A mutant fast-food employee struggles against his craving for human brain matter.
(Originally aired November 21, 1999)
Written by Vince Gilligan
Directed by Kim Manners
WHAT HAPPENED
Costa Mesa, California. Night. A car enters the drive-through lane at a Lucky Boy fast-food restaurant. The driver, a long-haired young man, tries to place his order through the intercom, but is told, "Sorry, we're closed." The driver insists, yelling and leaning on his horn, and is allowed to place his order.
He drives to the window but sees no one and hears strange gurgling. Leaning out to look inside, he's pulled from the car by a briefly-glimpsed bald figure with an open mouth The driver screams and the car rolls away.... (more
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ANALYSIS
"Hungry" is unusual among X-Files episodes in that the plot unfolds from the monster's perspective, revealing him to be a somewhat sympathetic figure whose first two victims are highly dislikable.
However, this bit of originality does not rescue the episode from a familiarity bordering on the mundane. It's not the first time we have seen genetic mutants who have an affinity for human body parts.
Indeed, the unusual perspective eliminates the suspense and intellectual tension normally involved in an X-Files investigation, leaving Mulder and Scully to mutate into cardboard characters.
In any event, a hungry fast-food employee seems like awfully small beer at a time powerful extraterrestrial and supernatural forces appear to be gathering for a battle of apocalyptic proportions. A standalone episode such as this will not fulfill the viewers' cravings for development of the series.
DANGLING PLOT THREADS
Could it be that Mulder and Scully look bored in this episode precisely because they know they have bigger patties to fry?
Or is it remotely possible that Rob's hunger -- heightened in the "last month or so" -- became uncontrollable due to a broader increase in the level of paranormal activity related to the progress of the series' overarching "mythology arc"?
REALITY CHECK
"Proboscis" is a term normally applied to a human nose, an elephant's trunk, or an insect's tubular eating appendage. In Rob's case, it appears most similar to the latter.
TUNE IN NEXT WEEK
Mulder goes to New England to learn about magic in "Chimera".
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