E.B.E.

True, a couple of earlier episodes deal with UFO's and the like, but "E.B.E." is the first episode which takes the form of your average season 2-5 mythology episode, and is the first to show an indication of the extent of the government cover-up and conspiracy, well beyond what we had seen in previous episodes, and this time directly in relation to Mulder and Scully.

"E.B.E." is an oddity as a mythology episode since it was written by James Wong and Glen Morgan, who usually wrote spooky standalone episodes. This is a different sort of script for them, but they pull it off brilliantly, with a lot of excellent dialogue and memorable scenes, such as Scully's first meeting with the Lone Gunmen, us learning more about Deep Throat's background, if he is to be believed. I do find it odd that the episode which was very much the launching point for the mythology story was not written by the people who eventually carried on the story.

"E.B.E." features some outstanding use of smoke cinematography-wise, which lends the episode a great atmosphere. The same trick would continue to feature prominently in the second and third seasons which were also photographed by John Bartley. The musical score is also excellent, with one tune in particular being quite haunting and memorable.

"E.B.E." is very much a personal favorite as it was the first episode I properly sat down and watched, and got me hooked instantly. In a first season with precious few great episodes it shines even more than it does in comparison to most episodes in later seasons, and it lays the foundation for not only the masterful season finale "The Erlenmeyer Flask", but for the many great mythology episodes to come.

What an outstanding episode.

10/10

Builds upon the UFO/extra terrestrial storyline seen in some episode's with a climatic finish, but also doesn't give too much away.

Now this is a turning point.

Previously, the pair of detectives had all sorts of close encounters with strange phenomena, with sundry evidence establishing proof. This is complicated here. We have the usual conspiracy and cover-up by secret government, but also we have doctored evidence, and even a whole close encounter staged to dupe the pair away from the 'real' thing.

So when in the end we have deep revelations about Roswell, and the alleged UFO at Hanoi, the narrator is unreliable and could be making up any part of what he reveals, and even the whole secret compound can be a hoax set up because it is something we would expect to discover, wanting to believe. It makes little sense why any of this should happen, but that's the series for you.

The notion is that the most convenient place to hide a lie is between truths, a statement which in our case can be both a lie and true.

Other than that, this is the most cinematic and evocative of the episodes so far.

Information regarding a UFO which has been shot down over Iraq and secretly transported the U.S. has been conveyed to Mulder from Deep Throat.However previously where Deep Throat has appeared to be helpful and attempt to guide Mulder in the right direction isn't repeated in this episode.He blatantly lies to Mulder to cover up the truth of what really happened.Also in this episode is the debut of the much loved Lone Gunmen characters.Mulders paranoid friends who like showing off their technical knowledge with the express aim of aiding him on his cases.An exciting episode where many more questions are asked about Deep Throat and what his true motives are and the first sightings of the highly likable Lone Gunmen

Misinformation and red herrings are thrown into the path of Mulder and Scully, as the powers that be are trying hard to throw them off a scent.

Paranoia, drama, intrigue, suspense, they are all driven to the max. This is definitely one of the best episodes from this first series, it is a terrific episode, it's a great story, impeccably delivered.

Mulder and Scully feel like a very united duo here.

We learn what the term E.B.E is, and get introduced to some of Mulder's friends. There really is so much rich content here.

Deep Throat has been a constant, and been somewhat helpful for Mulder, could this be a turning point, is he perhaps not all he's cracked up to be? Hardin is great.

This was an impressive watch, 10/10.