After the exceptional pilot that beautifully introduced the world and characters, the second episode "Deep Throat" really embodies the themes and tone of the series, at least as far as the mythology arc is concerned.
This is the beginning of the mythology arc and this episode concerns everything: government conspiracies, existence of extraterrestrials, hard science vs optimistic beliefs, external obstruction in the search for the truth. Chris Carter pens an excellent screenplay that masterfully puts it all together without ever feeling overwhelming and/or exhausting given that this is only the second episode. The characters are already beautifully defined and both Duchovny and Anderson have an astonishing chemistry that is nothing short of a pure ecstasy to watch unfold.
The episode opens in an incredibly lively manner with government agents storming into the house of a military test pilot only to be met with a slightly grotesque and disturbing sight. Then the episode cuts to the credits and more importantly, we hear for the first time the show's iconic and frankly perfect main theme. Whatever little areas the pilot did not satisfy as far as pure X-Files was concerned, this episode, combined with its predecessor, adequately compensate.
There's also the introduction of the wonderful Deep Throat character, played brilliantly and with effort suave by Jerry Hardin. Mulder and Scully are fantastic in their (or should I say Mulder's) investigation into a UFO spotted near a military airbase. There's plenty of tension watching two wholly contrasting beliefs clash and the result is captivating drama to watch.
For "Buffy" fans such as myself, or simply Seth Green fans in itself, he makes a wonderful early appearance here as one of the teenagers who claims to often see UFOs in the sky during the night. He adds plenty of humour in his short role, which he plays wonderfully, and his interactions with both Scully and Mulder are hilarious. There might be nothing funnier to date than Mulder attempting the stoner, hippie talk to Green's character!
"Deep Throat" goes through the stages of its drama beautifully. The first two episodes have done an excellent job in introducing the series's mythology aspect and have beautifully introduced the world and characters. The episode is high intensity, even in its slower moments, features plenty of great character beats and is a sharply written screenplay, full of wonderful little twists and turns as well as great dialogue. Very early X-Files but a classic.
This is the beginning of the mythology arc and this episode concerns everything: government conspiracies, existence of extraterrestrials, hard science vs optimistic beliefs, external obstruction in the search for the truth. Chris Carter pens an excellent screenplay that masterfully puts it all together without ever feeling overwhelming and/or exhausting given that this is only the second episode. The characters are already beautifully defined and both Duchovny and Anderson have an astonishing chemistry that is nothing short of a pure ecstasy to watch unfold.
The episode opens in an incredibly lively manner with government agents storming into the house of a military test pilot only to be met with a slightly grotesque and disturbing sight. Then the episode cuts to the credits and more importantly, we hear for the first time the show's iconic and frankly perfect main theme. Whatever little areas the pilot did not satisfy as far as pure X-Files was concerned, this episode, combined with its predecessor, adequately compensate.
There's also the introduction of the wonderful Deep Throat character, played brilliantly and with effort suave by Jerry Hardin. Mulder and Scully are fantastic in their (or should I say Mulder's) investigation into a UFO spotted near a military airbase. There's plenty of tension watching two wholly contrasting beliefs clash and the result is captivating drama to watch.
For "Buffy" fans such as myself, or simply Seth Green fans in itself, he makes a wonderful early appearance here as one of the teenagers who claims to often see UFOs in the sky during the night. He adds plenty of humour in his short role, which he plays wonderfully, and his interactions with both Scully and Mulder are hilarious. There might be nothing funnier to date than Mulder attempting the stoner, hippie talk to Green's character!
"Deep Throat" goes through the stages of its drama beautifully. The first two episodes have done an excellent job in introducing the series's mythology aspect and have beautifully introduced the world and characters. The episode is high intensity, even in its slower moments, features plenty of great character beats and is a sharply written screenplay, full of wonderful little twists and turns as well as great dialogue. Very early X-Files but a classic.