Krycek (1999) Krycek is an enigma wrapped up in a tall, dark, lean package. He's appeared in only a smattering of episodes, yet we know very little for certain about him. Plainly put, Krycek is a chameleon. He takes on the coloration and personality required to master each situation. He's also a tightrope artist. He's threaded his way through a morass of conflicting orders with only the guiding star of his own self-interest keeping him on track. His particular genius lies in his ability to adapt. In a way, this chameleon power adds to his enigmatic allure. He offers us peeks at his true self, but they are so tangled up with his deceptions and intrigues that it becomes difficult to sift the grit from the wheat. We view Krycek through a kaleidoscope of obfuscation. I don't think there can be any doubt that Krycek is extremely intelligent, although without Mulder's intuitive genius. On the other hand, Krycek is far more likely to land on his feet after a sudden reversal and to immediately make the most of any opportunity for personal advantage. He operates on the simple philosophy that revenge is a dish best served cold and he's very patient. While Mulder has a quest, Krycek has a plan. The only problem is that no one, except Krycek, has any idea what that plan is. There are times when I'm not sure even Krycek is exactly certain what he's doing, but he wings it exceptionally well. Krycek never appears to do anything without a reason, even if that reason is not obvious. He's a master chess player. Where Mulder operates on faith, Krycek operates on planning and calculation of competing odds to make the most advantageous move. I think it's almost certain that Krycek attended the FBI Academy. If they were grooming him to be Mulder's new partner, then it would have been incredibly stupid to choose a man who couldn't stand up under a cursory investigation. Mulder's paranoia was too well established to take chances with. In addition, attending the academy provides contacts and a good chance to evaluate potential recruits to the cause. The question then is, was Krycek always a Consortium agent, or did they recruit him in Quantico? Considering some of what we've seen Krycek doing in recent years, I am of the opinion that Krycek recruited the Consortium by being just the type of person they were looking for. Yes, I do think he had a master plan, if nothing more than a rapid rise to power within a global conspiracy. According to Krycek, his parents were Russian emigres. From the episodes Terma and Tunguska, I think it's fairly obvious that this immigration was not made under duress, but was rather part of a greater plan by the Russian members of the Consortium. How better to keep tabs on your rivals than to insert a young agent into their inner circle? I find it interesting that Krycek can move about with ease between various networks, specifically the Russian side of the Consortium and the KGB. I think Krycek does admire Mulder, much as he would admire a fox that somehow manages to stay one step ahead of the hunters. I also think that his carefully laid plans for insinuating himself into the American side of the Consortium ran into the Mulder charisma field and went to hell in a hand-basket. Why is one of those questions which lies at the heart of the mystery called Krycek. I believe Krycek is fascinated by Mulder, on several levels. Professionally, Mulder makes a wonderful loose cannon he can maneuver to point at the Consortium's weak spots. After Mulder spreads chaos and disorganizes the Consortium's carefully laid plans, Krycek moves in. I think he also admires Mulder's tenacious determination. More than CSM, Krycek seems determined to make Mulder a player in their dark game of power. Krycek is not a good guy, by any stretch of the imagination. However, he is a practical bad guy. He sees how Mulder could be useful to him and that combined with his reluctant admiration, makes him agree that CSM was right in keeping Mulder alive. He probed CSM's reasons and I don't think he's satisfied that CSM's claim about "one man's crusade" comes anywhere near the truth. Being a man of many devious motives, I don't believe he accepts such a paltry excuse. Mulder threatens the Consortium, yet both CSM and WMM insist on not only keeping Mulder alive, but actually helping him. The nuances of this must be driving Krycek crazy. Krycek wants to best Mulder, but not by physical force. He's willing to tolerate physical abuse in order to remain in a position to influence Mulder. I think he's also calculating that while Mulder can be driven to the edge of extreme violence, he's also extremely hesitant to take the final step into cold-blooded murder. Unless Mulder is on drugs, Krycek feels relatively certain that he'll only acquire a few bruises in their confrontations. This seems to be a general pattern -- Krycek would rather outwit than out-pummel his opponents. He's