Season 1, Episode 2—Deep Throat
“Let’s just say this case has a distinct smell to it. A certain… paranormal bouquet.”
After presenting a new case to Scully (the disappearance of a disturbed military test pilot in Idaho), Mulder is confronted by a mysterious man—a government official who later gives Mulder inside info and would eventually become known as Deep Throat (Jerry Hardin)—warning Mulder to stay clear of not just the case at hand, but to be careful of divulging his work in public. Ignoring the man, Mulder and Scully investigate the events in Idaho (specifically Ellens Air Base). Soon, the missing test pilot returns home but with his brain having been reprogrammed with selective memory—a condition Mulder associates with a mental collapse after operating alien tech stolen by the government.
“Deep Throat” is a significant episode in the X-Files/mythology canon, mostly because it confirms direct ties between the government and otherworldly beings—specifically via an instance where Mulder is kidnapped by military police and forced back to Ellens Air Base after witnessing an unidentifiable aircraft. Unfortunately, Mulder’s mind is scrambled and he later cannot remember these events. Much like his sister’s disappearance, this becomes a driving force for Mulder, and the X-Files, to find the truth that is out there.
Rating: 👽 👽 👽 👽
Notes: “Deep Throat” is the rare occasion in which we see Mulder cooking in his apartment. The exterior used for the test pilot’s house was featured as Frank Black’s home for two years in the TV series, Millennium (1996-99), also created by Chris Carter.
