Frank Spotnitz who would become essential in helping to craft the mythology of The X-Files, wrote this episode that debuted on 17 February, 1995, and continued the story begun in Colony.

Mulder’s (David Duchovny) sister, Samantha (Megan Leitch) is the cost for the Bounty Hunter (Brian Thompson) to release Scully (Gillian Anderson) after appearing in her hotel room at the end of last week’s episode.

With some help from A.D. Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) they perform a hostage exchange, but it apparently claims Samantha’s life. Something that is contested by a chain of evidence that leads him to another Samantha… a clone. A group of them, who ask for his help. They also claim to know where his sister really is.

But the Bounty Hunter arrives to wreak havoc before answers can be gathered.

Mulder reaches out to X (Steven Williams) for the location of the Bounty Hunter in order to prevent his escape, and leaving Scully behind, heads north to stop him.

But Scully is determined to go after him, and Skinner helps find out where Mulder headed with a physical confrontation with X.

Heading into the cold and ice, Mulder discovers a trapped submarine, that the Bounty Hunter may be using. Events leave him cold and exposed to the retrovirus out on the ice… and delivered to the closest hospital, which is where Scully comes in from the opening of the previous episode.

Aliens? Maybe. Clones? Definitely. Is Mulder’s sister still out there? And whats the Mulder family connection to the mythology?

Fearful Symmetry is a bit of a clunker, but as mentioned, most series have the odd one or two. The X-Files have fewer than average, but that just makes them really stick out when they do come along.

Written by Steve De Jarnatt, this episode debuted on 24 February, 1995, and sees the pair heading off to Idaho to investigate an… invisible elephant?

The story features Lance Guest, an awesome bit of casting, that sees Mulder and Scully getting involved with a local zoo and an animal rights activist group… and perhaps alien influence?

When Frohike (Tom Braidwood) and Byers (Bruce Harwood) have a call with Mulder,they reveal that the zoo is near a UFO hotspot, and posits that there may be a connection to the constantly escaping animals, and strange events that surround them.

The pair investigate, and even have a conversation with a gorilla that knows sign language, but overall, the episode just doesn’t hold the attention, or engage. I know there’s a good idea at work at the heart of the story, I just feel I never get to see it. Oh well.

The casework continues Thursday as I continue my search, because the truth is out there.