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As I stated last week, this episode remains one of my absolute favourite episodes of the show. It definitely has a very different feel and theme to most of the show’s episodes, with the focus (finally) being on character development/exploration for Scully, as well as an exploration into what evil really is. Who the monsters are that walk our streets every day, and how they are in fact worse and scarier than anything paranormal or alien or demonic, because these monsters are so…common.
So in some ways, this episode is much more of a “traditional” crime show episode. We have a necrophiliac serial killer, Donnie Pfaster, whose crimes are escalating and there is a push to catch him, of course. This general storyline could be an episode of Law and Order (and perhaps…or probably…it has been), and thus this episode could have been very boring/repetitive (as many of the “beyond the grave” episodes in season 1 were).
But, instead, this is one of the few episodes that show head Chris Carter actually writes really well. There is enough of a different spin on the storyline that it remains engaging and suspenseful. We dive deep into Pfaster’s head and his actions, and while those scenes are undeniably extremely unsettling, including those moments really showed us who the monsters in the world might be: very ordinary people on the surface. It brings up the question of what evil really is, and how to navigate a world full of monsters.
Plus, I will say I was actually shocked to see that Chris Carter wrote this episode, because he usually downplays Scully as a full character. Here, somewhat surprisingly (especially given how Carter treated Scully in the 2018 “return” season 11), Carter recognizes that Scully has indeed been deeply traumatized in the past few months. We don’t shy away from the fear and uncertainty and self-doubt Scully encounters by investigating this case. The journey Scully goes on in this episode is beautiful and heartbreaking and definitely needed to be done, and I am so glad we finally get to see her (and Mulder!) recognize some of their separate and shared trauma.
I genuinely have very few complaints about this episode.
I will warn here though that this episode is very unsettling and creepy. While nothing too overt or graphic is shown, Donnie Pfaster is a “death fetishist” (…he’s a necrophiliac, but Fox producers were apparently uncomfortable with that language). The episode also explores some aspects of prostitution/sex work. I won’t be delving too deep into these specifics myself in the review, though I will discuss some of how Donnie Pfaster’s crimes against dead women are part of what scares and unsettles Scully so much.
So, just a warning. Be prepared for some uncomfortable and possibly triggering topics if you watch this episode, and probably in my review here as well. I still personally really do highly recommend watching or rewatching this episode as it is so good (and you don’t need to have seen any other episodes to really enjoy this one, in my opinion), but there is no question it is an unsettling episode.
Unsettling, creepy, but so well done and ultimately a beautiful character-driven storyline.
Let’s get into it. 🙂
Dug up graves: A brief intro to the case
We open the episode in a funeral home, where a service is being held for a young teenage girl. Fairly benign opening to an episode, as the service itself goes normally. But after the service, the funeral home director hears noises in the area where bodies are kept for burial…is it someone coming back to life? A ghost? A demon? 😱
No…it is something even more unsettling. A funeral home worker discovered cutting off the hair of the deceased teenage girl…and keeping it for his “collection”. How long has this man been doing this? Is he…only keeping “trophies” to feed his fetish or is he further defiling the bodies? What on earth could possess a human to do something like this?
Here, I do want to say: Excellent job on the funeral director’s part for firing the worker (Pfaster) on the spot when he was discovered. I mean, it is of course the most logical and only ethical/moral action to take, but it isn’t unheard of for funeral directors to cover this sort of thing up. Which…uh, actually, I mean, kind of does happen here as well. I am very glad the funeral home director immediately fired Pfaster, but what he should’ve done was report him, because there’s nothing stopping Pfaster from moving on to other funeral homes or escalating his crimes now at this point. And no one but the funeral home director currently knows about Pfaster’s gross and illegal activities.
So, +1 for firing Pfaster…-10 for not actually reporting him.
Because as we see, Pfaster does seemingly almost immediately begin to escalate his crimes to feed his “fetish” once he no longer has easy access to already dead bodies.
