Another peek into suburbia for this show, playing around with soapy themes of marital infidelity, middle-aged disappointment, secret love children, town outcasts and gossipy housewives, while at the same time throwing in an elaborate raven monster that materializes out of mirrors and tears up some cheatin' soccer moms. Naturally. Chimera is one of those old fashioned X-Files hours -- nothing is particularly remarkable, but the central demon conceit is intriguing and the multiple red herrings that occur throughout the episode keep you alert. I haven't been a huge fan of David Amann's previous work on this show, and while this is suspiciously similar to his season six effort Terms of Endearment, it's something of an improvement on his past scripts.Mulder and Scully are split up for most of the episode, presumably to give Gillian Anderson prep time for her directorial gig next week, but I wish there was more cohesion between both storylines. There have been episodes in the past that use Scully even less, so I don't understand why the show had her working her own case, even if it did have that vague conclusion that helped Mulder get to the bottom of his mystery. It all felt a little forced.
But, generally, Chimera is a fun little horror episode. Strong performances all-round (notably the late, great Gina Mastrogiacomo as the suburban bad girl), and a couple of effective scare moments, especially that great attack in the closet. Lightweight, but breezily entertaining. C+
Credits
Guest stars Mitch Pileggi (Walter Skinner); Michelle Joyner (Ellen Adderly); Gina Mastrogiacomo (Jenny Uphouse); F. William Parker (Dr. Blankenship); John Mese (Phil Adderly)
Writer David Amann Director Cliff Bole
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