Reyes is involved in a car accident and falls into a coma, being diagnosed as brain dead. As Doggett attempts to find some solution to bring her back, he comes across a hospital carer with a secret. Meanwhile, Reyes finds herself in a strange other dimension where other coma patients reside until they die and must find a way to escape.

What is it with the writers of The X-Files this season? Does everyone have to fall into a coma at some point or die? Doggett and Reyes are in and out of the hospital more often than even Mulder and Scully were! Anyway, that aside, this is a surprisingly strong episode. It may take on certain elements that might seem familiar to long-time viewers, but it arranges them in a new and effective way.

Audrey is a lovely little character, not quite sure what she is really able to do or how she really does it, a true innocent in the mould of season one's Roland. Doggett and Reyes' relationship gets some time spent on it as we see them get that little bit closer, but where Mulder and Scully had constant sexual tension that I never really wanted to see resolved, I'd be more than happy for these two to get it together. Why don't they? The show's nearly over, what harm can it do? Maybe the last episode will feature a double wedding.

There are also some strong moments between Doggett and Scully, demonstrating a reversal from earlier in the season when Reyes was at Doggett's bedside and had to make a tough decision. Their relationship has developed a closeness very quickly that's just as effective as the one between Scully and Mulder when it needs to be. Robert Patrick turns in a superb performance throughout this story. If there's any problem with it, it's the fact that the so-called 'Dr Death' is ending the lives of coma patients for no explained reason. Is he getting money? Is he just enjoying it? It's good to have a human villain for a change, but motivation is very much an issue by the end and a little more explanation would have been nice. Then again, I forget of which series I'm speaking...

****

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