If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.
Synopsis: While investigating human organ theft, Mulder and Scully uncover a mysterious cult consumed with macabre rituals. (IMDB)
Writer: Karen Nielsen
Director: James Wong
Rating: TV-14
Running Time: 45mins
What better title for an episode as Nothing Lasts Forever seeing that the season and possibly the series is coming to an end. Both Mulder and Scully have been it at it for a while now and they’re not exactly getting younger so this episode dealt with that issue in a fun way, involving Mulder’s glasses. Coincidentally, this episode just happened to be one of the goriest in the series.
Religion would also play a large role in this episode although it didn’t really impact it that much other than allowing Mulder and Scully to sit and reflect. Later, they investigated an organ harvesting ring where a surgeon was murdered by a female religious vigilante named Juliet (Carlena Britch). This passion was easy to understand but the episode failed to develop Juliet’s religious beliefs beyond this.
Juliet was fueled by the need to locate her missing sister Olivia (Micaela Aguilera) who had joined a cult that was obsessed with an old Hollywood actress named Barbara Beaumont (Fiona Vroom) who with the help of her partner, Dr. Randolph Luvenis (Jere Burns), would eat organs and surgically attach themselves to their healthy followers in order to literally suck them dry and stay young. Beaumont was supposedly 85 years old but definitely did not look it.
Mulder and Scully eventually found themselves in Beaumont’s apartment where they of course did not recognize her. Their time there was unfortunately cut short since after being attacked by Beaumont’s followers, Juliet was there to save the day. Scully, on the other hand, was pushed down a dumbwaiter but Scully was fine and now smelled as she landed on decades of garbage. Once they found Olivia, she was surgically attached to Luvenis and Juliet stopped him too.
One more scene at a church at the end was used to sort of set up next week’s season/series finale where Mulder and Scully talked about William and what Scully’s life could have been if she hadn’t met Mulder. Each affirmed their dedication to one another before whatever lies ahead for them.
Overall, this was a decent episode with a promising premise that was messily executed with the best part of it being Vroom’s excellently campy performance as Beaumont. The sister subplot did not do this episode any favors as it took focus away from the main story. The best part of this episode, however, were the smaller moments between Mulder and Scully when they each reflected about their age (with Mulder’s glasses being the highlight) and what would be the end for them. The finale of last season dropped the ball so hopefully next week’s finale won’t have the same fate, however, this season has done a much better job at plotting out its story over a shorter season with 10 episodes compared to last season’s 6. The end is near.
Score: 7.5/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.