Summary
There was always something about this episode that stayed with me for hours after watching it, no matter how many times I did so. I've already covered the specifics of this one in my top ten list, so I won't bother repeating myself here. Suffice to say that this was so elegantly executed that I didn't mind the overt symbolism or the matter of the "does she or doesn't she exist" Nurse Owens. If you stop to consider, there was a lot going on here over the course of an hour's program and something made it all work. Amazing.
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| "At least she'll know... and so will you." |
Why indeed.
Oddly enough, I found it hard to watch this episode all at once, needing to take a break — and take that one breath — after Mulder's "terminal intensity" conversation with Mr. X. As a fan of this show when it was really good, seeing this again reminded me of how much I actually liked The X-Files and why I liked it. And I don't mind admitting that it's kind of an achy feeling.
Morgan and Wong outdid themselves here with many snippets of great dialogue and scenes that just left you begging for more. (The only one I wasn't crazy about was the first time X meets up with Mulder in the parking garage. He seemed to be spouting a whole lot of nothing with the "you have no idea and since I can't tell you, you still have no idea".) I loved Mulder's encounters with the "other" Scully women, from the opening scene where he can barely look at the headstone that Mrs. Scully has ordered, to the tension-filled conversation with Melissa at his apartment doorway where she tells him, "Even if it doesn’t bring her back, at least she’ll know. And so will you." Melissa had quite the insight on Special Agent Fox Mulder...
And in the end, Mulder does the right thing, the only thing that he can do and still be true to himself. He's fighting his own internal battle throughout this episode, declaring to Skinner that he hates what he has become. Just as he couldn't pull the trigger on CSM (as much as a part of him probably mocked his lack of resolve in failing to do so), he couldn't take the chance that he would truly consider himself responsible for Scully slipping away forever. As he said at her bedside, "I don’t know if my being here will help bring you back, but I’m here."
As for that confrontation with Ciggy Butt Face, I think Mulder briefly saw himself as CSM (long before the realization of CC's Star Wars homage). "Look at me. No wife, no family, some power. I’m in the game because I believe what I’m doing is right." In a weird, twisted way, I think Mulder suddenly realized that those could be his own words, in a few years' time.
Picayune Peculiarities
I don't know whether it was DD who actually signed the resignation letter (those types of insert shots don't typically involve the main actors), but as many fans have noticed, Mulder's signature there is completely different from the signature on his ID badge. Also, why did Mulder continue to move his belongings after he had been told that his resignation was unacceptable? I'm not talking about him continuing to pack as Skinner told his story; I'm talking about the box that he drops when he meets X in the stairwell.
Best or Worst Moment
"I had the strength of your beliefs." In an episode full of messages and meaning, simple lines of dialogue still stand out. And when it comes to moments of Scully being emotionally open, I pounce on them. I must admit that I've never totally understood her statement (even though I made up my own story about it), but that makes it all the more memorable.
Original Rating: * * * *
Revised Rating: * * * *
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