Lazarus

I struggled with this episode, it definitely has some nice ideas, but the execution of them just doesn't work somehow, and it's the first time this series I've been kind of bored.

I am fascinated by the idea of transference, it's a great concept, but here it was too heavy handed, they could have done it in a subtle, menacing way, and it just doesn't work.

The idea of the tattoo has been copied since, if anyone has watched Dr Who's spinoff Class, I'd argue they lifted ideas from here.

It's forgettable, 5/10.

This provides the usual X atmosphere plus a few standard TV thrills. Not a favorite with the fans it seems, but I think it is as deep as X-Files has been.

Which is to say, it is not mind-bending stuff because we have a 'real' super-reality but within those limits, it exemplifies some worthwhile layering much better than usual for the series. Usually, what extralogical forces Mulder and Scully encounter can be understood as inner mental urges of the characters, standard noir rules; Mulder's fear of a fiery love affair from his past as the volatile combustions of Fire, Scully's assertion of feminine independence in Jersey Devil and so on.

The story here is that simultaneously two men die, FBI agent and psychopathic robber, one is resuscitated back to life but in those few minutes of dead time the identities have shifted, the 'evil' consciousness returning in the agent's body.

The robber (as the agent) seeks to be reunited with his girlfriend accomplice, with whom they had a deep, dangerous love affair, this is mirrored in the past love affair Scully had with the colleague she resuscitated. So her ex- is now 'evil' and acting strange, which from Scully's always hesitant pov becomes the reluctance for commitment we know from Jersey Devil.

In the latter stages, we have Scully 'trapped' between the passionate couple, seeing as helpless observer the kind of corrosive passion she has kept from herself, conjuring in the man's mind memories of a past trip together as her attempt to awaken the 'good' person she knew.

Even more tantalizing: in this quasi-magical reality of having survived death, the robber experiences a nightmare of betrayal and heartbreak, with love as a sham.

So this is an attractive episode in narrative terms, again constrained by hard presentation. It is deep, in the sense that you can read a series of altered realities as inter-leavened dreams from opposing pairs of eyes.

Lazarus is a fine, body-switching episode. Although it's difficult to tell who got the better end of the deal. True, Jack Willis' body is still alive, but he has another man's soul in him. Warren Dupre has lost his body, but his soul is very much alive in another man's body. What a perfect disguise for a criminal, as an officer of the law! In Fire, two episodes before, Mulder had a past love interest show up. In Lazarus, it's Scully's turn, as Jack Willis is her former FBI academy instructor whom she dated. But the results are not similar, as Mulder shows no hints of jealousy at all. In Tempus Fugit, Scully comments that in the four years she's known Mulder he's never remembered her birthday. In Lazarus, Mulder gives Scully a birthday card signed by Willis two months early to test him. I wouldn't exactly call that never remembering. Another excellent guest performance given by Christopher Allport as Jack Willis. Plus, this episode has a nice little twist at the end that surprised me.

It's a Gansa/Gordon script so you can expect the inevitable hokey, cheap storytelling and stilted dialogue (oh how much better Gordon ended up being without Gansa). Once you get past some hilariously bad dialogue this isn't a particularly awful episode, if still a bad one. It's got some tense scenes and some effective use of characters, particularly Scully. Once the dilemma is set up the episode gets more interesting, but that's not saying much. It turns into a standard thriller towards the end.

What made "The X-Files" great was how it regularly put a fun and different spin on things every time it slipped into more traditional and predictable territory. You would think that you knew what was happening then they'd put something in there that elevated the script above the standard. What I don't like about a lot of season one episodes is how that special spark is seriously lacking, and how many of them seem like subpar anthology show episodes or, worse, subpar police procedurals with a supernatural twist. "Lazarus" is just more mediocrity.

4/10

FBI agent Jack Willis is involved in a bank robbery shoot out with robber Warren Dupre.Both men are rushed to hospital as a result of their injuries.Dupre dies when Willis pulls through and lives.When Willis leaves hospital and returns to his FBI duties his behaviour seems a bit bizarre and totally out of character.Mulder comes to the conclusion Dupre has come back to life in Willis's body.Scully has doubts about this as she reveals she had a relationship with him before.

Its welcome to catch a glimpse into Scully's past revealing a lot more of the character plus Mulder appears to take this Revelation well not displaying any jealousy or animosity towards her.

I enjoyed this episode a lot and the twist at the end provides a good ending