| 1 | [[WMG:[[center:[-'''RECAP:'''\ |
| 2 | [[Recap/TheXFiles Index]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS06E01TheBeginning 1]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS06E02Drive 2]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS06E03Triangle 3]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS06E04Dreamland 4]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS06E05DreamlandII 5]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS06E06HowTheGhostsStoleChristmas 6]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS06E07TermsOfEndearment 7]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS06E08TheRainKing 8]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS06E09SR819 9]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS06E10Tithonus 10]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS06E11TwoFathers 11]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS06E12OneSon 12]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS06E13AguaMala 13]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS06E14Monday 14]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS06E15Arcadia 15]] | '''16''' | [[Recap/TheXFilesS06E17Trevor 17]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS06E18Milagro 18]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS06E19TheUnnatural 19]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS06E20ThreeOfAKind 20]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS06E21FieldTrip 21]] | [[Recap/TheXFilesS06E22Biogenesis 22]]]]-]]] |
| 3 | '''Season 6, Episode 16:''' |
| 4 | !Alpha |
| 5 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thexfilesalpha.png]] |
| 6 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"That's an Asian dog. Supposed to have been extinct for the last 150 years."'']] |
| 7 | ->Written by Jeffrey Bell\ |
| 8 | Directed by Peter Markle |
| 9 | |
| 10 | ->'''Karin:''' Classic dominant-[[TitleDrop alpha]] territorial behaviour.\ |
| 11 | '''Mulder:''' No. This animal seems to have ranged many miles to make its attacks. In each case it seems to have outsmarted or at least tricked its victims. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | Mulder and Scully, with the help of an introverted canine expert (Melinda Culea) and an enigmatic cryptozoologist (Creator/AndrewRobinson), investigate the Wanshang Dhole, a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent shapeshifting killer canine]]. |
| 14 | ---- |
| 15 | !!Tropes: |
| 16 | * BittersweetEnding: Karin lies to Mulder so he will be safely far away while she kills the Wanshang Dhole herself. She succeeds at the cost of her own life, ending the Dhole's murders. The episode ends with a saddened, contemplative Mulder receiving Karin's "I Want To Believe" [[TragicKeepsake poster]] and hanging it up in his office. |
| 17 | * ClingyJealousGirl: Scully gets noticeably territorial over Mulder towards Karin Berquist through the episode. |
| 18 | * DangerTakesABackSeat: The Dhole, to kill Cahn. It doesn't succeed in killing him, but, as seen below, it probably managed to curse him. |
| 19 | * GlowingEyes: The Wanshang Dhole has a pair of glowing orange eyes. |
| 20 | * HeroicSacrifice: Karin lies to Mulder, saying that the Wanshang Dhole will be in the Los Angeles County Hospital. This is because she wants to face the creature at her own home, and give up her life to put it down for good. |
| 21 | * ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: The Washang Dhole ends up impaled on a pole after it crashes through a window with its last victim. |
| 22 | * ItsPersonal: Cahn, after his partner's killed by the dhole, defies his orders and tries to kill rather than capture the animal. Of course, the dhole winds up getting to him first. |
| 23 | * TheKillerInMe: Dr. Dettweiler. He initially feigns ignorance, but Mulder and Berquist both figure out fairly quickly that he's known for a while. |
| 24 | * TragicKeepsake: The second "I Want To Believe" poster Mulder hangs up in the X-Files office, which used to belong to Karin. |
| 25 | * MonsterOfTheWeek: A shapeshifting cryptid from China. It is loosely based on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huli_jing real Chinese legends]] of shapeshifting wolves and foxes, though non-Wanshang [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhole dholes]] are relatively small and mostly harmless-to-human canids.[[note]]The dogs used in the episode were malamute-wolf crossbreeds, which are much larger than wild dholes.[[/note]] |
| 26 | * OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: Its bite turns people into were-dholes. |
| 27 | * PungeonMaster: Mulder throughout the episode, thanks to that doggone Wanshang Dhole. [[NotSoAboveItAll Even Scully]] [[GotMeDoingIt gets in on it a bit.]] |
| 28 | * RedEyesTakeWarning: The Dhole's eyes turn bright orange right before it goes in for the kill. |
| 29 | * ShapeShifting: The Dhole can impersonate both humans and other dogs, apparently. |
| 30 | * TheEndOrIsIt: The alternate ending shows Cahn turning over in bed with glowing eyes, indicating that he was cursed. |
| 31 | ---- |
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