Looking at the pics, I can see what you mean. But keep in mind that I picked the best and sexiest pics for this spam. There were shots where Wirth looked much more pissed off. Duchovny plays the whole role very cool, very internalized, so his facial expressions don't go much farther than this. (That also makes the few moments when he does explode much more effective. He only cries once in the film, when he's talking to one of Bako's friends during an interlude in the middle of this scene with Wirth, and the tears kind of burst out for a few seconds and then he yanks it all back in to go back after his rival again. So there's a great contrast between Wirth's impetuous, explosive nature and Duchovny's calmer, more introspective mien.

Which plays into the romance, of course. Bako is Tragically Sensitive and A Wounded Soul. Duchovny offers her Peace and Stability and Unconditional Love, which she naturally distrusts in her heart, because of her Sorrowful Past. So she goes out and finds herself a Rough And Ready Man to Entice Her Wild Side. It's all so completely classic!

But yes, there is quite a lot of anger going on. However, as with the cloaking-the-gay-sex issue, the anger has to be the right kind. This series was made specifically to appeal to women, and you can only go so far with things like anger and stay enjoyably sexy. So these guys are really, really mad, but they don't do all of the things you'd expect guys in this situation to do. I'd expect Wirth to pound Duchovny's head in, given the kind of guy he is. But that wouldn't be any fun to watch, so it doesn't happen. It's all about the yummy in this series; only so much bitter as will add a nice tang.

Wow, sorry about that. *rant off*