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"Die Hand Die Verletzt"

"Die Hand Die Verletzt" is the fourteenth episode of the second season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on January 27, 1995. It was written by Glen Morgan and James Wong, directed by Kim Manners, and featured guest appearances by Susan Blommaert, Dan Butler, and Heather McComb. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Die Hand Die Verletzt" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.7, being watched by 10.2 million households in its initial broadcast. The episode received positive reviews, with many critics praising its writing. The title translates from German as "the hand that wounds."

The X-Files series 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. In this episode Mulder and Scully are called to Milford Falls, New Hampshire to investigate the death of a teenager who seems to have died during an occult ritual of some sort. As a result of their arrival in town a few of the local high school's faculty, who had self-stylized as devil-worshipers when they were teens but long ago stopped worshiping the devil, decide they should take steps to conceal their past activities. Matters are further complicated when the devil seems to have decided to personally interfere.

Die Hand Die Verletzt uses the lapsed devil-worshipers as a way to parody insincere followers of mainstream religions. When confronted with proof of their religion's claims the school faculty members are mostly worried about how their obligations could impact their secular lives, several being either scared or annoyed by the prospect of having to become devout. This was the last episode written by Morgan and Wong before they left to create Space: Above and Beyond. They decided to add several in-jokes with The X-Files creative team. The episode has several scenes involving animals, each filmed with living creatures. In one such scene frogs rain from the sky. Actor Dan Butler has been quoted as being terrified of an anaconda used during one scene.

Plot

In fictional Milford Haven, New Hampshire, a group of high school faculty members meet to discuss various social events. The adults initially appear to be socially conservative, debating whether students should perform the musical Grease or Jesus Christ Superstar. However, when the group ends the meeting in a prayer, they recite a Satanic chant.

Later, a group of students go out into the woods at night to play with black magic, an attempt to "score" on the part of the boys in the group. The experiment causes unexplainable things to happen, causing all but one of the teenagers to flee. The remaining teen's mutilated body is discovered the next day, leading Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) to investigate. Locals—including the faculty members—claim that the children have unleashed a demonic force with their rituals; a theory which is given validity by strange occurrences, such as frogs falling from the sky and water in the drinking fountain draining counter-clockwise, contrary to the Coriolis effect. Unknown to the agents, substitute teacher Mrs. Paddock (Susan Blommaert) is behind the murder, keeping the eyes and heart of the victim in her desk. One of the faculty members, Jim Ausbury (Dan Butler) suspects one of his colleagues killed the boy, but the others believe it was an outside force. Ausbury's stepdaughter, Shannon (Heather McComb), suffers a breakdown during science class while dissecting a pig fetus, seeing its heart beat and its head move.

Meeting with Mulder and Scully, Shannon tearfully tells them that Ausbury and the other Satanists repeatedly raped and impregnated her as part of their rituals, sacrificing her babies. When the agents confront Ausbury with the accusations, he is shocked, and denies them. Shannon stays after school to make up her assignment of dissecting the pig. Mrs. Paddock takes her bracelet and uses it as part of a spell that causes Shannon to slit her wrists. When Ausbury learns that the other faculty members plan to use Shannon as a scapegoat, he admits the sect's existence to Mulder. He confirms that rituals did happen while Shannon was present, but said that exposure to sensational media coverage led her to "remember" the sexual abuse. Meanwhile, Scully researches Mrs. Paddock and finds that no one knows anything about her or her background. During a sudden power outage, Mrs. Paddock steals Scully's pen and uses it to impersonate her in a call to Mulder, pretending to be in trouble. Mulder handcuffs Ausbury in the basement to prevent his possible escape, then leaves to help Scully. Soon after, a giant snake appears and devours Ausbury.

Mulder arrives at the school, where Scully claims that she never called him. They find Mrs. Paddock seemingly attacked by the remaining faculty members, and go to search for them. The faculty members capture the two agents, convinced that they need to perform a sacrifice to regain favor with the Devil and make up for their diluted faith before it is too late. As they are about to kill Mulder and Scully, Mrs. Paddock causes them to instead kill themselves, confirming that their attempt was indeed too late. The agents escape their bonds and find Mrs. Paddock missing, with only a parting message on the chalkboard stating, "Goodbye. It's been nice working with you."[1][2]

Production

Writing

"It was a fun script that turned this big corner when the girl had the emotional breakdown. It suddenly became a very creepy, dark, disturbing episode. It was vintage Glen and Jim, and we had a great, great performance by the guest stars. A really good, solid episode that actually veered a little more toward the horror genre. But it worked because of Mulder and Scully."

—Chris Carter, on the tone of the episode.[3]

The high school in the episode was named after Aleister Crowley.

