Notable for being Darin Morgan’s first story credit before he officially started writing for the show.
The Case
The case, according to the FBI: A series of seemingly random killing sprees occur in a small town.
Mulder’s Theory: Smashed electronics are found at the scene of each murder, leading Mulder to believe that the machines may somehow be influencing the killers.
Scully’s Theory: After finding traces of it in the body of one of the killers during an autopsy, Scully thinks that LSDM from a pesticide may have something to do with it.
What’s actually going on: The LSDM seemed to be affecting individuals triggered by certain phobias, possibly allowing them to be affected by subliminal messages broadcast on electronic devices that may or may not have been related to controlled experiments by the government.
Did Mulder and Scully solve the case? As far as the FBI is concerned, most likely (though this case wouldn’t have been classified as an X-File, since the X-Files unit was closed during this episode). Objectively, one killer was located. A potential killer was stopped and brought in. The agency using the pesticide agreed to research the affect it may have on the population, though only if they could do it without drawing attention to themselves.
Interpersonal Relationships
Mulder and Scully: Even though they’re no longer formally working together, Mulder apparently still sends long-ass emails to Scully for her input on his cases, and she just waits for him to get to the weird shit. She also performed the autopsy for his case and flew out a few hundred miles to join him when he needed her help. You know, like any work acquaintance might do.
Frohike and Mulder: Frohike is a creeper, and it’s implied that Mulder probably gave him Scully’s phone number in exchange for a letting him borrow his night vision goggles. We also get this exchange between Frohike and Mulder:
Frohike: “So, Mulder, where’s your little partner?
Mulder: “She wouldn’t come. She’s afraid of her love for you.”
Frohike: “She’s tasty.”
Mulder: “You know, Frohike, it’s men like you who give perversion a bad name.”
Agents in Peril
Fox Mulder: Pretty much all Mulder in this one. First he was slashed in the arm by a knife-wielding woman whose microwave told her to kill him, then he was sprayed down with some potentially psychotic pesticide, and finally, he went head-to-head with a man with a shotgun who was already in the process of shooting up the place. Also, he tripped while running up stairs and re-opened his knife wound. Ouch.
Recurring Elements
Glasses: Two different scenes where Scully’s wearing glasses. Woo! [The Glasses Master Post]
Physical Fitness: We see Mulder going for a jog while working on the case.
Porn: Mulder’s excuse for not reading the August edition of “The Lone Gunman” was that it arrived the same day as his issue of Celebrity Skin. (Frohike also has a number of pin-ups in his work area.)
Not Officially an X-File: This episode takes place after the X-Files unit had been shut down the first time. Mulder is back to investigating violent crimes, and Scully is teaching and doing autopsies at Quantico, but they still manage to get together to figure this one out.