Syzygy (The X-Files)
It was written by series creator Chris Carter and directed by Rob Bowman, and featured guest appearances from Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Lisa Robin Kelly, and Ryan Reynolds.
The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files.
In this episode, Mulder and Scully investigate the murders of high school students in a small town where everyone is acting strangely.
In Comity, New Hampshire, a group of high school students hold a eulogy for their dead friend, the purported victim of a local Satanic cult.
Two girls, Terri Roberts (Lisa Robin Kelly) and Margi Kleinjan (Wendy Benson), get a ride home from a jock, Jay "Boom" DeBoom (Ryan Reynolds).
Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) arrive in Comity after arguing over directions along the way.
The high school principal, Bob Spitz, interrupts the funeral by ranting about Satanic cults murdering their children when suddenly the coffin starts smoking and catches on fire.
Mulder and Scully go into separate rooms to interview Margi and Terri, both of whom offer an identical story about a satanic ceremony where a baby was sacrificed.
Looking at the latest victim's body, Mulder and Detective White find a burn mark in the shape of a horned beast; Scully says she doesn't see anything.
When another of the players accidentally spills a table of drinks on them, they cause the basketball to bounce underneath the bleachers, which retract and slam shut on the boy when he goes to get the ball, killing him.
Margi and Terri celebrate their birthday and Brenda uses a Ouija board to know who she will marry; everyone thinks it's Scott before the planchette veers away from the C and spells out Satan.
Upset, Brenda rushes to the bathroom where Margi and Terri are chanting "Bloody Mary" and is locked in, then killed by glass from a shattered mirror.
The agents call each other and bring both girls to the police station, where the place starts shaking, causing the furniture to move around and all the guns to go off on their own.
When the town mob and Detective White finally see Terri and Margi as the culprits, Spitz claims it was the work of Satan.
VanDerWerff argued that "Syzygy" was an attempt by Carter to try and emulate the writing style of Darin Morgan's scripts, without success; she noted "the laughs here are emptier than they were the week before in 'Coprophages'"—and adding that "every time you think the episode has figured out a way to plant its foot firmly in comedic territory, there's a horribly judged moment of 'drama,' like Mulder's final monologue.
"[11] Connie Ogle of Popmatters listed Margi and Terri among the best monster-of-the-week characters of the series, describing "Syzygy" as a "hilarious send-up of Heathers".