We begin relatively “small”, with Pfaster digging up a grave and removing the hair and fingernails. It is this act that brings Mulder and Scully onto the case, because seemingly no one in the Minneapolis P.D. or the FBI field office can believe this might have been the act of a human. Which, I suppose I can understand. Grave robbing does exist, but that’s usually the stealing of items buried in the grave.
Taking human body parts could only possibly be the act of a demon or alien…right? (Side note: I’m actually not quite sure why Agent Bocks—the Minneapolis field agent—immediately jumped to aliens, because I cannot imagine why an alien would want dead body parts to experiment on…???)
Unfortunately, no. Some horrible things are so unfathomable and so unsettling that it feels impossible those acts could be committed by a human.
But a human very much is who we are dealing with in this episode.
The devil in a button-down shirt: Donnie Pfaster
SCULLY: (writing her case report) “It is somehow easier to believe, as Agent Bocks does, in aliens and UFOs, than in the kind of cold-blooded inhuman monster who could prey on the living to scavenge from the dead.”
Certainly what is so unsettling about Donnie Pfaster is how “normal” he seems on the surface. Just a vaguely “bland” young white guy who mostly sticks to himself and blends into the background. I mean, because we know he’s a serial killer/necrophiliac, it is hard to view him as completely normal, but the writers do a good job of making it clear that Pfaster is able to interact with other people and come across as completely normal, even charming and friendly.
The woman who interviews him for a job delivering frozen (?) groceries is certainly charmed by him. His apparent “history” in cosmetology might seem vaguely unsettling, and certainly a bit unusual for a man, but Pfaster easily pushes past any possible weirdness there by complimenting the woman’s lipstick. And he even further puts himself in her good graces by discussing his interest in religion, and the fact that he will be putting himself through school. Very normal interests, a normal action, nothing that would immediately set off red flags.
Especially because, again, he’s just a very bland young white guy.
So when Pfaster gets the job delivering groceries, he again appears completely normal to the mother of the house and her daughter. Perhaps a bit quiet and uncomfortable, socially awkward, but nothing that overtly seems dangerous or particularly weird.
Pfaster is so good at hiding his fetishes, his apparent hatred of women, that even in a situation where he does come off as creepy…that fear is relatively easily cast aside. With the young woman he stops after their mythology night class, she is definitely at first very unsettled to have a strange man talking to her alone at night (as she should be!), but at first Pfaster is nonetheless quite easily able to put her at ease, noting that he recognized her from class and “only” wants the homework. Even when he comes very close to attacking her—good job to her for kneeing him in the groin—she declines to press charges because, ultimately, Pfaster comes across as largely harmless…doesn’t he? If you don’t know what he’s been doing, why would you question the guy next door, delivering your groceries, sitting in on a college class, or driving down the street?
(Side note here that, knowing what I do about police, I imagine that the police played a part in the young woman deciding not to pursue charges, as they probably convinced her he did no real harm to her and wasn’t a threat…because they didn’t want to do more work for what wasn’t really an attack. Happens all too often that serial rapists and killers are caught for minor crimes first and could have been stopped if cops were willing to do their jobs even for seemingly “small” first-time offenses that caused no or very little harm)
UNNAMED PROSTITUTE: “He was ordinary. He didn't look like no freak.”
Honestly, Pfaster is a really good representation of who serial killers often are, in the real world. John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer (who was referenced in this episode, actually, as “that kid in Milwaukee)—all were skilled at acting (relatively…) completely normal, charming strangers and their victims, being able to talk their way out of being questioned further by police. In the vast majority of cases, the dangerous stranger isn’t going to be someone who immediately comes off as crazy or dangerous—because those people are going to get caught faster when they do commit crimes.
I mean, specifically, statistically, people are vastly more likely to get killed/assaulted by someone they already know, and true stranger killings aren’t as common as people often think. But when stranger killings/assaults do occur, they are most often committed, especially in the case of serial criminals, by people who are able to “cover” their sadistic nature, who are charming or able to act harmless and weasel their way into being alone with their victim.
