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Badlaa
"If these Siddhi hold so fast to their orthodoxy, then what would cause them to break their faith?"
Written by John Shiban
Directed by Tony Wharmby
Directed by Tony Wharmby
"What if, whatever it is that killed these men entered and exited them of its own free will? I mean, something.... small... with small hands... living... inside the victims as a... as a stowaway of sorts."
— Dana Scully
Scully and Doggett hunt a murderous legless fakir (Deep Roy) who can hide inside the bodies of his victims.
Tropes:
- Ass Shove: You have to see it to believe it.
- Agent Mulder: Scully attempts to think like Mulder and see what he sees through the episode, and although she succeeds in saving the day, she comes to the realization in the end that she can't. No matter how hard she tries.Scully: I realized that it's what Mulder would have seen or understood. (Cries) Because that's just how he came at things... without judgement and without prejudice and with an open mind that I am just not capable of.
- Agent Scully: Agent Doggett is particularly and understandably uncomfortable with this case, and highly skeptical of Scully's ideas and Doctor Burks... at least until seeing an illusion in action.
- Almighty Janitor: He can take on different faces, which makes him pretty powerful as far as Janitors go.
- Big Damn Heroes: Scully swoops in just in time to save Quinton from the beggar man at the end.
- Bittersweet Ending: More bitter than sweet. The murderous beggar man is shot by Scully, saving Quinton, but his father and Trevor's mother are still dead, and Scully is traumatized by having to kill what looked like a boy, and coming to the realization she doesn't know how to do what Mulder does. Also somehow the beggar man is revealed to still be alive at the end of the episode, and finds another victim at the airport.
- The Bully: Trevor tries to bully Quinton, but later apologises when Quinton's father is killed. In fact, he even teams up to find the beggar man with Quinton.
- The Bus Came Back: Doctor Chuck Burks, an old friend of Mulder's who has helped him and Scully over the years makes his last appearance here, aiding Scully and Doggett.
- Evil Cripple: The legless Indian Body Snatcher/illusionist. Despite his possible tragic background nothing else is presented to be sympathetic about him, no personality.
- Foreign Language Title: It means "Revenge" or "Retort" in Urdu.
- Hell Is That Noise: The squeaky wheels.
- Here We Go Again!: Somehow the beggar man survived being shot and is seen at the end of the episode, preparing to target another businessman at the airport.
- Master of Illusion: The beggar man can disguise himself as anyone and anything, or become invisible, and project illusiory people as distractions.
- Orifice Invasion: Dear God...
- Put on a Bus: Doctor Chuck Burks is never seen again after this episode.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: The reason for the beggar man’s killing spree is implied to be revenge for the death of his son during a chemical plant accident.
- Silent Antagonist: The murderous beggar man doesn't say a word the entire episode, and appears to be a mute. Which brings into question
how he was able to get a job interview to become a janitor. - Super-Strength: The only explanation for how the tiny beggar man, even with his illusion powers, could overpower much bigger men.
- Tragic Villain: Heavily downplayed. While the reason for his murders is implied as revenge for losing his son, there is nothing tying his victims to the chemical plant accident. The beggar man appears to have gone insane from the experience, and is just killing who he feels like, and was prepared to murder children.
- Would Hurt a Child: Very much implied by the ending, had Scully not intervened against the beggar man. Also played with with Scully who is forced to shoot him when he takes the form of Trevor. Shooting him on faith that he wasn't really a boy, but disturbing her all the same.
Doggett: This whole thing doesn't make any sense.
Scully: No... it did. In some way, it did.
Scully: No... it did. In some way, it did.
