| Shadows | Credits | Gallery | Transcript | Background Information | 
|
"Shadows" is the sixth episode of the first season of The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on October 22, 1993. It was written by Glen Morgan and James Wong, and directed by Michael Katleman. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-week" story, independent of the series' mythology arc.
Synopsis[]
When two extremely odd corpses appear in Philadelphia, Mulder and Scully investigate the deaths and meet a female secretary who seems to be protected by a strange invisible force.
Plot[]
Lauren Kyte's attackers are found dead
Two terrorists are found dead in a back alley of Philadelphia after robbing a woman, Lauren Kyte, at an ATM. Mulder and Scully investigate the case when called in by a pair of agents from an unknown agency. The bodies of the terrorists are found to have an electrical charge and their throats have been crushed from the inside.
Lauren sees her boss, Robert Dorland, to resign due to her grief over the death of Dorland's partner, Howard Graves, who committed suicide weeks before.
Security footage shows a mysterious figure in the background during Lauren Kyte's attack.
Mulder and Scully are unable to control their car, which eventually crashes into another car.
Mulder and Scully determine that one of the bodies is an individual who belongs to a terrorist group, the Isfahan, and using the ATM video are able to track down Lauren. A screenshot of the video reveals a blurry figure who appears to be Howard Graves. The agents meet with Lauren at her home and after initially denying it, she admits to the incident but knows nothing about the murders. Upon leaving, the agents find their car going out of control on its own, sending them careening down the street in reverse, only stopping after smashing into another vehicle. The car is found to have no evidence of tampering, but an electrical charge is detected within it.
Visiting Grave's grave, Mulder and Scully learn of his suicide and the death of his daughter at a young age, a daughter that would be Lauren's age should she be alive. Scully suspects that Graves faked his death, but through a conversation with the medical examiner who examined his body and tested the organs he donated to others, it is proved that he was in fact dead.
.jpg){kind=link}
Lauren has a vision of blood appearing in her bathtub
Lauren meanwhile witnesses a vision at night including blood appearing in the bathtub, causing her to believe that Graves was murdered. At her going away party, Lauren is threatened by Dorland, who believes she has knowledge of confidential information that could implicate him. Lauren calls Mulder and Scully to her home, but before the agents arrive two assassins hired by Dorland arrive to kill her. An invisible force kills both of them.
Howard Graves' spirit directly leads the FBI to the floppy disk
Lauren is interrogated by Mulder and Scully, and the two unknown agents that called them in, who say they're involved because they believe Graves and Dorland's company sold technology to the Isfahan. Lauren admits to Mulder and Scully that the sales did indeed take place and that she believes Dorland had Graves killed. The FBI executes a search of the company's offices, but are unable to find any evidence. When Dorland attacks Lauren with a letter opener, Graves's spirit takes it and cuts open the wallpaper, revealing a computer floppy disc with evidence. Weeks later Lauren starts her new job, but it appears that Graves's spirit may have followed her there.
References[]
Poltergeist (film); Carrie (1976 film) & (1974 novel)
Quotes[]
"You lied to them."
"I would never lie. I willfully participated in a campaign of misinformation."
- - Scully and Mulder
"Psychokinesis? You mean how Carrie got even at the prom?"
- - Scully to Mulder, mocking a theory he proposes
"I'm fine, although I do have a standing-in-line-at-the-DMV-sized headache."
"Mine's more IRS-sized."
- - Scully and Mulder, after surviving a car crash
"Are you saying Lauren Kyte crashed our car?"
"Either that... or a poltergeist."
"They're hee-ere!"
"They may be."
- - Scully and Mulder
"Do you know how difficult it is to fake your own death? Only one man has pulled it off: Elvis."
- - Mulder
"I'm giving us a chance to solve a case that's tangible instead of chasing after shadows."
- - Scully, stating a line of dialogue from which this episode takes its name
"Hey, Scully, do you believe in the afterlife?"
"I'd settle for a life in this one."
- - Mulder and Scully
Cast[]
Main Cast
Guest Starring
Co-Starring
- Lorena Gale as Ellen Bledsoe
- Veena Sood as Ms. Saunders
- Deryl Hayes as Webster
- Kelli Fox as Pathologist
- Tom Pickett as Cop
- Tom Heaton as Groundskeeper
- Janie Woods-Morris as Ms. Lange
- Nora McLellan as Jane Morris
- Anna Ferguson as Ms. Winn
Uncredited
- Charles Andre as Thug
- Forbes Angus as Tissue Bank Technician
External Links[]