Syzygy (The X-Files)

"Syzygy"
The X-Files episode
The two girls Terri Roberts and Margi Kleinjan
Episode no.	Season 3 Episode 13
Directed by	Rob Bowman
Written by	Chris Carter
Production code	3X13
Original air date	January 26, 1996
Guest stars
Dana Wheeler-Nicholson as Angela White Wendy Benson as Margi Kleinjan Lisa Robin Kelly as Terri Roberts Garry Davey as Bob Spitz Denalda Williams as Madame Zirinka Gabrielle Miller as Brenda Jaycee Summerfield Ryan Reynolds as Jay "Boom" DeBoom Tim Dixon as Dr. Richard W. Godfrey Ryk Brown as Minister Jeremy Radick as Young Man Russell Porter as Scott Simmons
Episode chronology
← Previous "War of the Coprophages" Next → "Grotesque"
List of season 3 episodes List of The X-Files episodes

"Syzygy" is the thirteenth episode of the third season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States on January 26, 1996, on Fox. It was written by series creator Chris Carter and directed by Rob Bowman. "Syzygy" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.8, being watched by 16.04 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received largely positive reviews, although some fans were upset about the portrayal of Mulder and Scully.

In this episode, FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigate the murders of high school students in a small town where everyone is acting strangely.

Mulder and Scully's behavior in the episode was written specifically by Carter to alert the show's audience that Mulder and Scully would not become a romantic partnership. In addition, the episode contained various fan in-jokes, such as Scully getting upset because Mulder always is driving the car, which was inspired by nitpicking from fans.

Plot

In Comity, Caryl County, New Hampshire a group of high school students hold a eulogy for their dead friend. Two girls, Terri Roberts and Margi Kleinjan get a ride home from fellow student 'Boom' (Ryan Reynolds), and tell him that the 'cult' that killed their fellow student will be going after a blonde virgin next. The next day Boom is found hanged from a cliff, with Terri and Margi sitting at the top, laughing about it. Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) arrive at the town after arguing over directions along the way. They meet local detective Angela White and go to the funeral service for the latest victim. He is the third person to die in the previous three months and the town suspects a satanic cult is responsible. Scully, in a bad mood, is skeptical of these claims. The high school principal, Bob Spitz, interrupts the funeral by ranting Inquisitorial-style about Satanic cults murdering their children when suddenly the coffin starts smoking and catches on fire.

Mulder and Scully go into separate rooms to interview Margi and Terri, both of whom offer an identical story about a satanic ceremony where a baby was sacrificed. Scully thinks their stories are cliché and points out the fact that the belief in a satanic conspiracy is illogical and paranoid. Looking at the latest victim's body, Mulder finds a burn mark in the shape of a horned beast. Scully says she doesn't see anything. Mulder goes to see Detective White to apologize for Scully's behavior and the two visit the local astrologist Madame Zirinka who claims the town's crazy behavior is due to the rare planetary alignment of the planets Mars, Uranus, and Mercury. Terri and Margi watch basketball practice, lusting over one of the players (Scott) whose girlfriend is fellow cheerleader Brenda. One of the other players accidentally spills a table of drinks on them, so they cause the basketball to bounce underneath the bleachers and it closes when he goes to get it, killing him. Scully is angry at Mulder for ditching her to be with detective White.

A town mob searches for a mass grave in the woods and finds a bag belonging to the town pediatrician filled with bones. The angry mob goes to see the doctor, who claims the bag was sold. The bones end up belonging to "Mr. Tippy", a dog that belonged to Terri. Scully gets angry over a joke Mulder makes and tells him she's returning to Washington. Margi and Terri celebrate their birthday and Brenda uses a Ouija board that says she's going to marry Satan. She rushes to the bathroom where Margi and Terri are chanting "Bloody Mary" and is locked in, killed by glass from a shattered mirror. Detective White heads to Mulder's hotel room because she found a box which inside had her cats collar, and then she makes a move on Mulder but they are interrupted by Scully who informs them about Brenda's death. Terri and Margi try to console Scott, who tells them off. Terri is mad at him but Margi still likes him.

