The Erlenmeyer Flask

Imagine my surprise when Agent Mulder pointed out the FBI got a wiretap on his phone WITHOUT a court order. No kidding!

Deep Throat has been a complex figure from the start, once again he gives Mulder a titbit of information, only this time he's reluctant to follow the lead blindly.

What a way to end the first series, this episode is outstanding, for me it feels like the end of the show, I wonder if there was a doubt about a future returns it feels very final.

It's exciting, it's intriguing, I love how the duo finally reach point zero, but will Dana still believe, or will she dismiss events as a hoax.

We are once again unsure if Deep Throat is friend or foe, but he is great in this episode, I enjoyed his conflict with Scully.

I've thoroughly enjoyed this first series, and this is a definite high point. 10/10.

"The Erlenmeyer Flask" was written as both a season and series finale, I believe, as the ratings for much of season one were far from the dazzling level of popularity much of "The X-Files" experienced and the writers/producers were unsure if they were going to get another season just yet, so this is sort of a real finale for all the mythology episodes in season one rather than a first part of two/three sort of thing like "Anasazi" but oddly enough is also the birth of what the X-Files mythology arc would actually become later on. This is the first episode in which we really see the extent of the conspiracy, and it is the first we see of the human/alien hybrids and some other iconic imagery.

There are lots of good observations on this comments page to which I have nothing to add, so I'll just say that this is a really phenomenal script to open the water-cooler aspect of "The X-Files", packed with all sorts of catchphrases, iconic moments, and intrigue, and a fair amount of excellent character interaction. "Trust... Trust No One". This one is an action-packed, massively entertaining, and particularly iconic episode.

10/10

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Season 1 Review: Although many disagree with me, many also agree that season one is far from the best season, and actually lacking in many ways. Not only is it dated and lacking in the sort of brilliant visual flair many of the later episodes had, but it is also quite repetitive and unimaginative, with numerous episodes ending up as middling anthology show sort of stuff, hardly as good as it could have been.

That said, as awkward as much of this season is, there are some brilliant episodes here. "E.B.E." and "The Erlenmeyer Flask" are really great early mythology episodes, "Beyond the Sea" is a stunning character piece and phenomenally involving, and features a brilliant guest performance from Brad Dourif, "Darkness Falls" is one of the most enjoyable pure horror/thriller episodes, and one of the most atmospheric, the Glen Morgan/James Wong episodes "Ice", "Squeeze", and "Tooms" are all a lot of fun. There are some really rotten episodes as I mentioned earlier though: "Born Again", "Space", and "Ghost in the Machine" are especially tiresome.

Season One is hardly an indication of what's to come. There are flashes of brilliance but much of it lacks confidence and skill (although not talent, mind you, even some of the worse episodes), and looks dated and cheap.

Average Rating: 6.33/10

We finally get some real alien lore in this episode as Mulder and Scully discover a plot to breed alien-human hybrids for an unknown purpose.

This episode really got me thinking about all the security guards, military personnel, test pilots, research scientists, engineers, CIA agents, Men in Black, politicians, and international powerbrokers it requires to maintain conspiracies about aliens by those in the know. Think of how many we've seen this season! Mulder definitely picked the wrong line of work, he could have just tried to get a job as a security guard at the alien sample research lab and he'd have gotten all his answers in no time. When you think about it, it must require literally thousands of people on the inside to pull off. And every decade the majority of them would rotate out and need replaced by thousands more. And this is only one of the major nations involved, they would need to do this in every country that's a part of this conspiracy, which was at least half a dozen. By the time this show takes place, that hundreds of thousands of people involved in an alien conspiracy.

You'd think it'd be easier to get some answers!

What a great way to end the first season of the x-files.An apparent unrelated.minor car chase leads the agents to the discovery of what seems to be concrete evidence of a government conspiracy.The early sequence of the man being chased who then is shot emits green blood which has toxic properties is a classic.Also Deep Throat plays an important part i this episode though can the agents trust him after his lies in E.B.E?A stunning moment happens when Mulder enters the warehouse and before his very eyes is bodies in tanks of water.When he returns with Scully the bodies are gone much to Mulders disgust.He thought he had irrefutable,indisputable proof.This episode must be watched!