Review: Zero Sum

Zero Sum

a review by Julia Donehew

This is the episode in which Mitch Pileggi took over so Gillian Anderson could perform in a small role in a movie with Sharon Stone. And accomodating Gillian's schedule worked out quite well in the whole scheme of things. Continuity, continuity, continuity!!! The bees are back (even though bees are icky), the small pox threat is back, the secondary characters are back (UNaBimbo, the 46th Street New York City Cabal, the Cigarette Smoking Man's (CSM) hit man), dealing with Scully's cancer is back, detailing Skinner's deal with the Devil is back!! "Zero Sum" incorporated many of the outstanding issues in the Mythology arch.

And also The Episode in Which Mitch ....

.... Pileggi finally got to sink his teeth into the role of Assistant Director Skinner. Forget about last season's "Avatar" -- "Zero Sum" is the episode where Mitch really got to shine. He made the most of it. From confusion, uncertainty, panic, realization, and anger, Mitch Pileggi ran the full gambit of emotions. His performance excelled.

Comments:
1. Favorite Scene - PUH-LEEZE!!!!! Need you ask? Skinner can roam around in my apartment in only his cotton briefs **ANY** **TIME**, **ANY** **DAY**!!! But my second favorite scene ranked just behind this one -- the scene at the photo lab when the realization that he is looking at a photo of Skinner comes over Mulder's face. For a brief scene, in a small role, in a pivotal episode, David Duchovny shined brighter than the Hale Bopp Comet on a clear night!!!! :-)

2. Officially, my jaw dropped to the floor for the third time this season. The frist time was when Krychek lost his arm in "Terma", the second time was when Leonard Betts regurgitated a duplicate of himself in "Leonard Betts", and the third time occured in "Zero Sum" when Skinner shot 3 times at CSM. Given the way things have been going lately for Chris Carter productions (XF and Millennium), killing off secondary characters has become the norm, not the exception. I honestly thought that Skinner had had enough and CSM was history. Whoo!! And did you notice how shaken CSM was by his near death experience. I actually heard a tremble in his voice when he answered the phone.

3. Terrifying Concepts:
a. the whole idea of chemical warfare (small pox) using a naturally occuring delivery method (bees) which cannot be included in any chemical warfare ban treaty; and
b. using elementary children as test subjects which harkens back to Deep Throat's testimony to Scully in the first season episode "E-Flask" when he warned her of small pox vaccinations in a southern state which were actually innoculations of Alien DNA. 'Nuff said.

4. UNaBimbo - Hate me now, but I actually enjoyed her confrontation with Skinner. And to tell you the truth, I am pleased to find out that she's a patsy of CSM and his 46th Street New York City Cabal. Makes it much easier to hate her. But the big mystery is, who was the man listening in on the other line during her conversation with CSM? Personally, I don't think that it was Mulder. I think that it was one of the other Cabal members. They have grown increasingly mistrusting of CSM and his continued assurances, so for one of them to be checking up on CSM seems reasonable to me.

5. In-Joke - Anyone else notice that one of the files in Mulder's file cabinet was labelled "Foo Fighters" - the name of the alternative band who's members are self-proclaimed huge fans of the series, who recorded a song for the soundtrack (my favorite track, by the way), and who's lead singer made a cameo appearance in "Pusher"? I had to chuckle when I saw it.

Good episode.