Summary
As seems usual, these season finales are always sort of hit and miss. Burn down the office? Sure, why not. Like CSM couldn't have done something more imaginative than that. Otherwise, I loved Gibson; tried not to hate Diana. (Didn't much succeed.) Spender is irritating. Scully is hurting and Mulder is basically clueless. I watched this recently and paid particular attention to the part where Diana first speaks up and reveals herself to Mulder. That and the scene where they exchange looks in the rear-view mirror of the car. Knowing her eventual end, I like to think that Diana didn't come back for the expressed purpose of causing Mulder more mayhem. I want to believe that both Mulder and CC had good reasons to have higher hopes for her. It's just that when you obstinately keep two characters apart — yet relish the idea of inserting rivals between them — you're going to incur the wrath of the fans. And fan reaction definitely led to Diana Fowley's downfall, no doubt about it. Sadly enough, she could have been so much more, but only if Mulder and Scully had been allowed to have "had" more in the first place.
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| What a nasty ending |
As a season finale and especially as a "...and here we go into the movie" intro, this episode fell extremely flat for me. We have an interesting Gibson Praise character (Frohike's "Mini Me") with powers that are definitely intriguing. But when they are revealed to be "the key to everything in the X-Files", I thought, "Huh, how so?" Did I miss a scene — or five — somewhere where I could also have drawn this fanciful conclusion or are Mulder and Scully really that much smarter than me?
And it's not like me to side with Jeffy, but when he said to Mulder that "you led him" (the sniper that they have in custody), he was absolutely right. The gunman only said that the kid is "a missing link". Everything after that was spouted by Mulder... genetic proof, dormant genes, alien astronauts. Way to dig yourself into a professional grave, Fox.
Now, that said, for the request to the Attorney General for immunity for this man to be so controversial that — when the guy is subsequently killed in his jail cell — the X-Files, not to mention Mulder's and Scully's jobs, are in jeopardy...? What is that about? Was it their fault that the prisoner wasn't adequately guarded? Yeah, I know that Gibson was kidnapped and Fowley was shot while guarding him, but all of this is blamed on the X-Files? (But I guess it works as a foreshadowing to the movie, when just you wait 'til you see what else they can blame on Mulder, Scully and the X-Files!)
Oh, and of course, CSM ("I am your father") returns from the undead to orchestrate all of this. The Force is still strong in him, apparently.
Best or Worst Moment
Is this a best or a worst moment? I can't tell. However you categorize it though, it's definitely the moment of Scully sitting in her car after seeing Diana with Mulder. If I never knew it before, that moment told me in no uncertain terms that Scully had it bad for him. It made me hurt for her, as that was definitely a feeling that most females can identify with at one time or another. (That said, I would never be as peevish as she is sometimes to the man she loves as much as she shows here.)
Original Rating: * * *
Revised Rating: * *
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