The X-Files series is a dark parody of Forrest Gump, and it's great

The author Jonathan Klotz
| Published

During initial operation The X-Files didn't dare unsuspecting audiences to believe in aliens, government conspiracies and other monsters that go bump in the night. Behind it all, however, was the mysterious Cigarette Smoker, who went from the background of Season 1 to become the show's main villain. According to the Season 4 episode “Contemplations of a Cigarette Smoking Man”, he is also a twisted Forrest Gump who influences world events not with naive optimism, but with his ideas about world security.

The Secret History of a Cigarette Smoker

“The Thinking of a Cigarette Smoker”

Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man gave fans their best look into the shadowy master's mysterious history, expertly played by William B. Davies, and Chris Owens appeared in the episode as a younger version of the main conspirator. While meeting with Mulder and Scully, The Lone Gunman's Melvin Frohike reveals that he has discovered the true history of the Cigarette Smoker, who incidentally is listening to the meeting from behind a sniper rifle. In a long series of flashbacks, we see the real history, or at least the show makes us think it's the real history.

In 1962, we learn that the Cigarette Smoker is friends with Mulder's father, Bill, and that he has been tasked by the US Army to assassinate President John F. Kennedy. “Reflections of a Cigarette-Smoking Man” details the origins of his smoking habit, given a gift he received from Lee Harvey Oswald after he tipped off the assassination. This is just the first instance of his influence shaping the history of The X-Files, and his worst actions are yet to come.

From planning the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. to staging the 1980 Miracle on Ice and, worst of all, keeping the Bills from winning the Super Bowl, Minds of a Cigarette Smoking Man has fun reflecting on world history. . However, it is also one of the most callous, overtly evil characters science fiction history is strangely sympathetic.

A frustrated novelist

The cigarette smoker does his best in Forrest Gump “Thoughts of a man smoking a cigarette

In between shaping world events, Reflections of a Cigarette Smoking Man shows him working on a novel, Take a Chance: The Jack Colquitt Adventureand in the current year of 1996, he is willing to quit his job and smoke to celebrate the release of his science fiction novel. Until he finds himself double-crossed by an editor and, sitting on a park bench, gives his own speech about how “life is like a box of chocolates” before resuming his villainous life. It's a rare moment The X-Files an original run that humanizes him, but that might not even be true.

In the closing moments of “Contemplations of a Cigarette-Smoking Man,” Frohike admits he's made it all up, but the Cigarette-Smoker ends the episode by quoting the last line of his novel: “I can kill you whenever I want. , but not today. This has led fans to question how much of the episode is fictional and how much of its true secret history was. X file the most mysterious character.

One of the best episodes of The X-Files

During the series' run, the lack of a clear resolution divided critics and fans, but as time went on, Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man began to become a fan favorite. Written by Glenn Morgan and directed by James Wong, the mastermind behind most of the show's best episodes, as well as the underrated sci-fi series. Space: above and beyondin fact, this was one of the first episodes they wrote after another show was canceled. While they never intended to say that this was the definitive history of the Cigarette Smoking Man, many fans thought so, aside from the fun of this episode's re-imagining of world events.

The Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man may not answer a single question, including the most pressing question: When did he go shopping in the charming log cabin from The Red and the Black? Argument for the best series The X-Files may be endless, and controversial decisions made in the revival series have ruined some of the original action, but The Secret History of the Cigarette Smoking Man has only gotten better over time.



Source link

x
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like