One Son

"One Son"

"One Son" is the twelfth episode of the sixth season and the 129th episode overall of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States and Canada on February 14, 1999 on the Fox Network, and subsequently aired in the United Kingdom on Sky1. It was written by executive producers Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, and directed by Rob Bowman. "One Son" received a Nielsen rating of 10.1 and was watched by 16.57 million viewers. The episode was generally positively received by critics.

The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. Mulder is a believer in the paranormal, while the skeptical Scully has been assigned to debunk his work. While Cassandra Spender (Veronica Cartwright) reveals the truth about the alien conspiracy to Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), her ex-husband - the Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis) - does the same to her son, Jeffrey Spender (Chris Owens) in an effort to convince him to work with the conspiracy. But even as Mulder is deceived by Diana Fowley (Mimi Rogers), Scully stays true to the investigation, and the two find a surprise ally. Meanwhile, the Syndicate reach the climax of their plans, only to find that the end is not as they expected.

"One Son" is a direct continuation of the previous episode, "Two Fathers". The episode, along with its predecessor, was written in order to eliminate the Syndicate and relaunch the series' mythology. Producer Frank Spotnitz was particularly critical of the visual effects used in the episode, going so far as to say that several of the effects were among the worst ever created for the show.

Plot

Continuing the narrative from "Two Fathers", Cassandra Spender (Veronica Cartwright) demands to be killed by FBI agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny). Before Mulder can do anything, the front door is smashed open by a group of people in hazmat suits, led by Diana Fowley (Mimi Rogers). Mulder, Cassandra, and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are taken to a CDC facility at Fort Marlene. Fowley tells the agents Cassandra Spender is carrying a contagious organism, and that she was called in by her son, agent Jeffrey Spender (Chris Owens). Meanwhile, Alex Krycek (Nicholas Lea) reports on Cassandra's escape to the Syndicate, saying that the alien rebels want Cassandra kept alive. Regardless, the Syndicate decides to turn Cassandra over to the colonists, and save themselves by commencing colonization.

At Fort Marlene, Mulder runs into the sickly looking Marita Covarrubias (Laurie Holden). Marita tells Mulder that she was subject to experiments by the Syndicate to create a black oil vaccine and that the colonists will begin colonization if they learn of Cassandra's existence as an alien-human hybrid. Scully, with help from the Lone Gunmen, looks into Diana Fowley's personal history and informs Mulder that Fowley has been collecting data on alien abductees and heading to Tunisia every week, although there is no trace of her activities in FBI records. Mulder still trusts Diana, but goes to her apartment to see her.

Inside the apartment, Mulder's search for clues is interrupted by the arrival of Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis). Held at gunpoint, the Cigarette Smoking Man tells Mulder that he has been betrayed by his son Jeffrey. The Cigarette Smoking Man tells Mulder that the Syndicate agreed by majority vote, against Bill Mulder's objections, to align with the alien colonists in order to delay colonization. The Syndicate were forced to give up members of their family to the colonists in exchange for the alien fetus (seen in "The Erlenmeyer Flask"). Because Bill Mulder was slow to agree, Samantha Mulder wasn't taken until after the others. Using the fetus, the Syndicate worked on creating alien-human hybrids who could survive colonization. The Cigarette Smoking Man tells Mulder that colonization will begin once Cassandra is handed over and that Mulder will be able to see his sister again, providing him with an address to the hangar where the Syndicate members will be meeting the colonists.

Jeffrey goes to Syndicate headquarters, finding only Krycek there. Krycek tells him that the Syndicate members are preparing to be given the hybrid genes—except for Spender's father, who has gone to retrieve Cassandra. Diana returns to her apartment, finding Mulder there, and the two head to the hangar at El Rico Air Force Base. Scully then contacts Mulder and the two try to stop the train car transporting Cassandra to El Rico, but fail to do so. Jeffrey arrives at the hospital, finding his mother gone. However, while at the hospital he finds Marita, who tells him to go to El Rico Air Force Base. A Syndicate surgeon attempting to procure the alien fetus is killed by one of the alien rebels, who assumes his form. Krycek finds the dead surgeon and the fetus missing, and tells Jeffrey that the rebels are now going to win. The Syndicate and their families gather at El Rico Air Force Base. Shortly after Diana Fowley arrives, a white light appears around one end of the hanger. It is revealed to be the rebels, who surround and kill the entire Syndicate except for the Cigarette Smoking Man and Diana Fowley, who escape in her car.

The next day Mulder, Scully, Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) and Jeffrey report to Assistant Director Alvin Kersh (James Pickens, Jr.) on the deaths of the Syndicate and Cassandra. Jeffrey tells Kersh that Mulder and Scully could have prevented it. He recommends that they be reassigned to the X-Files and abruptly leaves the room. Heading to the X-Files office in the basement, Jeffrey finds his father, the Cigarette Smoking Man there, who then shoots Jeffrey and leaves.

