Very heavy handed story about a group of teens who murder a Jewish man who then avenges his death in the form of a golum. The hatred is very stereotypical, but the father in law of the Jewish man who summons the golum is portrayed as a terrorist, which is surprising.
Secondary characters in this episode: None
Why did The X-Files insist on injecting the supernatural into what was originally presented as a grounded science-based show? Note that the term science should be read as if within quotes.
The best thing about several episodes of this series that ended presenting the supernatural (which was a mistake) is that they offered the possibility of exploring different cultures. Unfortunately none of them, including this episode, does so in a satisfactory manner.
An interesting path to explore is what to make of all of these supernatural mythos being real? None of them are real, but if they were, they'd compete with one another. By definition, the belief sets introduced in The X-Files can't co-exist. Oi vey! Also, if all of these mumbo jumbo clearly fabricated tools of oppression and greed existed, Mulder and Scully could've prayed their troubles away. The show wouldn't need to exist, because, no matter who the characters appealed to, their prayers would come true. Who would care about an alien invasion when you've a roster full of deities to call upon? Typing of which, if the supernatural did exist (which it doesn't), the world the show is based in would be completely different (as would real life). Think on that for a second.
The opening is nice, even with the unnecessary and heavy-handed flashback. It's sad... but then the episode begins proper.
The FBI, specifically The X-Files department of two, inexplicably becomes involved in an easily solvable unsolved homicide that's hinted at being, in part, a hate crime. They show up at the grieving parties home with an approved order (!) to exhume the recently deceased - for NO reason. It's absurd. There it is. Carter is listed on the writing credits for this episode. Moments later, Scully softly threatens the father of the deceased that they can get a court order to exhume the body without his consent. Wait. What? Again, there is ZERO reason to exhume the body. It wouldn't be approved in the world of this show, which is modeled on the real one... Oh, right. Except for the world's inconsistency secondary to bad writing.
Ow. Oh, apologies. I was just hit with another clumsy, awkward and extraordinarily heavy-handed passage of exposition. Did Duchovny do a little uncredited ghostwriting on this episode? Mulder then makes leaps of deduction that will result in your carrying out the mind blown Tim & Eric meme.
All while, literally feet away, not really hidden at all, sits a golem of Jewish folklore presented in a variant I've never seen before (most likely because it was created for the show secondary to budgetary constraints and/or ignorance). Actually, it's not a golem. It's a zombie of sorts. The window must be open, because the most interesting thing about this episode, the barest hint of folklore, went flying out of it. Not only is it a magical zombie recreation, but it retains a sliver of the person it once was, as will be revealed later.
Nazi Racist: "What kind of Jew trick is this?"
Mulder: "A Jew pulled it off 2,000 years ago." Fox then slow nods. Scully looks over approvingly.
Upon leaving, Mulder says, "Bless you," while giving the Nazi Racist a long look.
Wow. Wow wow wow. (Spoken in Ryan George of Pitch Meeting's voice).
Later, the agents, while trespassing, draw their guns and place someone under arrest for no reason - and without reading them their rights. Later, Scully relays that the arrest is for suspicion of murder, despite having no evidence.
A reveal transpires. However, when the audience knows what's happening, it's doesn't count for much.
Private apartment. The door's not locked. Oh, let's walk in.
Someone approaching in the dark. No seeming threat. Mulder then fires multiples times at a figure bathed in darkness. It could be anyone. How many bullets does his gun have? After diving down several rabbit holes, TIL - Mulder's gun in this episode (and the remainder of the series) is a SIG-Sauer P226. It contains a 15-bullet cartridge, which means it fires 10mm bullets. To my count, which may be wrong, he fires 13 times.
If one ignores the many fallacies of this episode and the ramifications of character's actions, the close of the episode is quite moving and sad... until the inept editing ruins it. The episode closes, as always, with no resolution or answers... plus, it's implied that the actual criminal* gets away with it.
Final aside: Even with so many liberties, the writing fails us, as the magic zombie inexplicably attacks his betrothed's father. You can't even follow your own rules within a single episode, let alone a series.
Holey shmoley.. That was another sad one.
Shout by RothSothyBlockedParent2016-01-06T17:01:14Z
This one features Jewish mythology, and the Jews here remind me of the Simpsons episode (Like Father, Like Son) about Krusty's father, Rabi.