With Pfaster, even in the one case we see where he does kill a woman to scavenge from the body, nothing about his actions immediately seems particularly dangerous. Yes, he targets a prostitute who are…due to the nature of the work they chose/were forced into…a bit more willing to “go along” and not question people’s intentions, but even so. Pfaster is calm, largely normal, and not overly pushy even as he asks for his very unusual request of having the prostitute wash her hair. As the viewers, we know at this point Pfaster is very dangerous. But again, while Pfaster certainly comes across as perhaps a bit socially awkward and unusual…there is nothing immediately about his character, home, or actions that would scream “I’m in a dangerous situation and should leave”.
I mean, of course, until the bath water is ice cold, and then the unfortunate prostitute (who is just trying to earn a living) walks into his horrifying bedroom shine to death.
Then, well, yeah. All bets are off, and Pfaster’s true sadistic nature comes out.
This seemingly normal man holds some deep-seated hatred toward women, and his obsession is very dangerous. What we can’t see, and what we can’t know is what is most frightening to us. Even more frightening to think that another human being is walking the street with thoughts and obsessions such as these about death, and committing unfathomable acts to fulfill his fantasies.
Now, I do want to end here that I’m definitely not saying that we should walk around afraid of every person on the street. That’s no way to live either, and serial killers and criminals still remain a rarity. But, I do still think it’s important to have a healthy level of caution toward strangers, and to listen to your gut when something seems off. The most dangerous criminals often do not outwardly appear dangerous. So stay aware, stay cautious, and don’t trust everyone you meet. Even the “everyday” businessman next door. It might indeed be much more dangerous to be alone with a man than with a bear.
A deep dive into Scully’s fears and trauma
OK, let’s move on (mostly) now from digging into Pfaster and the “everyday human devil”. That character exploration is undeniably part of what makes this episode such an excellent one, especially beacuse the actor (Nick Chinlund) does such a good job of playing Pfaster as normal but evil.
Adding on to that exploration of human evil though is the beautifully done exploration of Scully’s fears and self-doubt as she finally begins to accept and confront some of the trauma she has experienced in her last year+ with the FBI—particularly her own still very recent abduction.
Mulder is correct when he says that cases such as this one, which involve such violent, dehumanizing acts, could and have made even the most experienced agents fall apart. Nothing about Scully’s reactions to what she sees and experiences during this investigation make her weak or an incompetent investigator. Her feelings are 100% to be expected, and 100% normal.
But, I do believe that Scully has an even stronger response to this case because of her own past, because of who she is as an investigator, and because she is definitely experiencing some degree of unaddressed post-traumatic stress after her abduction, memory loss, near death, and unexplained return.
Let’s start with reason #1 why I think Scully is so unsettled by the idea that anyone would purposely defile a deceased corpse and keep trophies from it, treating a body even in death with a complete lack of respect: Scully, herself, faces death very often in her chosen career. Specifically, a major part of her job is to examine the deceased, to carefully cut into, make notes, and record every single detail about a deceased person to try to reconstruct the cause of their death. In doing this work, it is of utmost importance to still treat the body of the deceased with complete respect. While the person may no longer be alive, they are still a human, someone who was loved and is still loved and who has a full story to tell. Nothing is examined or removed or recorded without reason or purpose.
What Pfaster is doing, dehumanizing and defiling the dead, is completely antithetical to Scully’s philosophy and training as a medical doctor. Just because someone is deceased does not make them less worthy of respect and care. So I truly do think that part of why Scully is so horrified to see such heinous acts of disrespect towards the deceased is because she deals with the deceased very often in her career, and it is very troubling to think there are people out there who do not hold the same values, the same respect that she does towards all humans, living and dead.
