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Season 9, Episode 17, Aired
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Episode Summary

When an FBI cadet with amazing profiling skills approaches Doggett, Reyes and Scully with a lead on a suspect in a series of recent murders, he claims the same killer is responsible for the death of Doggett's son. The agents find themselves wondering if his knowledge of the deaths is because of his obsession with the cases he has studied at Quantico or if he is in some way involved in the murders.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (5)

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  • This episode seals the future fate for "Monica and John." They come to realize how much they love and support each other in this episode.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By CherannCarlyle, Aug 25, 2011 Report Abuse
    This episode allows John to experience the freedom he needs to move forward with his life. He and his ex-wife can now let go of their son Luke who has been murdered. That is Robert Patrick's real life wife Barbara Patrick. Brad Follmer turns out to be the bad guy. I never liked the creepy guy anyways. A new young cadet is the one who helps them figure out the murderer. He seems to be psychic and have abilities to aid them with the case. There's more to his story than that. He's actually a mental patient who's schizophrenic and got a job at the FBI. His schizophrenic/psychic abilities allow him to solve cases. He gives John the info needed to solve the case before he is found out. They do solve the case. Brad shoots the bad guy (I forgot his name). I love the scene at the beach with John and his ex-wife, they release Luke's ashes. It's very touching then he goes and greets Monica. This seals their future fate, realize they are in love and have a future together. Really touching.moreless

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  • Doggett gets closure in his son's death, as we continue wrapping up plot threads.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By grifter78, Aug 24, 2011 Report Abuse
    Less an X-File and more an episode of Law & Order, but great nonetheless. Fullmer's conflicted, gray area character gets a moment to shine, even if he manages to rob Doggett of a more personal form of justice in the process. The schizo cadet almost seems added baggage, just so that there's something supernatural going on. The case could have been solved virtually the same way without his presence, especially since we have Reyes, queen of the extraordinary guesswork.
    Overall, a well-crafted, emotional episode that's been a long time coming.moreless

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  • Doggett gets the closure he has been looking for for over 9 years.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By farscapefanuk, Aug 24, 2011 Report Abuse
    This was a very touching episode. Its very sad that Doggett lost his son but finally he gets the release that he deserved the truth about his sons death. I absolutly loved this episode, also in this episode Brad gets into deep crap when it is revealed that he has ben taking bribes. The endig of this episode where Doggett and his ex-wife throw their sons ashes in the sea almost made me cry. Only three episodes left of the X Files. Really enjoyed the storyline. Agent Doggett really is a great charator. This episode was very well writeen and is amoung my favourites of season 9.moreless

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  • Thrilling, sensational masterpiece!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By NYCSausage, Aug 24, 2011 Report Abuse
    When whatching this episode you instantly know from the beginning it's going to be another classic story. Very carefully the plot ties into the other episode which dealt with the death of Agent John Doggett's son. I like the fact they they took three different episodes and moulded them into this one story. This is a mind bender story where you really need the back up eps to understand this one. Acted brilliantly by all parties and the story written stupendously. Episodes like this, that challange your thinking and intellect are why this one in particular is definatly worth watching. As well as a bit of insight into the Doggett/Reyes relationship!moreless

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  • An excellent multi-layered episode.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By whiteraven2005, Aug 23, 2011 Report Abuse
    I love Doggett as a character and like Mulder's Samantha, Luke has always haunted John with that same guilt.

    The cadet is seriously creepy and wonderfully acted. Probably psychic, he seems to have a gift with violent death, seeing things and making the kind of deductive leaps that made Mulder famous as a profiler. The FBI's screening process must be pretty flimsy that he was able to get into the academy.

    I must admit I am very disappointed about Brad. I always liked him and there are times he's helped with no agenda and to find out he's dirty, I had hoped he would be more like Skinner, a potential ally. He did Doggett a favour killing his son's killer but has probably destroyed his career and will face criminal charges. He shot an unarmed man in the street in front of witnesses, there's no getting away from that. Suggests how desperate Brad was that he'd be so stupid about it, there's a dozen better ways he could have done it and gotten away with it. I hope he's not out of the series, I really do like him.

