The Gordon and Gansa scripts of season one were admittedly not the finest moments of that particular year, and for every "Conduit" and "Fallen Angel" we were given a "Ghost in the Machine" and "Born Again." Episode fifteen, "Lazarus," falls somewhere in the middle of the pack, offering up a mildly interesting premise but failing to deliver the tension that made classic X-Files such delicious TV candy.
I think the concept of "body-switching," of transposing one consciousness independent of its physical body into another, is quite interesting. Even in more recent times, on shows such as Lost, the concept is used in various fashions. There have been enough reported cases of near-death and out-of-body experiences to give the phenomenon some sort of foothold in the backdrop of reality. It is certainly an idea that provides food for thought.
While "Lazarus" manages to execute this idea in a believable fashion, the pieces don't completely come together. The case revolves around Scully's ex-boyfriend Jack Willis. While it's nice to see the writers once again delving into Scully's pre X-Files life, our only glimpse of him is in the teaser, as he is shot during a bank robbery and subsequently "possessed" by the shooter, Dupre. Thus, we don't really have a baseline to compare his later actions. There are also quite a few gaps in logic, just in the hospital scenes alone. How anyone could not have noticed Dupre's body convulsing on the stretcher remains an X-File in itself, and it makes absolutely no sense that a physically and psychologically suffering Willis would have been allowed right back on the case.
Still, this episode earns points for Scully's scenes. Duped by Dupre/Willis during a chase of his girlfriend Lula, Scully is kidnapped (for the first of many times), yet never lets her situation get the best of her. There are some great Scully "backbone" moments here, including the final scene in which she attempts to resurrect memories in Willis's trapped conscience. It provides tension in an otherwise tension-lacking affair.
"Lazarus" earns points for a solid premise (that would later be revisited in a different manner in "Dreamland"), fine acting and for reminding us that Scully has a spine. If it were a more engaging, logically consistent episode, I would probably rank it higher. As is, I give it a 6 out of 10.
I think the concept of "body-switching," of transposing one consciousness independent of its physical body into another, is quite interesting. Even in more recent times, on shows such as Lost, the concept is used in various fashions. There have been enough reported cases of near-death and out-of-body experiences to give the phenomenon some sort of foothold in the backdrop of reality. It is certainly an idea that provides food for thought.
While "Lazarus" manages to execute this idea in a believable fashion, the pieces don't completely come together. The case revolves around Scully's ex-boyfriend Jack Willis. While it's nice to see the writers once again delving into Scully's pre X-Files life, our only glimpse of him is in the teaser, as he is shot during a bank robbery and subsequently "possessed" by the shooter, Dupre. Thus, we don't really have a baseline to compare his later actions. There are also quite a few gaps in logic, just in the hospital scenes alone. How anyone could not have noticed Dupre's body convulsing on the stretcher remains an X-File in itself, and it makes absolutely no sense that a physically and psychologically suffering Willis would have been allowed right back on the case.
Still, this episode earns points for Scully's scenes. Duped by Dupre/Willis during a chase of his girlfriend Lula, Scully is kidnapped (for the first of many times), yet never lets her situation get the best of her. There are some great Scully "backbone" moments here, including the final scene in which she attempts to resurrect memories in Willis's trapped conscience. It provides tension in an otherwise tension-lacking affair.
"Lazarus" earns points for a solid premise (that would later be revisited in a different manner in "Dreamland"), fine acting and for reminding us that Scully has a spine. If it were a more engaging, logically consistent episode, I would probably rank it higher. As is, I give it a 6 out of 10.