"Die Hand Die Verletzt" was written by Glen Morgan and James Wong, who were co-executive producers for the series as well as writers. The episode originally stemmed from an idea of Glen Morgan's to have a scene where a snake eats a man.[4] Series creator Chris Carter described the episode as "a cautionary tale about playing with fire, playing with things bigger and badder than you might imagine".[5] In an interview, he also praised the purposefully clashing tones of the entry, noting that it begins almost comical, with the PTC saying Satanic prayers and toads raining from the skies. However, as it goes on, it becomes increasingly dark.[5] Morgan and co-writer James Wong left the series after this episode to produce the series Space: Above and Beyond.[4] The line written by Mrs. Paddock on a chalkboard at the end of the episode, "It's been nice working with you," also acted as a goodbye to the crew of the show.[4] The two later returned to the show in the fourth season.[6]

Crowley High School refers to British ceremonialist and occultist Aleister Crowley.[4] The character names Deborah Brown and Paul Vitaris were based on fans of the series who were active on the internet. In fact, the inspiration for Vitaris—Paula Vitaris—wrote episode reviews of the series for the magazine Cinefantastique, starting with the third season of the show.[7] Mrs. Paddock's name comes from Shakespeare's MacBeth. Paddock is the toad demon that calls the witches away in the first scene of the play.[8] The episode's title means "The hand that wounds" in German. The title is taken from a part of the prayer that the PTA says near the beginning, which, in its entirety is "Sein ist die Hand die verletzt", meaning "His is the hand that wounds".[9][10]

Directing and filming

"Die Hand Die Verletzt" was the first episode of the series to be directed by Kim Manners, who would go on to direct many of the series' episodes. Originally, another director was supposed to helm this episode, but plans fell through and Manners was hired. The production staff was initially worried about Manners, because he subscribed to the Stephen J. Cannell school of thought regarding television directing; Cannell felt that the writers and directors should both work together to cast characters, look at locations, and film the episode. This school of thought was perceived, at the time, "as a lesser kind" of directing, according to Morgan.[11] However, Morgan was a proponent of Manners, and eventually secured his position for the episode.[11]

While fake frogs were considered for the scene where they fall from the sky, the producers decided to make use of real frogs instead, dropped from a short distance. According to Carter, the "fake ones looked too bad and didn't hop away after command". The snake going down the stairs proved difficult to film as the animal kept on falling onto the floor after slithering down the steps.[5] Actor Dan Butler was terrified of the animal, being unable to talk while shooting the scene in the basement. The actor's fright meant the make-up team did not need to apply fake sweat to his face.[12]

Themes

Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, proposed that the episode is a parody of organized religion, most specifically those who follow a religion, but only pay it lip service. The two argue that the principal joke in the episode is "to look at the way religious faith has been so watered down and paid nothing but lip service, its rituals and doctrines reinterpreted so that only what's comfortable is adhered to."[13] This parody, however, is turned on its head: the followers paying lip service in "Die Hand Die Verletzt" are not stereotypical Christians, but rather, devil worshippers.[13] Shearman and Pearson compare Mrs. Paddock—which the episode insinuates to be the devil incarnate—coming to Milford Haven, New Hampshire to judge his followers to St. Paul "coming back and taking a pop at all fair weather Christians who only affirm their faith at their own convenience."[14]

Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club noted the recurring motif of doors. He highlighted various examples—such as the light emanating behind the door in the beginning of the episode, the door in which Mrs. Paddock hides when she kills people, and the door to Mr. Ausbury's basement in which the Satanic rituals took place—noting that "there's the whole notion of opening a door to another world and letting an ancient evil into our own".[15]

Reception

Ratings

"Die Hand Die Verletzt" premiered on the Fox network on January 27, 1995.[16] The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.7, with an 18 share. Nielsen ratings are audience measurement systems that determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the U.S. This means that roughly 10.7 percent of all television-equipped households, and 18 percent of households watching television, were watching the episode. It was viewed by 10.2 million households[17] and over 17.7 million viewers.[18] The episode later debuted in the United Kingdom on May 23, 1995 on Sky One.[19]

Reviews

"Die Hand Die Verletzt" received early praise from critics. Entertainment Weekly gave "Die Hand Die Verletzt" an "A–", noting that, in the episode, "Mulder and Scully largely step aside in this wacky, wicked effort chock-full of stunning imagery and wry comment."[20] The magazine praised Blommaert's acting, calling her "juicily diabolical".[20] Paul Cornell, Martin Day, and Keith Topping, in their book X-Treme Possibilities, gave the episode mostly positive reviews, although they criticized the ending. Day applauded the episode's themes of "loss of faith … ritual abuse [and] repressed memories", along with the "great set pieces", and the plot twists.[21] However, he was slightly critical that the episode did not have a solid conclusion, and that the identity of Mrs. Paddock was never revealed. Cornell was even more critical about the lack of closure, calling it "a vast unanswered question" and "very troubling in a show that's concerned with seeing the truth".[21] However, he too was also complimentary towards the set pieces, calling them "groovy".[21]

