Plus One
Two minds. One way of murder.
"But circumstances bear a curious similarity to the stories told by other good folk who didn't share Arkie Seavers' luck of the Irish, and who also reported seeing their doubles right before dying."
— Fox Mulder
When a partier crashes his car after seeing a duplicate of himself, Mulder and Scully seek out the cause of this phenomenon, which has happened countless times. Their investigation leads them to a schizophrenic patient (Karin Konoval) and a paranoid recluse (Karin Konoval) whose games of hangman are not as innocent as they seem...
Tropes:
- Acting for Two: Karin Konoval plays both twins Judy and Chucky.
- Chekhov's Gun: When Dean Cavalier flirts with a waitress, he mentions that she could come over to his place to see his "sword collection". The viewer assumes it's a cheeky innuendo, but it becomes important a few minutes later. Dean sees his double, and tries to throw out all his repair tools and guns, but realizes that his katana collection is mounted for display, all but confirming his impending demise.
- Come Back to Bed, Honey: Scully to Mulder in the motel room, while he's freaking out about seeing his doppelganger.
- Doppelgänger: A person's doppelganger is conjured in order to murder them/kill themselves.
- Held Gaze: Mulder and Scully in the motel room.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Arkie feels like he's safe in his cell, but sees his double behind him. All he can do is yell out for help.
- When Dean believes he has got rid of any potential tool that his double can use against him, he sees his katana collection still there. He drops his spiked clubs and dies in response.
- Off with His Head!: Dean suffers this fate due to his double wielding a big katana.
- Security Cling: Scully asks Mulder to hold her in the motel room, as the case is particularly unsettling for her.
- Self-Disposing Villain: The only reason Mulder and Scully win is because Judy and Chucky argue over which FBI agent to kill, screwing up their Hangman competition. So, the two end up writing the other's name in their games, killing each other.
- Self-Made Orphan: Judy and Chucky killed their mom and dad through their telepathic hangman game.
- Split Personality: Judy and her evil counterpart Demon Judy, coined by the nurses.
- There Is Only One Bed: Mulder and Scully have to share a motel room. She takes the bed and he takes the pull-out couch, but in a twist they eventually end up together on the pull-out couch instead of the bed.
- Trickster Twins: Judy and Chucky, who conjure murderous doubles of people they want to die by playing hangman telepathically.
- Twin Telepathy: Judy and Chucky, who play hangman telepathically.
One way of murder. Two minds.
