John Doe

"John Doe," the seventh episode of the ninth season of The X-Files, directed by Michelle MacLaren and written by Vince Gilligan, presents a compelling standalone narrative that explores themes of identity, memory, and morality. This "monster-of-the-week" episode sets itself apart from the series' overarching mythology, offering a character-driven story centered on Agent John Doggett's (Robert Patrick) amnesia in Mexico.

The episode begins with Doggett waking up in an abandoned warehouse in Mexico, completely disoriented and unable to remember his name or identity. He quickly realizes he is in a dangerous situation when he's pursued by corrupt police officers and becomes entangled with a drug cartel. As Doggett navigates this unfamiliar and perilous environment, he experiences fragmented flashbacks of his past, including his deceased son. Meanwhile, in Washington, Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) struggle against Deputy Director Kersh to locate Doggett, leading Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish) to travel to Mexico to find him. The investigation reveals that Doggett's memory was stolen by a "memory vampire" working for the cartel.

Visually, "John Doe" utilizes specific lighting techniques to enhance its narrative. Indoor scenes are dimly lit, creating a sense of disorientation and uncertainty, while outdoor scenes are brightly lit, almost to the point of over-saturation, reflecting the harsh realities of Doggett's situation. MacLaren's direction effectively captures Doggett's confusion and vulnerability as he grapples with his amnesia.

The performances in this episode are particularly strong. Robert Patrick delivers a nuanced portrayal of Doggett, conveying both his physical strength and emotional vulnerability as he struggles with his lost identity. Annabeth Gish provides essential support as Reyes, demonstrating loyalty and determination as she searches for Doggett in a hostile environment. The supporting cast, including the Mexican actors, adds authenticity to the episode's setting and enhances the sense of danger.

Thematically, "John Doe" explores the nature of identity and the importance of memory in shaping who we are. The episode raises questions about morality and whether a person's inherent decency can persist even without memories of their past. Doggett's interactions with Domingo, a criminal he encounters, highlight this thematic tension as Domingo tries to involve Doggett in illegal activities. Doggett's refusal to break the law, even without knowing his past, suggests that his moral compass remains intact. The episode also touches on themes of loss and grief, as Doggett experiences flashes of his deceased son, reminding him of the pain he has endured.

"John Doe" stands out as a well-crafted and emotionally resonant episode of The X-Files that successfully blends suspenseful storytelling with character exploration. While it deviates from the series' typical mythology, it offers a compelling examination of identity and morality through Doggett's amnesia storyline. Ultimately, the episode reinforces the idea that memories, both good and bad, are essential to our understanding of ourselves and the world around us, as Doggett tearfully admits he's happy to have all his memories back "as long as I remember the good."

I mean really, 60% of the episode? 70%. Aside from that is that this is not really an XF ep. It could be anything. Ir could be almost any show. What was the original case? What role does the cartel boss play? How does Skinner come to the rescue? How can Reyes Spanish be that awful? Why is Dogget resistant to the 'wipe'? Why does the gangster hire a crazy unknown gringo? This is one of the few eps that I jusy wanted to end asap. But it kind of underscores the whole aimlessness of the last season. It's painfully clear the whole thing is winding down and spluttering out. I guess I have to keep typing because in IMDb world when they say 10 lines they kean 14 or 15.

Brilliant Vince Gilligan episode that just gets better and better with every viewing.

This would actually make a brilliant movie (albeit non X-Files) where you could script the events leading up to it etc and it would go down well.

The effects are brilliant I love the quirky really bright, almost blinding outside light - a stark contrast to the famous, dark earlier years of the show.

Robert Patrick owns this episode though. He was such a great actor and such a great character to The X-Files, he never short changed the crew when he got in front of a camera.

His acting when he remembers his son is dead is so emotionally powerful, while his line "I'll take the bad as long as I can remember the good" is a personal favourite of mine from the show and has become a mantra of mine over the years.

Great episode.

John Doe is another excellent episode written by Vince Gilligan. It's different and different is good. Episodes like this cause me to write few notes, because I'm so entranced by the story.

Of course, in this episode, it's the cinematography that jumps right out at you. The overexposure is used to show the bright, hot, Mexican sun beating down on Doggett. The Mexican music is used judiciously throughout the episode, not too heavy, but it's there from time to tome.

