In and of itself, "Fallen Angel" is a darn good episode. The action kicks off right from the beginning, an invisible alien entity wreaks havoc as the government tries to maintain control, Mulder and Scully get shut out of the investigation while Mulder again appeals emotionally to Scully, they meet Max Fenig, a tortured soul who desperately believes in alien, and Deep Throat gets his character fleshed out some.
However, looking back at this episode and how things turned out, it was pretty clear Chris Carter had NO idea where he was going. The evidence mounts as the series progresses--I'm guessing because he never expected the show to last very long, and "Fallen Angel" is a great example. It's fine if Chris Carter doesn't map everything out like JMS, but all this episode really amounted to was--there are aliens abducting people, no one has a clue what's going on.
At the end of the episode, Deep Throat keeps the X-Files open, countermanding an order from Section Chief McGrath. His explanation: it's better to keep enemies closer. That brings up many questions. Is he saying that for McGrath or is he really playing Mulder? In most mytharc episodes, the government plays a pivotal role which is what makes The X-Files much more compelling than any average alien show.
I don't want to reveal future details, but I'll get to those once I reach the episodes to fully explain what I mean. I'm behind schedule, so I'll try to do one more episode today and catch up tomorrow.
Score: 8.7/10
