The Blessing Way (The X-Files)

"The Blessing Way"
The X-Files episode
Fox Mulder being nourished back to health by Albert Hosteen
Episode no.	Season 3 Episode 1
Directed by	R. W. Goodwin
Written by	Chris Carter
Production code	3X01
Original air date	September 22, 1995
Guest stars
Mitch Pileggi as Walter Skinner William B. Davis as Cigarette Smoking Man Nicholas Lea as Alex Krycek Floyd Westerman as Albert Hosteen Tom Braidwood as Melvin Frohike Peter Donat as William Mulder Rebecca Toolan as Teena Mulder Melinda McGraw as Melissa Scully Sheila Larken as Margaret Scully John Neville as Well-Manicured Man Don S. Williams as First Elder Jerry Hardin as Deep Throat Lenno Britos as Luis Cardinal Byron Chief-Moon as Father Dakota House as Eric Michael David Sims as Senior Agent Forbes Angus as MD Mitch Davies as The Camouflage Man Ian Victor as The Minister Ernie Foort as Security Guard
Episode chronology
← Previous "Anasazi" Next → "Paper Clip"
List of season 3 episodes List of The X-Files episodes

"The Blessing Way" is the first episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on September 22, 1995. It was directed by R.W. Goodwin, and written by series creator Chris Carter. "The Blessing Way" featured guest appearances by Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Peter Donat and Jerry Hardin, and introduced John Neville as the Well-Manicured Man. The episode helped explore the overarching mythology, or fictional history of The X-Files. "The Blessing Way" earned a Nielsen household rating of 12.3, being watched by 19.94 million people in its initial broadcast.

FBI special agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) is found near death on a Navajo reservation, and is nursed back to health by the tribe, led by Albert Hosteen (Westerman). Meanwhile, Mulder's partner Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigates an implant found in her neck, and fears that her life—and those of her family—may be in danger. "The Blessing Way" is part of a three-episode storyline, carrying on from the second season finale "Anasazi", and continuing in the next episode, "Paper Clip".

Plot

Albert Hosteen and his family are beaten up by the Cigarette Smoking Man's subordinates, who are searching for the whereabouts of Mulder. Scully is pursued by a helicopter and soldiers arrive that take all her paper copies of Albert's translations of the digital tape. Scully denies having the DAT copy of the tape, saying it is in Mulder's possession. Upon return to Washington, Scully is put on mandatory leave and is forced to turn in her badge and gun. Scully complains privately to Skinner. Upon returning to her office in the basement, she finds the digital tape missing.

In New York City, the Cigarette Smoking Man meets with a group of older men (known as the "Syndicate"), including the First Elder and the Well Manicured Man, who question him to ensure that their work has not been compromised. Mulder, still alive but severely wounded, is found buried under some rocks near the box car. Albert begins the Blessing Way chant to heal Mulder.

Frohike arrives at Scully's apartment and shows her a newspaper article reporting the death of Kenneth Soona. Mulder has visions of both Deep Throat and his father. Scully returns to FBI headquarters and the metal detector oddly goes off as she enters. She shows Skinner the newspaper article, thinking that the data from Soona's death can clear Mulder in his father's murder, but Skinner refuses to do any follow-up on it. Leaving the building, Scully has a hunch upon seeing the metal detector again that leads to locating metal in the back of her neck. Scully sees a doctor, who removes a small metal implant.

Scully sees her sister Melissa about the implant, and she urges her to see a regression hypnotherapist to recover her lost memories. Scully heads there, but becomes scared and stops the session. Returning home, she finds Skinner leaving her apartment and driving off. Mulder, recovered from the Blessing Way chant, is told by Albert that he cannot bathe or change clothes for four days. Scully calls Skinner, who denies showing up at her apartment.

Scully heads to Boston for Mulder's father's funeral and introduces herself to his mother. Afterwards the Well Manicured Man introduces himself to Scully and warns her that she is about to be killed, either by someone she knows, or by two men who will kill her at her home. Mulder returns to his mother's home in Connecticut and questions her about a photo of his father from 1972.

Melissa calls Scully and tells her she is coming over. After receiving a call from someone who immediately hangs up, Scully leaves her apartment and tells Melissa that she'll head to her home instead. As she leaves, Skinner pulls up in his car, telling her they need to speak in private. They head for Mulder's apartment. Melissa shows up soon afterwards and is mistakenly shot by Luis Cardinal, who is hiding there with Alex Krycek. Realizing they shot the wrong person, the two flee. At Mulder's apartment, Scully holds Skinner at gunpoint, thinking he is going to kill her. Skinner tells Scully that he is in possession of the digital tape. Just then, someone steps outside the door. This distracts Scully enough for Skinner to pull out his gun on her.

