The X-Files: “Founder’s Mutation” Roundtable

Before we even had time to think about the first episode, we got to watch another, this one seemingly unrelated to the episode of the night before. Melissa, Liz, and I discuss the episode below.  Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter.

Unlike the premiere, this episode felt like it could have been in any of the later seasons of the show (before DD left, anyway).

Liz: This episode was definitely “old school”, to use Mulder and Scully’s own words. Including the ew-y gooey parts. What a contrast to Heroes Reborn, which also had mostly the same showrunners as the original series, but failed. This one feels like a familiar friend. That being said, as before, I am totally confused. This episode and the premiere, except for the fact that Mulder and Scully are again onto another government coverup, there was no connection between the episodes at all. I feel like an episode was skipped in between these two.

Cay: I’ve been watching a lot of the old ones lately and it’s amazing how they can just jump back in and it just feels right. This episode had a much tighter, less confusing plot, and a big case of the weird that made the original episodes so cool.

Melissa: I made the mistake of watching this while on the elliptical machine at the gym. I should have been prepared for the “ew” factor, but I’d forgotten about that. There I was, in the middle of a room full of people getting their sweat on, pulling faces while letter openers went in ears, cringing during the awful high-frequency audio bits, turning a bit green when pregnant bellies split open. So just your typical episode of The X-Files.

Scully’s workplace was involved in the Founder’s experiments? Do you think the ear-less kids she works on are also part of the experiments?

Liz: Most definitely. I have no doubt in my mind that they are mutations.

Cay: After all she’s seen, you’d think she’d be less trusting and wouldn’t let something like that happen right under her nose! Exactly what she does at the hospital is confusing because she was never a surgeon, so why is she suddenly doing surgery now? I’m betting she didn’t leave the FBI and then go do a surgery residency!

Melissa: It HAS to be connected. We started with the revelation that Scully has alien DNA and Sveta was being used for breeding alien-human babies, now we have a whole caseload of mutated children and a giant cover-up. This must be the big arc for this season.

Mulder and Scully are both having [similar] parenting nightmares about William

Liz: I’m confused about this. Are they nightmares (we never saw them sleeping), or imaginations of scenarios they are creating in their minds? I feel like we’re going to meet William at some point. The real William.

Cay: Every time I saw one, I thought they may be real, but then they weren’t…right? Particularly strange for them to both be having them and the kid looks the same. And very specific scenes, too. I’ve always wondered what happened to William, would be interesting to meet him.

Melissa: Those were very confusing. I need more intel about William, which the show seems to be hinting will happen.

Do you think we’ll see Holly and Kyle again this season?

Cay: With only 6 episodes, it’s hard to know which ones are truly stand-alone versus which are part of the mythology and this one could go either way. The disappearance of the teens at the end made me suspicious that they will come back. They could fit in with the whole “alien-DNA” string that they set up in the first episode.

Liz: I was wondering that same thing. I was thinking that they might eventually come to Mulder & Scully at some point for help. What they would need help for is unknown but I feel like Kyle will remember that they actually helped him find his sister.

Melissa: If they’re part of the larger conspiracy, then maybe they’ll be back.

Favorite line or scene?

Cay: None in particular, but I loved the guest stars! Re-watching the old episodes, a lot of now-familiar faces pop up, but most of them were not well-known back then. This time around there are lots of familiar faces – Vik Sahay (Lester on Chuck) as man who propositioned Mulder in the bar (that was pretty funny!) after he started contacting the victim’s cell phone contacts, Doug Savant (Lynette’s husband from Desperate Housewives), and of course Joel McHale (Talk Soup) as Tad in the first episode.

Melissa: Vik Sahay propositioning David Duchovny – that was priceless!

Watch all new episodes of The X-Files on Mondays at 8/7c on FOX!