The X-Files (TV Series) Patience (2000) User Reviews

And then he sort of flew at me like a flying squirrel?

[Muldernscully · 8/10 · 15 August 2007]

Batman finally makes an appearance in the X-Files, albeit not as a superhero and considerably uglier. Patience marks the first x-file investigated by Scully and Doggett. Patience was written and directed by Chris Carter, who was probably eager to establish Robert Patrick in his role of John Doggett and wanted to make sure the right impression was made. I also think that the name of the episode has a double meaning. One: for the patience of the human bat to wait 44 years for revenge. Two: Chris Carter is asking the long-time X-Files fans to have patience with the new character of Agent Doggett replacing Agent Mulder.

As could be expected constant references are made back to Mulder and how he would view the case. In the beginning, Scully is insistent that they are only temporarily occupying the office of Mulder until he returns. Scully tries to see the case as Mulder would, but at the same time tries to maintain a strict scientific attitude. The two perspectives don't mesh well(as they didn't during the first seven seasons), causing her to upset the local detective. Some inside jokes are inserted as well, such as when Doggett asks Scully if she's ever used a flashlight.

Chris Carter attempts to re-establish that the far out ideas of the x-files are not accepted by most people, shown principally by the detective and Agent Doggett. At times he tries too hard, specifically when the deputies at the police station seem ready to form a lynch mob for Scully, blaming her for the detective's death. Police officers wouldn't hold her responsible like that.

At the end, Scully realizes that Doggett is her partner now, and is there to help her out, whether he agrees with her or not. Just like in some season one episodes, the monster gets away and we are left to fear for when it may return. Patience marks a return to the roots of the X-files. Even though Mulder is mentioned frequently throughout the episode, it shows that the X-Files can still be a quality series without Mulder running things. If you show "patience" with Agent Doggett, you will see that the X-Files is a still a great show.

Excellent handling of a new character

[RuthAkien · 8/10 · 6 April 2010]

******SPOILERS FOR THIS AND BADLAA******

I started liking Doggett from this episode because Scully was slightly (understandably) mean to him. The slow building of their dynamic is one of the best ways of introducing a new character i've ever seen.

The good:

• continuing the slow build on D and S. Not friendly too quickly. Very well handled.

• Love the look Scully gives *Doggett and friends* at the start.

• welcome return of the rest-of-the-FBI-thinks-your-department-is-crazy thing. I know most people didn't seem to like this much but I missed it when they stopped doing it after season two. I also missed Spooky references.

• Yay horror episode.

• 'Agent Doggett is recently assigned' LOL.

• lots of small funny moments.

• Good to see Doggett with the normal cops because that's what he is.

• Doggett sticking up for Scully even though he doesn't agree with her (but would have liked to hear what he actually said).

• liked the beginning of Scully trying to be the believer. If someone had told me Scully was going to be the believer of the show I wouldn't have thought it'd work, but she's clearly struggling and her motives for trying are believable. It helps that this comes up again later in the season (Badlaa) in a convincing way that shows it still bothers her, while not beating me over the head with it.

• Doggett laughs at 'terminal loneliness'. Nice moment for them.

• well crafted episode that brings us full circle back to Mulder's office.

other:

• Bat monster not as science-y as it could be (but this isn't actually a problem because the episode is really about D and S). Scully trying to convince D would have been a good excuse for more of this (and in season eight in general).

• Lynch mob a bit full-on: they are cops after all.

Would give 8.5/10 if possible.

"How's a man supposed to live when his fear becomes an obsession?"

[classicsoncall · 8/10 · 15 August 2017]

By the end of this story, Scully and Doggett give a favorable impression of being able to work together as partners, but not before Scully puts him in his place again, first by re-positioning Mulder's nameplate on the desk he worked from, and then again in her analysis of the first crime scene. It's kind of ironic that Scully would take the paranormal route, in a way assuming Mulder's investigative method, while Doggett's the one to come in with the rational approach. You could see how Scully was trying to maintain the integrity of working their first legitimate X-File together, and in the end, the new team began to gel.

This time, the monster of the week seemed to be a blend of creatures from prior investigations - the forty four year lapse between appearances of the bat/man recalled Eugene Victor Tooms from the First Season's 'Squeeze', who hibernated for thirty years after getting his fill of human liver. There's also the vampire-like connection to 'Bad Blood', and with a good part of the story taking place in a back woods swamp, I had thoughts of 'Quagmire' running through my head. I have to admit though, the regurgitated fingers business was a gruesome idea, whoever came up with that one must have had a slightly demented streak going.

I guess the sit up and take notice moment for this episode had to be the fact that in his very first X-Files case, Agent Doggett was almost a goner! Things worked out of course, and it was rewarding to see how both he and Scully came together to earn some trust and understanding with each other. But just as in 'Quagmire', there's really no resolution here because the bat/man is still on the loose, even if he's not going to show up again for another forty four years. It's almost enough to drive you batty.

