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The X-Files Season 4 Episode 22

Elegy

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8.4

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 5/4/97

After a man sees a woman trapped inside a bowling alley pin setter, he goes for help and finds police standing next to the body of the same woman. Mulder and Scully join the investigation and follow up this lead which the police won't bother with and they are led to a retarded man who works at the bowling alley.moreless

Fan Episode Reviews (10)

Elegy

9.5

By TrueTvWatcher, Aug 12, 2012

Elegy was a perfectly entertaining episode of The X-Files. I really enjoyed watching because the story was intriguing, the characters had some great development, and the ending was great. It was fun watching Mulder and Scully investigate the case and follow a lead to a Mental Institution. The people there were funny during the group interview, especially the guy who kept saying "I'm only human". I liked when Scully had to question herself on what she had seen. I liked how every thing played out and look forward to watching what happens next!!!!!!!!!moreless
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Mulder and Scully look into a mentally challenged man who can see ghosts, while Scully deals with her cancer

8.2

By JaCkKbAuEr2424, Feb 16, 2011

I'm glad that Chris Carter and the other writers are focusing a lot on Scully's illness. It's definitely giving Gillian Anderson some of her best scenes of the show to date. If only the actual case of the week was as interesting as the stuff going on with Scully, it would've been even better.

The basic case is that a mentally challenged individual is able to see the ghosts of women that have died, even though their body is in a completely different place. At first, Mulder and Scully think that he's responsible for the deaths of the girls and that this is an excuse to cover himself up, but after Scully sees a ghost herself, she begins having doubts and struggles to figure out what she believes.

As the episode goes along, Scully's illness ties in with the episode more than one would expect. Mulder has a theory that only people who are dying can see the ghosts, which puts Scully in an odd position.

The main plot itself was only slightly interesting... to me, it felt lackluster and most of the power in the episode arose from Scully's acting.moreless
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She is me

6.5

By Emmma, Jan 25, 2010

At the beginning, I quite enjoyed the storyline, about Harold being able to see the ghosts of these women just after they had died and were left wondering if Harold had killed them. But in the last 10 minutes of the episode, A nurse taking care of Harold is introduced and all of a sudden we find out that she has been poisining him and she is the one who killed those women because she didn't want Harold to have any happiness before he died. Those last scenes just seemed rather rushed to me. In my opinion I think it would have been better if that nurse had been seen throughout the episode.

The storyline also expanded Scully's cancer storyline. One of the best scenes of the episode was where Mulder told Scully he thought that Harold could see the ghosts because he had a connection with them - that he was dying as well. Scully hadn't told Mulder that she had seen the college students ghost in the washroom and she now knows that she is dying. Another good scene was where Scully was talking to her therapist, talking about how he didn't realise how much she relied on Mulder till now. I also liked the final scene, where Mulder and Scully had a little argument... That Mulder hated that Scully was keeping things from him, how he felt that she was working against him. His concern for her is touching, and in a funny way, so is his non acceptance of her illness.moreless
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bowling alley ghost

7.7

By threenineteen, Jun 27, 2007

A dude sees a dead girl stuck in bowling alley machinery (the bit that makes the sweeper thing move i think) and then sees her again, only this time she is real and dead and on a road. In come Mulder and Scully, and they investigate it. The episode was good, and the conclusion was a twist, in my opinion, because i really didn;t see it coming until the last minute. Scully's cancer showed up again (funny how they just 'forget' it sometimes, isn't it?) and Mulders concern for her was quite endearing, although she insists on being fine. I think they have their first proper, personal argument at the end because Scully omitted some of the truth from him- that she saw one of the victims. I think Mulder was being a bit insenstive really, because Scully is afterall dying, and there he is yelling at her. Enjoyable, but not the best.moreless
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I Wanna Be Sedated

7.2

By Anon67683, Mar 17, 2007

The storyline is a mess and rather dull. Why is it that dying people near the bowling alley are able to see the ghosties? Is there something in the water? Ancient Indian burial site? It seems so arbitrary and is never explained at all. If the writer doesn't care, why should we? And don't get me started on the ridiculousness of "Nurse Ratched" .....

I suspect the real idea behind this episode was to expand upon Scully's cancer storyline (she was absent entirely from the previous episode) and to show Mulder's lack of acceptance of her illness, with Scully's resulting sense of alienation. The therapist scene was great, very revealing and some fine acting by Anderson. It's just too bad the writer couldn't imagine a more interesting story with which to dress these ideas.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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David Duchovny	Special Agent Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	Special Agent Dana Scully

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Alex Bruhanski	Angleo Pintero	Guest Star
Sydney Lassick	Chuck Forsch	Guest Star
Nancy Fish	Nurse Innes	Guest Star

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (1)
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- In the scene where Harold recites the bowling scores, one of the sets is 122 131 166 178 201. How did that bowler jump from 131 to 166 when you can't score more than 30 in a frame?
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QUOTES (5)
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- Mulder: Hi, I wanted to know if anyone had used the pay phone in the hallway there on Friday night, because somebody called the police and reported a murder.
  (The room is silent)
  Doctor: (Whispers) Sloppy joe night.
  Mulder: It was sloppy joe night.
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- FBI Agent: The guy claims he saw the victim.
  Mulder: No, not the victim. The victim's apparition, what the Irish call a fetch, what is more commonly known as a wraith.
  FBI Agent: Oh, okay.
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- Mulder: What is a death omen if not a vision of our own mortality?
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- Mulder: What is that look, Scully?
  Scully: I would have thought that after 4 years you'd know exactly what that look was.
  Mulder: What, you don't believe in ghosts?
  Scully: And that surprises you?
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- Mulder: You can believe what you want to believe, Scully, but you can't hide the truth from me because if you do, then you're working against me... and yourself. I know what you're afraid of. I'm afraid of the same thing.
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NOTES (5)
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- Steven M. Porter, playing Harold Spüller, is a college friend of The X-Files co-executive producer Frank Spotnitz.
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- Mulder asks Harold Spüller about one of the victims, a woman named Risa Shapiro. The real Risa Shapiro is David Duchovny's agent.
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- This episodes name changed from 'Tulpa' to 'Revenant' before becoming 'Elegy'. A 'Tulpa' is a ghostly manifestation of a thought-form produced by the mind. 'Revenant' is one that comes back following an absence or one who returns after death.
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- An elegy is a poem expressing grief for someone who is dead.
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- Although there are many actors who have played several different parts on the show within its 9 seasons, Christine Willes is one of the few to have a small recurring role as the same character. She returns in this episode playing FBI counsellor Karen Kossoff, who previously appeared in season 2's 'Irresistible' and 'The Calusari'.
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ALLUSIONS (1)
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- Film reference: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
  
  The scenes in the mental hospital are reminiscent of the film especially since the actor who portrayed Chuck Forsch also played Charlie Cheswick in the famous movie, and the character of Nurse Innes is similar to that of the sadistic Nurse Ratchett.
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