This doesn’t seem like much of a stretch particularly because one of the nightmares Scully has during this episode is that she is being autopsied, by a demonic figure. Additionally, she seems unusually uncertain and unsettled during the autopsy she performs on the deceased prostitute. Suddenly, this aspect of her job that has felt so normal, so comfortable, so integral to her as a scientist and medical doctor, is no longer safe from the evils of the world.
That alone would be unsettling and enough to make an agent want to no longer investigate a case such as this one.
But Scully also recently was abducted, still by unknown men or entities, and she has no memory of several months of her life. Meaning she has absolutely no idea what might have been done to her during those months. Was she experimented on? Were things taken from her, as Pfaster has taken from the bodies of these deceased women? What horrors was her body subjected to—was she treated still with respect, wherever she was, or was she treated as a “lab rat” to experiment on, or like an “object” to defile and have “fun” with?
I think Scully likely knows, but is unwilling to really accept and definitely not to consciously voice, that whatever happened during those months she can’t remember…it couldn’t have been anything good. And so to be directly confronted in this episode with the horrors of what can be done to a body, even by humans, definitely does basically force Scully to accept that something bad likely happened to her. She just can’t remember it. Which is quite likely even more horrifying than remembering what happened.
Even as Scully is definitely closer to coming to terms with her own trauma and fears, she does continue to try to separate her fears from her work, to ensure that everyone else (but especially Mulder) still sees her has a strong, capable agent.
SCULLY: “You think you can look into the face of pure evil. And then you find yourself paralysed by it.”
Last point to focus on here is that Scully, too, remains unwilling to fully believe that a human is capable of such evil, dehumanizing acts towards other humans. Just as it was easier for Agent Bocks to believe it was aliens that dug up that body at the beginning, when Scully herself is taken by Pfaster, in her mind, she sees him as a demon, a devil. It is easier for her to believe in the evils taught to her by her faith, to believe that the devil would indeed have such disrespect toward human life and death, than to believe she is being held captive, abused, and quite possibly about to be killed by a very human, but very evil, “ordinary” man. Just a guy who could have worked with her if she chose a different path in life. Not a monster or a devil, not a ghost, not an alien, but the “guy next door”. The pure evil that does exist in the world, in other human beings.
I hope I am putting all of these thoughts into coherent words. Because truly both the writing and the incredible acting of Gillian Anderson in this episode come together to tell a full story, to explore Scully’s fears, faith, and trauma, in a way that really really needed to be done. This is one of the most real depictions of what it is like to be confronted by trauma that you’ve been trying to hide and pretend, to yourself and others, does not exist. The therapy session Scully has is particularly beautiful and always makes me start crying too.
Personally, this episode really does mean a lot to me. Because I relate to Scully so much here, in that I always want to come across as strong and capable even when I know rationally that I have very real reasons to be anxious or to be struggling with my emotions. Even when I know I would tell a friend to take care of themselves or to step back. Just like Scully, it is so hard for me to ask for help…or even to accept help once it has been offered.
To conclude this section: to me, this episode is one of the most beautiful explorations of trauma, mental illness, and what it is like to struggle with self-doubt, fear, and anxiety. I am so grateful to Gillian Anderson for having the strength and love of her character to really depict Scully here in a very dark, scary personal place.
Mulder’s respect of Scully
Just briefly here, because certainly Mulder is not explored very much in this episode with all of the focus on Pfaster and Scully.
But I just want to note that I also really appreciated how Mulder respected Scully in this episode—how he quietly supported her, without pushing or forcing her off the case. Mulder has often been an asshole (“Excelsis Dei”) or just condescending (“Firewalker”) toward Scully since her abduction, but here, he really seems to recognize that Scully is struggling. While also knowing that directly calling her out or pushing her to talk isn’t going to help.
Mulder is there for Scully in exactly the appropriate way: quietly supportive, letting her know her feelings are valid, but not suggesting she is incompetent or can’t do her job. He is there for her when she is ready. And he seems to really trust that she will let him know when she is ready. All he can do is tell her it’s okay to struggle, and wait until she’s ready to open up and talk.
