In Washington, Scully is awakened by a gust of wind. She gets up to close the window, noticing the Bible on her bureau. Her clock radio blinks 6:66. She reaches for the clock, but the power switches off, and then back on. Her clock now reads 6:06.
The next day, Mulder and Scully are summoned to the Marion Penitentiary to help find the escaped prisoner they had previously put behind bars — Donnie Pfaster. Mulder tries to persuade Scully to remove herself from the case, but she is adamant about staying on, saying that she has no other choice. The agents interview the inmate Brigham whose hands are now intact. He proclaims his healing a miracle of God, and reciting “Glory, amen,” he unconsciously raps his feet. Mulder recognizes the post-hypnotic suggestion and suggests a talk with the prison chaplain. A song faintly drifts in through the vents and startles Scully. She says she hasn’t heard it since high school.
Teenage runaway Blueberry approaches Pfaster in a diner. He offers to give her dirty hands a manicure. Reverend Orison interrupts, telling Pfaster that it was he who helped orchestrate the prison break. Federal marshals storm the diner and Pfaster accuses Orison of turning him in. Orison quickly hands him his car keys, and with time again seeming to slow down, Pfaster inconspicuously escapes. In the parking lot, Pfaster plows down Orison, leaving him severely wounded. Later in the hospital, Orison tries to appeal to Scully’s faith, and she is unsettled when he calls her “Scout.” She is further disquieted when she hears the song from her youth again. Mulder arrives with news of Pfaster’s latest victim, calling Orison a liar. He believes that Orison is a convicted murderer who intended to kill Donnie Pfaster once he got out of prison. Scully has her doubts about Mulder’s theory. She tells him that she had been woken up at 6:06, the time Pfaster escaped prison. The song she keeps hearing was on the radio on the day she learned that her Sunday school teacher was murdered. This teacher had called her “Scout.” She tells Mulder that she first believed that evil existed in the world when her teacher was killed. Mulder tries to disprove her thoughts of divine intervention by pointing to a lightspeed image of Orison’s brain on a computer. Orison pierced a hole in his own skull to allow more oxygen to the brain, presumably giving him special powers to “stop” time. Mulder predicts that Orison really believes he is working as God’s tool to stop Pfaster from killing. Meanwhile, Orison uses his chant of “Glory, amen” to hypnotize the marshal guarding him, and he escapes.
A red-headed prostitute visits with Pfaster, but when he realizes she is wearing a wig, he is furious and attacks her. The prostitute knocks Pfaster unconscious and leaves. Orison arrives and takes Pfaster to a cemetery. While digging him a grave, he asks Pfaster to repent for his sins. Pfaster says that Orison can not kill him. When Orison looks at Pfaster’s face, he has transformed into the Devil Incarnate. Pfaster kills Orison and buries him in the grave. The next morning, the agents inspect the gravesite and decide that their side of the case is over. They return to Washington.
Scully arrives in her apartment and is getting ready for bed when her electricity turns off and her clock radio flashes the time 6:66. Suddenly, Donnie Pfaster bursts out of the closet and attacks Scully. They struggle, and Pfaster succeeds in tying Scully up. At his own bed, Mulder sets his alarm clock, and he hears Scully’s song on the radio. He thinks about this coincidence and decides to phone Scully. She doesn’t answer. Meanwhile, Scully manages to move her tied hands in front of her so that she can crawl across the floor to get to her gun. Pfaster is busy lighting candles and preparing a bath. He catches sight of Scully when Mulder breaks through the door with his gun drawn. As Pfaster is held at gunpoint, Scully breaks out of her ties and shoots Pfaster.
Later as the police pour over the crime scene in the apartment, Mulder tries to comfort a shaken Scully, telling her that his report will reflect that she had no choice but to kill Pfaster. He asks if she thought God made her pull the trigger. Instead, Scully questions whether it was really Evil who made her commit an act in vengeance.
THE X-FILES “ORISON”
#7ABX07
Original Air Date: 1/9/00
Written by Chip Johannessen
Directed by Rob Bowman
Starring:
DAVID DUCHOVNY as Special Agent Fox Mulder
GILLIAN ANDERSON as Special Agent Dana Scully
Also Starring:
Scott Wilson as Orison
Nick Chinlund as Donnie Pfaster
Steve Rankin as U.S. Marshal Daddo
Emilio Rivera as Inmate Brigham
Lisa Kushell as Lady in Red
Rick Cramer as Guard
Tara Buck as Blueberry
Irene Muzzy as Waitress
Eric Buker as U.S. Marshall