Later reviews were also complimentary. VanDerWerff gave the episode an "A" and called it "a good example of the show heading in a different direction but still largely feeling like the same show." He praised the episode for being "fun [and] creepy". VanDerWerff also praised the final scene, noting that "rare that Mulder and Scully completely get played, but they do here, and it makes the episode an even better sick joke." Ultimately, he praised the "sick sense of humor", the "outright left turns into demented darkness", and "the horrifying visuals".[15] Shearman and Pearson awarded the episode five stars out of five, citing the "very good" conceit about organized religion, the humor, and the "great set pieces" as positive factors.[13][14]

Nick De Semlyen and James White of Empire named it the fourth "greatest" episode of the series, describing it as a "thoroughly dark and creepy episode".[22] Katie Anderson of Cinefantastique named the scene in which Shannon begins hallucinating that the pig fetus that she is dissecting is alive and screaming the fifth "Scariest Moment" in The X-Files.[23] Connie Ogle from PopMatters ranked the members of the Satanic PTA as some of the "greatest" monsters-of-the-week, writing, "You don’t want to cross the Satan-worshiping teachers at this high school, but there are more vengeful evil forces to displease."[24]

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Lowry (1995), pp. 193–194.
  2. ^ Lovece (1996), pp. 143–145.
  3. ^ Edwards (1996), p. 113.
  4. ^ a b c d Lowry (1995), p. 195.
  5. ^ a b c Chris Carter (1994–1995). Chris Carter Talks About Season 2: "Die Hand Die Verletzt". The X-Files: The Complete Second Season: Fox. {{cite AV media}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  6. ^ Vitaris, Paula (October 1997). "Morgan and Wong Return to The X-Files". Cinefantastique.
  7. ^ Vitaris, Paula (October 1996). "Episode Guide". Cinefantastique. 28 (3): 18–40.
  8. ^ MacBeth (I.1. 8)
  9. ^ Cornell (1998) et al, p. 146
  10. ^ Rozum (1997), p. 27.
  11. ^ a b Allair, Matt (October 27, 2011). "Exclusive Interview with Glen Morgan". The X-Files Lexicon. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  12. ^ Behind the Truth: Die Hand Die Verletzt. The X-Files: The Complete Second Season: Fox. 1994–1995. {{cite AV media}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  13. ^ a b c Shearman and Pearson (2008), p. 43.
  14. ^ a b Shearman and Pearson (2008), p. 44.
  15. ^ a b VanDerWerff, Todd (June 6, 2010). "'Irresistible'/'Die Hand Die Verletzt'/'Fresh Bones'". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  16. ^ The X-Files: The Complete Second Season (Media notes). David Nutter, et al. Fox Home Entertainment. 1994–95. {{cite AV media notes}}: Check date values in: |year= (help); Unknown parameter |titlelink= ignored (|title-link= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) CS1 maint: year (link)
  17. ^ Lowry (1995), p. 249.
  18. ^ "Super Bowl Kicks ABC to the Top – Nielsen Ratings" (PDF). USA Today. Gannett Company, Inc. February 1, 1995. p. D3. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
  19. ^ Cornell (1998) et al, p. 145
  20. ^ a b "X Cyclopedia: The Ultimate Episode Guide, Season 2 | EW.com". Entertainment Weekly. November 29, 1996. Retrieved November 24, 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ a b c Cornell (1998) et al, p. 147
  22. ^ Semlyen, Nick De; White, James (October 2013). "The 20 Greatest X-Files Episodes". Empire. Bauer Media Group. Archived from the original on November 14, 2013.
  23. ^ Anderson, Kaite (April 2002). "The Ten Scariest Moments". Cinefantastique. 34 (2): 50–51.
  24. ^ Ogle, Connie (July 28, 2008). "The X-Factor: A Look Back at 'The X-Files' Greatest Monsters". PopMatters. PopMatters Media. Retrieved August 25, 2010Template:Inconsistent citations{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)

Bibliography

  • Cornell, Paul; Day, Martin, Topping, Keith (1998). X-Treme Possibilities. Virgin Publications, Ltd. ISBN 9780753502280.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Edwards, Ted (1996). X-Files Confidential. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 9780316218085.
  • Lovece, Frank (1996). The X-Files Declassified. Citadel Press. ISBN 9780806517452.
  • Lowry, Brian (1995). The Truth is Out There: The Official Guide to the X-Files. Harper Prism. ISBN 9780061053306.
  • Rozum, John (1997). "Grey Matters". Sky Buster (Graphic Novel). 1. Vol. 34. Topps.
  • Shearman, Robert; Pearson, Lars (2009). Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen. Mad Norwegian Press. ISBN 9780975944691.
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