A man is killed from inside a jail cell by a bullet fired from the roof through several walls and ceilings. Scully and Doggett are assigned to the case, which takes them to an unusual elimination company.

This episode starts off rather well: high drama, tension, a violent and sudden murder that seems impossible. When Scully and Doggett discover how it was done, it's a huge mystery as to how. Then Scully postulates after a drugs shoot-out that the killer has some form of x-ray vision that allows them to see through walls. From here it rapidly goes downhill.

She's right, of course, but there's just no meat to the bare bones of the premise. Once you've got someone with x-ray eyes, what can you do with them? They can kill, they can watch people get undressed. Now, if they were stalking someone, say Scully, and she had to try to catch someone who could see her wherever she was, that'd make for an exciting and interesting story. Instead, we have the tale of two brothers, both of whom fancy the same woman (the slapper who works for their small extermination business), one of whom is blind and the other of whom has enhanced sight. So far so, pardon the pun, blindingly obvious. The sighted brother must then choose between his brother and the woman he loves, making utterly the wrong choice and plumping for the girl who's slept with every man in a 10-mile radius. They say love is blind, but this is ridiculous. Or maybe that's exactly the point it's making. Maybe there are deeper layers to this, but I'm guessing not.

Scully and Doggett aren't particularly integral players, finding phone records and connecting the dots, but doing little more than straight criminal investigations work. The main thrust of the story is given to the brothers and woman, all of whom are, to some extent, unlikeable characters and therefore don't elicit the audience sympathy needed to make their plight particularly moving. Yes, it's an X-File, but it's certainly not the most interesting one there's ever been.

**

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