Underneath: Off the Top of My Head (SPOILERS)
(March 31, 2002)

Caution: spoiler for next week's ep (based on the trailer) is in
the "Etc." section.

UNDERNEATH (9ABX09):

In a nutshell:  "Rush" meets "Milagro" meets Krycek's disguise
from "SR 819" as a man's alter ego commits murder and mayhem. 
Religion-based plot; in extremely poor taste to air on Easter
Sunday, IMO.


What I liked:
-  I liked that this ep didn't suck as much as some stuff I've
read suggested it might.  I had some serious problems with the
plot, but I'll give Shiban points for the *directing.*  For me,
if I notice the directing then something's wrong; I never had a
moment like that during this ep.
-  Hey, look!  The "I Want to Believe" poster is still on the
wall!
-  "Enough people tell you you're drunk, it's time to lie down."
OK, I liked that line.  I'm glad the writers have found Doggett
his own lines instead of putting Mulder lines in his mouth. :)
-  "We didn't find ZZ Top here."  Hee hee!
-  Hey!  Scully did the psychological thing with Fassl like
Mulder used to do!


What I didn't like:
-  I mentioned this above, but:  I think it was in horrendous
taste to air this ep on Easter Sunday.  Close-ups of the rosary?
 The murderer was going to be a priest?  Who makes that kind of
decision, and what were they thinking?!
-  Umm, excuse me, but WHY THE HELL IS SCULLY IS NEW YORK? 
Who's back in DC protecting William?  I'm really tired of Scully
forgetting about the safety of her son during the MOTW eps.
-  Scully's wearing those too-tight, unbuttoned-too-far-down
blouses again.  ::sigh::
-  Plotholes, plotholes, plotholes.  See all of my questions
about this plot below.
-  Doggett to Reyes:  "Meat and potatoes police work busted this
guy 13 years ago."  It did?  Someone called 911, and Duke
planted evidence.  That doesn't sound like M&P work to me.
-  The decapitated head of Mrs. Dowdy.  Was it necessary to show
us that?


What's got me puzzled:
-  Has Scully been wearing her cross regularly, or did it just
pop up in this ep because it fit the plot?
-  So the hair samples belonged to someone else.  Why does that
mean that Fassl wasn't the killer?  I mean, how could the
prosecutors be sure that the hair sample belonged to the killer?
-  So there was a murder in Sing Sing.  And it never made the
papers?  Was it covered up?  If so, why is the superintendent of
the prison spilling his guts to an FBI agent about it?  Umm,
wouldn't he be in trouble if there had been a cover-up?
-  Why did Reyes travel all the way from Ossining to New York
City before giving Doggett and Scully the information about Mr.
Mystery?  Why didn't she call?  (OK, I know why: so there would
be a scene with the three of them.  Just humor me, OK?)
-  Why does Reyes think the bearded guy was protecting Fassl? 
If somebody got my ass planted in jail, I wouldn't consider that
a favor.
-  Why did Scully say that the evidence to convict Fassl was
planted?  Did I miss something?  And how could that fact have
possibly been missed during the original trial and during
Doggett's marathon of re-checking the records?
-  Why did Mr. Mystery only commit one murder while Fassl was in
jail?  Wouldn't he have wanted to kill more people in the jail,
or better yet get out of jail to kill more people?
-  Why did Duke need to plant evidence from a previous case? 
Wouldn't it have been enough to be able to convict Fassl of the
PREVIOUS crime, since that evidence was available and they had
Fassl in custody?  Wouldn't the M.O. have been enough to then
convict him of the newer crime?
-  If Scully thinks Fassl has some knowledge about a suspect,
can't they hold him for questioning?
-  Where did Reyes get her weird theory that Fassl created an
alter ego because he couldn't face his own sins?  That seemed to
have come out of the air.
-  But if it's a physical manifestation of Fassl's evil side,
what was with the superfast speed?
-  Why do law enforcement officers on this show go into dark
scary places without calling for backup? *g*
-  And do all FBI agents carry flashlights that are waterproof
and that float? *g*
-  How can there be all those bodies down there?  That's an
awful lot of people to have gone missing with no one noticing.
-  If Fassl knew he was the bad guy, why didn't he commit
suicide?  Because it would be a sin?
-  Why was Fassl's lawyer down in those cable tunnels?  It's a
crime scene!


Etc.:
-  Milli Vanilli.  'Nuff said.  ::snicker::
-  In the teaser, I'm glad Officer Doggett was able to determine
that the mother and daughter were dead without so much as
attempting to take a pulse!
-  "Duke"?  Now there's a manly name. *g*
-  Next week's ep: A lite ep (at least I *hope* it's lite) with
a dancing Burt Reynolds?  Umm, okay.  Or not.  Should I be
scared, or amused?


***