Last night, I promised that I wait for the second episode of The X-Files revival before passing too much judgment on the series as a whole.  One reason why that was an easy promise to make was that the 2nd episode was scheduled to air less than 24 hours after the first one.  And since I’m coming down with a cold, I was home and able to watch that 2nd episode.

The 2nd episode was a definite improvement over the first.  For one thing, it told an actual story that felt like more than just a collection of hastily compiled scenes.  There were still some weaknesses, though I’ve been told that some people consider these weaknesses to be strengths.  For instance, I will never be a fan of the muttering.  I understand that this is a show about secrets and conspiracies and that people dealing with secrets often speak in low voices but seriously, I could not hear about half of the dialogue.  Beyond that, the episode still suffered from some of the bad editing that marred My Struggle.  With the exception of Mulder’s fantasy about his son, the final few minutes of the show especially felt a bit hasty and abrupt.

There were other moments when I was painfully aware that this was a revival of a show that went off the air 14 years ago.  The opening credits featured pictures of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson from the original series and it was a bit jarring to realize just how much these two have aged over the past decade.  As I watched Mulder and Scully investigating a mysterious death and a mad scientist, it was hard not to notice that both of them seemed to be moving a bit slower than they did in the past.

And then there was the scene in which a potential witness mistook Mulder for being gay.  That scene felt very 1999.

But otherwise, the 2nd episode worked pretty well.  It was nothing great but it had a few creepy moments and the scene in the pool totally freaked me out.  (Not to mention the sheer length of the blade the Scully pulled out of that guy’s ear.)  If nothing else, it seems to indicate that, should The X-Files revival go on past these 6 episodes, it will be a solid enough show.  It may never be great but it will be entertaining enough.

As for my favorite part of tonight’s episode, it was when Scully and then Mulder imagined what would have happened if they hadn’t given their son William up for adoption.  (On twitter, I suggested that the baby should be called Sculder but apparently, everyone’s sticking with William.)  It was interesting to note that both Scully and Mulder fantasized about having an ideal relationship with their son but, in both cases, that fantasy ended with a moment of sudden terror.  If nothing else, it showed the psychological effects of not being able to trust anyone or anything.

William will probably show up before this season ends.  I imagine it will be in the final episode and things will probably wrap up with one of those open-ended finales that will make fans of the show scream, “Bring back The X-Files!  We promise we’ll buy anything advertised during the show!”

Anyway, based on the 2nd episode, I would say The X-Files has earned its revival.