10 X-Files Fates Worse Than Death

7. Possession

The X-Files Unruhe
Fox Broadcasting Company

It's impossible to avoid mentioning possession on this list!

Whilst an Exorcist-style demonic possession may be the first thing that comes to mind, one of the show's earliest episodes took a fascinatingly different approach.

In the 23rd episode of the first season, special needs janitor, Roland Fuller (played by Ċ½eljko Ivanek) is possessed by his long-lost twin brother, research scientist Dr. Arthur Grable (also played by Ivanek). Grable is dead and his remains have been cryogenically frozen in the hope that he may be restored to life in the future. Grable is therefore using the biological link to his twin brother not only to complete his work on a prototype jet engine, but also to bump off the colleagues who are trying to take the credit for his work. Memorably, Grable uses his influence over Roland to send one of his colleagues flying into the prototype engine at the outset of the episode.

When Grable's storage unit is sabotaged by one of his intended victims, the biological link between Roland and Grable begins to wane,. This is fortunate for Roland, an innocent victim in all of this, who is being manipulated by Grable for his own ends, despite their fraternal tie.

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I started writing for WhatCulture in July 2020. I have always enjoyed reading and writing. I have contributed to several short story competitions and I have occasionally been fortunate enough to have my work published. During the COVID-19 lockdown, I also started reviewing films on my Facebook page. Numerous friends and contacts suggested that I should start my own website for reviewing films, but I wanted something a bit more diverse - and so here I am! My interests focus on film and television mainly, but I also occasionally produce articles that venture into other areas as well. In particular, I am a fan of the under appreciated sequel (of which there are many), but I also like the classics and the mainstream too.