Production

Conception and writing

The production staff of the show aimed to create a conclusion for the Syndicate story arc because it created a "narrative drag", as many questions from the past five seasons were left unanswered. They were also looking to create a new story arc for the series, in the form of the "Super Soldiers", which were created for season eight and nine. Co-writer Frank Spotnitz said that the problem was that episodes where questions are answered are less entertaining for viewers than episodes that present new questions and theories. Spotnitz, however, acknowledged that this episode was necessary to help explain the complex mythology of the show. He called the episode the "biggest chapter we had time to explore in the nine years we were on the air." Chris Carter stated "I think if there was any trouble with the movie, it was that we promised so much that we didn't deliver all of it. I think we wanted to deliver a lot, and all at once in these two episodes." The main reason behind giving a resolution for the Syndicate arc was that Carter thought the series was going to be canceled by spring, 2000. While promoting the episode, Carter said it would give many long-waited answers but create new ones.

"A part of the problem" of creating "mytharc" episodes was that there were so few mytharc-centric episodes each season, forcing the production staff to put as much material as possible into each episode. Diana Fowley's apartment, the Watergate Complex, is a reference to the Watergate scandal. As the previous episode, "Two Fathers" was titled after William Mulder (Peter Donat) and the Cigarette Smoking Man, this episode was entitled "One Son" because Fox Mulder was the only remaining son of either of these fathers, due to the shooting of Jeffrey Spender and the rejection of Alex Krycek. "One Son" would be the last episode of the series to feature Owens' character, Jeffrey Spender, until the ninth season entry "William".

Filming and visual effects

All the sets in this episode were created by Corey Kaplan. Bill Roe was in charge of the cinematography. Frank Spotnitz made various compliments to Rob Bowman's direction in this episode. However, he had a problem with the visual effects, going so far as to say that the effects used for the alien rebel landing were among the worst ever created for the show. He noted that the effects were created on short notice, saying "It was one of those cases where you just run out of time, sorry to say." Spotnitz later said that the overall production values were fantastic, but that he wished he could have changed some things about the episode; in particular, he wished to have done the scene wherein one of the Syndicate members changes into an alien rebel differently.

Reception

The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.1, with a 16 share. It was viewed by 16.57 million viewers in the United States. On May 23, 1999 the episode premiered in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Sunday and gathered 860 thousand viewers, making it the fourth most watched episode that week, behind ER, The Simpsons and Friends. Fox promoted the episode with the tagline "The ultimate piece of the puzzle. Tonight, the conspiracy comes full-circle." Veronica Cartwright was nominated for an Emmy for "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series" for her role in this episode and previous episode "Two Fathers". The previous episode, "Two Fathers" earned the show's crew the Emmy for "Outstanding Makeup for a Series". The make-up crew was nominated for an Emmy award in the category "Outstanding Makeup for a Series" and won. The episode was later included on The X-Files Mythology, Volume 3 – Colonization, a DVD collection that contains episodes involved with the alien Colonist's plans to take over the earth.

The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics. Tom Kessenich, in his book Examination: An Unauthorized Look at Seasons 6–9 of the X-Files wrote positively of the episode, saying "The 'Two Fathers'/'One Son' was extremely powerful stuff. Tightly written, beautifully filmed and filled with more affirmations than revelations, but fascination looks at the characters in the drama." John Keegan from Critical Myth gave the episode a 7 out of 10 rating and noted that, "Overall, this episode was the culmination of the Syndicate arc, bringing the mythology from the past three seasons into something of a resolution. Later additions to the mythology would make these explanations all but moot, but the writers deserve some credit for trying to pull it all together." Joyce Millman from Salon magazine said the episode (along with "Two Fathers") was one "of the most coherent, [...] almost unbearably tense, hours in the series' run." She further stated that the episode gave some long-waited answers, but created new ones such as what has really happened to Samantha Mulder. Michigan Daily reviewer Melissa Runstrom said "One Son" along with "Two Fathers" and season finale "Biogenesis" were the highlights of the sixth season. Earl Cressey from DVD Talk named "One Son," along with "Two Fathers," as one of the "highlights of season six."

Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club awarded the episode a "B" rating. He concluded that the episode "has its moment", but is ultimately hurt by the fact that it refuses "to come to any serious conclusions", as well as "the inherent limitations of the [episode's] form." Not all reviews were glowing. Paula Vitaris from Cinefantastique gave the episode a negative review and awarded it one-and-a-half stars out of four. Vitaris criticized the death scene of the Syndicate, noting that is was "clumsily contrived, allowing [The Smoking Man] and Fowley to escape, but not because it makes sense, but because the show needs them to return at some point."

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

• Kessenich, Tom (2002). Examination: An Unauthorized Look at Seasons 6–9 of the X-Files. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 1-55369-812-6.
• Meisler, Andy (2000). The End and the Beginning: The Official Guide to the X-Files Season 6. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-107595-7.

External links

• "One Son" on The X-Files Wiki, an external wiki
• "One Son" at IMDb
• "One Son" at TV.com