On day 8, Doggett should have a much longer beard. I'm a slow grower, and my stubble is longer than his after days, and I doubt they allow him to shave in that jail hole. Also, his future boss, Domingo, if he had all these "connections", why did he have to sit in the jail for eight days as well? The makeup on Doggett is great, making him look all haggard and beat up.

I love seeing Scully sticking it to Kersh by directly disobeying him....again.

The guest actors do a good job, beginning with Domingo, Doggett's "boss".

Despite how cool the episode is, there are some nagging questions that aren't answered. Why is Doggett investigating the disappearance of that man? It is not an x-file. How does Reyes find Doggett in that garage? That seems like a pretty big jump. And how does Doggett manage to find the Skull guy in the end so easily? I would've liked a little more background to the Skull guy and what he was. He did the fingernail thingy on Dogget's boss, for no good reason, and then we don't see him again.

I think John Doe could've worked easily as a two-parter. I felt there was more story there, but Gilligan had to wrap thinks up quickly to get it under 44 minutes. It's too bad. I love the originality of John Doe and the camera work was top-notch. It's one of the best episodes of season nine.

All throughout the X-Files whenever we see things like cigarettes and beer and sometimes even soda pop, the packaging of the product will look similar to a famous product like Coca-Cola or Budweiser or Samuel Adams or Marlboro... but if you look closer, there are apparent differences especially with the actual name of the products on the packaging. We got to see a lot of this in "War of the Coprophages", during Skully's little store meltdown. But here...

This is the first time where they show an actual brand of what we consider import beer (but I assume this would be domestic beer in Mexico), and they even have a good shot of the actual name of the brand when "John Doe's" initial benefactor is drinking in the bar, while excellent and authentic mariachi music is playing in the background. Speaking of John Doe's "benefactor", we develop a little bit of sympathy for "Domingo", as he was actually trying to help John Dogget to some extent... but his reward for doing so was unfortunate.

I have to say they got the atmosphere of this episode perfect: I really believed that this was filmed in some Mexican town, there are towns that look just like this when you get south of Tijuana or Tecate (this is also a hint toward the brand name of the aforementioned beer). Especially if you get into the middle of Baja California, towns really look like this in Central Baja, or, on the coast on the other side of the gulf.

It amazed me to discover just now that this sleepy Mexican town was actually in a suburb of Los Angeles, aka Pomona. I have driven through and it looks nothing like that. Especially 22 years ago it did not look like that. I imagine that the area around that location is a little bit more developed now, there has been a lot of development in the last 22 years.

Highly reminiscent of the film Traffic, which has been one of my favorite movies ever especially with the cinematography, and they did a great job with the direction of this episode but more so with the Director of photography. Everything looks exactly as it should to make us believe that this is happening where we are being told it is happening.

Now, somebody is whining that Monica Reyes "does not look Mexican", sorry but there are Mexicans living in Mexico that do not look Mexican. Maybe she is not literally Mexican as an actress, but as a character she's got the language perfect, she's got the inflections, she's got the slang. And, she knows how to talk to the crooked cop and get what she wants out of him. Also, she knows how to browbeat the crooked John Deere tractor dealer. So there is no issue with the way that the Monica Reyes character is performed in this episode, or my belief in her fictional heritage. Lots of people complain about actors portraying nationalities that they do not actually have a heritage with, but this is Horse Pucky. I think it is a high honor and accomplishment for actors to portray a nationality that they are not, and pull it off, if of course they pull it off. In the X-Files we have seen various nationalities being portrayed, and we have believed it because it was always handled well, using character actors that easily portrayed the nationalities required. One last tidbit needs to be addressed: "Too Much Spanish", what?! When X-Files, or any other television show for that matter, has an episode that occurs in something other than an English speaking country, it is more authentic to have people speaking in the language of that country. You can't have "too much" of it.

Alex Daikon (Who usually plays various Russian characters or creepy characters or hypnotists or an occasional peeping tom hotel manager in the X-Files) is the uncredited "memory vampire".

Wait... What?!?

What is a memory vampire? Well, watch this and find out. Wait... I am mistaken, The memory vampire was played by Zitto Kazan. He looks a lot like Alex. Whether Alex or Zitto, it was perfect casting.

This is John Doggetts breakout episode- well, this episode and "via negativa".