397:), who is also worried about Mulder's behavior. Mulder has a nightmare about being attacked by a gargoyle that is really himself. He goes to Mostow's studio again, finding a severed arm. Scully gets a message to call Nemhauser, but his phone is answered by Mulder, who denies taking the knife. He searches Mostow's studio and finds Nemhauser's body inside a new sculpture. Mulder is then confronted by Patterson, who is unaware of how he arrived at the studio. Mulder then deduces that Patterson is the killer, based on his three-year obsession with Mostow and his request for Mulder to investigate the case. Mulder confronts him, but Patterson flees when Scully arrives. Mulder pursues him and they fight, but Mulder perceives Patterson as a demonic gargoyle creature. Patterson is shot and apprehended.
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in him. Scully goes to Mulder's apartment and finds it covered with gargoyle drawings. Mulder, having sculpted a gargoyle himself in Mostow's studio before falling asleep, awakens to find a figure with a gargoyle-like face standing over him; he gives chase but is attacked, his face slashed with a utility knife. Mulder refuses to explain to Scully why he was in the studio. Scully confronts
Patterson, who tells her not to try and stop Mulder from doing what he's doing. Mulder again goes to see Mostow, who refuses to divulge how to find the creature that attacked him.
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it works is very simple: It's pretty scary". Critical Myth's John Keegan gave the episode a largely positive review, awarding it an 8 out of 10. He noted, "Overall, this is a solid effort by Howard Gordon. It’s good to see some of the methods that earned Mulder his nickname, and the underlying dynamic between Mulder and Scully is very well played. The central premise is vague enough to fall within the confines of the unusual, if not necessarily paranormal, and the supporting cinematography and score rise to the occasion."
463:'s performance in this episode, saying "Duchovny drove himself, and he was brilliant in that show." Manners also said of the episode: "I think 'Grotesque' is a frightening show. I think it is a disturbing show, and I think that's why—for me—it's such a good show. We pulled it off making the viewer feel uneasy. I even found it a difficult show to watch. Yeah, it was a pretty dark hour of television and I would like to do more of those." To get inspiration, Manners played the soundtrack to the film
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321:, a group of artists sketch a nude male model. However, one of the artists, John Mostow (Levani Outchaneichvili), draws a demonic creature in the model's place. While using a utility knife to sharpen his pencil, he cuts his hand and smears his blood on the drawing. When the model reaches his car after the session, he is attacked and killed by an obscured assailant. The following morning, Mostow is arrested in his apartment by an
432:, who conceived of the main story after he noticed stone gargoyles on a corner of a New York street he was walking down. The eeriness of the occurrence led Gordon to develop a tale involving possession by a gargoyle spirit. He wrote a draft script for the episode, but the weekend before production began, he had to completely rework it with the help of series creator
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is attacked and hospitalized. Special Agent
Nemhauser (Greg Thirloway), Patterson's partner, tells Scully that Patterson was responsible for getting Mulder assigned to the investigation and may admire him after all. Patterson finds Mulder in the library studying gargoyles and expresses disappointment
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gave the episode an A− and noted that while the episode is "ponderous and pretentious", this aspect of the entry turns it into "a benefit". VanDerWerff wrote, "here's the thing: 'Grotesque' is absolutely self-serious, just as much as I feared it would be. It also, unquestionably, works. The reason
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art department." Vitaris, however, was critical of the episode's closing monologue, noting that " spells out what the camera is saying a hundred times more effectively with its finale shot of a pairing of a gargoyle." Jonathan Dunn, writing for What
Culture, described "Grotesque" as a "deep, dark,
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In the last scene, Patterson is pressed against the bars of his cell, screaming and pleading that he is innocent, while the camera focuses on a gargoyle drawn in blood on the wall of his cell. Earlier in the episode, Mulder told Scully that he and
Patterson disagreed on the best way to investigate
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office in the past. At the last minute before filming, city workers began tearing up a sidewalk on the very spot where the producers planned to film the scene; this caused a panic among the producers, but the construction crew assured the show that the construction would be completed before the
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of 11.6, with an 18 share, meaning that roughly 11.6 percent of all television-equipped households, and 18 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. This totaled 18.32 million viewers. The episode had the third highest ratings of the third season.
405:: Patterson always tried to empathize with the suspect, imagining himself in the killer's place. Mulder's closing narration concludes that it was this that eventually drove Patterson insane, but Mulder cannot account for what he saw while fighting Patterson.
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show's scheduled shooting time, which it indeed was—with only two hours to spare. Additional exterior shots were filmed at an alley near
Bonanza Meat Market, the walls of which were painted to match those of Heritage Hall.
