My wife and I both liked X-files 2(which is what I’ll call it in here). I thought it was a very good, though not excellent, episode and was certainly worth it. My wife really liked it to, but had a problem with it that I want to ask about.
If you haven’t figured it out, massive spoilers will ensue.
My wife found the “head swapping” aspect of the plot far too ridiculous and she thinks there was no attempt to explain how it worked. I concede that it is weird, but I think there was some sort of explanation as to how they could remove the head off one person and switch it to another body.
Of course, I can’t remember the explanation.
How was the villain able to take his boyfriend’s head off and put it on different bodies? Was some medical technology being used that was described in a throw-away line? Was it “magic”? Was it anything, or is my wife right? Is there no explanation as to how it works?
There were brief references to experiments involving similar surgeries (on dogs) in Russia, implying these guys had spent years developing this technique. And stem cells were said to be involved somehow. I think that was about it.
As I remember it, it was just kinda… you know… like experimental medicine and stuff. From Russia. I know there was some goofy bits about gene therapy and organ transplants [and stem cells, per Marley23] and all that (Scully downloaded the ‘evidence’ for her experimental surgery on the kid based on some results and data from Russia) but I don’t think they ever went so far as to say “Such and such process can allow cells to regenerate and graft into foreign hosts… etc etc”. It just kind of “was”.
I could be wrong. I’m not a huge fan and went because my wife is. So my receptors weren’t exactly cranked to full.
If We Can Keep a Severed Head Alive
Some people have given this a great deal of thought.