Themes
"Nisei" and "731," show a darker side to the series, exploring the public's distrust in the government. Other episodes dealing with the wider mythology of the series—"Talitha Cumi", "Piper Maru" and "Apocrypha"—explore similar concepts, showcasing the shadow government plot line of the series. Episodes like "2Shy" and "Pusher" feature sadistic villains, containing human beings capable of highly immoral acts despite their seemingly mundane appearances. Another episode with a serial killer antagonist, "Grotesque", revolves around the way that evil can change and influence people. "Oubliette" offers a sentimental and emotional plot driven a kidnapped young girl. The episode features parallels to the real life Polly Klaas case and provides commentary on both stockholm syndrome and trauma.
Aliens and serial killers are not the only antagonists in the season; several episodes revolve around more traditional, B-movie inspired monsters, taking influence from horror films. These episodes include "War of the Coprophages" and "Quagmire", about killer cockroaches and a lake monster. Several episodes have satirical elements, including "D.P.O.", "Syzygy" and "War of the Coprophages", with the latter two showcasing how the public can create panic out of need. Both "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" and "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" play against tropes and the established formula of the series, subverting themes the series usually followed.
Read more about this topic: The X-Files (season 3)
Famous quotes containing the word themes:
“In economics, we borrowed from the Bourbons; in foreign policy, we drew on themes fashioned by the nomad warriors of the Eurasian steppes. In spiritual matters, we emulated the braying intolerance of our archenemies, the Shi’ite fundamentalists.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)
“I suppose you think that persons who are as old as your father and myself are always thinking about very grave things, but I know that we are meditating the same old themes that we did when we were ten years old, only we go more gravely about it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)