SEASON 1

SEASON 2

SEASON 3

SEASON 4

SEASON 5

FIGHT THE FUTURE

SEASON 6

SEASON 7

SEASON 8

SEASON 9

< PREVIOUS

Cut to poor traumatized Gary as he talks about how he was in the woods and felt a spirit enter him. Mulder pushes the issue and Gary says it might have been an animal spirit but that he can't explain it or remember much else. Scully starts to explore the house and happens upon the younger boy, Stevie. I love it when Scully interacts with little kids – she's just so damn good at it. She doesn't talk down to them at all but still maintains a maternal air – it's too bad she can't seem to hang onto her own kids, but that's another story. She asks about the night Gary disappeared but gets nowhere. While they talk, we switch to a different POV and see that Mirror-perv is back! He ogles Scully for a bit before she leaves with Mulder and the sheriff, who tells the agents that Gary has changed and won't even suit up for football now. Talk about misplaced priorities – the kid's been possessed by some sort of graffiti-spouting demon-cow spirit and all he notices is he doesn't want to toss the pigskin around anymore? Mulder seems to think the "Meat Is Murder" cult may be responsible and asks the sheriff where they can get a hotel room and some grub.

Fade up on Scully's sauce-splattered bib (a nice callback to the blood-splattered aprons at the meat plant) as she sings the praises of the BBQ she's devouring. She's got an adorable smudge of sauce on her mouth and Mulder reaches out to wipe it off – at this moment, a million shippers' hearts flutter and Scully smiles at his simple gesture. But then it's back to business as she presses Mulder for more information about these "walk-ins". Mulder tells her it's a new age take on an old idea, that if someone has lost all hope and is consumed by despair then they're open to being inhabited by an enlightened spirit. Again, if anyone had lost hope and was consumed by despair, it was Samantha. Mulder name-checks some famous folks like Lincoln and Gorbachev as potential walk-ins before some trouble outside attracts their attention. A group of kids are harassing a cult member on the street, calling him "Aladdin" and "Diaper-head" before Mulder shows up to intervene. Scully follows and the gang of hooligans call her his "little wife" before they notice wifey's packing some heat. The sight of Scully's gun causes the head creep, Rick, to brag that the sheriff's his father before skulking away to undoubtedly mug a guy in a wheelchair or throw rotten vegetables at your grandma.

Later, Rick drops off his skanky girlfriend after swishing his tongue around her mouth and drives off to cause more trouble, leaving her to walk through a darkened parking lot alone. Soon a whimpering sound attracts her and she spots her dog behind some trashcans. But, of course, it's a trap and she's soon nabbed by a shadowy figure and a cloth put over her mouth. The next thing we see she's wandering through a forest dazed and bruised, she looks up a tree and a giant bird swooping down to peck out her eyes before a swarm of bad CGI cockroaches start to attack. We pan away to see "She is one" written on her back.

Cut to hotel room where Scully tells Mulder that the girl's been drugged with a strong anesthetic with hallucinogenic qualities, a drug only a doctor or pharmacist could most likely obtain. In turn, Mulder's found out that Odin, the creepy cult leader, used to be a doctor so they're off to question him. They arrive to talk with Odin and I can't help but wonder if those turbans leave red stains on their heads. They look hot – I bet they are and then you sweat and then the red dye leaves a bright red ring around your noggin, like you were buried up to the top of your skull in the sand and got a bad sunburn. Ouch. Anyway, Odin won't let them in because they eat meat and stuff. Mulder puts up with none of his guff and tells him to come outside because he's arrested, taking him to the sheriff's office where they question Odin about the drug found in the girl's system, scopolamine. The sheriff goes all nutso on him and tries to get him to admit he attacked those kids before Mulder leads him out. Poor Mulder – the sheriff's stealing all his thunder, what with his nutball theories and going all crazy-cop on Odin's ass. That's Mulder's job, dammit!

Anyway, more trouble calls them away to the street as the sheriff's son, Rick, drenches a cult member with a bucket of cow blood. Very Carrie. The sheriff begins to berate his son when yet another creepy guy gestures to Scully to come over to his truck. She does and he says there's something he'd "like to show her". I bet he does. Creepy old guys always do.