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gave the episode a positive review and awarded it three-and-a-half stars out of four. She referred to the episode as "one of darkest ever" and called it "a triumph for director
Manners, cinematographer Bartley, and
469:(1990) on repeat until his wife "finally asked, 'Do we have to listen to that (bleeping) CD again?'" Manners also theorized that this episode may have inspired Carter when he eventually developed the show
375:. Their relationship is tense, and Patterson is skeptical of Mulder's theories. Mulder and Scully go to Mostow's studio and discover a hidden room full of gargoyle sculptures, finding corpses within them.
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Gordon was inspired to write the episode after walking down the streets of New York and seeing several stone gargoyles on the corner, staring at him. Gordon developed the concept with series creator
367:) become involved in the investigation when Mostow insists that he was possessed during the killings; his claims are given credence when another murder occurs after his arrest. Mostow draws a
520:, rated the episode five stars out of five and praised the themes of the episode, writing that, "Because 'Grotesque' certainly surprises, and shocks, and even appals —this is the closest
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Scully finds a disassembled utility knife at the latest crime scene with Mulder's prints on it and discovers that the murder weapon is missing from the evidence room. She meets with
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and claims it made him kill. The agents meet with
Patterson, who has spent three years working the case. Mulder knows Patterson from his time in the Investigative Support Unit at
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ever gets to staring into the face of insanity." Furthermore, Shearman praised
Duchovny's acting, calling it "his best performance yet seen in the series". Paula Vitaris from
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Not all reviews were positive. Author Phil
Farrand was critical of the episode, rating it his fourth least favorite episode of the first four seasons in his book
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436:. During those few days, the two overhauled the script to add more psychological aspects to the episode. Gordon was "very proud" of the final product.
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of 11.6, being watched by 18.32 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mostly positive reviews from television critics.
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gave "Grotesque" a D, labeling it as "ponderous, oblique, and featuring one of Mulder's always annoying, easy-way-out soliloquy summations".
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him and committed the crimes. When Mulder joins the case, his obsession with solving it causes Scully to question his sanity.
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that I absolutely love" and included it in the "5 Episodes That Could Be Made Into Movies" list.
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Wanting to
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and the show's 63rd episode overall. It premiered on the
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814:"X Cyclopedia: The Ultimate Episode Guide, Season 3"
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545:The Nitpickers Guide to the X-Files.
1382:Television episodes set in Virginia
913:The Nitpickers Guide to the X-Files
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687:""Syzygy"/"Grotesque"/"Piper Maru""
645:Goodwin, R.W.; et al. (2001).
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894:. Little, Brown and Company.
488:"Grotesque" premiered on the
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1372:Gargoyles in popular culture
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909:Farrand, Phil (1998).
560:"Grotesque" earned an
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274:and a believer in the
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886:Edwards, Ted (1996).
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917:. Doubleday Direct.
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99:Running time
33:
25:
15:
1228:Revelations
1101:The X-Files
1055:The X-Files
1014:"Grotesque"
1008:The X-Files
1004:"Grotesque"
851:Emmy Awards
830:19 February
770:(3): 18–40.
718:"Grotesque"
651:Los Angeles
649:(booklet).
538:The X-Files
533:The X-Files
522:The X-Files
490:Fox network
457:Kim Manners
380:glassblower
361:Dana Scully
260:Dana Scully
231:Kim Manners
223:Fox network
218:The X-Files
60:Kim Manners
56:Directed by
35:The X-Files
1361:Categories
1284:Hell Money
1256:Piper Maru
1165:Paper Clip
562:Emmy Award
472:Millennium
409:Production
353:Fox Mulder
345:Uzbekistan
326:task force
276:paranormal
252:Fox Mulder
172:Piper Maru
102:44 minutes
91:1996-02-02
66:Written by
51:Episode 14
1263:Apocrypha
1249:Grotesque
1207:Oubliette
572:Footnotes
479:Reception
296:possessed
235:mythology
203:Grotesque
26:Grotesque
1346:Category
1315:Wetwired
1308:Quagmire
1200:The Walk
1186:The List
1149:Season 3
1059:episodes
824:Archived
422:gargoyle
373:Quantico
369:gargoyle
292:gargoyle
284:profiler
187:season 3
155:Previous
43:Episode
1069:Seasons
564:by the
501:Reviews
484:Ratings
328:led by
294:spirit
268:X-Files
209:of the
168: →
153:←
89: (
38:episode
1301:Avatar
1270:Pusher
1242:Syzygy
1172:D.P.O.
986:
967:
944:
921:
898:
728:21 May
698:21 May
556:Awards
359:) and
258:) and
160:Syzygy
1214:Nisei
1193:2Shy
1018:IMDb
984:ISBN
965:ISBN
942:ISBN
919:ISBN
896:ISBN
832:2012
730:2012
700:2012
313:Plot
166:Next
79:3X14
1221:731
1016:at
1006:on
323:FBI
317:At
246:FBI
119:as
45:no.
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