"Plus One" is the third episode of the
eleventh season of the American
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
television series ''
The X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...
''. The episode was written by
Chris Carter and directed by
Kevin Hooks
Kevin Hooks (born September 19, 1958) is an American actor, and a television and film director; he is notable for his roles in ''Aaron Loves Angela'' and '' Sounder'', but may be best known as Morris Thorpe from TV's '' The White Shadow''.
Ear ...
. It aired on January 17, 2018, on
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
. The traditional tagline, "The Truth is Out There" is displayed twice. The
cold open
A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In Ameri ...
features the song "Unsaid Undone" from
David Duchovny
David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, novelist, and singer-songwriter. He is known for portraying FBI agent Fox Mulder on the television series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002, 2016-2018) and as write ...
's debut album ''
Hell or Highwater
Atreyu is an American metalcore band from Yorba Linda, California, formed in 1998. The band currently consists of clean vocalist Brandon Saller, guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel, bassist and unclean vocalist Marc "Porter" McKnight, and ...
''.
Plot
In a small rural community event in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, Arkie Seavers appears to see himself in the back of the crowd. Frightened, he drives away from the event, only to have his
doppelgänger
A doppelgänger (), a compound noun formed by combining the two nouns (double) and (walker or goer) (), doppelgaenger or doppelganger is a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person.
In fiction and mythology, a doppelg ...
grab the wheel and drive him into a tree.
Fox Mulder
Fox William Mulder () is a fictional FBI Special Agent and one of the two protagonists of the Fox science fiction-supernatural television series ''The X-Files'', played by David Duchovny. Mulder's peers dismiss his many theories on extraterrest ...
(
David Duchovny
David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, novelist, and singer-songwriter. He is known for portraying FBI agent Fox Mulder on the television series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002, 2016-2018) and as write ...
) ties the Seavers case to a number of people who have tried to kill themselves after claiming they saw someone who looked exactly like them.
Dana Scully
Dana Katherine Scully, MD, is a fictional character and one of the two Protagonist, protagonists in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox science-fiction, supernatural fiction, supernatural television series ''The X-Files'', played by Gillian Anders ...
(
Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the series ''The X-Files'', ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film ''The House of Mirth'' ...
) thinks Arkie is lying, but Mulder is more inclined to believe. The agents meet with a barely-alive Seavers and discuss his experiences. The agents meet a patient at a psychiatric hospital named Judy Poundstone (
Karin Konoval
Karin Konoval (; born June 4, 1961) is Canadian-American actress who has appeared in theatre, numerous TV series and supporting lead roles in many feature films. Her screen credits include Maurice the Orangutan in ''Rise of the Planet of the Ape ...
), who has
dissociative identity disorder
Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states.
The di ...
. Her room is filled with games of
hangman, which she claims she plays with her brother, Chucky, who lives across town.
After being placed into a cell, Arkie's doppelgänger appears in the cell with him, presumably killing him. Mulder and Scully check into a motel to sleep for the night. He comes to her in the middle of the night to reveal Arkie’s death. Scully argues that it is a
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
, while Mulder and Seavers' attorney, Dean Cavalier, doesn't believe so. Mulder finds the irascible Chucky (also Konoval), living by himself, with his walls also covered with hangman games. Meanwhile, Scully meets with “Demon Judy”, an evil alter ego, who seems to be flinging chocolate pudding at the cell door. A nurse tells Scully that both of the Poundstone parents hanged themselves. Scully tries to get more information out of Judy, but is tormented by this new nemesis by taunts of her supposedly not being young enough to bear children anymore.
Chucky and Judy begin playing the game again, this time targeting Cavalier. First, Dean sees his double and goes to tell Scully and Mulder. The agents tell him to stay calm and hide away all weapons of harm. Dean ventures to his home and tosses multiple equipment onto the floor. He realizes that the room is filled with swords. Dean accidentally cuts himself with one of the blades. Before he can aid his wound, he sees his double again. The agents arrive to find Cavalier with his head cut off.
Back at the motel, Scully has trouble sleeping wondering if Judy had a point about her advancing age and seeks comfort from Mulder, which turns physically romantic. After their intimacy, Mulder sees his double in the bathroom and freaks out. Mulder races to confront Chucky as Scully goes to stop Judy. On her way to the hospital, Scully sees her double in the backseat of her car, but stays calm, calling the figure a "manifest psychic ideation." It turns out that the twins are fighting each other, not being able to agree on which agent to hang. Before the agents can interrupt their game, the siblings both "hang" each other. On Chucky's wall, Mulder finds two hangman games for "Mom" and "Dad."
Production
Filming
Filming for the season began in August 2017 in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, British Columbia, where the previous season was filmed, along with the show's original five seasons. The episode was directed by
Kevin Hooks
Kevin Hooks (born September 19, 1958) is an American actor, and a television and film director; he is notable for his roles in ''Aaron Loves Angela'' and '' Sounder'', but may be best known as Morris Thorpe from TV's '' The White Shadow''.
Ear ...
, which marked his ''X-Files'' directorial debut. In an interview, Hooks commented regarding not getting to direct for the original series, "I feel like I had missed something very significant and when it came back, I was really excited about that". He continued, saying, "Chris
arter
Arter is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Harry Arter
* Jared Maurice Arter
* Kingsley Arter Taft
* Philip and Uriah Arter, after whom Philip and Uriah Arter Farm is named
* Robert Arter
* Solomon Arter, after whom Solomon Art ...
reached out to me and asked if I'd be interested in doing the show. I thought it's not every day that you get the creator of the show to call you on the phone and ask you to be a part of it."
Casting
The episode includes main cast members
David Duchovny
David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, novelist, and singer-songwriter. He is known for portraying FBI agent Fox Mulder on the television series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002, 2016-2018) and as write ...
and
Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the series ''The X-Files'', ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film ''The House of Mirth'' ...
, while
Mitch Pileggi
Mitch Pileggi (born April 5, 1952) is an American actor. He played Horace Pinker in '' Shocker'', Walter Skinner on ''The X-Files'', Colonel Steven Caldwell on ''Stargate Atlantis'', Ernest Darby in ''Sons of Anarchy'', and Harris Ryland in th ...
does not appear. The episode guest stars
Karin Konoval
Karin Konoval (; born June 4, 1961) is Canadian-American actress who has appeared in theatre, numerous TV series and supporting lead roles in many feature films. Her screen credits include Maurice the Orangutan in ''Rise of the Planet of the Ape ...
–who played Madame Zelma in "
Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose
"Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" is the fourth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series ''The X-Files''. Directed by David Nutter and written by Darin Morgan, the installment serves as a "Monster-of-the-Week" s ...
" and Mrs. Peacock in "
Home
A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...
" in the original series–who appears in a dual role as brother and sister characters Judy and Chucky Poundstone.
Reception
"Plus One" received generally positive reviews from critics. On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, it has an approval rating of 100% with an average rating of 7.27 out of 10 based on 8 reviews.
In its initial broadcast in the United States on January 17, 2018, it received 3.95 million viewers, which was the same number of viewers as the previous episode.
References
External links
*
{{Portal bar, Speculative fiction, Television
2018 American television episodes
Television episodes written by Chris Carter (screenwriter)
The X-Files (season 11) episodes
Television episodes directed by Kevin Hooks