Medusa

Season 8, Episode 12, Aired
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Episode Summary

Scully and Doggett race to investigate a string of bizarre deaths in the tunnels of the Boston subway system linked to a mysterious killer. But the agents are put under pressure when they have to investigate the case on a short deadline because the subway is going to be reopened.moreless
8.1
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Fan Episode Reviews (9)

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  • Derailed

    4.1
    "Poor"
    By Anon67683, Mar 06, 2011 Report Abuse
    Another trainwreck of an episode. This is one is not so much bad as it is mind-numbingly tedious and uninteresting as we watch Doggett schlep through a dark subway tunnel while a whole lot of nothing happens. With a title like "Medusa" and the opening teaser seemingly showing a transit cop being attacked by a monster that corrodes flesh, one might expect Doggett to encounter a fearsome multi-headed monster down deep in the subway. Nope. Turns out the teaser was a blatant cheat as there is no monster to be found, only an inanimate glow-in-the-dark fungus that gives the producers an excuse to break out some cool CG effects.

    Why Scoggett are immediately called in whenever a dead body is found ANYWHERE in the country remains a mystery. Seriously, since the introduction of Doggett, the X-Files has become like "Law And Order," only with cooler music.

    This time Scoggett are part of a crack team sent down into the subway in Half-Life suits to find the killer. Doggett and Scully are split up, with Scully left in charge of a strangely empty subway control center while Doggett searches for the non-monster down in the tube. It's an awkward move, but perhaps necessary as Doggett and Scully continue to have zero chemistry working together. Scully spends the rest of the episode passively watching Doggett's video feed while exclaiming over and over again how she doesn't know what they are looking for and she doesn't know what is going on. Meanwhile, the guy from Scrubs pops in every ten minutes or so to taunt Scully that the trains are going to run on time. Yawn.

    The ending is possibly the most random, implausible thing that I have ever seen. Some random kid comes across Doggett, in the middle of nowhere down deep in the subway, mind you, and motions him to a room filled with the glowing goo. Apparently, the kid is not a card-carrying member of SAG since he is not allowed to speak a word to Doggett. Can I get a WTF? Meanwhile, the evil Scrubs dude unleashes the trains, even though Doggett and Co. are still down in the subway. Yeah, right, talk about a false dilemma. So Doggett short-circuits the electrical third-rail and electrocutes the glowing goo. How Doggett and the random kid survive the massive surge of electricity while standing ankle-deep in seawater is a question that the writer doesn't seem interested in answering.moreless

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    1 7

  • the x-files turns into a blockbuster adventure movie

    8.5
    "Great"
    By avesnovuelan, Mar 06, 2011 Report Abuse
    Any x-files fan will admit that the episodes sans-Mulder, good or bad, were never quite as high quality as the earlier episodes. This episode is no great exception, but I still thought it was great. It was vaguely reminiscent of "Ice" from season 1. The "monster" of the week was a biological organism, and the guest stars were a wide variety of good and not-so-good guys. This episode had great action, mystery, and drama. I really appreciated the different roles that Scully and Doggett played. As the viewer we can assume that the reason Scully did not go into the tunnel is because she is pregnant and didn't want to put the baby at risk, but Doggett doesn't know that. Still he never questions her judgment. This episode marks a change in their working relationship from one of uneasy cooperation to one of trust and even some concern on Scully's part for Doggett's well-being. I think that the Scully/Doggett relationship is meant to contrast the Mulder/Scully relationship and this episode does a good job of that.moreless

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    3 0

  • A typical old-fashioned X-File, similar in atmosphere and quality to episodes like 'Darkness Falls' and 'Ice'.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By whiteraven2005, May 20, 2010 Report Abuse
    Talk about a political minefield, under enormous pressure, the powers that be want the trains running again and are pushing a lame theory about a killer with acid, not really caring what the truth is. Scully make the decision to stay behind which proves to be wise when things get bad, Scully is the only thing standing between the contagion and the city. Doggett has his own problems namely the extremely aggressive Bianco who is obviously in the pocket of the railroad/politicians.

    Love how Scully stands her ground, and how Doggett is absolutely loyal. Scully so obviously made the right call, especially when Melnick's arm exploded, there's a desperate need for quarantine and as always happens, there's one person who is willing to risk releasing a dangerous substance just to save themselves.

    The boss starts the trains promptly at 4pm, deliberately not being in the room with Scully so she can't stop him. This guy should be arrested for criminal negligence, endangering the public! Doggett certainly proved he's not just a pretty face, very smart and quick thinking. Ironic, Doggett saves the day and it destroys all the evidence your typical X-File.

