This is the episode of the X Files that, despite its nature as a non-canon, non-alien, what some may call "filler" episode, nonetheless truly defines the show and its appeal for me.
According to Wikipedia, this episode entails "When a school student becomes the prime suspect in the bizarre murder of a police officer, Mulder and Scully are sent to investigate. They discover that the boy and a couple of friends have been playing with the ability to accelerate their movements to a frequency the human eye can't perceive."
A nice and supernatural tone befitting all well-written X-files episodes, the plot is, however, merely the backdrop against which a series of intriguing questions can be posed. Questions like "Is respect for authority something that should be expected or earned?", "Is power something that anyone is entitled to?", "If so, will they use it wisely?", "If not, who has the power to stop them?", and "How far will that person have to go?" Most of these questions are answered, but a few are left open to argument.
Of course, most of the time, I ignore the moral implications of this episode's mystery and simply end up daydreaming about what I would do if I had the power to move faster than the eye can perceive.
In the end, I suppose that is what draws me to write about this particular episode above any of the other well-made installments: imagination at its best and its worst. People have always wondered about how their lives would change if they could only fly, or breathe underwater, see through walls, or move faster than a bolt of lightning. What they almost never consider is whether or not they would get drunk off of those abilities, or how long it would take to start abusing them.
As for this episode, the respective answers would be; they would, and not long at all.
According to Wikipedia, this episode entails "When a school student becomes the prime suspect in the bizarre murder of a police officer, Mulder and Scully are sent to investigate. They discover that the boy and a couple of friends have been playing with the ability to accelerate their movements to a frequency the human eye can't perceive."
A nice and supernatural tone befitting all well-written X-files episodes, the plot is, however, merely the backdrop against which a series of intriguing questions can be posed. Questions like "Is respect for authority something that should be expected or earned?", "Is power something that anyone is entitled to?", "If so, will they use it wisely?", "If not, who has the power to stop them?", and "How far will that person have to go?" Most of these questions are answered, but a few are left open to argument.
Of course, most of the time, I ignore the moral implications of this episode's mystery and simply end up daydreaming about what I would do if I had the power to move faster than the eye can perceive.
In the end, I suppose that is what draws me to write about this particular episode above any of the other well-made installments: imagination at its best and its worst. People have always wondered about how their lives would change if they could only fly, or breathe underwater, see through walls, or move faster than a bolt of lightning. What they almost never consider is whether or not they would get drunk off of those abilities, or how long it would take to start abusing them.
As for this episode, the respective answers would be; they would, and not long at all.