“Empedocles” is episode seventeen of season eight of The X-Files.
In New Orleans, a man, Jeb Dukes, is currently being fired, though his boss seems genuinely sorry. Dukes leaves and outside sees a car being chased by the police. The car crashes into another at a junction and both explode. Both cars are in flames and Dukes sees a flaming figure get out of the car that caused the accident, stride over to him and merge with him, making his eyes turn to fire briefly. No-one else sees something. Later, Dukes heads back into the office and pulls out a gun.
Agent Reyes arrives at the scene; Dukes killed the man and woman. Detective Frank Potter of the NOPD greets her; they have reason to believe that the killings might be a satanic ritual. He shows her Duke’s work area and something found in his personal effects. Reyes says that there is often a stressor in such situations; an emotional breakdown or being fired. Potter says Dukes was fired by the two victims. But what about the devil pictures? Reyes explains that it’s Marilyn Manson. She doesn’t think there’s anything satanic here. On the way out, though, she sees the dead woman’s arm flame red then turn to charcoal, as does the rest of the body, before returning to normal.
Mulder arrives at Scully’s; she was going to get in the shower because she thought he was the pizza man. Which causes a confusing conversation. Mulder has brought a present. Something he found whilst going through his mother’s things. There’s a knock and the pizza man does turn up. Then Scully starts feeling pains in her stomach.
At Washington Memorial. a nurse asks Mulder if he’s the husband. No. Then wait outside. Doggett shows up; he was dropping something off at Scully’s. The nurse asks if he’s the husband. No. Mulder then gets a call from Reyes; he won’t remember but they’ve met. She needs help on a case. Mulder suggests she calls Doggett. Reyes can’t, because the case involves him. She can be in DC in a few hours. It’s important. Mulder says to call when she gets there.
Dukes is in a motel in Georgia. He’s looking at the gun, and looking upset. He holds the gun to his head but it burns him. In the mirror, he sees fiery fissures in his face revealing something behind.
Mulder finds Reyes going through files at the FBI. He queries her alluding to the time they met. Reyes explains she was there when he was found in the woods. She’s not surprised he doesn’t remember. She asks Mulder if he’s familiar with the case of Doggett’s son. Mulder isn’t familiar with Doggett. Reyes was the lead investigator; Doggett was in the NYPD. They never caught the killer. It was the hardest case she’s ever done and she couldn’t bear to put him through this again. Reyes can’t let this go until she knows if what she saw meant something. When they found Doggett’s son’s body, it momentarily turned to ashes. Doggett saw it too, though he’s spent the last few years convincing himself he didn’t. And in an unrelated case in New Orleans, she saw the same happen again.
Doggett looks in on Scully, who is asleep, then has a memory of something. Then the nurse throws him out. At the FBI, Mulder is grabbed by Doggett who has discovered Mulder is looking into his son’s death and completely goes off on one, as Doggett assumes the worst. Mulder explains he was asked to look, and Reyes arrives and says she asked. And the vision she had. Doggett doesn’t think that means anything. Mulder asks if a name does. Yes; that man was a suspect in his son’s murder but was released. Mulder discovered that the car being chased by the police in New Orleans was driven by that suspect. Doggett still doesn’t think this means anything, and tells them both to leave it alone. Emphatically to Mulder. Reyes isn’t going to.
Reyes heads to see Dukes’ sister, who says he’s not capable of something like this. Dukes calls from a payphone whilst Reyes is there, but the sister says to call back later.
Doggett doesn’t want to believe anything is going on, for intensely personal reasons. He and Mulder are clashing, which is mostly Mulder’s fault given how he first greeted Doggett in the previous episode, “Three Words”, and he keeps making comments. Scully tries to convince Mulder that Doggett is decent. Has Dukes gone off the deep end? Or is there something else going on?