Summary
Turns out we don't have to organize a requiem for CC's creativity after all. Despite what we saw two weeks ago, his heart hasn't left the show, at least not with this outing. For a "throw everyone into this hour, we may not have another chance to come back" effort, this was a tightly paced episode, full of passion and spirit and a slightly heavy-hearted reminder that life is ever-changing. I will forgive the consistent error throughout that M&S have only been together for as long as we have been watching the series (their original 1992 visitation of Oregon is actually eight years ago, not seven), but regardless of actual numbers, it must have been an eye-opener for them to return and find new lives, growth, and relative normality. And what have the past seven or eight years been to them? Have they enjoyed any such simplicity as picking a life partner, settling down and starting a family? No, they've more or less been eliminated from playing that game. Or have they? If I have any bone to pick with this one, it's this whole pregnancy thing. Whether this baby is a normal (presumably Mulder) baby — in which case, did she have an egg left somewhere in her system that they didn't take or did CSM orchestrate some act of "putting back"?? — or whether they play it up to be some other type of baby, I don't see a future where Mom and Pop Scully and Mulder head off to big screen adventures while leaving baby at home. Whatever it turns out to be, it's gotta go, despite the potentially horrifying angst that would cause. That's just my opinion.
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| I like to think of this as my last glimpse of Fox Mulder before everything got sucked into Bizarro World |
There being, of course, the baby thing. (No, I never got over that and what I eventually saw/found out in S8 merely added to my despair over how low CC and his cronies could go.) I cannot watch this episode without thinking of the last few minutes that totally turned my TXF world into Bizarro World.
That said, I will add some random thoughts to this review...
Auditor dude asks for confirmation that Mulder's sister's abduction and the alien government conspiracy have been resolved. Mulder replies, "Nothing has been resolved, exactly." (So Mulder thinks that Closure was a crock, too, huh?)
Are we to believe that Mulder later wallops this auditor with the crazy name? And that Scully finds it funny that he did so? Talk about these two having come a long way.
What is up with wedding bands on men who are not married? Billy Miles says he is divorced but is still wearing his ring. Was that all for the benefit of Scully to think that he was married?
The motel scene still brings me to tears. Because what Mulder says is so true, for the both of them. There is so much more that they both need to do with their lives, either together or apart, but this — the daily grind of the X-Files and what it's taken from them personally — needs to stop. I thought that it was wonderful dialogue that should have had some permanent meaning.
The mythology part of this episode was subpar, thus my downgrading of the rating on his episode. The whole idea of Marita going to Tunisia to get Krycek (and at this point I don't even remember how Krycek may have gotten himself imprisoned) on the orders of a CSM who looks in no shape to give orders was just not believable. All that talk of "singular opportunities" and "hold the proof"... meh.
In the end, Mulder is done in by his propensity to stick his hand in where it doesn't belong.
Best or Worst Moment
In the style of Redux II, CC gave us some wonderfully tender moments between Mulder and Scully. As soon as Mulder uttered his first line of "It's not worth it, Scully", I felt my vision blurring. (Maybe it was Mark Snow's music; first time in a long time I've found myself paying attention to it.) I actually haven't had too many moments in this series where I've felt such emotion, especially in a scene that wasn't meant to be particularly distressing. Nice sendoff, CC. And Mulder — we'll be missin' ya like crazy. Come back soon.
Original Rating: * * * *
Revised Rating: * * *
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