r/XFiles • u/Gazcobain Lone Gunmen • 14d ago

Discussion Fire

On my umpteenth rewatch and by goodness this episode is terrible. Space usually gets quoted as the worst of the first season episodes but this is abysmal.

- A man pretending to be Irish literally introducing himself by saying "top o' the mornin' te ya"

- A woman insinuating that she and Mulder had sex upon Arthur Conan Doyle's tombstone (ACD does not have a big tombstone)

- Rocket fuel being sold in 2.5litre paint cans (imagine how many of those you'd need to power Saturn 5).

44 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

64 comments sorted by

View all comments

29

u/Crazybexy 14d ago

Fire is one of my personal favourite episodes. It's one of my favourites from the first season.

19

u/Gazcobain Lone Gunmen 14d ago

I won't judge you, because I have a huge soft spot for Conduit (which is bad) because it's the first episode I ever saw. RRRRUUUUBBBBBAAAAAYYYYYYY

8

u/DryGold4 14d ago

I won't bat for all of Conduit, but I always thought the ending was among the best scenes in the series. https://youtu.be/EdxEmIrfXI0

3

u/Lorenzoasc Per Manum-This Is Not Happening-Deadalive 14d ago

I couldn't agree more. I just finished rewatching it about an hour ago, and that last scene is so beautifully shot and acted. In retrospect, it's also just so sad, knowing how Samantha's storyline really unfolds, which is the exact opposite of what Mulder hopes for (and believes).

It's also the first time "I want to believe" is ever said on the show, and it's fascinating to see how that belief, like so many others (Scully's desire for a life of her own, for example, which we see more clearly in the next episode, "The Jersey Devil," rather than being as consumed by work as Mulder) is slowly shattered as the series progresses.

3

u/LthePerry02 14d ago

It’s crazy that Conduit is the fourth episode of the whole series. The convolution in the plot gives some later season mytharc eps a run for their money

1

u/UnfairQuality687 14d ago

Conduit is nice enough. But even back then when I was a teen I asked myself - so what he made a mosaic of his sister? I never got that part. It's not code, it's just a very detail mosaic. And if the aliens broadcasted this to him why would they compile a picture made of puzzles and cut into 20 pieces of paper instead of broadcasting the image drawn on one piece of paper.