Season 5, Episode 9: Schizogeny

Synopsis

A man in Michigan dies after getting sucked into the mud while chasing his stepson through his hazelnut orchard. His stepson, Bobby Rich, wasn't on very good terms with him, but claims he was trying to help his stepfather. His stepfather says Bobby came from an abusive household, suggesting Bobby may have had reason to commit murder, but Mulder thinks he's innocent. Bobby, meanwhile, encourages a friend named Lisa to stand up for herself. Lisa's father dies soon after, apparently pushed out of a window.

Looking at the evidence at Lisa's home, Mulder thinks that Lisa's father was actually pulled out of the window. Mulder finds that a splinter of wood in Lisa's father's neck came from a living greenwood tree. A mysterious man appears to let the agents know that something weird happens with the trees every 20 years. The agents find that the therapist's father also died an orchard-related death, but fail to deduce that the therapist has kidnapped Lisa and is holding her hostage. Linda's aunt is killed by a tree after she sees that Linda is being imprisoned in the therapist's basement.

Mulder suspects that it's all related to the orchards that form the livelihood of the area's people, while Scully thinks the only connection is that the children they've come across are abused. In another interview, Bobby says the therapist made him stand up to his stepfather. Realizing that the therapist is both the victim and the killer, the agents chase after her as she starts to take Bobby into the mud. The mysterious orchard man decapitates the therapist. The death remains unexplained, though Mulder notes how she was abused herself and wonders if her inability to face her past ultimately consumed her.

Episode Body Count

Phil Rich: dies after drowning in the mud of his orchard.

Eugene Baiocchi: dies after being shoved out of the window by a tree branch.

Karin Matthews' father: also died in the orchard, 20 years prior.

Linda Baiocchi: tree'd to death upon discovering that Lisa has been kidnapped.

Karin Matthews: decapitated by the mysterious orchard man.

Humans: 5
Creatures: 0
Aliens: 0

Cumulative Body Count (106/202 episodes, 0/2 movies)

Humans: 1,240

Creatures: 82
Aliens: 57

Grand Total: 1,379