The X-files
Max (part 2 of 2)
Episode: 4X18
First aired:3/23/97
Written by:Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz
Directed by: Kim Manners
As seen in the previous episode,
Mulder, clad in
scuba gear, inspects (what appears to
be) the wreckage of a
UFO deep beneath the
murky waters of
Great Sacandaga Lake in
Upstate
New York. A bright beam of light penetrates the
darkness, illuminating the
agent. The light's source is revealed to be a team of
frogmen, accompanied by an
amphibious craft equipped with large searchlights. Mulder attempts to make an
escape,
but he is placed under military arrest.
A
wounded Garrett escapes from the
Headless Woman Pub.
Scully immediately turns
her attention to
Agent Pendrell, who was caught in the crossfire.
Paramedics are called
to the scene and Pendrell is transported to a nearby
hospital.
Skinner tells Scully that
Louis Frish is being placed under
military arrest (for suspicion of murder and providing
false testimony to a
federal investigation).
Mulder is
released from jail. The
Air Force asserts that Flight 549 collided with a
military
fighter jet when Frish and his tower co-controller made
an error in judgment. Based on
the
wreckage he saw beneath Lake Sacandaga, Mulder believes Flight 549 collided
with a
UFO (after it was shot down by a military jet). Scully tells Mulder that
Agent
Pendrell died of his
injuries. Mulder conveys his sympathies.
Records reveal that Sharon Graffia is not
Max Fenig's sister, but an unemployed
aeronautical engineer who spent time in
mental institutions (where she met Fenig). The
agents search Fenig's
mobile home. They discover a
videotape in which Fenig states
that the military salvaged
alien technology for use in their own technological
applications. He claims to have
undeniable, irrefutable proof to back up his
assertion.
Mulder describes for Mike Millar the sequence of
events that (he believes) led to the
downing of Flight 549. According to Mulder, Max boarded the plane carrying
physical
proof of the
existence of
extraterrestrial life. Someone followed him aboard the craft,
intending to obtain the object at any cost. But before the assassin could carry out his
plot, Flight 549 was
intercepted by a UFO. As the UFO began to abduct Fenig, flight
controllers ordered a
military jet into 549's airspace on a
mission to
destroy the
alien
craft. When the Air Force shot down the UFO, the
airliner, caught in its "tractor beam,"
spun out of control and crashed.
The
manager of the
trailer park where Fenig lived gives Mulder Fenig's undelivered
mail. One envelope contains a
luggage claim ticket bearing a three-letter designation
for Syracuse. Meanwhile, Scully meets with Sharon Graffia at a
mental health center.
She admits she stole an object from her
employer after Max insisted it could prove the
existence of alien life. The object was
divided into three parts. Max and Sharon each
took a
segment, but they were later confiscated.
Mulder finds the third piece inside Fenig's
luggage at the
Syracuse airport. He boards a
flight for
Washington, but is followed by Garrett (Agent Pendrell's killer). Mulder gets the
jump on Garrett and confines him to a
bathroom aboard the plane. He
telephones Scully
and instructs her to meet him at
Dulles airport. Suddenly, Mulder's wrist watch stops
running. A UFO intercepts the
aircraft and, during the
commotion Garrett escapes from
the lavatory. He grabs a knapsack containing the third
stolen alien segment. As a bright
light from the UFO engulfs the
plane, Mulder instructs Garrett to drop the bag. But
Garrett refuses to do so. When the plane lands at
Dulles airport, Garrett is not on board.
Mulder tells
Skinner that Garrett "caught a
connecting flight."
Important Quotes:
Scully -- "
Mulder."
Mulder -- "Hey,
Scully. You here to spring me from the joint?"
Mulder -- "Remember this place?"
Scully -- "I remember being amazed at what some people will call home."
Mulder -- "
You have to admit the man had an enduring sense of style."
Scully -- "Only
Max Fenig and you would
appreciate living like this."
Max -- "And, uh, I should probably mention that I do this at great risk to my own
health and
safety but hey, when
every day is just another day you're gonna get
kidnapped by a bunch of
little gray dudes from outer space what's
a few
CIA spooks to worry about? "
Mulder -- "Do you know where she is?"
Scully -- "In a
mental institution."
Mulder -- "I'd go with you . . . but I'm afraid they'd
lock me up."
Scully -- "Me too. "
Scully -- "Mulder, where are you? "
Mulder -- "I'm standing outside an
airplane bathroom where I've got the man who shot
Pendrell locked up."
Scully -- "What?"
Mulder -- "Yeah, looks like I'm gonna miss the
inflight movie. And it was something starring Steve Guttenberg."
Scully -- "I think you appreciate that there are
extraordinary
men - and women- and
extraordinary moments when history leaps forward on the backs of these individuals. That
what can be imagined can be
achieved. That you must dare to dream, but that there is no substitute for
perseverance and hard work and
teamwork. Because no one gets there alone. And while we
commemorate the
greatness of these events and the
individuals who achieve them, we cannot forget the
sacrifice of those who made
these
achievements and leaps possible."
Mulder -- "I thought it was just a pretty cool
keychain."
Back to The X-files: Season 4