A little lost girl is being interviewed by a detective who suddenly hurls himself out of window to his death. The girl's behavior was strange, granted, but why did a self-admiring detective feel a need to commit suicide. This is how we start and it's decent enough. Soon though things go downhill. A session with a sketch artist suddenly pops up a finished picture of a detective who died nine years earlier...This apparently with little help from the artist/operator. Mulder and Scully interview the mother who describes her daughter as disturbed and scary. The little one is under the care of the worst psychiatrist in the tri-state area,the doctor is treating her for some kind of schizophrenia, yet is oblivious to any of her phenomenal telepathy which manifests itself many ways of which murder is a specialty. Her doctor lets her keep mutilating dolls and, even stranger, witnessing murders - since the diagnosis and drug-therapy is working no need to rush. I get the feeling the writers should have settled on one or the other - that is, powers of mental telepathy or reincarnation.
Instead, we get a little girl who is both host to a reincarnated spirit and a world-class purveyor of psychic powers manifested physically. I must say I like it better when an episode doesn't require 100% belief suspension of belief, no such luck here. I could have got "on board" if the girl was the daughter of the original deceased bad-cop who was out for revenge and happened to have unexplained powers, but lumping on reincarnation too just pushed it too far. It came off too campy to park the old right brain filter just that slight measure required. I think the writers over reached - too silly to be truly mysterious/cringe inducing. The X-Files is at it's best when there's some realism to freak you out to the point you can go with the weird practically unbelievable stuff. Very pedestrian, and certainly not required viewing.
Instead, we get a little girl who is both host to a reincarnated spirit and a world-class purveyor of psychic powers manifested physically. I must say I like it better when an episode doesn't require 100% belief suspension of belief, no such luck here. I could have got "on board" if the girl was the daughter of the original deceased bad-cop who was out for revenge and happened to have unexplained powers, but lumping on reincarnation too just pushed it too far. It came off too campy to park the old right brain filter just that slight measure required. I think the writers over reached - too silly to be truly mysterious/cringe inducing. The X-Files is at it's best when there's some realism to freak you out to the point you can go with the weird practically unbelievable stuff. Very pedestrian, and certainly not required viewing.