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One of my favourite very sweet moments in this episode is when Mulder talks to Scully on the phone when she’s back in DC. He very easily could’ve told her, I know you are struggling, you should stay there to work the case. But I think he recognizes doing so would make Scully doubt herself even further. She is still a capable agent, she can still do her job, and nothing about her trauma or fears makes her less important to Mulder as a partner and a friend.
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Our “Completely Platonic Coworkers”
Well, I mean, as I just stated, I felt like this entire episode was also a really good exploration of Mulder and Scully’s relationship—the trust and respect they both have for each other, which I do still feel goes beyond normal coworkers.
But for a bit of a cuter moment, before all of the darkness and trauma that we explore, here we have Mulder, who accepted this case and had Scully fly all the way to Wisconsin because he wanted to go on a date with her to a football game. How cute!
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The 90s™
Scully uses modem as a verb again 🤣
I don’t know if this is “90s” or “small town” midwest, but I was a bit baffled I admit by the woman who tells Pfaster to just come into her house to deliver groceries, and that the door is always unlocked. Like, yes, I know we all use Uber Eats and Instacart and such these days…essentially giving complete strangers our addresses…but we do not just let these strangers traipse into our houses to put groceries away for us.
Truly wild to me that someone could be that trusting of a stranger they literally just met.
But, again, could be early 90s mindset, or just “I live in a nice neighborhood in Minnesota, what’s the worst that could happen here?”
Goofs/Bloopers/Fun Facts
Not too many here. This episode did a much better job of exploring the psychology of criminals and “human evil” than last week’s episode did.
But, a couple of little “goofs”:
OK, why were Mulder, Scully, and Agent Bocks interviewing the guy the prostitute attacked just…in his holding cell, in full listening range of another inmate? That jail seriously doesn’t have any sort of interview room? This isn’t a tiny town, it’s Minneapolis.
Much more subtle Canada goofs here, but this bus says it’s going to “UBC” (University of British Columbia), and “Save-On” is a chain of grocery stores only found in western Canada…
(credit) But, at least the bus reads just “UBC”, which could theoretically stand for anything, and “Save-On” could easily be a fictional grocery store
So, less blatant than random Canadian flags in Pennsylvania or Vancouver skyline in Virginia, but it’s still fun to find the evidence of the show being filmed in Vancouver
Overall Thoughts/Summary
Episode rating: 10/10. Really, I love this episode so much. There is no question it is one of the creepiest of the show because there is genuinely nothing at all paranormal or alien happening. But it does such a good job of exploring the realities of human evil. And the character development for Scully, especially with Gillian Anderson’s incredible acting, is just so so beautifully crafted.
This episode is one of the ones I have rewatched the most often, outside of “set” full binges, because I love it so much. Not too often though, because it always makes me cry.
As I said at the beginning, I do highly recommend watching this episode even if you haven’t been watching along with me. But if you don’t have the time for that, please do at least watch this clip from the end of the episode, to really get an idea of how beautifully written and acted every aspect of the episode is:
X-files cases “solved” to date: 9.5/13 (29.5/37 overall). I think my count got off last week somehow, but we are indeed definitely at episode 13 of this season, and episode 37 of the show overall. And this case was definitely solved. Though I will note here this episode is not the last we’ll see of Pfaster.
This was a heavy, dark, but unquestionably beautiful episode. Such a difference from the previous two episodes. Episodes like “Irresistible” are why I continue to love The X-Files so much, even when it has other very poorly done episodes. When it’s good, it’s FANTASTIC. (And even when it’s bad…Mulder and Scully are still there 😉)
Next week we have “Die Hand Die Verletzt”, which I remember being a more “fun” episode that explores some of the “Satanic Panic” of the 80s and 90s. Should be an enjoyable one to rewatch and explore. 🙂