Revelations

Hot on the heels of the wonderful two part Nisei/731, comes Revelations, after those two excellent stories, I found this one a little lacking. It's still a good watch, and has a plot you'll have seen several times on different types of thrillers.

It had a very dramatic few moments at the very beginning, and like me, you may feel as if you're in for something pretty big, truth is it just doesn't really lead to anything, I thought the ending was a little flat.

Several things are implied and suggested, and as always you're allowed to make your own mind up as to what to think.

Solid acting, I thought that Kenneth Welsh was rather good here.

I forget sometimes that I'm a cynical Brit watching an American series, and we do have some very different ideas, particularly when it comes to religion, maybe that's a factor in my thoughts of this one.

Decent, not a favourite, 6/10.

I'm a big fan of X-Files but felt this episode was pretty bad. They always make religion so weird whenever they try to incorporate it in the show, and make people who believe in religious affairs to be wildly strange. The role reversal of Scully being the believer this time was pretty awesome but overall this episode had a lot of plot holes and I really didn't enjoy it.

I think you need to have an interest in the religious-themed episodes of The X-Files to fully appreciate Revelations. I personally do not find it as compelling as Die Hand Die Verlitz, but it is a good look at faith from the perspective of a traditionally sceptical character who values scientific evidence.

Most X-Files episodes that reverse the believer-sceptic roles of the main characters work well, and this is no different. I think the plot unfolds well until it becomes fairly contrived and predictable towards its conclusion.

No aliens here, the show goes back to the supernatural and in this case focuses on faith (Christianity in particular). I enjoyed the blending of reality and fantasy (or is it?) to bring about a sense of realism, but more so the thought-provoking message delivered.

While we have the usual suspense, investigation, and chase scene we've come to expect from The X-Files, we get an almost role-reversal with Scully and Mulder, whereas Mulder is the one who can't believe in something extraordinary because of its tie to religion.

In the end, Scully makes a very human confession while opening up a number of questions for consideration. Excellent conclusion to a surprisingly deep episode.

What sets this aside is that we have a role reversal where Scully becomes the believer and Mulder the one who questions stuff, which makes him come across as a colossal tool.

Scully's religious belief can be traced back to Beyond the Sea and having visions of her deceased father.

Other than that, this is usual and tired. Stigmata, fake and real touches of god. And a mysterious killer on the loose.

If you swap the context, here religious, it's the same detective stuff as any number of episodes: there's a lot of running between places, piecing a plot and trying to prevent the final crime. Facing larger powers at work.

Bo-ring. Go to Marjoe if you want a chilling look on faith, a 70s documentary on (then) the 'world's youngest minister'.