Young at Heart

An episode from season 1 which gives an insight into Mulder's past and its pretty dark.Earlier in his career Mulder sticking to procedure had a clear chance to shoot a criminal called John Barnett.Mulder didn't want to endanger any other life and didn't take the shot.However Barnett then shot a cop dead.This affects Mulder significantly and struggles to suppress the memory.Barnett is sent down but before he is he threatens Mulder that he will get him.It is believed that Barnett died in prison.Years pass.Mulder starts to receive threatening notes and grows worried that Barnett has seemingly returned from the grave but cannot convince himself this.Barnett is indeed back alive and has the perfect disguise-youth.Its a race to find Barnett before he tries to carry out his threat and kill Mulder.

For me the quality of this episode is augmented by the supporting cast.The actors who play John Barnett,the young John Barnett,Reggie Purdue and Dr Joe Ridley are excellent.It helps hold the episode together and makes it all the more enjoyable

"Young at Heart" belongs to the group of episodes which focus on a case from Mulder's past coming back to haunt him, and although it is not as good as some of those, such as "Beyond the Sea" from earlier in the first season, it is probably Chris Carter's best standalone script for season one outside of "Darkness Falls".

There are some issues with the episode. I don't care at all for the actor who played Barnett, although he was acceptable when he was just a voice, but his appearance towards the end is hammy and ridiculous. Duchovny isn't quite as capable dramatically as he would be later on, so the full emotional aspect of the script isn't conveyed as well as it could have been.

Still, "Young at Heart" has an interesting plot and is more or less a confident script, but if it had come in a later season I probably would have been harder on it. In comparison to some season one episodes it's a masterpiece.

7/10

Young at Heart is another solid season one episode. I like the guest star character of Reggie Purdue and I liked the performance by the actor playing the young Barnett. What I thought was great were the phone conversations between Mulder and Barnett. Barnett has this cool, evil laugh that I can't describe in words. Another nice edition to this episode was Agent Henderson from the crime lab. She and Mulder exchange some double-entendres. Unfortunately, we do not see here again in the series. I think it would've been nice to have Agent Henderson pop up every once in awhile like Agent Pendrell does. I think Mulder's struggle with his past actions in this case for failing to shoot Barnett plays out beautifully. It certainly shows us how difficult it can be to be an FBI agent and the decisions they can face. The question is how Mulder will react when later faced with a similar crisis?

"Young at Heart" starts off strongly enough with an eerie teaser in which proclaimed dead prisoner John Barnett blinks toward the camera with glazed-over eyes, but quickly loses steam thereafter. I think an episode delving into Mulder's beginnings at the FBI was a great idea, but this one is a mess and can't hold a candle to later ones like "Grotesque" or "Paper Hearts," which attempted to do the same thing after a fashion. The idea of reverse aging makes for an intriguing X-File alone, yet wanton inclusions such as Barnett's salamander hand and deteriorating vision are never thoroughly explained and haven't the slightest impact on the storyline. This episode was penned by Chris Carter and Simon Kaufer, and it would appear as though the two had to compromise their own distinct visions of the plot to come up with this jumble.

There is some good guest acting on the parts of Dick Anthony Williams, who plays Mulder's ex-partner Reggie Purdue, and Christine Estabrook (who I immediately recognized as Desperate Housewives' Ms. Huber), who has great chemistry with Duchovny in her respective scenes. That one of these characters is killed off and the other not seen again is lamentable, as their performances are the highlight of an otherwise pedestrian effort.

On a side note, I think John Barnett is one of the most annoying villains of the entire series. Just the sound of his voice is enough to tarnish a scene. Throw in some poorly-explained genetic mumbo jumbo and you have one very unfulfilling episode.

A generous 5 out of 10.

Another blast from the past, a man Mulder helped put away some years ago, returns to torment him.

It's a little bit disjointed at times, but on the whole, it's pretty good. It's always good to learn more about Mulder's past, Barnett makes for an interesting foe, although I prefer his older characterisation to the younger one.

The salamander hand thing didn't make any sense to me I'm afraid, I found the ending a bit predictable.

Great music, very dramatic, added a theatrical feel to the episode.