    A fascinating case, such a simple explanation for a child's death: wrong place, wrong time.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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  • Notes

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    • This episode marks the final appearance of Cary Elwes as A.D. Brad Follmer. Presumably, after he killed Regali at the climax, the video tape depicting his accepting a bribe landed at the Washington Post, resulting in Follmer's dismissal from the FBI, and possibly even being sent to prison on charges of taking bribes and murder. Still, it showed that Follmer wasn't a complete creep, as previous episodes led several viewers to think. Edit
    • The actor who portrays Cadet Hayes was actually a writing intern on the show. Edit
    • The woman playing Agent Doggett's wife in this episode is Robert Patrick's real wife, Barbara Patrick. Edit

  • Quotes

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    • Reyes: John! Where you been? Doggett: Chasing down leads. Reyes: We were supposed to meet in the office this morning, remember? To go over what we have on Regali. Doggett: I think this guy, Regali, may have been involved in Luke's death. Reyes: What? Since when? Doggett: Since I've been talking to Cadet Hayes. He says Regali knew Bob Harvey - that they were in on it together. Reyes: How could he possibly know that? Doggett: How does he know half the stuff he knows? I did some digging. I found out that Bob Harvey and Regali both did time at Walkill in 1988. Reyes: So did a thousand other men. That doesn't mean they knew each other. Doggett: I tracked Regali's credit card use, Monica. The day Luke disappeared he gassed his car up two miles from my house. Reyes: Regali is a New Yorker. A lot of New Yorker's visit Long Island. This is not evidence, not even close. I will never know how badly it hurt you to lose your son, or how much pain you still carry. I understand how much you want to find his killer, but I don't want to see you disappointed. Not again. Doggett: It's not going to happen. Not this time. Edit
    • Doggett: When did you get the new furniture? Barbara Doggett: Last year. I just wanted to make a change. Doggett: It looks great. You look great. Barbara Doggett: You need to call first, John. Kind of throws me when you just show up here. Doggett: I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I need to talk to you, Barb. Barbara Doggett: It's about Luke. Doggett: I got a suspect. Barbara Doggett: Oh, god. John... Doggett: I know, I know. But this time, it's different. Barbara Doggett: Is it? He 'could' be, he 'might' be... I want to find out who did this just as badly as you do. But I don't want you coming over here again, bringing all this up, unless you know... unless you absolutely know. That's what I thought. Doggett: Look, this guy may have been cruising the neighborhood. You could have seen him. Barbara Doggett: Did you hear anything I said? Edit
    • Barbara Doggett: Agent Scully? I'm Barbara. John's ex-wife. Scully: Hi. I'm Dana. Nice to meet you. Barbara Doggett: He said you'd be coming by. Scully: You weren't able to make an identification? Barbara Doggett: I didn't expect to. You know he doesn't think clearly about this. He can't. Scully: He blames himself. Barbara Doggett: He thinks he failed Luke. In his mind, he can never do enough, never suffer enough, for what happened. I think if you can help him find the man who did this, maybe... he could move on. He and Monica could really have something together. He just won't let her in. They're letting him go? Doggett: For now. Barbara Doggett: I'll be at my mom's 'til tomorrow. (She leaves) Doggett: Tell me you got something. Scully: As you asked, I compared the wounds inflicted on your son, with the wounds on these two women. Doggett: And? Scully: There are similarities between the trajectory of the wounds and the force with which they were delivered. Doggett: Meaning Regali's the guy. Scully: Meaning that it was a brilliant forensic deduction on Cadet Hayes's part. But that's all it is. The killer used different weapons, he demonstrated no consistent MO and no clear victimology. Reyes: None of it will hold up in court. Doggett: Well, something out there will. Edit

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