Academic Analysis
Although not directly connected to the overarching mythology of the series, the themes of alien invasion and government conspiracy present in "Ice" have led it to be described as "a portent to the alien conspiracy arc which would become more pronounced in the second season". The episode has also been noted for exploring the relationship between its lead characters—the trust shown between Mulder and Scully is shown in direct contrast to the characters of Hodge and DaSilva, who are united instead by their suspicion and mistrust of those around them. The two pairs are depicted as "mirror images" due to their differing approaches to acting in partnership.
"Ice" also involves elements common to several works by Morgan and Wong, namely the notion of dual identities and the questioning of one's own personality. Leslie Jones, in the essay "Last Night We Had an Omen", has compared this thematic leitmotif to several other The X-Files scripts by the pair, highlighting "the meek animal-control inspector who is a mutant shape-shifter with a taste for human liver, the hapless residents of rural Pennsylvania driven mad by a combination of insecticides and electronic equipment, the uptight PTA run by practicing Satanists ".
Anne Simon, a biology professor at University of Maryland, College Park, has discussed the episode in her book Monsters, Mutants and Missing Links: The Real Science Behind the X-Files. Simon noted that, like the worms in "Ice", real parasitic worms will attach themselves to the human hypothalamus due to it not being blocked by the blood–brain barrier. Simon also compared "Ice" to the later episodes "Tunguska" and "Gethsemane", noting their common treatment of extraterrestrial life reaching earth through the process of panspermia.
Read more about this topic: Ice (The X-Files)
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