The discrepancies between the production order and airing really skewered this season’s episode. Post-production on "Triangle” ran long, and “How the Ghosts Stole Christmas” had to be rushed in order to get it in before the holiday season. The result was some strange continuity glitches. Some, like "The Rain King,” unintentionally revealed future storylines. The episode is set in august. The two agents are back on the X-Files after having been sent to Kansas to investigate a fraud case, but at this point, Spender and Fowley are still in charge of the x-Files while Mulder and Scully are stuck with menial tasks under the idea of forcing their resignations. At least we know the status quo will be restored fairly quickly, no?
The agents arrive in a small Kansas town where a severe drought has plagued farmers for months. There is an alleged con artist going about claiming he can make it rain for a fee. They soon discover the guy appears to be the real deal. Or, at the very least, the farmers he helps are happy with the results. It becomes apparent he is a fraud when Mulder discovers the weather is actually being affected by the emotions of the local meteorologist, Holman hardt, and his unrequited love for his co-worker, Sheila.
Sheila is not very excited about Holman. She is still after her ex-faince. Things get worse when she develops a thing for mulder, whom she considers far more interesting than anyone else in her small town. Feeling deeply rejected, Holman inadvertently cause heavy thunderstorms and flash flooding. Mulder decides to give him dating advice to soothe his jangled emotions , thereby calming the weather. Scully quips that is the blind leading the blind. She is right. It is girl talk between she and Sheila that resolves matters. Holman and Sheila eventually marry and have a child, according to the epilogue.
“The Rain King” continues the less than subtle theme that mulder and Scully are in love with each other, but denying it. Holman remarks how Mulder gazes at her. He cannot believe they have never hooked up. Sheila is just as surprised Scully denies any romantic interest in Mulder. They both assure the they are just friends. For good measure, Scully tells Sheila that the best romances grow out of friendship. Just because she has only seen Holman as a friend does not mean there is not a lasting love in there somewhere. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge to the audience there, though scully is oblivious. It is a joke that she is also the blind leading the blind.
‘The Rain King” is dumb, but sweet. Like much of the comedy in the second season, it is played for absurd laughs. At one point, Holman is so upset, he causes a tornado to drop a cow on Mulder’s motel room. It is still a touching episode in spite of the silliness. I chalk it up largely to Victoria Jackson. She brings a gentle, naïve nature to the character that often annoys my cynical ways in real people, but it is charming in her. I would like for her to take on more acting roles than she does. Alas, she is a Christian conservative in Hollywood, so not much chance of that. To bad. She makes the episode for non-shipper me.
Rating: *** (out of 5)
The discrepancies between the production order and airing really skewered this season’s episode. Post-production on "Triangle” ran long, and “How the Ghosts Stole Christmas” had to be rushed in order to get it in before the holiday season. The result was some strange continuity glitches. Some, like "The Rain King,” unintentionally revealed future storylines. The episode is set in august. The two agents are back on the X-Files after having been sent to Kansas to investigate a fraud case, but at this point, Spender and Fowley are still in charge of the x-Files while Mulder and Scully are stuck with menial tasks under the idea of forcing their resignations. At least we know the status quo will be restored fairly quickly, no?
