The X-Files: Triangle (6.3)

One of the numerous highlights of this episode is the use of tracking shots throughout. Almost every scene is one long take, and the sheer number of extras and guest stars all of whom get entrusted to remember their lines and their cues is really awe-inspiring. It's funny though that it took about twenty minutes for me to realize I was actually watching numerous long takes, and it was the scene with Scully dramatically pacing around the FBI's offices that finally made everything click together for me. That scene in particular is staggeringly successful, Gillian's performance entirely on point as she rushes from corridor to corridor, stumbling into meetings she shouldn't have access to and bumping into folks she can't trust. It's one of the greatest sequences this show has ever done.

There's a sense of fun here that hasn't been seen for a while. The story is pretty absurd, but it's played with such conviction that it actually works. There's a lot of fun to be had seeing the various X-Files cast members playing people on board the Queen Mary, and how their new characters were only thinly-veiled versions of their normal selves. Scully the skeptical OSS agent, Skinner the Nazi officer secretly helping the heroes.

Similarly fun was that great coda sequence, with Mulder telling Scully that he loves her and Scully's response being a timely eye-roll. These two have such great chemistry, one that borders on brother-sister at times, but Scully loves Mulder in all his reckless glory.

It's surprising that Triangle is a Chris Carter episode, since it bears all the ambition and humor of a Vince Gilligan script. It's the show's first masterpiece this season, a fun adventure story with gorgeous visuals and some inspired direction and camerawork. A+

Credits
Guest stars William B. Davis (The Cigarette-Smoking Man); Chris Owens (Jeffrey Spender); Mitch Pileggi (Walter Skinner); James Pickens, Jr. (Alvin Kersh); Madison Mason (Yip Harburg); Trevor Goddard (Crewman #1); G.W. Stevens (Crewman #2); Greg Ellis (Crewman #3); Nick Meaney (Crewman #4); Kai Wulff (Nazi); Tom Braidwood (Melvin Frohike); Dean Haglund (Ringo Langley); Bruce Harwood (John Fitzgerald Byers)
Writer Chris Carter Director Chris Carter