44 years later it's back and killing again

[Sanpaco13 · 9/10 · 26 October 2009]

Love the teaser for this episode. It feels like we are back to classic X Files like from season 4 or 5. The subject of the episode in general is pretty dark. I think the first time I saw this episode I didn't like it but I have since grown to enjoy it. I like how this is Scully and Doggett's first case together. It is fun to watch how each goes in with a certain expectation of the other and they end up coming out of it closer as partners with a firm trust between them. And they both really bring something important to the case. Like Scully says when the guy asks her how they figured it out. "I made the connections but it was Agent Doggett that got us out here." It really is interesting to watch Scully trying to fill Mulder's shoes and start to doubt herself, and then have Doggett there to support her. Whether her actual theory is sound or not, he at least can see that something is going on and they are on the right track. Anyway, I thought this was a great episode and a perfect first case for Scully and Doggett. 9 out of 10.

An excellent episode.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 27 September 2022]

Scully and Doggett head to Idaho to investigate two deaths, two dead bodies found with strange bite marks.

They definitely played it safe, this one plays out almost as a traditional horror, a story specifically designed to test the new working relationship between Scully and Doggett

Considering it's a Mulder free episode (apart from the scene of him falling away in those new, hard to get used to opening credits,) it's actually a pretty great episode, it naturally feels different, but all credit to Robert Patrick, I thought he was excellent here, I loved the scenes between Scully and Doggett.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't missing Mulder, but it's great to see Scully behaving so differently, she's so guarded, so defensive, she's made to feel very isolated.

For me, Patience feels like a throwback to an earlier series, it lacks any of the humour that I associated with Series 8, it felt like it was plucked out of series 5 or 6.

Loved it, 9/10.

Scully is the new Mulder

[n-town-smash · 6/10 · 17 June 2008]

Scully's not actually the new Mulder, but "Patience" sees her suddenly being The Open- Minded One when she's paired with the more traditional Doggett. It's a little disconcerting, to be honest, but it doesn't get in the way too much, since they at least avoid trying to make Doggett "the new Scully".

"Patience", for those of us who weren't too fussed about the whole "mythology arc", is the first "proper" X-Files of the 8th series, and I'll be honest, when I first saw it, I didn't really know what to make of it. The whole look of the episode is very slick, with little of the murkiness of the earlier series even during the nighttime scenes. It seems like such a little difference, but it's odd, a nagging doubt about where the show is going that never quite leaves you alone.

Plot-wise, what we have is a bat/man (for some reason). To me, that's a vampire, given the long speech given in "Bad Blood" about the different types of vampire... but it doesn't seem to be mentioned at any point. The bat/man has some connection to a severely burnt corpse that's been dragged from a lake, and it goes after anyone who has any contact with it. We find this out from a guy living out on an island somewhere. At the end, it might be dead, or it might be out to get Scully and Doggett because they were somehow contaminated by the whole experience.

Honestly? It's all very sketchy. It's not exactly bad, but unless you just started watching, you know that the show has done much better than this. The "monster of the week" is welcome if only because of the three episodes of very weighty, plot-heavy stuff that's preceded it, but it's marred somewhat by Doggett and Scully's constant sniping at each other about nothing in particular, which gets in the way of actually following the investigation, in understanding how the agents get from A to B to C. Suddenly they're staking out a guy with a weird hat and you have no idea why.

It's a shame really. It's not bad by any means, but you'd think they'd have wanted to impress us a bit more, or at least not draw quite so much attention to the fact that the show has changed a hell of a lot in a very short space of time.

No X-Files without Mulder

[sini-200 · 3/10 · 18 April 2022]

I have nothing against Robert Patrick but I really dislike Agent Doggett. I know he was probably done like that, to be so different from Mulder, but he is very unlikeable. And there simply is no X-Files without Mulder. I love Scull from all my heart, but I wonder why she isnt looking for him, or mentioning, after last episode. Like he just disappeared? I guess the writers just were tire of having the same excuses for his absence. I am happily skipping the episodes without Mulder. It just doesnt feel the same anymore, either. Season 8 doesnt have the same vibe anymore. I love this show so much but they could have stopped at S7, or then have one final movie after it.

Really corny episode

[MoviesRT · 4/10 · 17 April 2024]

This one is so stupid.

Never could understand why that guy didn't just shoot it with a shotgun. I know they put 5 bullets in it at the end, but I think a shotgun to the head would have finished it off. But that would be too easy, right?

And what really got me laughing was when it reached the point of having to explain this strange creature because of the belief in the evolution mythology. That's when I knew we were dealing with a comedy sketch.

So instead of a monkey evolving into a man, a bat decided to evolve into one? ROTFL

I don't think they intended for it to be so funny, but it was.

I know they've had similar creature features that were quite good, but this one is just plain nonsense.