There's nothing in this world that scares me as much as the natural things that could potentially kill us. I don't have arachnophobia, but the idea that there are huge spiders that could kill a person is something that scares me more than the possibility of a nuclear war. These are creatures that are right on our doorsteps and for some people, inside their homes. Luckily, I live in a country where the closest animal that could do major harm is behind bars in a zoo, but nature is still full of things that we don't fully understand. The idea that this is the thing that centers this "X-Files" episode may be what makes it one of the scariest episodes of the show so far. This episode is a totally comprehensible episode about killer cockroaches, which sounds insanely stupid if it had been the premise of any other show, but for a show that balances the strange with the scary so well, it makes for a horrifying storyline. The episode fully explores our relationship with the natural world and the fears we have for what it could do to us, which ends up in kind of a riot that spreads across a small town, and it also makes for an incredibly terrific hour of television. This is another Darin Morgan episode, which means that it's full of some campy moments mixed in with genuine and terrifying scares that puts the threats we face right in the middle of something that we know all too well.
What worked so well about his previous installment in this third season was how he used the idea of memory and knowledge as the threat. Here, he decides to make the threat a physical thing, but a thing that we face almost every day. He crafts this familiar dread and speaks to our natural fears of pretty much everything. Cockroaches are not inherently scary, but if you suddenly give them the ability to kill you in many different ways, it'd make someone look more than twice whenever they find one or see one, which is crazy but also very effective.
The episode is full of Morgan's campy touch with running jokes, including one where Mulder constantly calls Scully, only to be told that he is wrong and hanging up. It's great to know that this show is also able to see the absurdity of its storyline and make a little fun of how serious it takes itself. This episode is definitely not an attempt to show the serious side of the show, and it more importantly puts a focus on the camp, despite the very natural and terrifying threat that it portrays, making it the best of both worlds.
The episode also ends on a more unclear note. While some could see this as lazy writing, it may also simply be a commentary on the fact that we don't always get to know the aspects of nature. There's no such thing as clear answers when it comes to the things that we live around everyday. We get used to it being one way, so when it changes, it can be scary. However, sometimes, nature just changes and there's nothing that we can do about it; although we'd hope that it changes in a way that would still keep us alive.
It's interesting to see where this show is taking its leads. They seem to be more and more at odds with each other, constantly challenging each others' beliefs. That probably comes from the bomb that was dropped a few episodes ago which brought back Mulder's entire system, but also in the last episode where Scully's more religious beliefs came to the surface. There's a clear rift between them here, and it's going to be fascinating to see how they make up for that, and if they ever will have the same relationship that we fell in love with originally.
"War of the Coprophages" is not only a clever title, but a very clever episode that makes the threat something that we know too well. It's a mix of brilliant terror and fun camp that makes this an unforgettable episode and one that actually understands what this show is and should be going forward.
What worked so well about his previous installment in this third season was how he used the idea of memory and knowledge as the threat. Here, he decides to make the threat a physical thing, but a thing that we face almost every day. He crafts this familiar dread and speaks to our natural fears of pretty much everything. Cockroaches are not inherently scary, but if you suddenly give them the ability to kill you in many different ways, it'd make someone look more than twice whenever they find one or see one, which is crazy but also very effective.
The episode is full of Morgan's campy touch with running jokes, including one where Mulder constantly calls Scully, only to be told that he is wrong and hanging up. It's great to know that this show is also able to see the absurdity of its storyline and make a little fun of how serious it takes itself. This episode is definitely not an attempt to show the serious side of the show, and it more importantly puts a focus on the camp, despite the very natural and terrifying threat that it portrays, making it the best of both worlds.
The episode also ends on a more unclear note. While some could see this as lazy writing, it may also simply be a commentary on the fact that we don't always get to know the aspects of nature. There's no such thing as clear answers when it comes to the things that we live around everyday. We get used to it being one way, so when it changes, it can be scary. However, sometimes, nature just changes and there's nothing that we can do about it; although we'd hope that it changes in a way that would still keep us alive.
It's interesting to see where this show is taking its leads. They seem to be more and more at odds with each other, constantly challenging each others' beliefs. That probably comes from the bomb that was dropped a few episodes ago which brought back Mulder's entire system, but also in the last episode where Scully's more religious beliefs came to the surface. There's a clear rift between them here, and it's going to be fascinating to see how they make up for that, and if they ever will have the same relationship that we fell in love with originally.
"War of the Coprophages" is not only a clever title, but a very clever episode that makes the threat something that we know too well. It's a mix of brilliant terror and fun camp that makes this an unforgettable episode and one that actually understands what this show is and should be going forward.