I am never surprised when THE X-FILES tries something different, but the seventh episode of the 11th season, titled "Rm9sbG93ZXJz", threw me for a loop. That's a good thing. After opening with a self-aware A.I. narrating how learning from people may lead to our own doom, we then find Mulder & Scully sitting silently at an empty ultra-modern sushi restaurant. After ordering their food from a computerized menu, Mulder is dissatisfied with his choice (in one of the episode's most laugh-out-loud moments, he is served a blobfish), so he takes his meal to the kitchen, only to discover that all the cooking is done by computer and robots (All the robots stop and look at him in a funny/frightening scene). When it comes time to pay the bill, Mulder pulls out his "Bigly" credit card and inserts it into a slot at the counter. When he refuses to tip the "sushi bots" is when the nightmare begins for our intrepid duo. Be aware that this entire sequence was filmed dialogue free! Scully gets into a "Whipz" driverless car (that she didn't order) to take her home, while Mulder has to rely on his car's GPS system to take him home. The Whipz driverless car turns out to be a nightmare for Scully as it drives too fast and refuses to stop or slow down on Scully's orders. The GPS system in Mulder's car keeps returning him to the sushi restaurant, while his phone keeps reminding him that he has a certain amount of time left to tip the sushi bots (His Bigly credit card became "stuck" in the slot). Scully finally makes it home (And the Whipz app asks her on her phone if she was satisfied with her ride!), where we find out that she has a totally computerized home. Her alarm system refuses to accept her password ("Quequeg", which longtime viewers of the show will know was the name of her dog) and her nightmare begins. Her home turns against her while Mulder goes "oldschool" and uses a map to get home. Mulder's life is invaded by drones with cameras. Soon, his entire house is filled with miniature drones (they look like fireflies in the long shots!) as he escapes and drives to Scully's house. She also gets visited by a drone (just like Amazon began doing), who drops her off a Roomba-like vacuum called the "Zuemez 9000", which causes more damage than it does good (it has a mind of its own). Just before her gas fireplace explodes, she is saved by Mulder (who says in one of the episode's few spoken moments, "Why is your house so much nicer than mine?"). They decide to ditch their phones because Mulder thinks that is how they are tracking them, but they are chased to a computerized warehouse, where a 3-D printer is making assault rifle bullets which fire at Mulder and Scully. They are then visited by a mean-looking robot, which hands Mulder his phone and he finally tips the sushi bots 10%, which ends their nightmare. the screen on his phone then reads "We learn from you" and Mulder ends the episode by saying, "We have to be better teachers!" This excellent episode was probably not seen by s lot of people because FOX did not advertise the show (they spend their money pushing 9-1-1 instead) because this season has been getting low numbers in the ratings. I laud Chris Carter and director Glen Morgan for trying to be different (a TV show without dialogue is rare today). Having the computers play the Crosby, Stills & Nash song "Teach Your Children Well' is one of the little highlights of this episode and instead of the opening stinger saying "The Truth Is Out There", it says "VGhlFRydXRoIGlzIE91dCBUaGVyZQ=" which is computer code for something which I have been not able to decipher. This episode is a entertaining reminder on how we rely on our phones and tablets, maybe a little too much. It hits the nail on the head. C'mon, people and support this show! It doesn't get much better than this episode.
Review of Rm9sbG93ZXJz
