Essence (13 May 2001)
"The X Files" Essence (original title)

The X-Files team must protect Agent Scully and her unborn child as groups of Super Soldiers try to stop her pregnancy.

Director:

Kim Manners

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator), Chris Carter

Stars:

David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Robert Patrick

Cast

Episode credited cast:
David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Robert Patrick	...	John Doggett
Annabeth Gish	...	Monica Reyes
Mitch Pileggi	...	Walter Skinner
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jay Acovone	...	Duffy Haskell
Steven Anderson	...	Dr. James Parenti
Zachary Ansley	...	Billy Miles
Denise Crosby	...	Dr. Mary Speake
Frances Fisher	...	Lizzy Gill
Karon Kearney	...	2nd Woman Party-Goer
Sheila Larken	...	Margaret Scully
Nicholas Lea	...	Alex Krycek
David Purdham	...	Dr. Lev
Arlene Warren	...	1st Woman Party-Goer (as Arlene Pileggi)

Storyline

The X-Files team must protect Agent Scully and her unborn child as groups of Super Soldiers try to stop her pregnancy.

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Plot Keywords:

preserved fetus | female in shower | severed head | pregnant | baby shower | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 May 2001 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Ten Thirteen Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

(at around 36 mins) This hospital exterior shot is the same location used in the previous story in this season, "Alone" (at around 43 mins). The footage for "Alone" was looking to the left of the hospital, and from "Essence" pans from the right (the "Emergency Urgent Care" sign is the giveaway).

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Quotes

[after having been shot twice by Skinner for trying to kill Mulder]
Krycek: It's gonna take more bullets than you could ever fire to win this game... but one bullet... and I can give you a thousand lives.

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Connections

References Frankenstein (1910)

User Reviews

Essence transforming into Existence

Mulder's time with the x-files is drawing to a close. It all comes to a head as Scully nears her time to give birth. Mulder still has questions about her pregnancy, so he recruits Doggett to go along with him to look for the answers.

In the teaser, we get the titles for the two-parter episodes from Mulder's voice-over, "Essence transforming into Existence". I never noticed that before.

When Mulder arrives at Doggett's house, Doggett is watching NASCAR. I never pegged him for a NASCAR fan. What drives Doggett to go along with Mulder in this episode? He knows that Mulder is trouble with a capital 'T'. Yet he breaks into a private establishment with Mulder and helps him to harass a doctor. With how skeptical he is, I find it very interesting that Doggett continues to go along with Mulder. He must suspect that Mulder is right to a degree. Or maybe it's because Kersh is such a jerk to everyone, that Doggett feels like ticking him off too.

What woman would agree to a medical procedure on a Saturday in an empty office alone with her doctor? Nowadays, I can't imagine any woman doing that.

Billy Miles is now an unstoppable, Terminator-like killing machine. He even gets cheesy Terminator lines to say.

It surprises me that Skinner would order Krycek to stay at the FBI. Why would he allow someone like Krycek to be all alone in FBI headquarters? It doesn't seem like a smart or safe move.

Essence is very exciting with some good action sequences. What brings it down is the new Super Soldier element. It is so confusing. Now Agent Crane is a Super Soldier? When did that happen? If Billy Miles is supposedly trying to kill Scully, why does Agent Crane help them to escape? Aren't these Super Soldiers on the same page? The questions remain unanswered, and so the quality of the episode is diminished. Essence is still a very fun episode to watch and leads us to an equally exciting season finale.