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About The Outtakes
In 2003, I was able to obtain a second production unit tape of takes from the filming of Patient X. This tape contained the interior ship shots used for the crucial scenes in Alex and Marita's arc. The following are my thoughts and impressions based on what I've seen in those takes. I want to stress that this is educated analysis and guesswork - although I have been privileged to have some inside access to the show at times, in this case I am working purely from the evidence available to me. Screen Captures Continuing The Kiss (cut fragment, 440KB) Alternate Kiss (unused take, 2.3MB) Krycek Distraught (unused take, 1.4MB) The more I watch these takes, the more convinced I am that Kim Manners was directing a very different story to the one we eventually got. This also explains why Kim has spoken of that scene as a very tender one, which was not really borne out onscreen in my opinion - because the scene he saw, the scene he shot, was a very loving one indeed. Firstly, let's consider the kiss scene itself. The alternate take goes as follows: MARITA: You think you can pull this off, don't you? KRYCEK: They give me what I want, we're gonna rule the world. MARITA: We've got them on the floor, Alex. (whispers) We've got them on the floor...where they keep us. Let's get out of this hole. NOTE: The words "where they keep us" are obscured by heavy breathing. I wasn't sure what they were when I listened to them on the tape. However, I made a noise reduction filter based on their breathing and ran it, and that's what it sounds like without it. I'd vouch for it to about 90% certainty. Note the words "We're gonna rule the world" (not "I'm gonna rule the world," as it aired). Another interesting thing to note is that even in the take they used, the line appears to be "We're gonna rule the world" - they changed it during the audio dubbing phase later. The scene that aired also ends with a very tender moment, which was cut, leaving a part-take that was focused strictly on lust. In the caring for Dmitri scenes, Alex says, "We're gonna take good care of you" (not "I'm gonna take good care of you"), also changed later. There is also a shot where Alex finds Dmitri gone and is distraught - either at the realisation that Marita has betrayed him, or, arguably, at the realisation that she is in danger (see below). It looks to me like Kim was directing a story of a very bonded couple with unified aims trying desperately to break free of the control and intimidation of both the Russians and the Syndicate. Seen in that light, it looks to me like Marita's betrayal was, as I've long contended, under coercion from the Well Manicured Man. This makes a lot of sense when you factor in the look WMM gave Marita after he hung up from Alex. Another possibility is that Marita was not intended to betray Alex at all. Possibly the original script had Dmitri free himself (under the influence of the oil) and leave, either on his own power or by infecting Marita and forcing her to drive him. Then Alex comes back and finds him gone, and then WMM comes in (having tracked Marita there) and asks him, "Where's the boy?" I should say in the interests of clarity that I'm not necessarily bothered by the betrayal scenario. It's not my preferred explanation, but it doesn't ruin the couple for me. I do think that both of them would compartmentalise a lot - there's unacceptable betrayal (probably sexual infidelity - for some reason I think they'd both put a high premium on physical faithfulness, though I'm hard-pressed to say why - maybe because they both come across as quite conservative to me) and then there's acceptable betrayal, which isn't much more than conflict of interest. That sort of betrayal would be a bone of contention between them, but it's not incompatible with love in their eyes. So while the idea of a Krycek and Marita without betrayal appeals to me, I'm not heavily invested in the idea. However, there are difficulties inherent in Patient X which are very suggestive. The episode is noticeably scarred. It's clear that they didn't think it out very well - for instance, Mulder going to the phone box, finding Marita's car and signs that she's been infected, and then doing nothing. If that had been scripted in and thought out, I can't help thinking he'd have been looking for her among the bodies at Skyland Mountain. It would have been referenced later. So - assuming my hypothesis is correct - why didn't they use it? Why change the dynamic to two people using each other? It's clear that this is not what either the director or the actors envisaged - they shot scenes of equal parts passion and tenderness. I think that Chris Carter simply didn't understand, or know what to do with, the story that Kim and Frank Spotnitz were trying to tell here. That's borne out by, among other things, his description of one of the cut Requiem scenes on the Season 7 DVDs. I think Kim and Frank both wanted to add this depth and layering to Krycek and, to a lesser extent, to Marita. We see this all along the line, in the cut scene between CSM and Krycek in Two Fathers, and the cut scenes between Krycek, Marita, and CSM in Requiem. But I think that Chris, and probably Rob Bowman, liked the enigmatic Mata Hari Marita and the leather-clad bad boy Krycek. Archetypes (or stereotypes) were easier than the layered and complex material Frank and Kim were pushing. I'm not one to think badly of CC just on principle, unlike many in the fandom. However, it's the only explanation I can come up with, because these Patient X shots, unlike the Two Fathers and Requiem ones, can't be explained by time limitations. It would not have changed the run time of the episode to use the clips that told the story Kim and Frank were trying to tell. I suspect this incident was a big factor in the reported acrimony that arose between Chris and Nicholas Lea over Krycek's character development in subsequent years. I think Frank and Kim were both in his corner but Chris, for whatever reason - possibly simple sentimental attachment to his original "bad boy" image of Krycek - was opposed. It's a pity. But it sheds really interesting light on these characters, and on what was happening behind the scenes as well. |
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