Orison features another monster-of-the-week return - Donnie Pfaster of season 2's Irresistible - and he was certainly a monster that deserved a proper sequel. Orison turns the creepiness of Irresistible up to disturbing levels, with heavy religious overtones throughout (like Scully's clock reading 6:66). While I prefer Irresistible of the two, Orison is not far behind. It's arguably scarier, and definitely one of the scariest episodes of the series due to its deeply sinister tone. You feel for Scully in this episode since Pfaster is one of the few sickos in her career that actually made her uncomfortable, so when she starts having omens and when she and Pfaster finally confront each other, it makes for a truly intense climax. This, paired with the fact that Donald Pfaster himself is one of the most deranged serial killers in TV history, makes Orison a wonderfully unsettling experience and a clear highlight of season 7.
8 Reviews
Who does your nails, girly girl? You're the one that got away.
Sanpaco134 July 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Very awesome creepy sequel to one of the early episodes. I remember "Irresistible" was originally one of the few episodes that I couldn't watch because it just gave me the creeps. And now Donnie Pfaster is back. Excaped from prison and looking for the one redhead that got away. The section deals mostly with how Donnie was able to escape in broad daylight and Mulder determines that the prison chaplain had been using group hypnosis on all the others at the prison and had been helping prisoners escape so that he could carry out his own judgement on them by killing them and burying them. But Donnie gets away from Orison because he is pure evil and not just an evil person. His powers are greater than the preacher's who learns that he was doing the evil one's work and not God's and is killed and buried in the grave intended for Donnie. The case is wrapped up and as Mulder and Scully return home to get ready for bed Donnie and Scully have a showdown. I must say that Scully is a total kick a** girl. Her only mistake in the original fight was that instead of running out of her apartment to get away, she ran to the phone to try and call for help. C'mon Scully. Anyway, very creepy scenes follow as Scully escapes her bonds and Mulder shows up but Scully decides that rather than give Donnie yet another chance she is going to take things into her own hands. I've never admired her more than when she struts out in her pajamas, with the gag scarf around her neck and a Hitler blood mustache under her nose, and pops a cap in Donnie. Very well done sequel. The only complaint I might make is that too much of the episode is focused on Orison instead of Donnie. Oh and I love the scenes with the guard who gets hypnotranced by Orison and is completely disoriented when Mulder and Scully snap him out of it. 8 out of 10.
Don't Look Any Further
Muldernscully20 April 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Orison is an interesting sequel to season two's "Irresistible" which features one of the X-Files most infamous villains Donnie Pfaster. Donnie Pfaster, with the help of Reverend Orison, escapes from jail and continues his evil ways. The teaser has a cool effect of Donnie moving in regular time as he is escaping while everyone around him moves in slow motion. The episode deals with Scully's ability to deal with the new case given her past history with Pfaster. She continually hears the song "Don't Look Any Further" throughout the day, and is certain it means something to her. I think that it was meant for Mulder, as he hears the song before he goes to bed, telling him to look no further than Pfaster seeking revenge on Scully who got away from him. Scully is one tough chick. Pfaster throws her up against a mirror, shattering it, and she's still able to hold her own, knocking him down, and escaping for a moment. I like the end sequence, wonderfully directed by Rob Bowman, with no dialogue, just the score. We see Scully shoot Pfaster, then we hear the gunshots sound. It's a very surreal effect. Orison doesn't have the same magic as Irresistible does, but if you're looking for a good, creepy season seven thriller, don't "look any further" than Orison.
Satan's Manicurist Strikes Again
andyetris26 October 2006
Recently I was delighted to see Nick Chinlund in a dramatic role on "Ghost Whisperer." I had been blown away by his outstanding performance in the X-Files season 2 episode "Irresistable," and his performance was so creepy I feared he might have wound up typecast!
In this season 7 sequel to the earlier episode, necrophiliac and fetishist Donnie Pfaster vanishes from a maximum security prison. Born-again prison chaplain Orison (Scott Wilson) seems to have something to do with the mysterious escape, but what? As Pfaster murders again, Mulder fears for Scully, who Pfaster views as the one that got away!
This is a solid thriller episode, but the weird elements are just thrown in for effect and aren't really developed. How exactly is Pfaster more evil than Cigarette Smoking Man, Modell, or Ed Truelove (to say nothing of Phyllis Paddock, Betsy Monroe, 'Reverend' Mackey...?)?? I was delighted, but ultimately disappointed, by the Carlos Castaneda reference. The ending is also muddy. Still the suspense is good and the fight scene struck me as a positive element.
In this season 7 sequel to the earlier episode, necrophiliac and fetishist Donnie Pfaster vanishes from a maximum security prison. Born-again prison chaplain Orison (Scott Wilson) seems to have something to do with the mysterious escape, but what? As Pfaster murders again, Mulder fears for Scully, who Pfaster views as the one that got away!
This is a solid thriller episode, but the weird elements are just thrown in for effect and aren't really developed. How exactly is Pfaster more evil than Cigarette Smoking Man, Modell, or Ed Truelove (to say nothing of Phyllis Paddock, Betsy Monroe, 'Reverend' Mackey...?)?? I was delighted, but ultimately disappointed, by the Carlos Castaneda reference. The ending is also muddy. Still the suspense is good and the fight scene struck me as a positive element.
Simply irresistible, I'll have a shower instead please.
Sleepin_Dragon21 September 2022
Five years have passed since Donald Addie Pfaster was sent down, but he's out, and leaving yet another trail of death behind him.
If ever there was an episode that deserved a sequel, it was Irresistible, Pfaster was a fascinating, intriguing character, one which really packed a punch, one Scully certainly wouldn't have forgotten in a hurry.
Plenty of disturbing, unsettling scenes throughout this one, it is an out and out chiller, not one you want to be watching on your own. Grave digging by moonlight, they really went to town with this one.
It is loaded with awesome scenes, the best of them being the fight scene between Scully and Pfister.
Who'd have thought that Don't look any further could be associated with such torment, I'll never be able to listen to it in the same way again.
Nick Chinlund was fantastic once again, what a devilishly good performance, he really did add the chill factor.
It's a classic, 9/10.
If ever there was an episode that deserved a sequel, it was Irresistible, Pfaster was a fascinating, intriguing character, one which really packed a punch, one Scully certainly wouldn't have forgotten in a hurry.
Plenty of disturbing, unsettling scenes throughout this one, it is an out and out chiller, not one you want to be watching on your own. Grave digging by moonlight, they really went to town with this one.
It is loaded with awesome scenes, the best of them being the fight scene between Scully and Pfister.
Who'd have thought that Don't look any further could be associated with such torment, I'll never be able to listen to it in the same way again.
Nick Chinlund was fantastic once again, what a devilishly good performance, he really did add the chill factor.
It's a classic, 9/10.
"Orison" was not the one
XweAponX21 March 2022
This was his conceit. It was his mistake to make, it was a false belief.
He did of course play his part in getting Donnie escaped, but in the Reverend Orisons mind... It was a holy mission, he believes he was sent by God. And he he actually believes that he was the one to deal with Donnie Pfaster.
He wasn't.
This is to say that Orison is a not just a very powerful person, there is no doubt about that- But he really believes... he really thinks he is hearing instructions from Ghod Almighty. If this were true, the episode would have ended in that plot of dirt where he takes Donnie.
We have to ask ourselves if we think that the Reverend Orison was surprised by this development? It's the same as when we hear about famous televangelists being indicted for federal crimes and imprisoned. They literally believed that "God" was telling them to do whatever it was, which turned out to be illegal... and they still believe it to this day even after being released from prison. And they are still doing it.
It's the same as what Orison is doing, although he excuses himself by telling Skully that she doesn't need to worry about certain convicted murderers as they are now "with God". This is an extremely conceited and false purpose.
He had already tested this conceit twice on inmates. That he was successful with those convicted murderers does not mean he could have been able to "punish Pfaster in Ghod's Name". Pardon me but my interpretation of the Bible, when it talks about vengeance is that even if you (Believe you have) have some kind of license given to you by God to perform "His" vengeance, it still does not empower you to break the laws of man in order to do it. And anybody claiming to be doing God's work where it crosses a boundary line of law is deluded... and that is simply to put it mildly, The reality is much worse.
It was Skully all along. If you want to interpret this episode as an "X-Files prophecy", she was the one chosen by God. She was the only one who had the "authority" to do it.
The Reverend Orison thought he was dealing with another man. But we already knew the nature of Donnie Pfaster from the first episode he was in. And although his actual nature was played down in "Irresistible", there were two people that saw him for exactly who he was: his former boss at the funeral parlor, who yells "get out of here, you FREAK!", and Skully of course sees this same image. And we know that it rattled her down to her bones.
So when this X-File begins and brings up the prospect of dealing with Pfaster, she is visibly disturbed.
At the same time, she is being comforted and instructed by repeatedly hearing the song "Don't look any further", performed here by John Hyatt with a very "spooky" guitar solo. On one hand she is comforted by the song, on the other, it gives her the strength to continue working on the X-file, but the song also gives her the direct authority to handle Pfaster, to accomplish what the Reverend Orison absolutely did not have the power to do.
And this is what that final silent scene in this episode means.
As Skully asks herself who it was, that was working in her? We know that it could not have been anything evil.
He did of course play his part in getting Donnie escaped, but in the Reverend Orisons mind... It was a holy mission, he believes he was sent by God. And he he actually believes that he was the one to deal with Donnie Pfaster.
He wasn't.
This is to say that Orison is a not just a very powerful person, there is no doubt about that- But he really believes... he really thinks he is hearing instructions from Ghod Almighty. If this were true, the episode would have ended in that plot of dirt where he takes Donnie.
We have to ask ourselves if we think that the Reverend Orison was surprised by this development? It's the same as when we hear about famous televangelists being indicted for federal crimes and imprisoned. They literally believed that "God" was telling them to do whatever it was, which turned out to be illegal... and they still believe it to this day even after being released from prison. And they are still doing it.
It's the same as what Orison is doing, although he excuses himself by telling Skully that she doesn't need to worry about certain convicted murderers as they are now "with God". This is an extremely conceited and false purpose.