    This is an excellent episode on many levels, from the politics to the contagion to the wonderful teamwork. This is the first time that Doggett and Scully work flawlessly together and they are actually starting to work smoothly as a team. Doggett's the type of partner you want to have smart, resourceful, loyal and an all around good person. Really starting to love him. This is also the first time that it truly feels like Mulder's left the building, that his ghost isn't haunting the X-Files offices and Scully seems to be accepting Doggett. From a bigger picture POV, this is the first truly outstanding episode of season 8, took the writers far too long to adjust to the absence of David Duchovny but it's finally happened.moreless

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    2 0

  • A good episode from Season 8

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By OnePerCentClub, May 20, 2010 Report Abuse
    I think this is one of the few episodes of Season 8 that can be rescued. This season is not one of my favorites, but this episode is good.
    I liked the whole plot. It was good to see Scully trying to hide her pregnancy from Doggett by telling him that is was better for her to stay up and she could be more helpful. It was also good seeing Scully worry about Doggett, she was very upset and anxious, like shes beginning to care about him.
    You know, I wouldve like to see Mulder in this episode, he couldve taken Doggetts place. It wouldve been nice to have Mulder give Scully "the look" on being careful because of the baby. It wouldve been nice to see Mulder at the end in the hospital with Scully checking on him and talking about the reason she wasnt down there with him. LGmoreless

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    4 0

  • First, I found this episode really disspointing. The commercials were extremely misleading in this case making you believe it's some kind of a zombie episode, well, it's not. Upon second viewing, I enjoyed it a lot more. A decent episode.moreless

    6.0
    "Fair"
    By macabre190788, Aug 16, 2007 Report Abuse
    This episode was all "build-up" from the very beginning with little to no payoff at the end. I'm sure I'll enjoy it more the second time I watch it(EDIT:And I did), because I was constantly waiting for this sort of "mothercreature" to show up, hoping it would be awesomely hideous. Sadly, that never happened. What a letdown. The postive aspects about this episode is that it has a lot of dramatic events involving Doggett and his team. This episode is for most of the time pretty damn exciting. The dead bodies showing up and the injuries one of the team members suffer from are all really cool, where their skin gets melted somehow by this green virus. The team are fighting against the clock and have very little time to clear the subway before trains with people starts passing by the deadly substance. In the end a little kid shows up from nowhere right out of the blue, I don't know, I might have missed something along the way, but that was incredibly stupid. Robert Patrick gets a lot of screen time and is great as always, along with Gillian Anderson. It was an okay episode, not great but really not that bad either.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • You would think that in the event of an unidentified contagion that had killed at least 5 individuals, that the CDC would have the authority to quarantine the entire area and shut down the subway system. Edit
    • In this episode while Doggett was in the tunnel Dr. Lyle mentioned "Survivor 2". That season was called Survivor Australian Outback. Survivor is a long running show that is going into it's 15th season this fall. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • In the teaser, the undercover cop refers to "a possible ten-thirteen" in his radio call. This is a common X-Files in-joke. Many episodes make reference to "ten thirteen" or "1013" in some fashion. This is because 10/13/56 is Chris Carter's birthdate. His production company is also "Ten Thirteen Productions". Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Scully: Look, Agent Doggett, not a criminal charge is going to stick. These guys were just doing their job-- keeping the trains running. Scully: But they've got you to thank. And not just for saving their butts. Doggett: No. You figured it out. I was just your eyes and ears. Doggett: Agent Scully... Scully: Let's go home. Edit
    • Doggett: Nurse! Nurse! Scully: Where do you think you're going? Doggett: Find the nurse. She said she was going to talk to the doctor about me going home. I could be dying in here for all she knows. Scully: Well, you're not... Agent Doggett. Your skin and body have been rid of the organism. Simple alcohol bath cleaned you right up. I was just down talking to the nurse and I told her I'd come and give you the news. Edit
    • Scully: Agent Doggett? Agent Doggett, can you hear me? Agent Doggett? Doggett: Yeah. I'm here. I hear you. Scully: Oh, you had me. I, uh... I started fearing the worst. Doggett: No, I... I got blindsided by... I don't see Lieutenant Bianco. He's infected with something. I saw it glowing on his skin. Scully: And what's your condition, Agent Doggett? Doggett: I'm going to assume it's not good. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Lyle: What base are they covering? Karras: Agent Scully is a medical doctor, who they tell me has a lot of experience with equivocal deaths. Melnick: Equivocal? Hey, I mean you're dead or you're not, right? Scully: Deaths for which there may be many explanations or for which an explanation may be hard to find. Lyle: What about you? Doggett: I'm just a good shot. The reason why Doggett is in the team, is a little nod to his appearance in the movie "Terminator 2: Judgement Day", where he played the T-1000. Director James Cameron was impressed by Robert Patrick's shooting in the movie, that he didn't do anything like fast motion or any other special effects. Edit
    • Episode Title: Medusa
      Medusa is a character from Greek Mythology, one of the three "Gorgons". The most well-known of the Medusa myths describes her with hair of snakes and a gaze that turns a creature to stone. Medusa was slain by the Greek hero Perseus, who used a polished shield as a mirror (thus avoiding Medusa's direct gaze) to guide his swordstroke, with which he beheaded her. The name "Medusa" means "sovereign female wisdom". "Medusa" is also the name of a kind of jellyfish body type (along with the less-popular "Polyp"). Edit

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