Production

Series creator Chris Carter felt this was one of his favourtie episodes to write, as he found it interesting to explore how the character of Fox Mulder would react to the death of his father. Carter had recently lost a parent himself when he began work on the episode. Frank Spotnitz said of the episode "The expectations were very high coming after a summer's worth of anticipation to see how Mulder got out of the boxcar. We knew we had to answer that question and still leave an intriguing enough dilemma at the end of the show to bring viewers back for the third and final part. I also thought it was a big gamble to do all that Indian mysticism stuff. I thought a lot of people would not necessarily respond to that. So I was nervous about that, but very excited about the Scully storyline and the way all of that played out with Mulder and Skinner." Carter attended Navajo chants and rituals to ensure the accuracy of the events in this episode, after being alerted to inaccuracies in the previous episode by Navajo scholars. A sand painter was brought in to create the two sand paintings for the Blessing Way sequence, which took an entire day to create. The scenes set in New Mexico were filmed in the same Vancouver quarry that had been used as a stand-in in the previous episode, Anasazi, the repainting of which required only minor touch-ups.

Visual effects producer Mat Beck considered the sequence where Fox Mulder has a vision of Deep Throat and his father the most difficult of the season. The end of the episode reads "In Memoriam, Larry Wells, 1946 - 1995." Wells was a costume designer on the show. Mark Snow slightly changed the piano melody from the opening theme music (and the corresponding shortened theme in the credits) from the first two seasons in this episode. The music would remain unchanged for several years. The title of the episode refers to Navajo ceremony of the Blessing Way. This is the first episode where Mitch Pileggi is credited under Also Starring at the opening credits.

Broadcast and reception

"The Blessing Way" premiered on the Fox network on September 22, 1995, and was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on September 12, 1996. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 12.3 with a 22 share, meaning that roughly 12.3 percent of all television-equipped households, and 22 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. A total of 19.94 million viewers watched this episode during its original airing, making it the most viewed episode of the third season.

The episode has received mixed to negative reviews from critics. In an overview of the third season in Entertainment Weekly, "The Blessing Way" was rated a B+. The episode was derided for its "corny dream sequence and high-flown cosmic hooey", although the introduction of the Well-Manicured Man and Mitch Pileggi's portrayal of Walter Skinner were seen as highlights. Writing for the A.V. Club, Todd VanDerWerff panned the episode's "pseudo-mystical bullshit", rating the episode a B-. He felt that the resolution of the cliffhanger from the previous episode "Anasazi"—that of Mulder's apparent death—was poorly handled, and that the character of Albert Hosteen was perhaps the worst in the series. However, the introduction of plot threads such as Scully's implant and the alien-human hybrids were deemed positive factors. The episode, along with both other parts of the story arc, were listed concurrently as the second-best episode of the series by Den of Geek's Nina Sordi. Sordi noted that the plotline "laid the groundwork for the mythology arc for the rest of the series", adding that it "brought much more significance to what is to come".

David Duchovny was somewhat disappointed with the episode, hoping he would have had a chance to do more in an episode that was primarily a symbolic journey for him rather than a real one. The actor said "I like the psychology, and I like the thinking that went into the episode as a viewer. As an actor, I felt like an opportunity passed me by. If I had to do any episode over again, it would be that one." The actor called the episode in 1995 the greatest missed opportunity they had. Chris Carter disagreed, stating that Fox Mulder's role in the episode was the right way to do it, and that the dramatic weight for the episode had to shift from Mulder to Dana Scully.

Footnotes

References

• Edwards, Ted (1996). X-Files Confidential. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0316218081. 
• Gradnitzer, Louisa; Pittson, Todd (1999). X Marks the Spot: On Location with The X-Files. Arsenal Pulp Press. ISBN 1551520664. 
• Lovece, Frank (1996). The X-Files Declassified. Citadel Press. ISBN 080651745X. 
• Lowry, Brian (1995). The Truth is Out There: The Official Guide to the X-Files. Harper Prism. ISBN 0061053309. 
• Lowry, Brian (1996). Trust No One: The Official Guide to the X-Files. Harper Prism. ISBN 0061053538. 

External links

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