting alien bounty hunter for the lives of both Scully and his sister, and finds himself on a trail to the Arctic.
Mulder almost comes close to the "end" of his "game" against the Syndicate when he almsot dies in the Arctic. Traditionally, "end game" refers to the final moves in a game of chess.
* * * * * * * * * *
Fearful Symmetry (2X18)
Writer: Steve De Jarnatt Director: James Whitmore Jr.
A construction worker is killed by an invisible elephant, leading Mulder and Scully to an Idaho zoo on the brink of closure with some very unusual problems.
The title is take form the poem "The Tyger" by William Blake. The appropriate lines are:
"Tyger, tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?"
* * * * * * * * * *
Dod Kalm (2X19)
Writer: Howard Gordon, Alex Gansa Director: Rob Bowman
Mulder suspects that a Navy experiment is responsible for the sudden aging of the crew of a Destroyer, but to prove his theory, he has to find the ship, and once he finds it he needs to know how to get off it alive.
The title is Norweigan for "dead calm", referring to the state of the water around the meteorite impact area, and indirectly to the effect passing through this area has on those who try.
* * * * * * * * * *
Humbug (2X20)
Writer: Darin Morgan Director: Kim Manners
A strange entity is killing circus "freaks" in a Florida town, but whilst they investigate, the FBI agents begin to feel out of place in the performers' midst.
The X Files' first all-out comedy episode takes its name from Barnum's description of untruths made up for the interest of visitors to his circus "freak shows" as "humbug". The episode is referenced in a later Darin Morgan episode (Season 3's "Jose Chungs's 'From Outer Space'") in the title of a Stupendous Yappi video "Alien Autopsy: truth or Humbug?".
* * * * * * * * * *
The Calusari (2X21)
Writer: Sara B. Charno Director: Mike Vejar
A young child's death is attributed to supernatural causes, and Agents Mulder and Scully investigate the possibility a boy may be possessed by the spirit of his dead brother.
"The Calusari" is the name taken by the group of Romanian holy men of the episode.
* * * * * * * * * *
F. Emasculata (2X22)
Writers: Chris Carter, Howard Gordon Director: Rob Bowman
A scientist carrying out research in the rain forest contracts a deadly illness, which mysteriously spreads to the inmates of a Cumberland penitentiary, just in time for an attempted prison break out...
"F. Emasculata" is an abbreviated form of the name of the insect originally found carrying the disease this episode centers on: "Faciphaga Emasculata".
* * * * * * * * * *
Soft Light (2X23)
Writer: Vince Gilligan Director: James Contner
A scientist literally afraid of his own shadow tries to find help, whilst at the same time avoiding those who would track him down for experimentation.
"Soft Light" is difused lighting which causes no concentrated shadows, and so is the only lighting that Dr Banton is happy to be in the presence of.
* * * * * * * * * *
Our Town (2X24)
Writer: Frank Spotnitz Director: Rob Bowman
A small town suffers a statistical anomaly when several of its inhabitants are discovered to be suffering from Crutzfeldt Jakob Disease - more commonly thought of as the human form of "Mad Cow Disease" (BSE - Bovine Spongiforming Encephalitis), leading Mulder to suspect that the people are hidng a secret from the outside world.
"Our Town" is, I believe, a reference to an old American TV show, although I've been unable to track down anything that would back up that suspicion. If anyone out there can offer any insight into this title, please let me know.
* * * * * * * * * *
Anasazi (2X25)
Teleplay: Chris Carter Story: David Duchovny, Chris Carter
Director: R. W. Goodwin
An earthquake uncovers a boxcar buried in the New Mexico desert, the contents of which have a connection to the conspiracy to hide the existence of aliens from the general public. While Mulder tries to track a lead that may give him access to the truth this conspiracy conceals, Scully becomes concerned that her partner is acting less and less rationally in pursuit of his goals.
The "Anasazi" were a race of Native Americans who disappeared mysetriously thousands of years ago. Their name is variously translated as "the ancient aliens" and "the ancient strangers", which can mewan effectively the same thing depending on the connotation you take from it.
