The review of the episode The Y Files brings a fun mix of government cover-ups and cheesy action featuring the main villain Emperor Gorganus and the teenage hero Swinton. In this story, two government agents show up in town because they think it is ground zero for alien activity. It really makes me think about how we look at secrets in the real world, like how the authorities always seem to be hiding things from ordinary working people. While the agents are snooping around trying to find the truth, the main villain sends down a freezing monster called Isolus to the desert to try and start a whole new ice age on Earth. It is a lot of trouble happening at the exact same time, which is just how life feels when bills and work pile up all at once.

What I really like about this episode is how it handles Swinton and his interaction with one of the investigators named Doctor Chapman. Swinton is the smart kid of the group, and he actually forms a brief connection with this agent who wants to understand the portals and the alien technology. As a man who values connection, it reminds me of how lonely it can be for a smart person when nobody else around them really understands their passions or how their mind works. But because they have to protect their secret identities and keep the planet safe, Gordon has to step in and zap the agent to wipe his memory at the end. It is a bit sad because Swinton loses a friend who finally got him, but it teaches a good lesson about making sacrifices for the greater safety of your community and your friends.

Even though the special effects are totally cheap and the monster looks like a plastic toy, the story itself has some good weight to it. The way they wrap up the whole ice age threat by using their powers as Galactic Sentinels is exactly the kind of fun you expect from a Saturday morning broadcast. It is not some deep college level philosophy, but it shows that keeping secrets can be a heavy burden to carry when you are just a teenager trying to live a normal life. This one stands out to me because it cares about the feelings of the characters instead of just throwing punches at rubber suits, making it a very solid piece of old school entertainment.