violent when necessary, but prefers that it not be necessary. I think to him, violence is the result of poor planning. Krycek likes playing both sides of the fence. He's interested in power, not allegiances or ideology. He doesn't kill for pleasure, but out of necessity, or by orders. The tram operator was perhaps his only real incidental murder. We have no real motive for that killing, except that the man was 'in the way.' I think "Ascension" marked the beginning of Krycek's course away from his original plan. I suspect that he was faced with conflicting orders and simply chose his own way of satisfying the Elders who had no compunction about killing Mulder and CSM who wanted him left alive. With the killing of the tram operator, Krycek could claim to have done eveerything he could to create an "accident" while giving himself leeway to offer Mulder a chance. He had failed to insinuate himself into Mulder's trust, yet I think he saw the potential Mulder had for shaking up the rigid power-structure within the Consortium. He wanted to create an 'every man for himself' scenario. The road to power lies in confusion and chaos. I believe Krycek has come to recognize the pivotal part Mulder plays in the unfolding events surrounding the Consortium's failed plan to adapt to the alien colonization. WMM certainly provided him with enough information to permit him to build a power base. In Season 6, we saw a Krycek playing on an even field with CSM. No longer the fugitive from Consortium justice, Krycek is a player. Krycek is a pragmatist. He will work with anyone if it furthers his goals. I suspect, albeit with scant evidence, that WMM made him his heir in the Consortium. This is based on the simple fact that before FTF, Krycek was WMM's aide. Apparently WMM brokered a pardon for Krycek, or at least persuaded his colleagues that their vendetta against Krycek was ill-advised. Perhaps the fact that Krycek was operating under the auspices of the Russian Consortium also had a great deal to do with the fact that Krycek now moved openly in the Western Consortium again. After WMM's death, Krycek acts like a serious player and is treated as such. What did Krycek plan to do with Purity Control? Was this the ultimate bargaining chip? Krycek appears to have connections with the rebel aliens even while he's a player with the Consortium. In other words, he has a foot in both camps. Krycek is a survivor. He moves among the conspiracies, counter-conspiracies, and betrayals with ease. An example of his finesse with revenge comes in 2F/1S when he tested Jeffrey Spender and found him wanting. Spender was no Mulder, however he was a very useful tool for revenge. How much of Spender's change of heart was due to Krycek's manipulations? Did Krycek contrive to disillusion Spender, thereby creating a situation where CSM would be forced to remove his son? Certainly Spender's disillusionment opened the door for Mulder's return to the X-Files. Krycek may have set up a win-win situation -- either CSM removes/terminates his own son or he appears weak and can be taken down in the power struggles going on after the Elders become charcoal briquettes. Krycek is not a good guy. He's the ultimate practitioner of dedicated self-interest. To achieve his goals (whatever the hell they are), he will lie, steal, kill, and shift sides faster than greased lightning. He's not immoral -- he's amoral, yet there is something compellingly attractive about him. Krycek almost makes 'the end justifies the means' sound reasonable. Like Mulder, his charisma can dominate people around him in subtle, but considerable ways. In mythological terms, Krycek is Coyote, the trickster, who works for and against the hero at various times. He cannot be trusted, but he serves a guide even while he lays obstacles in the path. Krycek is omni-sexual, which may be a benefit in the world of the X-Files. So far, he's the only one to indisputably "get some" on the show. In "Duane Barry" we saw him give Mulder the once over (as did we all). Perhaps he liked the package he saw wrapped up in a Red Speedo. Did this mark the moment when Krycek started adjusting his long-range plans to include keeping Mulder intact? There is some very interesting sexual energy playing out between those two men, even if, for the most part, I suspect that on Mulder's side it's unconscious. These are two very alpha males maneuvering around each other. Krycek is Mulder's dark twin. Their lives, even their careers, are inextricably intertwined. They are reflections of the best and worst in each other. The closer Mulder gets to the truth, the more power Krycek wields and the more openly he acts. If Mulder is the hero of this Quest, then Krycek is the anti-hero. Mulder attacks from without, while Krycek is undermining from within. Ultimately it might just take both of them to win.

 

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