History Recap / TheXFilesS07E08TheAmazingMaleeni

* KarmaHoudini: Both Maleeni and [=LeBonge=] get away with their framing Alvarez since there is no proof but ultimately subverted since they also plan to rob the bank using Electronic funds transfer but Mulder spoils their plan. So, they might not get caught but they did not get away with stealing money either.

* DeadPersonImpersonation: Maleeni, aka Herman Pinchback, impersonates his dead twin brother, Albert Pinchback.
* DisabilityAlibi: When Mulder goes to the bank to accuse Albert Pinchback of impersonating his brother, Herman, aka Maleeni, concisely rebuts the accusation by moving his wheelchair out from behind his desk and revealing that he's lost both legs from the knee down. It turns out to be a false alibi: it's a trick wheelchair that lets him tuck his legs away without there seeming to be anywhere they could be hidden.

* ObfuscatingDisability: Maleeni's disguise as Albert Pinchback has him use a special wheelchair to conceal his legs and pretend that he lost them in a Mexico car accident.

* TwinSwitch: The Amazing Maleeni (aka Herman Pinchbeck) performs a posthumous one on his twin, Albert, as part of his plan.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: One of the rare X-Files episode where nothing supernatural actually happens. Although, nobody ever figured out how Maleeni did his head turning trick.

* FakingTheDead: Maleeni performs his trick of turning his head 360 degrees and ends up decapitated. His brother, Albert works in a bank and is an amputee due to a horrific car accident. It turns out that the real Albert died a month ago due to natural causes and Maleeni faked his death and pretended to be Albert ostensibly to escape his gambling debts. Turns out Maleeni's true reason for this deception is [[KansasCityShuffle slightly more complicated than that]].

* TheChessmaster: Maleeni and [=LeBonge=] both conspire to frame and convict Alvarez and succeed using a very complex plan.

* FakingTheDead: Maleeni performs his trick of turning his head 360 degrees and ends up decapitated. His brother, Albert works in a bank and is an amputee due to a horrific car accident. It turns out that the real Albert died a month ago due to natural causes and Maleeni faked his death and pretended to be Albert to escape his gambling debts.

* ObfuscatingDisability

[[Recap/TheXFiles Index]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS07E01TheSixthExtinction 1]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS07E02TheSixthExtinctionIIAmorFati 2]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS07E03Hungry 3]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS07E04Millennium 4]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS07E05Rush 5]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS07E06TheGoldbergVariation 6]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS07E07Orison Orison]] | '''8''' | [[Recap/TheXFilesS07E09SignsAndWonders 9]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS07E10SeinUndZeit 10]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS07E11Closure 11]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS07E12XCops 12]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS07E13FirstPersonShooter 13]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS07E14Theef 14]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS07E15EnAmi 15]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS07E16Chimera 16]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS07E17AllThings 17]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS07E18BrandX 18]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS07E19HollywoodAD 19]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS07E20FightClub 20]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS07E21JeSouhaite 21]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS07E22Requiem 22]]]]-]]]

A small-time stage magician does a trick where his head rotates 360 degrees, and is found dead shortly afterward, with his head completely separated from his body. Mulder and Scully investigate.

!!Tropes

* StagedShooting

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* KansasCityShuffle: Maleeni and [=LeBonge=]'s real plan. Maleeni actually planned to have his DeadPersonImpersonation revealed all along so he could get arrested and end up in jail, so that both he and [=LeBonge=] would have the perfect alibi for framing Alvarez, namely being locked up in jail on the night the robbery happened. There was even a second level to this, in that framing Alvarez was actually merely a bonus objective, and their true goal was to electronically steal money from the bank. In the end, they are only really half successful, as Mulder manages to catch on to both levels of the plan, and manages to foil the electronic robbery.

* DisabilityAlibi: When Mulder goes to the bank to accuse Albert Maleeni of impersonating his brother, Maleeni concisely rebuts the accusation by moving his wheelchair out from behind his desk and revealing that he's lost both legs from the knee down. It turns out to be a false alibi: it's a trick wheelchair that lets him tuck his legs away without there seeming to be anywhere they could be hidden.

* VillainousFriendship: Maleeni and his protege [=LeBonge=], who present themselves as hated rivals to throw off suspicion. The single scene they share alone together when the [[TheReveal mask drops]] is [[JustAsPlanned surprisingly heartwarming]].

* BigBadFriend: For a given value of BigBad, anyway. [=LeBonge=] forms a civil enough relationship with the agents, "helping" them with the investigation; the plan requires that he spend some time around them.

* StagedShooting

* ExorcistHead: The magician turns his head 360 degrees. It's speculated that he faked it using [[spoiler:his twin's head]] but it's never fully explained.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: One of the rare X-Files episode where nothing supernatural actually happens. [[spoiler: Although, nobody ever figured out how Maleeni did his head turning trick.]]

* ObfuscatingDisibility

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: One of the rare X-Files episode where nothing supernatural actually happens. [[spoiler: Although, nobody ever figured out how Maleeni did his head turning trick.]]

* KarmaHoudini: Both Maleeni and [=LeBonge=] get away with their framing Alvarez since there is no proof but ultimately subverted since they also plan to rob the bank using Electronic funds transfer but Mulder spoils their plan. So, they might not get caught but they did not get away with stealing money either.

!!Tropes