Ghouli
Written and directed by James Wong
"The EMT said that he heard something when he was treating the victims. He said that the girls asked him if he found Ghouli."
— Detective Costa
What seems like a normal investigation into the stabbing of two girls transforms into one that reopens one of Mulder's and Scully's wounds.
Tropes:
- Anguished Declaration of Love: Scully tearfully gives one to a seemingly dead William, while she is about to perform a DNA test on him and herself."I don't know if you are who I think you might be. But if you are William... this is what I'd say. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I didn't get a chance to know you. Or you get a chance to know me, or your father. I gave you up for adoption, not because I didn't want you, or because you were any less loved. I was trying to keep you safe. I hope you know that. And maybe... maybe I should have had the courage to stand by you. But I thought I was being strong, because it was the hardest thing I've ever done. I mean... to let go. And to know that... I was gonna miss your whole life. But it turns out that this is the hardest thing. To see the outcome. And how I failed you. I... need you to know that I never forgot you. And I thought, I felt that... even recently, that we were gonna somehow... be reunited. I wish I could have been there to ease your pain. My God, this is so inadequate. I'm just so sorry. I'm so sorry."
- Anti-Hero: Jackson/William is revealed to have been dating two girls at the same time, and devised a prank involving a made up monster for them for shits and giggles, which backfires when they almost kill each other.
- Bodybag Trick: Jackson/William, after he listens to Scully's impassioned apology, gets up from his bodybag after she leaves, revealing that his "death" was actually just a ploy to evade people from Department of Defense that were after him.
- Contrived Clumsiness: Mulder spills soda on Jackson's laptop in order to protect the info on it from the DOD stooges.Mulder: Never a good idea to keep an open beverage by electronics.
- Daddy DNA Test: The rare mother-version of this trope, as Scully does this to prove that Jackson is in fact William.
- Faking the Dead: Jackson/William fakes suicide via a bullet to the head.
- Idiot Ball: Jackson makes both of his girlfriends go to the abandoned ship at the same time and see each other as Ghouli, not thinking that they would possibly defend themselves and seriously hurt each other (with knives).
- Lie to the Beholder: Jackson/William does this to appear as other people, but when filmed the security camera captures his true image.
- Master of Illusion: Jackson/William does this with images of people, making them look like the monster Ghouli (as a prank that goes horribly wrong) or other government agents when he is being pursued; in this case, he tricking them into shooting or harming one another instead of himself. A non-villainous example, but more on the Anti-Hero side.
- Red Herring: Skinner tells Mulder that a scientist named Matsumoto was behind the project that gave William his powers, and a mysterious Japanese man makes a few appearances. Later, it turns out that the man is actually William in disguise, who based it on a pick-up artist's book he possesses.
- Wham Line: The first minutes make it look like another Monster of the Week episode about the mysterious "Ghouli". However, one particular line from a stabbing victim about her boyfriend shifts the focus into a bigger mythology episode.Brianna: My parents don't approve. They're really lame, but... he's cool.
Scully: What's his name?
Brianna: Jackson Van de Kamp.
"Safe travels."
