Avatar is the first episode I remember where Skinner is the main featured character. It's fitting as in three seasons he has come to be a kind of protector for Mulder and Scully and his popularity with fans was, perhaps, stronger as a result of both Mitch Pillegi's talents and the evolution of his character.
Diversity in The X-Files can really help if done well and mostly it is here. The episode is a bit enigmatic as many potential questions a viewer could possibly benefit from had to be left open to interpretation due to time constraints. That said the crux of the episode is the emotional state of Skinner as he decides to wait 24-hours until signing papers finalizing his eminent divorce. In those hours his life is turned up-side down. He retreats to a bar where he is approached by an attractive women ending up in a tryst where he awakens to a nightmarish vision of being instead with a monstrous old women. Awakened startled by this vision he turns to look beside him only to find his paramour has a severely broken neck (head is turned completely around). As there are no other suspects Skinner is all but certain to be tried as a murderer.
Mulder, of course, finds it impossible to accept that Skinner is capable of murder. Scully finds a strange luminous substance on the victim's mouth and nostrils that is impossible to analyze. Turns out Skinner's vision of the old hag isn't a "one-off" as she is the same vision he had when he had his out of body experience as a only survivor in his near-death experience in Vietnam. Mulder suspects a paranormal tie-in of some kind he identifies as a "Succubus". Things get stranger as Skinner sees the hag replacing his wife who has come to comfort him. Soon Skinner is in deeper as his wife is forced off the road by what evidence indicates was Skinner's car.
Here's were the story turns from the paranormal to the shadow government as Skinner's cars airbag clearly shows the outline of a face other than his being the driver. Mulder and Scully believe the Madam whose escort was murdered may have answers, but they're too late as she is found dead of what appears to be suicide. Not stumped they locate one of the other escorts who did in fact have knowledge of the man whose image they found on the airbag. He set up Skinner's tryst in the hotel with the deceased so now all they have to do is bait him to meet the surviving escort. At the same time Skinner is at his wife's bedside when he frantically believes she's dying and sees the hag's face one more on his wife's body. He blinks and his wife has come out of her coma and says she has something she needs to tell him.
The set-up meeting with the mystery man doesn't go down as Mulder intends and only by Skinner's knowledge he should be there is Scully and the Escort saved when Skinner shots the mystery man as he about to kill the escort...and likely Scully. Skinner is thus able to clear his name and be a sort of savior too. Only thing is Mulder can't understand how Skinner knew to be at the hotel. There's plenty of holes as already stated and I'm not sure if the episode would be better if they were filled in, say, by splitting the story in two episodes and fleshing it out. There's a kind of low-key brilliance in what isn't really known here as to the intersection of the shadow government and the paranormal elements. We now know that those above Skinner would like to contain him as he is now somewhat of an obstacle instead of an asset due to his burgeoning protection of Mulder and Scully.
Avatar is a nice break from the myth-arc or paranormal event of the week. It does definitely have some kind of unexplainable series of events yet it makes clear that the people upstairs will do anything to regain a level of control they desire. Avatar is, as such, definitely worth a watch.
Diversity in The X-Files can really help if done well and mostly it is here. The episode is a bit enigmatic as many potential questions a viewer could possibly benefit from had to be left open to interpretation due to time constraints. That said the crux of the episode is the emotional state of Skinner as he decides to wait 24-hours until signing papers finalizing his eminent divorce. In those hours his life is turned up-side down. He retreats to a bar where he is approached by an attractive women ending up in a tryst where he awakens to a nightmarish vision of being instead with a monstrous old women. Awakened startled by this vision he turns to look beside him only to find his paramour has a severely broken neck (head is turned completely around). As there are no other suspects Skinner is all but certain to be tried as a murderer.
Mulder, of course, finds it impossible to accept that Skinner is capable of murder. Scully finds a strange luminous substance on the victim's mouth and nostrils that is impossible to analyze. Turns out Skinner's vision of the old hag isn't a "one-off" as she is the same vision he had when he had his out of body experience as a only survivor in his near-death experience in Vietnam. Mulder suspects a paranormal tie-in of some kind he identifies as a "Succubus". Things get stranger as Skinner sees the hag replacing his wife who has come to comfort him. Soon Skinner is in deeper as his wife is forced off the road by what evidence indicates was Skinner's car.
Here's were the story turns from the paranormal to the shadow government as Skinner's cars airbag clearly shows the outline of a face other than his being the driver. Mulder and Scully believe the Madam whose escort was murdered may have answers, but they're too late as she is found dead of what appears to be suicide. Not stumped they locate one of the other escorts who did in fact have knowledge of the man whose image they found on the airbag. He set up Skinner's tryst in the hotel with the deceased so now all they have to do is bait him to meet the surviving escort. At the same time Skinner is at his wife's bedside when he frantically believes she's dying and sees the hag's face one more on his wife's body. He blinks and his wife has come out of her coma and says she has something she needs to tell him.
The set-up meeting with the mystery man doesn't go down as Mulder intends and only by Skinner's knowledge he should be there is Scully and the Escort saved when Skinner shots the mystery man as he about to kill the escort...and likely Scully. Skinner is thus able to clear his name and be a sort of savior too. Only thing is Mulder can't understand how Skinner knew to be at the hotel. There's plenty of holes as already stated and I'm not sure if the episode would be better if they were filled in, say, by splitting the story in two episodes and fleshing it out. There's a kind of low-key brilliance in what isn't really known here as to the intersection of the shadow government and the paranormal elements. We now know that those above Skinner would like to contain him as he is now somewhat of an obstacle instead of an asset due to his burgeoning protection of Mulder and Scully.
Avatar is a nice break from the myth-arc or paranormal event of the week. It does definitely have some kind of unexplainable series of events yet it makes clear that the people upstairs will do anything to regain a level of control they desire. Avatar is, as such, definitely worth a watch.