It was almost too perfect. The heavens nearly arranged themselves in alphabetical order by height and said, “Here it is. Here’s the essay.” Unfortunately, while EVIL showed me that network TV could possibly be entering Golden Age II, The X-Files was beginning its decline. Of course I’m talking about the episodes titled “2 Fathers.” If only they both had both been perfect. If only.
But I’m here to talk about EVIL’s version of “2 Fathers” and not my love/hate relationship with Chris Carter.
If you haven’t seen the show, the basic premise is essentially The X-Files and Supernatural had a party that was only slightly less homoerotic than it should be. If you haven’t seen either of those shows, (1) what’s wrong with you, and (2) there’s a priest, David, who believes in all the crazy crap priests do—but he’s liberal so we relate!—and a psychologist, Kristen, who thinks there’s a rational explanation for everything—Scully anyone? There’s also Ben who’s a Muslim working for the Catholic church and he’s the third man that the The X-Files had in three men, the Lone Gunmen.
Why make all these comparisons? Because it’s really important to stress that before the X-Files disappointed most of us, it changed network television forever. And with EVIL, I believe we’re in the midst of another renaissance of sexually tense, ubercreepy, absurdist TV, which will hopefully be told in glorious 24-episode-long seasons. [Note: Season 1 is slated to be 13, but, hey, Buffy was 12 and that worked out okay, for a while.]
I’ll be honest—none of the ten episodes before the winter break let me down. I really could have picked any one of them to be the one, but “2 Fathers” was meant to be, not only because it shares an episode title with its spiritual predecessor but because it showcased a few moments that screamed the word unapologetic.
Here’s how I’ll prove it. With an episode synopsis of what happens to our three main heroes: David, Kristen, and Ben.
David and Kristen go to a farm to meet with David’s estranged father because he’s an artist and has been using a demon symbol in his work. Ben goes on a date. David’s dad is revealed to be polyamorous and David gets to meet his new stepmoms, one of whom is pregnant with David’s new kid brother! Kristen and David are invited to stay for a ceremony that is supposed to invoke the spirit of dead ancestors. Cut to accidentally drinking sangria spiked with psilocybin. David sees a dead ancestor who was a slave and Kristen watches David’s new stepmom give birth to a ghoul! (And folks, if there was ever reason to believe we’re entering a new dawn of network TV, just look up the ghoul birth scene. I’ve never seen anything like it on any of the alphabet networks. It’s straight-up horrifying camp.) While they’re off tripping, Ben is on a date. Turns out, the woman has a dead sister for an arm! Ben is unsure whether he can continue seeing a woman who believes that, so he calls David, and though David is still high (and has just seen a dead ancestor) he gives good advice: the world is weird.
Indeed.
The world is weird, and beautiful, and in the age of 3-episode seasons and creators writing, acting, directing, lighting, editing, and best boying their own shows, it’s refreshing to see hope on the horizon for those of us who loved longer formats and weirder stories.
In its own way “2 Fathers” not only represents one perfect episode; it’s hope for many more little perfections to come.
D. M. Dunn currently works as an editorial director in Bloomington, Indiana. His biggest literary claim to fame is a 2012 Dishonorable Mention in the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest.