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| "The Psychic Link Syndrome" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Season | 1 |
| Episode | 9 |
| Episode in Total | 9 |
| Air Date | December 13, 1997 |
| Production Code | 09 |
| Directed By | Nathan Chew |
| Written By | Steve Roberts |
| [Source] | |
"The Psychic Link Syndrome" was the ninth episode of Season One. It originally aired on December 13, 1997. It was written by Steve Roberts and directed by Nathan Chew.
Synopsis[]
An insane Alcidian named Forbus is hunting humans, draining them of their bodily fluids. But during the pursuit, Forbus forms a psychic link with Kay, making him feel whatever he feels.
Plot[]
J and K kick open the doors of a room in a movie theater screening a sci-fi film, searching for their latest perp. The incognito alien they’re after soon makes itself known, laughing at a scene that scares the rest of the audience. As J and K push their way through the theater aisles to reach their target, the alien metamorphoses into his true form and tries fighting J, only to be quickly subdued and cuffed by the MIB agent. J and K then don their sunglasses and, as K prepares to neuralyze the other theatergoers, he quips, “Remember, folks: it’s only a movie.”
Later, in a New York taxi cab some distance away, a tourist from Rockford, Illinois takes a photo of the Chrysler Building while making small talk with the driver. The tourist, oblivious to the driver’s glowing green eyes and reluctance to answer questions about himself, snaps a picture of the driver while leaving the cab, accidentally agitating him with the camera flash. Uttering an inhumane growl, the irate driver follows the tourist, who’s taken one of the driver’s business cards, into the Treasure Hotel, confronting him in the elevator.
The tourist, unnerved, asks whether he tipped enough, tossing his entire wallet at the driver. Noticing his pursuer doesn’t even bother to pick the wallet up, the tourist asks just what exactly the driver wants from him. The driver cryptically responds, “Your essence” and shape-shifts into his real appearance as he closes in, causing the tourist to scream. The alien resumes his human guise and exits the elevator at the same time another man and a woman enter. The couple races out screaming, however, when they find the tourist’s body shriveled and barely alive.
The tourist is then placed into a truck by several Men in Black agents. As L takes photographs, J mistakes the tourist for an alien, but K quickly corrects him. L clarifies that the tourist is a human with almost all of his body fluids somehow removed. The tourist then regains awareness and screams, grabbing J’s tie and shocking the young MIB agent, who’d believed the tourist had died. As J pulls away, L places a metal band on the tourist’s arm, while simultaneously reassuring him he’s under excellent care. She then discovers the tourist’s essence had been drained from neck, while K finds the cab driver’s business card in the tourist’s shirt pocket.
J and K take the LTD to the alien driver’s cab garage. Gasping, the alien runs off and J follows, unintentionally blocking K from using his weapon. The alien then morphs back into its real look and grows three long blades from his fingers, which it uses to toss J onto the street. J pulls out his Noisy Cricket and orders the alien, whose back is now facing him and K, to turn around, and the alien complies. K, however, is shocked to see the alien appears to have mouths on his hands, and instantly recognizes the extraterrestrial as an Alicidian. J, surprised that K know their perp’s species, turns his head, giving the Alicidian an opening to punch him. K then charges the Alcidian, but is subdued when the alien grabs K’s face and uses the mouth in his palm to suck out some of K’s body fluids. The Alcidian then gets in a cab and flees; rather than follow, J radios MIB headquarters, telling them he has a man down.
K, unconscious, is taken to the MIB infirmary. J, worried, follows as K’s wheeled into a hospital room and quickly revived by L. K explains he was knocked out by an “Alcidian handshake,” as the species greets one another by exchanging part of their life-force through the teeth in their hands. Noting that Alicidians are very social, K also explains that the “handshake” creates an emotional bond between Alcidians. L mentions that the handshake isn’t dangerous for Alcidians, to which K adds that it’s highly unusual for an Alicidian to “shake hands” with humans, as it is dangerous to them. J, perplexed, asks why the Alcidian absorbed less body fluid from K than he did the tourist, to which K responds, “He’s up to something.”
Meanwhile, the Alcidian pops the hood of his trunk and exposes his hand to the heat of the engine. While the Alcidian cackles, K groans in pain and clutches his own hand. When J asks what happened, K replies, “Perp just sent me a message. Whatever happens to him happens to me.” He elaborates, explaining that the alien’s bite has bonded the two, meaning that any pain inflicted on the Alicidian will also hurt K. While L offers to sever the bond with a blood transfusion, K refuses, reasoning the link can help him track down the Alicidian.
K and J then drive to Nate’s Diner, which secretly specializes in Alicidian cuisine. Inside, the two question four Alcidians who are disguised as humans, and they identity the Alcidian who bit K as Forbus. The Alcidians beings interrogated agree that Forbus is unpleasant and unusual, noting he’s “antisocial” and actually likes human food, unlike most members of their species. One of the Alcidians then passes J and K a picture of Forbus trying to shield his light from a camera flash while the other Alcidians in the photo pose normally. A waitress (also Alcidian) then approaches the group, offering the Alcidian customers food from their home planet, while giving J and K tuna melts. Rather than eat his sandwich, however, K decides to try the Alcidian dish, and is impressed by how similar it tastes to a Fredo’s pizza. J, however, heartily disagrees when he tastes it, and K quickly realizes he’s tasting Fredo’s pizza because Forbus is eating at Fredo's Pizza & Pasta.
At Fredo’s, Forbus recoils in pain when a man photographs him. K, who’s driving with J to the pizzeria, is also affected, and nearly crashes the LTD. Forbus, in the meantime, tracks down the man who photographed him and strikes. K and J finally reach the pizzeria and K begins to cough, as Forbus’ attack has set fire to the photo studio he followed his latest victim to. K then spots the smoke coming from the studio and goes there with J, rescuing the now-shriveled man who’d taken Forbus’ picture. K uses his icer to open a path for him and J to escort the man out, but the two barely miss Forbus, who drives off in his cab. The two MIB agents take off in the LTD in hot pursuit, chasing him off the road. Forbus then tries to flee on foot, but J catches up and attacks him. J hesitates, however, when he sees his hits are also hurting K, allowing Forbus to punch him away and flee.
While L arrives on the scene and begins examining the drained photographer, J and K realize Forbus has been going after anyone who’s taken his picture. They are blindsided, however, by a news cameraman. A shocked K recoils, feeling the pain Forbus would, and pushes the cameraman and his camera away. K’s discomfort continues, however, feeling Forbus’ urges to consume more people’s life essences. While L insists on giving K the blood transfusion she’d offered earlier, K again declines, reasoning that his psychic link with Forbus is their only hope of finding him. L does join J and K in the LTD to monitor K’s condition, and the veteran agent tells J and K to do what’s necessary if he begins behaving too much like Forbus.
At night, Forbus sees himself projected on a large screen and roars uncomfortably. K feels Forbus’ pain, forcing J to take control of the wheel. The car abruptly stops, with K telling his fellow agents, “It’s… happening again!” Forbus, meanwhile, approaches the person filming him and morphs into his alien form, but a policeman warns him to stop while pointing a gun at him. Forbus switches back to human form and clambers up a fire escape while the cop and three of his fellow officers follow in pursuit. A battle breaks out once Forbus reaches the roof of a building, which J watches unfold on the same screen that had disturbed Forbus before.
J and L make it to the roof just as several more police officers arrive. Knowing the cops’ll hurt K if they shoot Forbus, J implores that the cops hold their fire. The head officer, however, is stunned when he recognizes J, referring to him as “Detective Edwards.” J awkwardly makes up that he’s been working “deep, deep, deep cover” and that he needs Forbus, who he’s been tailing, alive. The cops buy his story, but Forbus leaps to another rooftop before J and L can catch up. K is there waiting for him, however, threatening him with a weapon. Forbus merely taunts him, however, reverting to his alien appearance and reminding K of their bond. Forbus tries convincing K to let him escape, but K simply responds with a terse “no” and opens fire. Both Forbus and K fall to the ground, to J and L’s horror.
L and J reach the roof with the downed Forbus and K, running up to the latter. With a special device, L determines that K is still alive, just as Forbus is attempting a quiet escape. J follows, tracking him to a room where Forbus is sitting on the ground shaking. K approaches while Forbus appears to be speaking incoherently, but K also starts saying the same words on the roof, namely “demonic device… steal my essence.” L injects K with a serum, while J helps Forbus to his feet. Forbus, no longer dazed, however, attacks J. While L tries examining K, the latter knocks the device L is holding out of her hand, proving Forbus’ influence on K has grown. K starts walking toward L menacingly, but L knocks him off his feet with a kick and runs off… only to find Forbus blocking her exit. Forbus then tries talking K into shooting L, but J arrives and threatens to shoot Forbus: an act that would surely also affect K. L, however, spots the camera-like device K had knocked away from her earlier and kicks it toward J, who uses the machine’s flash feature to daze K and Forbus into submission. K and Forbus are then taken to the medical ward, where an extensive blood transfusion is performed to restore the “essence” Forbus had taken from K. L reassures J that Forbus will be taken to the MIB mental ward to help him deal with his psychological condition.
Once K’s fully recuperated, he and J rejoin the Alicidians who had tipped them off about Forbus at Nate’s Diner. This time, however, K chooses to eat his tuna melt, rather than give Alcidian food another try. As the two MIB agents enjoy their well-earned relaxing meal, a psychologist performs a Rorschach ink blot test on Forbus, and is fascinated to discover every ink blot looks like a tuna melt to the Alcidian criminal… suggesting a gentler version of Forbus’ link with K may still be intact.
Watch[]
Men in black the series S1E09 The Psychic Link Syndrome
Trivia[]
- Forbus' ability to grow and retract three long claws from his knuckles resemble that of Marvel Comics character Wolverine. Interestingly, in "Wolf in the Fold," the first issue of The Men in Black Book II, the comic book versions of J and K encounter a costumed alien criminal named Wolf, whose three-bladed weapons resemble Wolverine and Forbus' claws.