i am in shock with what i did with what i feel with who i am i am in shock i killed a man in cold blood and you watched me do it you let me do it i am in shock with the rage i felt with the evil i unleashed i am in shock and now as i sit here beside you i can't help but wonder were those feelings always inside me? - shock by susan frankovich http://members.tripod.com/sfrankovich/index.html

 

 
This lecture is in two parts. Why two parts? That will soon become apparent.

Part One: Pre-Orison
(I’m writing this before watching Orison)
At this point, Donnie Pfaster ranks as number two on my “Grossest Monsters of X-Files” list. Eugene Victor Tooms, that liver-eating, super-stretchy, age-defying mutant holds the number one position of that list. However, that may change tonight with the return of Donnie Pfaster in “Orison.”

I remember the first time I saw the “Irresistible,” the episode that introduced us to Pfaster, the escalating fetishist. He was a truly creepy dude. He looked and acted, most of the time, like a “normal” guy. But, he had this really horrible fetish for dead women’s nails and hair. That fetish escalated until he was kidnapping women and killing them to take those parts he desired. ::shaking in revulsion::

The case in Irresistible freaked Scully quite a bit, but she plugged along like the good soldier she is. However, her uneasiness rang true as Pfaster kidnaps her and sets about to kill her in the same manner.

Scully sees Donnie “morph” into some very disturbing images as he checks her bindings. She had flashbacks to her abduction and saw Donnie in several incarnations of evil, among them a demonic alien.

Scully fights to get free as Mulder and other agents break-in to Pfaster’s hideout. Scully really breaks down for the first time I remember in “The X-Files” history. Mulder holds her as she sobs into his shoulder. That was the first time I even thought these two could have a more ummmm.... personal relationship.

So, “Irresistible” provided me some pleasant memories as well as the disturbing ones. Did anyone else watching the show way back then think we’d still be watching it in 2000? And that Donnie Pfaster would return? I can’t wait to see it!
 

Part Two:

Scully: “What made me pull the trigger?”
Mulder: “You mean what if it was God?”
Scully: “I mean... what if it wasn’t?”
-“Orison”

I am spoiler-free (proud of it!) and was not expecting the religious exploration Chip Johannesen and Rob Bowman gave us in “Orison.” The X-Files is very good is pointing out the fine line between good and evil and this episode is a perfect example of that.

Rev. Orison didn’t listen to his own words He warned Scully that the devil is always looking for his instant. That is exactly what happened to him: he fervently believed he was acting out God’s will, but it was actually the devil.

While the devil waits for his moment, God acts to thwart that moment. In my humble opinion, Scully was being sent all those messages to make right what the reverend had screwed up. “Don’t look any further...” Once unleashed, Pfaster was certain to look for her so there was no need for her to look. The devil was going to have his instant.

This religious discussion, though very fascinating, is very heady and subjective stuff—real controversial. These are only my views and, no doubt, there are numerous similar and opposing views throughout Philedom. I love that!

Has Donnie Pfaster replaced Eugene Tooms at the top of my list as mentioned in Part One? Yep. In fact, he’s replaced John Lee Roche at the top of my “Creepiest Monsters” list! After all, it appears he was evil incarnate—a demon if not the devil himself. Scully actually saw Pfaster’s true self in “Irresistible.” It wasn’t a hallucination.

What about Mulder? This was Scully’s journey into self-exploration but Mulder had to be doing dome of that, too. He called Scully after hearing that song. Was God speaking to him? He had to have wondered that. )I’m waiting for an episode in which Mulder explores his faith/beliefs... religious, that is.)

As far as extra credit research goes, there’s slim pickens here. I simply could not bring myself to research fetishes: the first site grossed me out way too much to continue. So, no fetish sites. Sorry!

I moved on to trepanation, what Rev. Orison did to his skull to increase blood flow and do the group hypnosis. I had heard of the theory Mulder mentioned: our brains aren’t at full capacity because of a lack of adequate blood supply. One of my college physiology professors mentioned it, I think- briefly. Now, I know why. If the fetish website creeped me out, the information I read on trepanation truly disturbed me. The sites I surfed told stories of people trying to attain a higher level of consciousness by putting holes in their skulls and using LSD, among others. I couldn’t find anything about it allowing a person to perform hallucinations. I gave up as my level of consciousness was fast approaching its limit. So, no trepanation links, either.

Does “Orison” leave me with pleasant memories, to complement the disturbing ones, as “Irresistible” did? Perhaps a few. The shooting scene was very well done. I wasn’t sure what had happened. At first, I thought Scully had shot past Pfaster and hit the light. But, when I saw him fall, I knew what had happened. Mulder and Scully’s conversation about God speaking to her was a treat for me. Of course, that end scene was wonderful. In “Irresistible,” Scully tried to hide her pain from Mulder. In “Orison,” she shared her deepest fear with him.

Extra Credit Research:

Shot of Rhythm, the John Hiatt Home page

The Official Site- go in and click on episodes to see their info on Orison