He had already tested this conceit twice on inmates. That he was successful with those convicted murderers does not mean he could have been able to "punish Pfaster in Ghod's Name". Pardon me but my interpretation of the Bible, when it talks about vengeance is that even if you (Believe you have) have some kind of license given to you by God to perform "His" vengeance, it still does not empower you to break the laws of man in order to do it. And anybody claiming to be doing God's work where it crosses a boundary line of law is deluded... and that is simply to put it mildly, The reality is much worse.
It was Skully all along. If you want to interpret this episode as an "X-Files prophecy", she was the one chosen by God. She was the only one who had the "authority" to do it.
The Reverend Orison thought he was dealing with another man. But we already knew the nature of Donnie Pfaster from the first episode he was in. And although his actual nature was played down in "Irresistible", there were two people that saw him for exactly who he was: his former boss at the funeral parlor, who yells "get out of here, you FREAK!", and Skully of course sees this same image. And we know that it rattled her down to her bones.
So when this X-File begins and brings up the prospect of dealing with Pfaster, she is visibly disturbed.
At the same time, she is being comforted and instructed by repeatedly hearing the song "Don't look any further", performed here by John Hyatt with a very "spooky" guitar solo. On one hand she is comforted by the song, on the other, it gives her the strength to continue working on the X-file, but the song also gives her the direct authority to handle Pfaster, to accomplish what the Reverend Orison absolutely did not have the power to do.
And this is what that final silent scene in this episode means.
As Skully asks herself who it was, that was working in her? We know that it could not have been anything evil.
"...the Devil's instant is our eternity."
classicsoncall3 August 2017
Warning: Spoilers
There was a handwritten poster on the wall of Reverend Orison's (Scott Wilson) meeting room that stated 'Sheep go to Heaven, Goats go to Hell'. Except for the fact that goats have horns like the devil, what could that message possibly have meant? The good Reverend was one creepy dude.
But not as creepy as our old friend Donnie Pfaster (Nick Chidlund), back in a sequel to the second season's 'Irresistible' in which he proved as evil as the devil himself. That idea is given even more resonance here, especially in that scene when his features morphed into the face of Satan when confronting Orison. Escaping from prison with the help of Orison's hypnotic effect on prisoners and guards alike, Donnie later returns the favor by running over the chaplain with his own car, a pretty good indicator that the two weren't going to be very good allies.
As an X-File, the emphasis in the story is on Scully, particularly since Pfaster is determined to finish the job that eluded him in 'Irresistible' when Scully almost became his victim. In that story, Scully envisioned him as a demon, not too far wrong, especially after repeated instances of seeing the sign of the Beast - '666' - on her bedside alarm clock. What becomes the twist in the story is not so much that Scully escapes from the bonds Pfaster tied her up with, but the fact that she, for all intents and purposes, killed him as an act of revenge when Mulder already had him subdued and under arrest. Which leads to Scully's moment of self recrimination and doubt, forcing her to question what might have taken over her psyche to pull the trigger - "Who was at work in me?" Even without Mulder's offer to cover for her, this could have been the kind of career ender which I'm sure most individuals in law enforcement never hope to confront.
But not as creepy as our old friend Donnie Pfaster (Nick Chidlund), back in a sequel to the second season's 'Irresistible' in which he proved as evil as the devil himself. That idea is given even more resonance here, especially in that scene when his features morphed into the face of Satan when confronting Orison. Escaping from prison with the help of Orison's hypnotic effect on prisoners and guards alike, Donnie later returns the favor by running over the chaplain with his own car, a pretty good indicator that the two weren't going to be very good allies.
As an X-File, the emphasis in the story is on Scully, particularly since Pfaster is determined to finish the job that eluded him in 'Irresistible' when Scully almost became his victim. In that story, Scully envisioned him as a demon, not too far wrong, especially after repeated instances of seeing the sign of the Beast - '666' - on her bedside alarm clock. What becomes the twist in the story is not so much that Scully escapes from the bonds Pfaster tied her up with, but the fact that she, for all intents and purposes, killed him as an act of revenge when Mulder already had him subdued and under arrest. Which leads to Scully's moment of self recrimination and doubt, forcing her to question what might have taken over her psyche to pull the trigger - "Who was at work in me?" Even without Mulder's offer to cover for her, this could have been the kind of career ender which I'm sure most individuals in law enforcement never hope to confront.
A disappointing sequel
camille_bourg-127 September 2010
As this episode was said to be the best loner of season 7, I have been quite disappointed. First, it was far too obvious that Pfaster would try to catch Scully again, and that Scully would escape and not be killed or wounded. No suspense. What is more annoying is all the religious good-against-evil stuff, that had nothing to do in such an episode and is particularly clumsy and badly dealt here: faith is constantly depreciated, as Father Orison's leads him to do evil and Scully's seems to be a source of doubt and suffering for her. What the song and all the supposed signs mean is not clear, and to make it even less clear the ending seems to contradict everything that was said before: so those signs were sent by the Devil? Or not? It is particularly incomprehensible... All this makes a rather boring and irritating than thrilling episode.
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