The hit Fox series The X-Filesaired many iconic episodes during the show's 11-season run. Some of the show's best and most underrated episodes are the ones that masterfully blend the sci-fi supernatural elements with the emotional and philosophical themes of the show. These often tend to be overshadowed by the more action-packed episodes, but one Season 4 standalone story in particular was maligned for a very different reason. Nearly 30 years later, it's time we gave "The Field Where I Died" the praise it deserves.
This Season 4 Episode of 'The X-Files' Was Criticized for the Wrong Reasons
“The Field Where I Died” is the fifth episode of the show's fourth season, written by Glen Morgan and James Wong, a team that had a huge impact on the show’s success and development of the characters and was a departure from the show's usual monster-of-the-week formula. The episode follows Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) as they investigate a cult leader, Vernon Ephesian (Michael Massee). When they search the compound, they find Ephesian's many wives, including Melissa (Kristen Cloke).
As Mulder and Scully question Melissa, she begins to talk, but not as herself. While Scully assumes that Melissa has a case of multiple personality disorder, Mulder believes Melissa's past lives are surfacing. He feels drawn to her in some way and, during his own regression scene, it's discovered that they had met and been in love in their past lives. It's a beautiful story, and clearly written as a love letter from Morgan to his real-life wife, Cloke. While the episode was generally well-received by critics, early shippers of Mulder and Scully didn't like the suggestion that Mulder had a romantic soulmate other than Scully, even though they were not an on-screen couple yet.
"Sorry, nobody down here but the FBI's most unwanted."
Kristen Cloke Is Magnificent in 'The X-Files' Role That Was Written for Her
Image via Fox
"The Field Where I Died" not only had one of David Duchovny's best performances on the show, but Cloke's performance as a woman fractured by trauma and past-life memories is absolutely mesmerizing. The characters that come out vacillate from a silly young kid and a crusty older man to a heartbroken woman during the Civil War. This episode also didn't mark the first time that Cloke had worked with Morgan and Wong, having been a lead in their series Space: Above and Beyond
The role demanded a lot from her, but Cloke totally committed to the performance, showing what a gifted actor she is. She takes on each "personality" and makes each one its own character, even if they're only on-screen briefly. Cloke has said in multiple interviews that the role was written for her because Morgan and Wong knew she liked a challenge. She also did a lot of research on multiple personalities to make her performance as authentic as possible.
Unfortunately, The X-Files' hardcore shipping fanbase didn't like the idea of Mulder being tied to anyone other than Scully on a romantic level. Cloke also has said in interviews that she still receives hate mail from angry fans that she ruined the show's mythology. Paired with a more mixed critical reception to the episode, this unfortunately gave "The Field Where I Died" a reputation it didn't deserve. The beautiful lines of poetry weaved in highlighted the romantic idea of souls connecting through time. For hardcore fans, perhaps it was too much of a departure from the series' normal structure, but "The Field Where I Died" is still a wonderfully crafted episode with powerful performances that deserve much more praise than it received in the past.
All seasons of The X-Files are available to stream on Hulu.
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Two F.B.I. Agents, Fox Mulder the believer and Dana Scully the skeptic, investigate the strange and unexplained, while hidden forces work to impede their efforts.
Image by Zanda Rice
Image via Fox
English (US) ·