Mulder goes to visit Madame Zirinka again, who tells him that the planets come into alignment like this only once every 84 years, and additional alignments will cause anyone born on January 12, 1979 (Margi and Terri's birthdate) to have all the energy in the cosmos focused on them. Margi goes to see Scott alone but an angry Terri arrives. The two argue with each other and end up accidentally killing Scott. Margi goes to Mulder, telling him that Terri is responsible for the murders, while Terri goes to see Scully and tells her the opposite. The agents call each other and bring both girls to the police station, where the place starts shaking and all the guns go off on their own. Mulder locks the girls in a room together and their power goes away once the clock ticks midnight. Mulder and Scully drive home, arguing again over directions.

Production

Director Rob Bowman was not a fan of the episode, saying "The show proved to be much more difficult than I anticipated, and there wasn't enough time to shoot the show properly because we were so close to the Christmas break. I felt extremely pressured and frustrated, although there are things in it I love, particularly the banter between Mulder and Scully. But overall, I thought the show was very oblique. I don't feel that the characters ever knew what was going on and I don't think it is all that cool that kids are murdering people. I didn't feel like I was shooting an episode of the X-Files, and I think I let Chris Carter down a bit."

The name of this episode, "Syzygy" refers to an astrological alignment of three celestial objects, usually the sun, the Earth and a moon or planet. The name of the high school in this episode, Grover Cleveland Alexander High School was a reference to a question David Duchovny got wrong during his appearance on Jeopardy. Fox Mulder and Dana Scully's fight in the episode where Scully gets upset due to Mulder always driving grew out of nitpicking from fans about the fact that Mulder always seems to be the one driving the car. Mulder's joke about Scully's "little feet" was a joke that Chris Carter had made before at an X-Files convention in Pasadena, California. Gillian Anderson stated that these have been things that fans on the internet have been nitpicking about since the beginning of the show. The scene where Mulder sees a Keystone Kops movie playing on every channel was originally meant to include the movie A Clockwork Orange, but the rights to the footage were too expensive so the producers settled on another choice. Carter felt that in retrospect it ended up being a better fit.

Reception

"Syzygy" premiered on the Fox network on January 26, 1996, and was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky One on November 13, 1996. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.8 with a 17 share, meaning that roughly 10.8 percent of all television-equipped households, and 17 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. A total of 16.04 million viewers watched this episode during its original airing.

Critical reception to the episode was mostly positive. Entertainment Weekly gave "Syzygy" an A, describing the episode as "another uproarious send-up, this time of teen venom, B-movie paranoia, and our agents' painfully restrained rapport", with praise to the villains and the discussion on why Mulder always drives, considered "one of Mulder's and Scully's funniest exchanges". Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club gave a B-, describing it as "an entertaining hour that never rises to the level of those other episodes" and considering it Carter tried to do something similar to Darin Morgan's scripts for "Humbug" and "War of the Coprophages" without the same success - "the laughs here are emptier than they were the week before in 'Coprophages'" - and adding that "every time you think the episode has figured out a way to plant its foot firmly in comedic territory, there's a horribly judged moment of 'drama,' like Mulder's final monologue." Connie Ogle of Popmatters listed Margi and Terri among the best monster-of-the-week characters of the series, describing "Syzygy" as an "hilarious send-up of Heathers".

Fox Mulder and Dana Scully's odd behavior towards each other resulted in some criticism from fans on the Internet. Chris Carter was somewhat disappointed in the reaction that the episode, stating that there were hints within the episode that people did not get. Other fans understood what transpired, but disliked the episode due to their desire for Mulder and Scully to get together. X-Files fans in San Francisco printed up t-shirts featuring the phrase "Sure. Fine. Whatever." spoken multiple times by Scully in this episode.

Footnotes

References

• Edwards, Ted (1996). X-Files Confidential. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0316218081. 
• Lowry, Brian (1996). Trust No One: The Official Guide to the X-Files. Harper Prism. ISBN 0061053538. 

External links

• "Syzygy" on The X-Files Wiki, an external wiki
• "Syzygy" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Syzygy" at TV.com